Another short story this week, in lieu of a report from Rome... “FUUUCCCKKKK”! The car swerved across the highway as Henley fought against the steering wheel to bring the Chevy under control. He narrowly missed the truck coming the other way, its horn blasting through the silence of the desert. Henley rammed his foot hard… Continue reading Check Out
Category: Writing
Paperback Writer
Thank you to the very funny Jim at Gingerfightback, who was not only kind enough to read the first draft of my children's novel and give me some great feedback, but has now invited me to take part in The Writing Process Blog Tour. The tour asks writers to answer a few questions about their work. I don't… Continue reading Paperback Writer
Dear Adrian Mole
Dear Adrian, I was so sorry to hear about the death of Sue Townsend, the comic genius who brought your diaries to a wider audience. I know you felt that she was the one who profited from your private life, passing it off as her own work of fiction, but without her, the world would… Continue reading Dear Adrian Mole
The Mighty Pen
This is a short story that I wrote a couple of years ago for a creative writing course. At the end there's a plea for help... The Mighty Pen The printed sheet of A4 paper held disdainfully between his thumb and forefinger, Sebastian tossed it dismissively across the seminar room. It competed briefly with the… Continue reading The Mighty Pen
Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
‘What do we want? ‘Time Travel!’ ‘When do we want it?’ ‘It’s irrelevant…’ Time travel. It’s a tricky one to get your head around. In fact, every time I think about the mechanics, ethics and illogicalities of it, I get a migraine and have to lie down with a nice cup of tea and a… Continue reading Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
It’s Not About The Money
I’ve seen a few blogs recently with a donate button. One blog was about a family travelling around the world, home educating their kids and enjoying an idyllic existence. The donate button said ‘help us to continue our dream.’ At first, I felt quite affronted but then I thought, ‘hang on, am I missing a… Continue reading It’s Not About The Money
Our Lips Are Sealed
After setting up a blog, the WordPress Website recommends that you: Bug your real-life friends - encourage friends and family to read your blog: send them reminder emails when you update and talk to them about it when you meet in person. Often having a really small audience of people you care about is better… Continue reading Our Lips Are Sealed
Top Ten Tips on how not to write a novel, find an agent, get it published and become rich and famous
I’ve read a string of comments in the last week about how easy it would be to write a novel if only one lived in Rome. This sort of thing: You want to write. Really you do. You long to. In fact, if you could run away now to Rome and write full-time with the… Continue reading Top Ten Tips on how not to write a novel, find an agent, get it published and become rich and famous
Reading Ban = Limoncello Curd
So I’m following The Artist’s Way: a 12-week course to discover and free your creativity. Obviously, that sounds like a right load of New Age tosh but it’s an interesting read and has lots of exercises to get you started on writing, painting or whatever floats your creative boat. But last… Continue reading Reading Ban = Limoncello Curd
Italian living and writing (or not)
Italian writing: living in a new country should provide the perfect inspiration to writing - yes? New experiences, new people, new language, new food. However, it doesn't seem to be working and I'm still halfway through the novel I started as part of NaNoWriMo...in 2011. Bought Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way' and have started writing… Continue reading Italian living and writing (or not)
NaNoWriMo
So, almost ready for NaNoWriMo. Story is almost plausible, characters worked out and no idea of the ending...2,000 words a day from Tuesday! Easy!
