Much like a paddling duck, writing things are happening, but the effort is mainly invisible, below the surface, or not very exciting, but again, like a duck, I am slowly getting somewhere. Firstly, I have just had an article published on the blog of global publishing platform Submittable about the craft of writing flash novellas. … Continue reading Calloo, callay, publishing day
Notes on Writing Related Stuff
Writing things in motion
This is a quick note to mention writing things are in motion. I have an article for the Submittable blog coming out this week, and a tiny morsel of flash fiction has been accepted for publication in issue 20 of Speculative 66 which is out the week after. These events are very welcome. These are … Continue reading Writing things in motion
Feeling the love
Valentine's Day has never been a significant date, except as a historical curiosity featuring long dead martyrs. I'm not going all woe is me either: if your beloved requires a commercialised saint's day as a reminder to up the romance, your romance might be a bit past revivification. Or not. I am definitely not an … Continue reading Feeling the love
Sisyphean writing update
Over December and January I properly perused my flash fiction file, collated a bunch of little narratives, then re-edited the lot as one document. Then I found a couple of opportunities and frantically tried to shape this cobbled together thing into a flash novella. Before sending it off, it needed something extra, so I tore … Continue reading Sisyphean writing update
Review relief
Last year (2018) was personally and professionally challenging in a variety of un-fun ways. The things I expected to be doing I didn't get to do, while other things happened that I never imagined would. Then again, in terms of creative writing, I believe I produced some of my best flash fiction so far, however, … Continue reading Review relief
Refinding my words
One of my friends asked me towards the end of last year to find my words, if I could, and use them for solace, and sense and wonder. It turns out I couldn't and for that I'm sorry. Amongst other things, I am full of other people's words and stories and books and ideas. They … Continue reading Refinding my words
Doctor Who: End Times
Hey there. These are my considered thoughts for the New Year's episode of Doctor Who, Resolution and some comments on the entire series. The emotional arc featuring the resolution between father and son was satisfying in an unexpectedly welcome way. I almost wish there was more to it than Graeme's clever and sensitive chats. In … Continue reading Doctor Who: End Times
What the hell am I doing here
A few months a discussion in a University of Iowa writing MOOC caught my attention. I didn’t contribute, because I was late to the exchange, and anyway, I felt a bit like an anthropologist, observing people around the world express their ideas about what they were learning. This particular discussion was about how cultures might … Continue reading What the hell am I doing here
Review: A Star Explodes
I saw Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper's A Star is Born. I have many feelings. My friend thought we were seeing a 2018 version of Almost Famous. I imagined something about a musical. We were wrong. There are spoilers. So stop here. Firstly, the singing performances are everything. They soar. Obviously Lady Gaga can sing, but she is … Continue reading Review: A Star Explodes
Something old is renewed
You can never experience your own writing in the same way readers can. Writers know their own story, are often unaware of their usual or unusual foibles, and read what they want imagined, not what they put on the page. So they see the wood for the trees. Unless you write something and completely forget … Continue reading Something old is renewed
