Why I Write? How I Write? Edited by Keith Livesey

(The collection of blog articles titled How I write is now published as an ebook on Amazon reasonably priced at $0.99)

I would like to say that the idea for this collection of articles on Why I write, How I write came to me in a blinding flash of genius but I would be lying. The idea came from two sources. The first being an article by the writer George Orwell whose essay Why I write is a brilliant example of the writer's craft.

The second belongs mostly to me. While attending a short course of creative writing at Bishopsgate Institute, the tutor encouraged us to look into why and how a writer works. After some research, it became clear that very little has been written about why and how a historian writes.

Partially inspired by the historian Marc Bloch and his Historian’s Craft this collection of essays is aimed at the student who is just starting on their historic adventure. The purpose of this free book is to save them a small amount of legwork necessary to become a historian.

The more perceptive reader will notice that the majority of contributors are female. This is not an accident. Firstly the majority of female historians, when asked to write an article, were more than happy to do so. More importantly in a field that is overwhelmingly male-dominated, it is high time the female historians had their say.

I have tried to vary the contributions. Some are from historians who are just starting out on their career others are well established. The book also contains a good mixture of professional and non-professional writers.

The articles are free to use for non-commercial purposes. If you decide to use the content, please ask permission at Keith_liv@yahoo.com. All articles are the property of the author.