sparking ideas 1


The Frank James Hospital, East Cowes. Deserted and derelict now, it's an atmospheric old buiding.

Photo is author's own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ghost in the machine

I've recently had an intriguing idea for a story. Great. But it's plaguing me, not so great. I'm trying to focus on finishing my current story (editing, editing, always editing) and this new one keeps jumping up and down in front of me like an annoying six year old child on a sugar high. I've made notes on 'new one' as thoughts, arcs, characters occur to me. I jot it all down as it comes to me but it's not enough to keep it quiet. 'New one' is greedy for my time and attention. I really shouldn't moan about inspiration and ideas tumbling out but they are rather distracting when they aren't about the story I'm currently working on. And  I'm loathe to turn my back on 'new one' too completely in case it's no longer there when I turn back to it at a later date. These things can vanish in a blink, as I'm sure you know, they are as ephemeral as a ghost.
Read more

the font of all knowledge

Comic Sans to the rescue - be gone writer’s block. I read a post on FB, from a writer, saying that she'd discovered a really helpful tip for anyone suffering from writer's block: change the font you usually write in, preferably to Comic Sans, and the problem will almost magically evaporate, as if that particular font has some kind of healing power for the suffering wordsmith. She wrote, quite lovingly, about the soft, rounded quality of the letters, and how this helped to stimulate creative thoughts. Quite frankly, I was sold. Also, as soon as she posted this revelation, other writer's who had discovered the same (or a similar) trick, weighed into the conversation saying that it actually didn't matter which font you chose, because the mere fact of switching up the font, almost always had the desired affect of shaking loose a stream of words/sentences/plot twists and other desirable weapons in the war against the blank page. Changing the colour of the font was a popular ...
Read more

the swan of avon*

Image
In the latest instalment of my 'Visit Famous Writers' Homes - in the hopes that some magic writing dust will fall onto my shoulders', I took a trip to Shakespeare's Birth Place.   After my summer outings to Virginia Woolf's home, Monk's House, and Vita Sackville-West's stately pile at Sissinghurst, I finally ticked Stratford Upon Avon, birth place and life long home to William Shakespeare, off my bucket list. I mean, if you want to sweet-talk the writing muse then you really have to visit the stomping ground of the OG and Godfather of writing, don't you? I thought Stratford Upon Avon was a complete delight. From the narrow cobbled streets, flanked with Tudor buildings, to the large open grassy areas full of broadleaved trees, beside the slow running River Avon, there is something of interest around every corner. The huge theatre that is home to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Bronze statues of Lady Macbeth, King Hal, and Hamlet. Buskers quoting The Bard...
Read more