Went to Wolverhampton Uni today with Fi to give a talk to a group of Creative Writing students. It was a favour to Fi’s old tutor there (she was there 6 years ago) and a potential hook into some new work but pretty much covered the usual areas. They’re looking to make a living from their writing but are confused by the hype and fright spouted by people who should know better about what the Internet will do to their precious words. I was there to do the broad strokes stuff while Fi, as someone who has adapted her career to making words work for her online, did the practical stuff. It went pretty well, I think, and was a nice reminder that stuff me and my peers take for granted is still an issue for most everyone else. It always astonishes me that people who haven’t even published anything yet are worried about piracy and copyright. As I said at the end, if piracy becomes a problem then you’ve already won. Worry about that if and when you’re lucky enough for it to happen.
Afterwards we went to the pub and drank much booze. Wolverhampton has cheaper booze than Birmingham. And that is why I don’t have much more to say. Head still hurts.
Serves you right, says the old tutor.