Edgy and entertaining insights from the dangerously-talented writers in the Colony…explore at your pleasure
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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….
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…
7. Summer Reflections
The sun blazing down on this our fragile humanity enticing us to the cooling waters of the sea or the breezy shade of mountain trees….
My Favourite SFF Audio Books
There are debates about audio books vs paperback vs digital formats. This post is not about that. Although that would be an interesting post. But…
Good Writing
I recently wrote a blog post about bad writing in current media and decided that this month I would write about good writing instead. Bad…
1917-18 The Year of Hunger and “Farewell to Arms”
My neighbouring village in Northern Italy enacted the 1917- 18 Year. They called the event the “L’an de la Fan” which is a Veneto Region…
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