Mental Maintenance

October 13, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Recently, I’ve found myself with more time on my hands. This freakish turn of events has led to all sorts of developments. There are things in drawers and cupboards that haven’t seen the light of day since I moved house that have been turfed out and ruthlessly chucked out. I’m actually up to date on […]

What Does Progress Look Like?

October 6, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Everyone loves to feel like they’re progressing. The problem is, for some things, outcomes are not quite as tangible as we’d like. If I were an aspiring baker, I’d continue to work on my crumb texture, or perfect the proving of my bread (I only know these words because of Bake Off). As a runner, […]

All Change (Shift Your Focus to Re-Energise Writing)

October 2, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

The leaves on the tree outside my window are dying. But they are so beautiful in their death. Near the top, they still have green hearts, tinged with an acid-bright red. Towards the bottom, they’ve faded to yellow, as if dipped in custard. Every year this tree stands for months with naked branches. Not until […]

Six Sites That Pay For Flash Fiction and Poetry

September 8, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Originally posted on A Writer's Path:
? by Robert Turner List is current for July 2017. If like a lot of struggling authors you are desperate to get your work sold, why not downscale a little? Try your hand at writing flash fiction or short stories. The sites listed below will pay you for…

The Dangers of Over-Plotting

September 8, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

The results are in. After months of worrying over the impact the new English GCSE would have on our students, we’ve found that, thankfully, they’ve done about as well as we expected. Look a little closer, and you could see the particular issues this new system has thrown up. Unsurprisingly, in English Language, the question […]

Give Yourself Credit

August 30, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been a great summer for the word count. Finding myself at the end of a mammoth edit for one novel and fiddling around with ideas for a new one has not exactly led to an outpouring of sentences. Always a bit of a ‘should-er,’ I find myself getting a little […]

When Writing Seems Impossible

August 18, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

One of my favourite reactions to the question ‘why do you write’ came from Lisa McInerney when I saw her at the Emerald Street Literary Festival last year. She’d just won the Bailey’s Prize for fiction (you can see my thoughts on the book here), so she had reasons to be cheerful. Her answer was […]

Welcome to My Site

August 18, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Welcome to a place for writing, reflection and general musings. If you’re looking for interesting articles and writing tips, some short fiction or maybe just some recommendations on some great books, you’re in the right place. If you like what you find here, you can also find my blogs on the Huffington Post, book […]

Is Borrowing from Mythology Cheating?

August 11, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

When I was a student at University, I took a composition course. Bashing away at the keys of a piano in a quiet practice room (it was 11pm, I had homework due the following day), the impossibility of creating anything genuinely ‘new’ suddenly struck me. There they were, 8 little keys, with black ones in […]

Fragment #6 Displaced

August 7, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

A slump of a man is in the waiting area. Hunched over the chrome and black chair, his scuffed trainers rest on the marble. Baggy denim hangs from his knees, eyes darting through the shaggy fall of hair. Jacob stands separate, watching his brother’s discomfort. Sealed in a suit, the polish of his shoes matching […]