charles barrow's writing

February is nearly done and dusted, and it's been a busy month for me. I have been doing a lot of editing, re-writing of At Day's End, Book 3 and I'm pleased with the way that's going but my self imposed deadline is looming and I'm getting a bit panicky under the collar. Is it possible to get panicky under the collar? If so, I am. But my February mind has also been full of other distractions, inspiring stuff that has been sparking my imagination; the song Human by Rag 'n' Bone Man for one. I was in a cafe with a friend and this began playing on a music show on the TV in the corner of the room and our conversation just stopped. We just stopped talking to listen. It's so rare that a piece of music, a voice can do that for me nowadays but this song had that ability. It's been playing on repeat at home ever since. Amazing. A book title caught my eye; The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. What a great title. I believe it's a crim...

You know when you know what a word means but are sometimes at a loss to explain it? Well that was the case with 'Epilogue' and I today. The online dictionary I just checked says that it's the concluding part added to a literary work, but it also says that it's a speech delivered by one of the actors after the conclusion of a play. Now, those seem to be slightly different things; a conclusion in a novel, but another piece after the conclusion of a play. Perhaps it's possible that it is both. Either way, I've been considering an epilogue for John Mann - At Day's End. Now obviously if I include one it would have to serve a solid purpose like finish the story, add depth or colour, or look to a new beginning. I actually visualised an epilogue right back at the beginning of the writing of this story but then lost enthusiasm for the idea. And then recently I went out on a day trip and saw a telegraph pole with some coding carved into it (see picture below) and ...