I've recently finished the first edit of the first book in my Cauldron Trilogy. Well I say edit, in truth it's better catergorised as a pre-edit. The main idea was not to edit any of the actual text, but instead make notes on it as I read through. And I think it's a really great... Continue Reading →
As a writer you have to fend off demands on your brain power - and find inspiration and tips wherever you can. In recent times this has been tricky. Staying in helps with writing. But mentally, we've maybe not been looking for distraction and escape. Enter on-demand content. There's the big daddy Netflix of course,... Continue Reading →
We're a step or two into January now and to help keep track of time as the days continue to merge into one, I've got a new calendar. This literary design is by illustrator Laura Crow (here's her shop on Not on the High Street) and features awesome drawings inspired by classic books. The black... Continue Reading →
It sounds simple. Writers write. It kind of goes with the territory. And if we didn't like, nay love, nay were obsessed by writing we wouldn't do it. But the things we can love we can also, at times, dislike, nay hate, nay want to hurl out of the window. But there's a train of... Continue Reading →
Every form of artwork comes with it's own set of critics. It's an odd sort of thing we humans have created - a group of people to decide what art is "good" or "bad", what's its "meaning" and where it should stand in comparison to other artwork and artists. There's nothing wrong with this, but... Continue Reading →
I've just finished the first draft of The Cauldron Trilogy (part one) - and it sucks. But that's okay because ALL first drafts suck. Every single one. And that's absolutely fine. Writing is re-writing. Take a look at the first/annotated drafts of some famous writers and you'll see first hand how much they changed and,... Continue Reading →
George Orwell is arguably the father of modern dystopian fiction. A lot of terms we use in everyday life (perhaps more frequently than we'd like in recent years) come from his most famous work "Nineteen Eighty-Four". "Big Brother", "Room 101", "Thought Police" all come from his nightmarish vision of what was then the future, now... Continue Reading →
If you're looking for a top class castle ruin, look no further than the dramatic Corfe Castle. Perched above the small town of Corfe in Dorset, it's a popular tourist destination (if you plan to visit, be aware that it will get busy), managed by the National Trust. And as the post title alludes to,... Continue Reading →
There's a definite other-worldly feeling to Winspit Quarry, cut into the edge of the tempestuous Dorset coast. Fittingly then the place has been used as a filming location for two classic British sci-fi series, Blakes 7 and Dr Who. The quarry was used as the location for the planet Mecron II in the Blake's 7... Continue Reading →
This is not a thought. It is a spiked ball that rolls restless and pin-pricksdowneachvertebratill it lodgesand waits,for sleep, for sober, for silence, then pierces soone byone byonemore pour in. A dam breaks with neglect, so too this vessel,fit to burst. When it does there'll be no red flag,just a smoulder of regret and a... Continue Reading →
