Ok, that title's an exaggeration, it's only taking over the floor of my spare bedroom. But my collection has grown considerably since I first put this post up in 2013. Back then it looked like this: And fitted on my dining table. Today it looks like this: And I had to lay it on the... Continue Reading →
8 Tips to Help You Write at Work
Writing around a day job can be tricky. Unless you're a real morning person or a true night owl, your potentially productive daylight hours are taken up with working rather than writing. And whilst you of course need to work whilst being at work, you can also use some of the time to get some... Continue Reading →
The Perfect Gift? How About Your Writing?
Have you ever made a gift of your writing? Perhaps the idea's never crossed your mind. I mean, you love to write and you do it all the time - but give it as a present? But think about it. If you knitted or painted, or crafted jewellery, you'd probably give people the fruits of... Continue Reading →
Following Famous Writers around Reading – Oscar Wilde and Jane Austen
If you're a regular reader you'll know I've visited a lot of places in the UK, and occasionally abroad, with links to famous writers. But I've also got some literary connections much closer to home that I thought I'd share with you. Reading is a local town for me, and although it might not be... Continue Reading →
5 Things You Need to be a Writer
Whether you believe writers are born or made (and I think it's a little bit of both), there are certain traits I think all writers should cultivate. Some may come naturally, others may need a bit of work. But they'll help you be the best writer you can be. 1) Happy in your own company... Continue Reading →
Visiting Alice Liddells Grave
Any fan of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ will know that its eponymous heroine is based on a real person. Alice Liddell was the fourth child in the Liddell family. They were friends with Charles Dodgson AKA Lewis Carroll and it was on a boating trip that he whipped up the tale of Alice and the White... Continue Reading →
Where’s the Oddest place you’ve done it?
Write I mean! On trains and buses, boats and rooftops, beaches, balconies and the bottom of the sea, we writers will do it anywhere (get your minds out of the gutter please!) I'm sure you know what it's like to have the Muse (or just the need to flex those writing muscles) strike at an... Continue Reading →
Inspiration – Cornwall
Cornwall has inspired many writers. My recent holiday certainly sparked a few ideas in my head. I won't waffle on, rather share some of the photos I took and hope they might inspire others. Padstow Land's End The Eden Project Bodmin Jail Lanhydrock House Carnglaze Carverns Woodland walk Japanese Garden Related reads Exploring Highgate Cemetery
Poetry – The Gate
There was a gate, that stood without walls, alone and patient, in the middle of the forest. It was not beautiful, with twisting filigree, and tingling gold, and cold, stone heads. It had been green, but now it's skin peeled, and rust in bloody patches, patterned each line and rod. If people ventured into the waving... Continue Reading →
Poetry – The Torch is not the Only Guide
If the darkness has found you, fear not. If it caresses your ears with cold, velvet words, you may listen without tremor. If it clasps and twists your body, you can move with it unbound. If it blackens your vision, close your eyes and make it blacker still. The darkness knows one path, so pull... Continue Reading →
