Openings
It was like they weren’t there. This is the opening sentence of my novel The Breaking of Liam Glass. Why did I write the opening as I did and not in one of a million…
Psychology
What makes good writing great?
What sorts the Austens from the Dan Browns? The Truffauts from the Ed Woods? It’s not using clever words. It’s not making a political statement. It’s not even necessarily creating a dazzling plot. This is…
Are writing courses worth it?
The world seems to be full of courses offering to teach you how to write. I should know, I’ve attended some and taught many. This week, Jeff, fellow writer and follower of my email list…
Till the trumpets crack – going beyond
In the second movement of Beethoven’s masterful symphony the ‘Eroica’ the music takes the form of a funeral march, building to a dramatic climax where the two trumpets have to play an almost impossible phrase.…
Do you need your delusions?
Listeners who believe that the BBC is a hot-bed of pinko leftie elitists who want nothing more than to attack the right, might have felt vindicated if they’d turned on Radio 4 last November. At…
How to stop innocent people getting shot
In his fascinating book on our unconscious instincts, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell starts one chapter with the shooting of sidewalk peddler Amadou Diallo by New York police in 1999. Race was, of course, an element. But what…
What can we learn from the murder capital of Europe?
Just this week I heard from my neighbourhood network about yet another death from stabbing, close by in Islington. Knife crime in London reached an all-time high last year and 2019 seems to be going…
The Man Who Tasted Shapes by Richard E Cytowic
It began in a kitchen. Two men talking over a roast chicken. But one off-beat comment would lead to a decades-long scientific detective story. And a new view of what it means to be human.…
Keeping a New Year’s resolution in 9 easy steps
We all make them, but how many of last year’s resolutions are you still keeping today? Any? Here are nine tricks that I use to make keeping a New Year’s resolution much, much easier. 1.…
My UnChristmas Message
For the next two weeks, the Christmas religion of consumerism tells us everyone is supposed to achieve peak happiness. If we don’t, there’s surely something wrong with us. Time, perhaps, for an UnChristmas message instead……
Taking risks in the farmers’ market
How often do you find yourself taking risks? Recently, my wife and I visited a farmers’ market along with our younger son and his family. I don’t know about you, but I find these places…
6 (easy) ways to overcome procrastination
Do you want to overcome procrastination? We’re all good at putting things off. Of course, if we were that good at procrastination, you’d think we’d simply put off doing it. But somehow it doesn’t seem…
What was I when the cat needed letting in?
Before the cat needed letting in the front door, I was about to write about the fun of visiting good bookshops and literary festivals. Especially as my local bookshop – West End Lane Books –…
Don’t trust Jed Mercurio – he’s a crime writer
Have you been watching Jed Mercurio’s latest series, Bodyguard? Do you trust him? A review in a paper this week said, not to worry: the bodyguard himself is the star role and the star always…
The GOATS method for writing and editing
How to write powerful stories using the GOATS method. Great stories possess great power. Whether fiction, movies, TV or theatre, they have the power to move, to change people’s lives (and even to earn their…
The Boots Scribbling Diary
Every year, when I was between about nine and thirteen, I’d buy one. A Boots Scribbling Diary. On New Year’s Day, I’d open it up and gaze at the empty lined page, headed January 1st.…
Careful what words you use
Be careful what words you use. They say, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Really? Words have hurt people throughout history. Words can stir up hate, foment violence…
How to find new ideas? The blank page is your friend
Don’t know how to find new ideas? Your mind blank? We say we’re afraid of the blank page, but in fact the empty page is exactly what you need. As long as you start to…