Edgy and entertaining insights from the dangerously-talented writers in the Colony…explore at your pleasure
To receive an occasional summary digest by email, simply click below
“Take what resonates, toss the rest”
Giving Feedback The title of this post is a sentence that’s often used at the end of a fellow writer’s feedback in the Lab, and…
The Welsh One
We gazed from Cardiff’s seafront as the diamond radiance of a million stars glittered in autumn’s midnight. . I spoke of my soul’s breech by…
Hurricanity
I have to make a new word. This is not uncommon for me. Legiterally is now, officially, a thing. Coffeed is a passive verb that…
Creativity: A Risky Behaviour
There has long been an association between mental illness and creativity with seemingly endless examples of successful creatives affected by anxiety, depression, bipolar and other…
River Cruise down the Danube in Eastern Europe!
We are back from a river cruise down the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest. Well, what did we see? We were amazed at the people…
9. SEPTEMBER MUSINGS
When, after the August sun, the first rains fall there’s something nostalgically magical that lures you outside or look through a window in silence and be embedded…
My Friend Is An Adventurous Snail
It was an irresistible afternoon, the gorgeously seductive late summer / early-autumn sunlight inviting me to come play in the woods… how could I refuse?…
AI – The ‘loom’ of our time.
I’ve been avoiding the subject of AI for a long time. I’ve tried to ignore it, tried to pretend it won’t be as big a…
In Other Words…
I’m Fine Whenever I meet someone new, I try to learn their language. I don’t mean French or German; I mean things like what they…
The Seven Deadly (Writers’) Sins…
Come over here for a moment, would you? But be careful of the edge of the table, it’s rather sharp. Good. Now you can see…
About it all Again
Thinking back to December 1973… a village called Oberjoch (over the hill) in the Bavarian Alps. Six feet of snow! I was learning…
Shrek – a Masterclass in writing character
I recently had a great movie night with my daughter. We made a fort (three kitchen chairs with a blanket thrown over the top and…
It’s Not the End of the World
Well, it sort of is… I’ve been fascinated by dystopian fiction for many years – any story which explores a dramatic change in the way…
It’s Art if I say so
Marcel Duchamp said this: it’s art if I say so. He’s the guy who stuck a urinal on the wall and called it ‘Fountain’. And…
Let Them Eat Cake
As a writer, I tend to focus on plot. I love a good action scene, and I also enjoy writing dialogue (probably stems from loving…
8. The Scots Invade Italy
The 28 Delegates from Earlston in Scotland here on their annual twinning visit with Cappella Maggiore attended Mass at a local church in Anzano. Fr…
Is the future here yet?
As a kid, I watched Star Trek. Some things have come true. I remember at the market you had to push to open the door….
She Explained
She was distracted and he ran on the pitch in an instinctive, uninhibited, exhilarating chase along the right wing. . He out-stripped the startled player,…
Writing Emotion
Out of the Mouths of Babes This post was inspired by a comment made by my eleven-year-old son. It was prompted by his question regarding…
Marching To War
I once loved a lassie, a bonnie wee lassie, and now I’m marching off to war . VICTORY FOR THE MOTHERLAND . left right left right left right…
Get The Digest
Funny, piquant, moving, edgy, cheeky, informative... sign up to receive our occasional summary email featuring all the best writing from the Colony. Free to subscribe, unsubscribe whenever you want (but we don't think you'll want to!)