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[Vincent Turner]

Been reading lots lately and have had to accept that in the grand scheme of things I have realised that my lifes work thus far is pretty dire. It has dawned on me that my work up to date aside from a few poems has quite possibly been an exercise in understanding myself, almost a form of self counselling, which has in turn made my work very insular. I hope with the possible freedom the move to ireland will bring, my work will have a much needed change... When living in the city I have grown accustomed to walking around with my head bowed to the ground so to avoid the eyes of someone else on the boil and in doing so have missed out on much that goes on, be it with or without movement, above head height. Writing, is for me a vice, which could quite easily be replaced by something else this move should hopedfully turn it from a vice to a productive pleasure.... Drunken rant over.. The tramp on the street told me to fuck off.. So I thought I would try my luck here

[Ġakbu]

Reading a lot is sometimes akin to hearing a clear fuck-off from the dead writers. But being dead (the writers), we do not hear them and stoop on.

Or rather. No. There is no rather.

Nice choice of coastline Vince, Donegal; it looks like a windy place; great way to lose your head (in).

[astronacht]

Your writing, even if you consider insular, is still very important. Before you can understand whatever it is that writers understand you must understand yourself. Sure writers observe the world and make note of it and import it into their own worlds, but is there really anything more intrinsic to a writer's writing than the understanding he has of himself?

Take all the time you need to understand yourself. There's no rush when it comes to writing. The most successful writers (and by that I mean the most successful writers that are worth a damn) are generally in their autumn years. I sometimes suffer from the same impatience. Then I have to slow down and remember that I'm still young, that it might be another ten years before I even publish a short story.

Good luck.