Business Writing Magic
Many people tell me they have big problems writing for their business. They know all the stuff they’re supposed to do to promote their products and services: email marketing, newsletters, articles, tweets… But they don’t know where to start. They get stuck. Their brilliant ideas go down like a lead balloon on the page. How […]
Picasso and You
Do you believe that talent is innate? That when talented people sit down to write or paint or play music, it just flows out effortlessly into amazing art? But when you sit down to write, it’s like wading through treacle in ski boots– and that’s on good days. So you obviously have no talent, you’re […]
Write What You Know?
Write what you know. But don’t take that too literally. Maybe you don’t know what it feels like to be shot or wounded. Do as actors do: think back to a situation of pain that you did experience. I always remember Meg Ryan saying in an interview, about playing a soldier, that she felt back […]
Writing: The Three Keys
Passion – Perseverance – Patience Passion drives the story and sweeps the reader along. Your passion for your subject, your story, your characters in some mysterious way leaves its energy imprint in the words on the page, and your reader will feel it and will care. Perseverance means using your writing craft tools until you’ve […]
Paradisiac Pink Power
I gasped as I eased the bottle of shower gel from its wrapping (a gift from a friend over from the UK). I was drooling before I even got the bottle open to sniff it. That’s the power of a name – of words. Always having used shower gels from the local supermarket or high […]
The Colours and The Shapes
Ever since I was a depressed, angst-ridden teenager in Manchester, I’ve zoned out / self-soothed / chilled out by wandering round shops. So when I read about the wonderful Artist’s Date tool in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, I thought: I already do that. Costume jewellery and art supplies, fabric departments and toy shops, tropical […]
Why I Failed Ancient History
“Cicero,” declared my grammar school classics teacher, “was an old windbag.” And that’s when it all came alive. I was a straight A student – Latin, Greek and Ancient History. What most people don’t know is that I failed my Ancient History exams at Cambridge. I’d never been that good at history, which wasn’t helped […]
Creative Writing Magic
Creative Writing Magic: a fun and festive introductory workshop in central Barcelona. Spark the magic with simple but powerful creativity and writing tools. Click here for more information.
The Three Little Pigs
When my mum came to pick me up after my scary first morning at primary school, I pretended I had not left a puddle on the brown polished wood floor of the classroom. If I pretended it wasn’t there, no one would see it. But childen’s magic doesn’t work for grownups.
Jam Tarts
When we talk about books, reading and writing, my mum always remembers an episode from one of those wonderful novels by H.E. Bates (probably The Darling Buds of May) where Ma Larkin makes jam tarts.