Finding creative focus during the Covid-19 lockdown has been tricky for many writers and creatives and I’m no exception. Like many of you, I’m working from home, following all the advice about social distancing and trying to stay motivated and sane in these scary times we’re currently living through. No news is good news . . . I’ve got to…
As writers and creatives, the problem is rarely ‘I have no ideas’. It’s usually quite the opposite and we get inundated with the damn things. So how do we know which one is ‘THE IDEA’, the one that has the legs, the depth and the originality to be worthy of our valuable time? It’s a topic that surfaced again for…
Today I’m talking about my recent struggle with self-doubt and what you should do when Writing gets you down. It’s been a while since we spoke, hasn’t it? Here we are sprinting toward the end of September and a quick check tells me that my last post was in December (an evergreen post that you can use again this year:…
Oh, you do book reviews now, eh? If you have even a passing acquaintance with this blog, you’ll know that I don’t really do book reviews, but do give the odd recommendation here and there and love to share the work of other book bloggers in the Book Blogger’s Corner segment of The Joined Up Writing Podcast. However, after receiving…
Another of my weekly updates on the progress of my debut crime novel, Safe Hands, about an ageing safe cracker forced out of retirement for the sake of his dying wife and a son that hates his guts. Last week was all about getting my productivity back on track but the theme for this week has been trying to keep…
This is one of my weekly updates on the progress of my debut crime novel, Safe Hands, about an ageing safe cracker forced out of retirement for the sake of his dying wife and a son that hates his guts. In last week’s post I laid out the reasons for my poor writing performance (lack of planning) along with some…
This is the latest of my weekly updates on the redrafting of what will be my debut novel, ‘Safe Hands’. You can find the story so far in this previous post. This week was all about revising my opening chapter. Like many of you reading this, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about whether my book now starts in…
Hosting a podcast is changing my writing life. I know, I know. We’ve been here before. Me talking all excited and motivated. Telling you about how I’ll be blogging every week. But this time I mean it. Honest. Wipe that smirk off your face and get with the programme, will you? I’m trying to be serious here. Joking aside, for…
Podcasts – what are they? Podcasts are episodic, usually themed, audio content that you can listen to on the web or subscribe to using iTunes or on your smartphone. They’re almost always free and come in a variety of styles from Audio Drama, How-To Shows and Lifestyle, to Science, Comedy, Music, Current Affairs and True Crime. Anyone who knows me,…
Podcasts are a great way to multi-task – getting advice on writing from shows like Writing Excuses, listening to the musings of comedians like Bill Burr or getting hooked on true crime stories like the brilliant Serial. I’ve been listening to podcasts for several years and as of last December, I’ve even begun to produce my own show, Joined…