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The Most Exciting & Original Voices Writing Today

Christmas is Cancelled!

Claire Gallagher

When I was eight years old, I auditioned for a part in my school’s Christmas play, Christmas is Cancelled! Despite being a shy child, I…

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WTF, Will! parts 16 – 18

Beverley Dalton

I was cracking on with my stupidly self-imposed lockdown challenge to read The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I’d met a few Henry’s now, and although…

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Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…

James Charles

Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through the wide and…

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WTF, Will! parts 14 – 15

Beverley Dalton

I’d now hit the stage where I was half enjoying this challenge and half wishing I hadn’t told everyone I was gonna do it. There…

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Midnight Rites

Pamela Jo Keeley

“The werewolf’s bride is late.” A fierce black horse spoke. It then tossed its cloud of inky mane and transformed into a giant bird with…

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WTF, Will! parts 11 – 13

Beverley Dalton

I’d now encountered a few stand-out plays, in my great Shakespeare-reading marathon, so I felt quite buoyed up at the prospect of what was approaching….

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WTF, Will! parts 9 – 10

Beverley Dalton

In my quest to read all of Shakespeare from start to finish, I finally made it to plays that I’d heard about and seen on…

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11. How to Promote Your Book without Being a Bore

Eva Ulian

Don’t expect people who barely know you or don’t know you at all will promote your book. It’s not likely that people will go out…

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Of Straw-Stacks and Sisters

Laura Rikono

Ten minutes before I left the house, my boss called. “The science class is cancelled today. Take Jisoo and Jennie instead. They need adjective practice.”…

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WTF, Will! parts 5 – 8

Beverley Dalton

Full of enthusiasm for my lockdown project of reading The Complete Works of Shakespeare, I wandered blindly on to play number 5. Some time later…

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Love, Christmas

Claire Gallagher

The Long and Short of It I enjoy writing short stories, which is a complete one-eighty compared to how I used to feel. I used…

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Beware the Snake Oil Salesman

Jake Joy

When I first started down this self-publishing journey, I heard quiet rumours of the dangers of scammers. I knew they were out there. I knew…

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WTF, Will! parts 1 – 4

Beverley Dalton

We all remember those drawn out days of the first Covid lockdown, right? I don’t know how you coped, but while other people were learning…

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Grace Notes, Part 3

Jason Locke

Thank you for bearing with me. As a reward, we’re leaving high school. We’ll only revisit it in my dreams from now on. I promise….

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Grace Notes, Part 2

Jason Locke

I am glad you’re still here. Come, sit down with me. We’re in my English class. Spring 1994 is the pre-Axe-Body Spray era, if you’re…

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Grace Notes, Part 1

Jason Locke

This is a story of grace, not of sadness. I’m saying that because it won’t feel like that. Not initially. I’m just going to take…

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Claire Gallagher

The Good There’s so much to love about writing – the excitement of that initial spark of an idea; the stimulation of the challenge to…

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10. As Time Goes By

Eva Ulian

I’ve discovered a number of things to do with cloth serviettes which in today’s age we seldom use. Personally, I don’t use them anymore because…

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Be True to Yourself

Robinne Weiss

I recently participated in ALLi’s SelfPubCon, which focused on the business side of writing. There were sessions on using social media, monetising YouTube, website design,…

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“Take What Resonates, Toss The Rest”

Claire Gallagher

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…

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Hurricanity

Jason Locke

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…

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Creativity: A Risky Behaviour

Rachel McCarron

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…

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River Cruise down the Danube in Eastern Europe!

James Charles

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…

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9. SEPTEMBER MUSINGS

Eva Ulian

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…

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My Friend Is An Adventurous Snail

Peter Cox

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?…

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AI – The ‘Loom’ Of Our Time

Jake Joy

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…

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In Other Words…

Claire Gallagher

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…

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The Seven Deadly (Writers’) Sins…

Peter Cox

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…

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About It All Again

Michael James Treacy

     Thinking back to December 1973… a village called Oberjoch (over the hill) in the Bavarian Alps. Six feet of snow! I was learning…

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Shrek – a Masterclass In Writing Character

Jake Joy

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…

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