Find it difficult to read at night so keep a notebook and pen by the bed - sods law - ideas strike just as I’ve got comfortable. But I do keep a selection of books - either reference (see photo) or books I can read short sections of without losing the plot. Have a great one at the moment; Douglas Coupland’s The Gum Thief...[more]

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Googling analogies. 17200 results in search of a simile for hissing like… something less cliched than snakes. Found some interesting comparisons.

Hissing like:

Liberals / a cat / a banshee / an ex-wife / a rabid dog / a mother / a can of spray paint / a bad connection / hedgehogs / a live wire / angry goose / deflating inner tube / soil leaking through a coffin lid / a gas leak / a wild man / a bewildered orchestra / a steam valve / ...

[more]

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I posted this image [see full post] on my page at Six Sentences but thought I’d post it here as well. One person said she’d found it inspiring and asked if I minded if she used it as starting point for a poem. It makes me happy if people want to use my work as visual inspiration [more ...]

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My poem, A Lapse in Concentration is now online at The Pygmy Giant.[link ...]

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Joined Twitter as a research exercise. Initially I wanted to see how Stephen Fry used it, then I started searching for other people - comedians, journalists and writers - to find out who was using it primarily for microblogging (the reason I’m interested in it) rather than as a (purely) promotional tool. Mr Fry’s Twitter is excellent, Alan Carr’s - good too. Am also following Six Sentences (with links to the latest fiction posts). I like the idea of being restricted to 140 characters per update. If you know any writers who use it, let me know. [more ...]

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Was wondering what to do when someone tagged me with 25 Random Things, so I’ll post them here too:

1: I’m an idealist
2: A humanist too
3: I’d rather work for nothing doing something worthwhile than have a job
4: I can cook pretty pretty well (when I want to)
5: I have an honours degree in graphic design
6: I love writing
7: I have an individualistic view on life
8: I have a very musical ear
9: I travelled behind the Iron Curtain when there was one

[more]

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What can you say in six sentences?
To see what I said:

Read DING! on 6S Express [link]

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Real life = overload at the moment. Consequently, creative circuitry has been disrupted. Feel like a three pin plug in a two pin socket.[more ...]

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Here’s an image that took me by surprise - never seen gold bin bags before - or since. I took the photo in the summer so it’s not a Christmas thing, but it got me thinking … if it does the same to you, I’d love you to share …

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As I scour my subconscious and memory for inspiration, I come across subjects or experiences I’d like to draw on but can’t. I need to detach myself to the point where I can turn them into fiction, but as yet I don’t have the nerves of steel required to do this.

How do other writers deal creatively with the (metaphorical) loaded gun? [more ...]

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