Aspiring Writers Should Go Offline For Two Hours A Day – Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan, who was honored by British King Charles at Windsor Castle, advised ambitious young writers to “disconnect from the internet for at least two hours a day”.

The novelist and screenwriter received recognition for his contributions to writing by being named a Companion of Honour at an investiture ceremony.

Being named to the Order of the Companions of Honour, which is exclusive to 65 people who have made a significant, long-lasting contribution to the arts, sciences, medicine, or government, was described by McEwan as a “very high honour and special pleasure.”

The author of Atonement claimed that during their discussion, Charles had questioned him about his most recent endeavor: “He asked that inevitable question one asks of writers: ‘What are you working on?'”

We briefly discussed that as well as our love of gardens.

The 75-year-old novelist expressed his opinion that starting a writing career today is “much harder” than it was in the past.

He stated, “I think it’s harder, much harder now,” to the PA news agency. For starters, rent was incredibly cheap in the 1970s for aspiring writers.

“I had a rather grand apartment that cost about £12 a month. And so therefore, a couple of pieces for the Observer or Times Literary Supplement, or so on, could pay the rent months in advance, leaving you free.

“That’s much harder now. So it’s tough, it really is tough.”

Asked what his advice for aspiring young writers was, McEwan said: “Disconnect from the internet for at least two hours a day and treat your thoughts like a garden through which you are strolling.”

McEwan, who published his latest work, Lessons, in 2022, said the novel has so far “refused to die” as a literary form in an age of technological distractions.

He said: “I know there are many other competing forms, especially long-form TV dramas, which are about the closest we’ve got to the Victorian novels.

“But so far, the novel has refused to die, partly because I think it still is the best form for giving us what it means to be a self in a changing world.”

Discussing his own work, he added: “Every book in a sense feels like the first. I’m quite addicted to the idea that every new novel should bear no trace of resemblance to the last. And I like to move on and shift my ground rapidly.”

McEwan said he did not think that AI was “anywhere near” yet replicating the quality of a human novel.

He said: “So far, what a novel requires is felt experience, embodied experience. I’m not sure that we’re anywhere near that yet.

“If it comes then and we get a masterpiece every week, maybe we’ll just have to count ourselves extremely lucky.”

MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore, artist Hew Locke, and former UK Cabinet secretary Lord Sedwill were among the other honorees at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

Locke, who received an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours, described his honor as “great and strange at the same time.”

The musician, who was born and raised in Guyana, claimed to have spoken with Charles about the South American nation.

Following Venezuela’s recent reaffirmation of its border claim to the Essequibo region, Locke expressed his gratitude for learning that Charles was “aware of the situation” in Guyana.