What cross-stitch taught me about writing As anyone who follows me on social media knows, after months of mocking other people for getting their cook / craft on in lockdown (SO MUCH SOURDOUGH), with crushing predictability I finally gave into the urge myself. I have developed an interest in cross-stitch that can be kindly described […]
Tag Archives: Writing
So this week I hit what I had thought was an impossible milestone – 150 coffees bought for me on Ko-fi! I originally started this page (nearly 2 years ago) as a bit of an experiment. As someone who has always struggled a bit with impostor syndrome, and marvelled at the ability of my more […]
This blog previously appeared on my Newcastle blog, Prodigal Geordie “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same […]
So, a confession, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to admit: for the past couple of years, I have lost all interest in writing. No biggie, right? There are worse things to admit, even to yourself. But when you’ve spent more than half of your life defining yourself as ‘writer’, what happens […]
Another revisited post, yes – but one that feels really necessary right now. Lots of people in the creative industries are struggling with lost income and having to get jobs to supplement their losses – jobs which are often both low paid and time consuming, so leave little time to do anything else. Many will […]
How’s your lockdown going? I admit I envisioned putting all this time to magnificent use – I’d get that book finished, revamp all my websites, write some short stories, finally learn how to pitch an article. And… um, I haven’t done any of those things. I have drank an Oddbins’ worth of wine and eaten […]
Guys, writing is hard sometimes. Like, really, really hard. And while a deadline or a paycheque can force you to produce something if your income depends on it, if that’s not the case – and many of us are facing uncertainty around our work at the moment – it can be a struggle to get the energy or […]
Like many people, I’m trying to find things to be positive about right now, even in these anxious days. So it was nice to be reminded that it’s my book birthday this week – that it’s a whole 8 years since the first Dark Dates book ventured into the world. At the time, I already […]
Guys, writing is hard sometimes. Like, really, really hard. And while a deadline or a paycheque can force you to produce something if your income depends on it, if that’s not the case – and many of us are facing uncertainty around our work at the moment – it can be a struggle to get the energy or enthusiasm […]
Like many writers or creatives, one of my resolutions this year (every year!) is to dedicate more time to my creative ambitions. Finish that book, submit to that competition, pitch more articles… whatever your dream or ambition, I am sure you made a similar goal. For many, that will include practical strategies for doing so: […]
Dark Dates 