Maria got out her notes for her next session. Ah yes, young Eric Godwin. She hardly needed to remind herself, but she was a professional, so she skimmed through her account of their previous three meetings. A rather dysfunctional family, though aren’t they all, nowadays? Eric had recently discovered that the man he had grown […]
Sometimes writing seems to call me insistently, so that I can hardly wait to finish my chores and get stuck in. At other times I find myself doing all sorts of other jobs when I should be writing; things that could easily wait until another time. For me, this has a great deal to doing […]
On the whole, I have found that cafés are surprisingly welcoming to writers. I had not expected us to be greatly appreciated: we take up space for an hour or several, and often only buy one or two drinks. Indeed, there have been establishments where I have felt hassled, where staff have come over every […]
Upon the First Day of the Seventh Year of the Reign of King Karpitz Karpikotz Paknor Stapikos keeps his features impassive as he forces his attention back to the presentation. The speaker is rambling interminably about the need to balance the needs of Artellosa, a forest goddess who resents her trees being cut down, and […]
What would your perfect bookshop be like? Here’s my list:- Lots of books (of course), but not just the latest bestsellers or the firm favourites. I want to stumble across exciting finds! An ambience that encourages browsing, ideally with quiet nooks that give me the illusion of being on my own with the books. Somewhere […]
“That’s all, children! Go home, now; it’s bedtime.” Ghaldak levered himself to his feet, as if to emphasise that he would tell no more tales. In spite of their disappointment, most of the youngsters did as they were told, moving apart as they left the circle they had formed close to the fire. Mothers scooped […]
It is only in the last year or so that I have had the luxury of a room dedicated entirely to my life as a writer. Three of my five novels to date, plus a couple of others that have been shelved, were written on the kitchen table, my lap, or in the car while […]
One of the standard pieces of advice to writers is to carry a notebook and pencil everywhere, so that ideas that you have on the move don’t get lost forever. For some people, this may make complete sense, but it seemed incomprehensible to me. I would have loved it if the sort of idea that […]
Jessi pulled the flimsy material of her scarf further forward, to try to block out some of the glare reflected from the white buildings as she passed through the town. It was fortunate that her sister’s house was not far; the houses at the end of the street were shimmering in the heat, and a […]
Should a writer write every day? Did we ought to follow a prescribed plan? Can we only consider ourselves writers if we write full-time? It seems counter-intuitive to associate words like “must”, “got to”, and “ought to” with writing. These words, in my mind, are usually paired with all sorts of things that are good […]