Thoughts about things I’ve written or read or heard or seen. An attempt to stay positive in a turbulent world.
Recent Articles
CORNFLOWER Book Group
The Cornflower Book Group is discussing Speaking of Love, so if you’d like to join in the discussion, hop on over there, here.I’d like to hear what you think does work as well as what you think doesn’t work, and if you’ve got any questions ask me them there, in the comments, and I’ll reply...Continue reading→
I have been Normed
Here. It is a wonderful thing that normblog does, this norming thing of a Friday. The similarities and the differences between, for instance, why a person would tell a lie (often to save a life) and which songs and poems people love – when they can only choose one – make interesting and sometimes hilarious...Continue reading→
The Convergence of the Twain
It is strange what research throws up when you let yourself follow a curving line, isn’t it? (I know, it could be called a MAT, but I don’t think it counts.) I was looking for information about icebergs, when this caught my eye and so I veered off course towards it. Hardy wrote it in...Continue reading→
In the blink of an eye
Jean-Dominique Bauby (Jean-Do to his friends) wrote a whole book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by the arduous process of one blink for each letter. In French it’s called La Scaphandre et le Papillon. (I tried to upload a video clip of the film – which the boyf and I saw last night –...Continue reading→
Writing yourself well
I’ve just read, over at the wonderful Stuck in a Book, that he’s just about to read Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. He has a treat in store. And that reminded me that Perkins Gilman also wrote about why she wrote The Yellow Wallpaper. You can read the full article here, but here’s an...Continue reading→
Prinknash (pr Prinnidge)
I am going here where these Benedictine monks live The reason I am going is that this was my great-grandmother’s childhood home (she of the biography I was going to write, now of the novel that I am about to begin). It’s called Prinknash (pr Prinnidge) and I’m going to meet the Abbot who will...Continue reading→
Procrastination
A friend of mine, a wonderful artist who works in all kinds of media (mediums?) told me about the Jerwood Moving image award winners. I highly recommend Johnny Kelly’s (which is called PROCRASTINATION). It’ll take you about 5 minutes to watch and it’s the perfect MAT. So perfect that I’ve just watched it twice …...Continue reading→
Old work, new work
While staring through the window and dreaming about my new novel (and doing some planning) I find images from my first novel stealing into my mind. I ask myself if that’s because I’m afraid of stepping into the new or afraid of letting go of the old? I also find weaknesses in the first. Just...Continue reading→
The CORNFLOWER Book Group
Yesterday, at the Cornflower Book Group, Speaking of Love came out of the hat to be read next. It’s the fifth volume to be read by Cornflower Book Group members and discussion will begin from 12 April on Cornflower’s blog. I’m looking forward to finding out what the Cornflower Book Group members feel and think...Continue reading→
Monet and painting, MATing and writing
Today MATing translates as ‘writing this before I begin to stare through the window’. Sometimes it takes much staring before I can write. This story knows what I mean: One day Monet was sitting on the bench in his garden at Giverny staring at the waterlily pond. His neighbour walked by, poked his nose over...Continue reading→
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