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HILL RULES OK Although I find Susan Hill’s attitude and philosophy refreshing and radical, she contradicts her view on ‘no rules’ when she makes her ruling: ‘Do not write about what you know’. It is what I know, from growing up on the island Grenada, that fills me with colourful and spicy stories to tell. This is what got me started. Lera McKenzie, Lincolnshire

The cover of the latest issue made me smile because Susan looked about as happy as I would to be on the cover of a magazine. But it was so inspiring to read her advice – ‘There are no rules. Ever’ – that I have pinned the article on the notice board above my desk. I struggle with my punctuation but Susan’s wise words were a light-bulb moment for me; I’d like to thank her for giving me the reassurance that I can do this. Helen Phifer, Cumbria

NOVEL FATIGUE I get so tired of every writing group or workshop being focused on the novel, and memoir being relegated to ‘of course this can apply to memoir writing too’. Mostly the answer is ‘No, it can’t!’. We are a minority group, which is poorly catered for. Incidentally, a great book on the subject is Writing the Memoir by Judith Barrington (Eighth Mountain Press). Anna Meryt, N London

Bear with us, Anna. We are planning a competition for memoirs. DT

I get slightly (discreetly) agitated about the division between fiction and nonfiction, and the notion that you’re not a writer until you have written A Novel. There are many short story and nonfiction writers whose work is important and extraordinary. I am sure I will one day write my novel, but it won’t be until there is one pushing hard on my creative (excuse me) sphincter. Federay Holmes, N London

TICK BOXES I’m loving your little surveys. Funnily enough they have a positive impact on my writing, by giving me a gentle nudge to keep going. Lynn Brookes, Devon

I enjoyed this survey; it helped me answer some questions. Why did I really want to write a novel? How far had I actually got? Who did I have to talk to or to read my work? These questions helped me realise what I should do next: some serious networking. I have no author friends or colleagues and felt that a few trips to readings, workshops and literature festivals might be a start. Thank you. Gillian Hesketh, Lancashire

DRESSING UP Intrigued by the survey suggesting some people have a special ‘writing outfit’. Are we talking wizard gowns? Think we need photos... Amy Bird, via Twitter

▶Cartooniststhoughtheages1926HELENE HOKINSON (1893-1949) ‘I start with little rough triangular shapes and work out from that’

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Rant When people find out I have a female partner, they ask: ‘Does your family know about your lifestyle?’ ‘Which one of you is the man?’ ‘What do two women do in bed?’ ‘Who cooks and who does the DIY?’ ‘Can I watch?’ Or they say: ‘I don’t mind gays, but why do they have to be out about it and in your face?’ and ‘I never had to question my sexuality’. BJ EPSTEIN, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Rave She is the only conductor who says ‘totally awesome’ and flashes scarlet cuffs as she takes an orchestra, physically, through Bartok or Barber. She casts down icons and raises creation through her presence, body language, language: ‘If the door is closed, go in through a window.’ Her energy sings and steams. Marin Alsop is set to set the Earth spinning for the entire first half of this century. MAUDE LARKE, Dijon, France

◀ Submit your Rants or Raves to submissions@ mslexia.co.uk

4 Apr/May/Jun 2011

NEW YORKER, 26 FEBRUARY 1926, REPRINTED IN FUNNY GIRLS, ED. LIZA DONELLY (PROMETHEUS BOOKS)

Now I have the excuse of ‘I’m not wearing the right outfit’ for dithering and procrastinating on my novel. Helen Dix, via Facebook

WATER WORKS Some people really write in the bath?! Claire Handscombe, via Facebook

Writing a whole novel in the bath is for people who can afford a very large gas bill. Kirsty Logan, via Twitter

I don’t write in the bath but I have been known to get out of the shower mid hair-wash to make notes and write a few lines. Zelda Chappel, via Twitter

I write in the bath by balancing a notebook on the edge, on a towel. It’s sometimes the only quiet room in a house of seven. Besides, I am sick of having brilliant (OK, maybe not that brilliant) ideas and then forgetting them as soon as I open the door and the family start asking for things... Julie Noble, via Facebook

MIXED MESSAGES I’ve just finished reading Amanda Craig’s ‘Departures’ selection and what a difference! They are clever, comic, thought-provoking, uplifting. Too often I find that the work in the magazine is self-indulgent, lacking in plot, and overwhelmingly miserable. Penelope Randall, Cheshire

I thought Amanda Craig’s assessment of the ‘Departures’ stories (Issue 48) was extremely condescending.