I first heard about NaNoWriMo years ago, before I had ever tried writing anything myself. I put it at the back of the filing cabinet in my mind and have since dreamt of one day challenging myself to write a 50,000 word first draft in one month. NaNoWriMo 2018 has started and while I still… Continue reading My first NaNoWriMo – A thought a day
My blog has lain a bit dormant recently but I’m pleased to say it’s not a reflection on my writing in general! It’s been a different time for me on my writing journey. I have been planning my first novel (which still sounds quite ridiculous to me!) Massively helped along by the Writers HQ Plotstormers… Continue reading Publishing news
Last year after returning home from my first Swanwick experience I wrote about the post-Swanwick blues. I was bracing myself for the same deflated feeling this year but actually I’m feeling something else. The post-Swanwick boost. I did wonder whether attending again as a fully fledged delegate (after being privileged enough to receive a subsidised… Continue reading Post-Swanwick Boost
Is Whitby the most inspirational place on Earth for artists? Well I think so… I love Julia Cameron’s concept of the ‘artist’s date’. A solo trip to somewhere that interests you to spark imagination, whimsy and play. She suggests doing it weekly. I need to buck my ideas up! But I have just returned from… Continue reading The importance of artists’ dates
A few days ago I received Three Sisters of Stone by Stephanie Hutton in the post. I’d actually forgotten I’d ordered it. I had been meaning to, but it was a lovely surprise when it turned up on my doormat. I put the novel I’m reading to one side, started it immediately and was hooked… Continue reading My five star review of Three Sisters of Stone, a novella in flash by Stephanie Hutton
I realised I haven’t uploaded a blog at all in 2018. Whoops. But, rather than chastise myself I’m going to take it as a sort of positive, because it’s a reflection of the fact I’ve been focusing more on my creative writing. Woohoo. My writing year has got off to a positive start in a… Continue reading Building up a regular writing habit
Okay so, I may just have been Googling articles about how to publicly celebrate achievements without sounding like a braggy braggerson. Because, basically, I am really frickin’ proud of my writing achievements this year and I, like many of my fellow writing peers, would like the celebrate these! We’ve all worked really blooming hard to… Continue reading Is it bad to shout about writing successes?
A few weeks ago I received an email with the subject ‘WINNER!’. Like any intelligent email user, I immediately dismissed this as spam until… I noticed the sender: Zeroflash. It turned out I had been selected as the winner of September’s Zeroflash competition. What!? And they wanted me to judge next month’s competition. What what!?… Continue reading What I learned from judging a flash fiction competition
We’ve all heard of the back-to-work blues. Well I’ve got a serious case of it. More specifically, the post-Swanwick blues. Until a few months ago I had never even heard of the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. Fast forward to June and a lovely email arrived in my inbox to say I’d been accepted onto this… Continue reading Post-Swanwick blues
I’m doing a little dance at my desk right now. Because…it’s publishing day! My story, along with 14 others by talented, new authors, features in the Little Acorn Short Story Anthology. It’s available right here in paperback. (The current price is a limited time offer). I’m proud to have had my short story Un-friending, selected for… Continue reading Publishing day! Little Acorn Short Story Anthology
