Toby Litt

Today's entry in the diary is on the Ghosts of the Desk. Who haunts you? open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

Next week, I am delivering a lecture on ‘The Future of Digital Publishing’. I have plenty of ideas, I’m just not sure they’re good ones — or that they’ve been challenged enough. What echoes of the future do you hear? Eco-sigh, tech-whoop? open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

@eddiehewitt32 @substack This is my favourite answer so far. Can I quote it somewhere?

@tobylitt @substack The half pencil I used to score my card on a round of pitch and putt at Ashton Court. I went round in 73. Some time in the mid '80s. Never bettered ✏️⛳️ A lot of great points here btw Toby 😁

What's your favourite pencil that you've every owned? Today's diary entry on @substack covers the practicalities of writing with pencils. (Yay, write upside down, hanging from a tree.) open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

On Erasers and Erasing (or do you call them rubbers?) Seems to be a matter of some debate open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

If you're a writer, how and where do you write? What's your posture like? How's your spine holding up? Any advice for others? Are You Sitting Comfortably? open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

Look, I'm here, rather than working. How do you cope with/limit/work through the distraction of your screens? Today's diary entry way over yonder on Substack. On Distraction and Overcoming It open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

'Fiction could do with a little more farting: every fart is a surprise, a failure, a joke, an event.' Almost my favourite quote from Elizabeth McCracken's A Long Game. Do you agree? Can you name any farts in fiction? (Apart from Ulysses.) awritersdiary.substack.com/p/on-elizabeth…

If you're taking a Creative Writing class this semester, I put together this view about POV. How to Talk about Point of View in a Creative Writing Workshop youtu.be/94q_0PMUsBg?si…

How to Improve Almost Any Short Story in 30 Seconds Well, 47 seconds for the video. But the changes could be made in 30 seconds. youtu.be/jqdAfafmn5g?si… via @YouTube

New Year, New Writer's Diary. This year, I'm going - with my subscribers' help - to draft a writing manual (working title is 'The Page: On Drafting'). I'll be podcasting about it on my @Substack. Together, hopefully, we can write our books. open.substack.com/pub/awritersdi…

There will be 5 minute daily-ish podcasts, with advice, writing exercises and answers to subscribers' questions. @UoSMedia @unisouthampton @SotonEnglish @OctoberBooks @Carole_Burns

I'm reposting some of my writing advice videos, to go along with launching A Writer's Diary Podcast. Here's the most popular - My Favourite Creative Writing Exercise of All Time youtu.be/ckuLJWHpPE4?si… @HumanitiesUoS @SotonEnglish @philipwhale @Carole_Burns @UoSMedia

@SotonEnglish @HumanitiesUoS @ArtsUniSouth @unisouthampton @UoSMedia @CMCWsoton @UniSotonLibrary @OctoberBooks @SotonForward @Carole_Burns @will_b_may @amm_hunt

"For the overwhelmed poet, this poetic artifice is deeply enabling, allowing what was previously unspeakable to finally be spoken." 'the overwhelmed poet'! This year's FT Prince Memorial Lecture by Dr Mary Jean Chan was outstanding - youtu.be/LO3gjO0I0s4?si…

If you're interested but have questions, I can put you in touch with the organisers. @DavidGurnham @law_humanities

Creative Writers wanted: Call for abstracts Stories of ‘Separation’ and ‘Gathering’ in Legal and Creative Imaginaries: a Legal Humanities and Creative Writing Workshop Wed 1 and Thurs 2 July 2026, @unisouthampton Deadline for abstracts: December 1, 2025. #WritingCommunity

f you can make it to Southampton, and if you can't you can book a place to watch online. (A recording of the lecture will also be available afterwards.) @unisouthampton @UoSMedia @OctoberBooks @CMCWsoton

I'm lucky enough to have read Dr Mary Jean Chan's FT Prince Memorial Lecture, which they'll be giving tomorrow evening - it's a stunning and moving piece of writing about grief and poetic form. In person tickets are still available... rb.gy/48jzge