Write down the rabbit hole…
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 Visiting Alice Liddells Grave
For every writing problem you have, there is an answer. Not necessarily an easy answer that involves lamps and Genies but an answer nevertheless. Here are four common roadblocks that stop you from writing - and four ways to steamroll them flat. 1) I don't have time to write When I was younger, there was a… Continue reading 4 Roadblocks to your Writing – And 4 ways to Steamroll them!
You write so that when you fall, your descent will be arrested, by a silver net of words tied in knots onto the walls. And you ask, are they strong enough, tough enough, tall enough, what if they just break so that you crash into the floor? So you write and on you tie them… Continue reading An Explanation of the Continuous Necessity
I grew up surrounded by fantasy and sci-fi. Maybe that's why it's what I love to write now. Bedtime stories were The Hobbit, Wind in the Willows, Roald Dahl. Daytime video viewing was Star Wars, Willow, Labyrinth and all the Disney films. It's still seen as odd if you're into fantasy and happen to be… Continue reading Raised in the fantasy way
Today I felt a moment of sadness flicked in from nothing a moment given for the mourning of those who have no other I wondered whose loss I had been assigned who they had been before the trap closed whether they were always anonymous born and died with the light touch flying with dragging feet… Continue reading Today
They say when your senses diminish, other senses become more astute, so your eyes improve if you’re deaf, your ears if you’re blind. I don’t know how truthful that is, but it seems as my body has diminished the strength of my mind has grown. All those books I read are now proving their worth.… Continue reading She’ll do Nicely
If you're wandering around the Isle of Wight, you could end up stumbling upon Farringford, the home of Lord Tennyson. Lord Tennyson was a prolific writer and Poet Laureate of Great Britain during most of Queen Victoria's reign. His famous works include 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'The Lady of Shallot'. He lived at… Continue reading A Visit to Lord Tennysons House, Isle of Wight, UK
(Written at 13, re-written at 20 and found in the archives at 30-and-a-bit) Aged thirteen and late in bed, I realised that one day I’d be dead. My stomach gave a sudden jolt, and in me found a strange revolt, against the idea of ever ending, and I wondered about bending, time around me so… Continue reading Aged Thirteen and Late in Bed
I finally used my Christmas book token to get my hands on The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman. The book is gorgeous, illustrated with Chris Riddell's intricate black line drawings highlighted in gold. I'd say it's a little work of art for your bookshelf (I wish my photography skills were good enough to… Continue reading The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman. Illustrations by Chris Riddell
September has eyes, opening red and gold. January has fingers, stretching frozen spindles. August has toes, digging deep in soft sand. May has a nose, catching scents in sunlight. October has hair, roots torn by the wind. December has teeth, standing stones into skin. April has tears, cascading on molted earth. And July has legs,… Continue reading The Year Walks
