If you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo, then it stands for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write 50,000 words of a novel in during the month of November. If that seems insane, then you can set your own goal. I’ve only ever attempted it once, and even then it was a pretty half-hearted […]
I was recently asked by a young writer for tips for character development, so this blog post is for her (you know who you are 🙂 ). When you meet someone, how do you get to know them? How do you learn whether you have anything in common, whether they are going to be a […]
I recently read an interesting article about the way that constantly taking photographs “diminishes our ability to recall our experiences, diverts our attention, and takes us out of the moment” but that “at the same time, new research suggests that cameras can also be used to enhance our memories of certain experiences”. I guess, for […]
How does your mind make creative connections? I find mine often does so in seemingly randomly and unexpected ways. But only when I give it space do so, such as when I’m walking or on long car trips. This is a different aspect of the creative process from the need to stop procrastinating and “just […]
Although I’ve developed a fairly consistent habit of turning up to the page each morning (or at least most of them), thanks to Julia Cameron’s idea of morning pages (three pages, longhand, daily), I still find myself procrastinating instead of just getting on with it. It got to the point where it was getting rather […]
If conflict is an essential ingredient of a gripping narrative, is there a place for joy? What does it mean to experience joy anyway? How is it different to happiness? And how do we find it in the midst of life’s challenges? Whether you wish to reflect on your own life’s experiences or are developing […]