Top comic author David Lodge on the art of fiction

"Writing a novel is a very anxious business for me, and increasingly so." David Lodge may be a highly successful and much-loved author and literary critic, but his anxiety does not dissipate with the launch of each new book.

"My early novels were written with what seems to me now extraordinary speed," says Lodge, 73, who was writing fiction at the same time as teaching English Literature at the University of Birmingham and helping his wife to bring up three children. He took early retirement to write full-time in 1986.

"I don't think they're as complex as the later novels and that's partly why they were written more quickly. The longer you go on, it doesn't get any easier, it gets harder, and as an artist or writer you're putting yourself up for judgement. You fear failure, and therefore a lot of the effort of writing a particular book is thinking about what you've written and what you're going to write and how to make it as copper-bottomed as it can be."

Lodge's early novels such as The British Museum is Falling Down may have been written fast but quickly established him as a leading British comic writer, often exploring serious topics through humour. He has been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction for Small World and Nice Work, part of his famous campus trilogy, as well as winning numerous other awards, yet fears resting on his laurels. "If you didn't feel insecure you probably wouldn't do your best work," he says.

In Lodge's latest novel, Deaf Sentence, retired professor of linguistics Desmond Bates is fighting a losing battle with hearing loss. It is written from experience: Lodge's hearing has deteriorated since his 40s and he wears two discreet aids.

You can read the full interview with David Lodge online.

Having problems hearing the TV? We put some new models of headphones to the test

Whether you want to be whisked away to another time and place by Doctor Who, keep abreast of current affairs with Natasha Kaplinsky or catch up with all the gossip at the Rovers Return, we all enjoy watching a bit of telly, don't we? However, sometimes it can be difficult to hear what's being said – maybe it isn't loud enough, there's too much background noise or the speech itself isn't clear. We know that these issues are important to you because of the large quantity of letters, calls and emails you send us on the subject and the number of TV listening devices that RNID Products sells. So for this product review we thought we'd look at some new products that could help you hear your TV better and gain more enjoyment from it – whatever you watch.

Your first choice will be to decide what type of product would suit you best – the main options being a personal listener, a loop system, a wireless TV listener or headphones. Personal listeners, such as the RNID Sonido, can be directly connected to your TV or can pick up sound via their microphones. They are handheld units and will amplify the sound either to headphones, a neckloop or a stethoclip. A loop can either be installed around your living room or you can sit on a loop pad which fits beneath a chair cushion. Wireless TV listeners are cordless units, not unlike some headphones, which either have built-in neckloops or stethoclips. These hang beneath the chin, whereas headphones sit on top of the head.

See the full product review with 'at a glance' comparison chart in One in Seven magazine. Join RNID now to get your copy.

RNID has been training young volunteers to spread our campaign messages

Charities like RNID often rely on volunteers to help support core activities such as fundraising. We like to be a bit different, so we applied for a grant to the 'V' volunteering charity to support our first ever Young Person's Campaign Group.

Volunteers aged 16-25, recruited from across the country, were trained to help us deliver RNID campaigns. The volunteers had mixed backgrounds: deaf, hearing, British Sign Language (BSL) users, working, unemployed and students at school or university. From their very first training day in Birmingham, it was clear that lasting friendships were going to be made. Despite different backgrounds, all had a passion to raise awareness about RNID campaigns and to learn to become campaigners themselves.

The training was given by our own campaign and media experts from head office and included presentation skills, health and safety, working with the media and putting together a sample campaign. For many, the highlight was a trip to the Houses of Parliament to see why lobbying is so important. Once fully trained, the volunteers went out into the community to put their new-found skills to the test.

You can read this article in full in One in Seven magazine. Join RNID to get your copy of One in Seven.