As those of you who followed my #walksleuth posts on Instagram and Facebook over the last three months will know, I have been out more. Currently, we live in a village surrounded by fields and my daily walks have taken … Read More

If you read your writing aloud to others, you’ll become a better writer much quicker. My writing students regularly tell me that reading their writing aloud is the hardest – but most rewarding – aspect of my writing courses. “Their … Read More

I confess I was stuck for an idea for this month’s blog. Usually ideas start to come to me in the days before I need to write it, but this time, I was stumped. Are you ever at a loss … Read More

Julia Cameron, in her book, The Artist’s Way, writes of the value of paying attention. Writers need to notice things. The more they notice the better writers they become. For me, the more I pay attention the more inspiration comes … Read More

This morning, I ran another session for one of my How to Write a How-to Book Writing Circles this morning. As usual, I had read and commented on their latest chapters and our meeting was to discuss my findings and get … Read More

We’d planned it carefully, booked the flights, the airport carpark, the Covid tests and accommodation. Four nights in Portugal, staying with friends, Mariam and Martino and their children, whose names also begin with an M, in Cascais, a stone’s throw … Read More

My friend Kristin just sent me a link to a clip from the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired in November on CBS. Andrew Garfield, the American-British actor, had recently lost his mother and was happy to talk … Read More

I’ve just been running my monthly Open Writers’ Circle and this time I decided to teach my students about writing dialogue. Of all the aspects of story writing dialogue is possibly the trickiest so I thought I’d take the opportunity … Read More