This year, so far, has probably been the least productive of my life. Hell, even that time I was homeless I managed to write a book, but 2017 has felt like one long anxiety attack, where any impulse to create has been buried under a deluge of apathy and stress. Some of this has been […]
Tag Archives: Writing
I’ve written a lot about writing advice – the good and the bad – but if there is one piece of ‘accepted wisdom’ I’d like to see killed by fire, it’s ‘writers must write every day’. It comes packaged in many forms – ‘real writers write every day’, you are told, as if being a […]
One of the pleasures of publishing is other people’s reactions to your writing: I don’t imagine there’s a writer out there who doesn’t love getting nice feedback. If you didn’t want readers to connect with your writing, you wouldn’t put it out there, and the validation that comes with a good review can’t be overstated. […]
Because, by the standards of the internet, I am old and uncool, I often find myself baffled by the wealth of abbreviations out there, wary of a David Cameron moment (who famously signed off a text about someone’s bereavement with ‘LOL’, thinking it still meant ‘lots of love’.). But recently I came across a term […]
I’m not usually that affected when famous people die: it’s sad and all, of course, but mostly it’s time for a moment’s reflection, then you get on with your day. This week I’ve been reading two very different books by two very different people, both of whose deaths hit me harder than normal, because they […]
Blimey, what a journey! Five years since a little short story got turned into a book, and I have loved the whole series. Huge thanks to my beta team, my readers, my friends, and all the bloggers and reviewers who have helped make this so special.
During and immediately after university, I spent a lot of time working in bookshops, so like most booksellers have plenty of ‘weird things customers say in bookshops’ moments (I was very jealous that Jen Campbell thought of compiling these first – though I did meet her, having contributed a quote to her follow up, More […]
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions any more. January is smack in the middle of my busiest time of year, it’s always bloody cold or raining, and everyone around me is undertaking a detox, which only makes me want to surrender myself more to Bacchanalian excess, provided such excess can be carried out from the […]
While my love for notebooks is well-documented, I also have a fondness for writer themed gifts – and I admit I’m not above buying them for myself if I feel the need for a little boost. My latest purchase was a bespoke mug I bought from Moonpig for a friend and I have who have […]
So, after years of having ‘go on a writers’ retreat’ firmly etched on my to-do list, I finally got my arse into gear and managed it last week. The reasons it has taken me so long are manifold, some good, some bad, some trivial, some serious. I’ve spent so much of the last 3 years […]
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