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Her Beautiful Smile
Abandoned in a shopping bag in a public toilet . loneliness beyond comprehension. . Profoundly disabled . physically...
Self-esteem and stuff I’ve learned about it
Nearly forty years ago I was taken to a self-development workshop by a new boyfriend (and yes, I...
Be my, be my Beta.
I really need to spend less time on X. Once again, I’ve stumbled upon a heated discussion on...
The Writer’s Zodiac: Taurus the Bull
We have entered Taurus season 2025. Taurus (from the Latin for Bull) is a fixed earth sign; the...
The Power of Questions
How can questions drive plot? Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned. Un-put-downable books utilise these types...
The Untidy Desk
In an effort to repossess the poet’s soul I sold to Reality thirty years ago, I decided to...
Character
Character arc/emotional journey/B plot – whatever you call it, it’s vital that you have one. But what does...
One Day in April
Thinking back to 2022… a quartet of grandchildren: Jack (nine years), Jacob (eight years), James (six...
Plotting
I’ve watched some great webinars on plotting recently and I thought I’d compile what I’ve learned, as much...
Everything Has Changed
Monday January 11th, 2016. I awoke to a text from Becky. Becky: You okay, Sal? Sarah: Yep. Why?...
Future Abstract: Crisp and Squish
SATIRE ALERT: This Future Abstract is entirely fictional and should not be taken as actual scientific research. No...
Research
I tend not to write novels that require a lot of research (regular readers will be aware that...
Elon Musk: The Genie or the Janitor of the Galaxy?
Spring 1995. The Quad. University of Pennsylvania. The monthly meeting of Resident Advisors in the Quad Freshmen dorm...
The Writer’s Zodiac: Aries, Stories of The Fiery Sky Ram
Meteorological spring began on March 1, but astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and astronomical autumn/Fall in the...
Why Mother, Why Father
Last year I made a short film. As a screenwriter with a drawer full of unproduced scripts I...
You Don’t Know Me
On The Honest Authors’ podcast, Gillian McAllister once mentioned that she was asked, “Do you really think that?”...
Merlin
A carved wooden statue of Merlin stands in Carmarthen town centre. A mythical Celtic shaman, he was a...
Everything Is Going to Be Alright
It’s been a pretty bad week for me. It started last Monday when I took my mum for...
