All Blogposts

  • This time it’s my certificate stuck on the fridge!

    This time it’s my certificate stuck on the fridge!

    Much as I love it, our kitchen will never be featured in the Style supplement of any glossy magazine. Nor will our fridge ever slink down any runway in any fashion shoot. Purely functional, a handy place to store the milk, and a useful display point for shopping lists, reminders, photos and the occasional  postcard.… Read more

  • Introduction to Prose Poetry Seminar with Carrie Etter

    Introduction to Prose Poetry Seminar with Carrie Etter

    Had a brilliant time recently at Carrie Etter‘s Introduction to Prose Poetry Seminar at the Richard Jefferies Museum, Coate, Swindon.  What a fabulous setting for a writing event; atmospheric and quirky, with plenty of outside space to loiter in with a cup of tea and a notebook.  I’m really looking forward to attending more of… Read more

  • Giving a Poetry Reading

    I took part in a Poetry Event at Stafford Library on Tuesday evening so I thought I’d share my experience and thoughts about giving a poetry reading. I was given one of three 20 minute slots and the evening included the Prize Giving of the 2012 Stafford Poetry Competition, run by Staffordshire Libraries and supported by… Read more

  • Writing Flash-Fiction Workshop at Trowbridge Museum, 16th May, 2012

    Writing Flash-Fiction Workshop at Trowbridge Museum, 16th May, 2012

    This post outlines all the writing prompts and exercises used in my two-hour writing workshop.  You might find it useful if you run writing workshops yourself  (I have included all credits, where possible, so please acknowledge this blog if appropriate).  You might like to use the exercises as writing prompts for your own writing or,… Read more

  • ‘Jawbreakers’: Small and scrumptious sips of fiction

    ‘Jawbreakers’: Small and scrumptious sips of fiction

    In our age of sound-bites, pop-up shops, instant on-line publishing and short attention spans, it is entirely fitting that Calum Kerr has launched a national day to celebrate the art of the short, short-story, National Flash-Fiction Day, taking place on Wednesday, 16th May, 2012. From my first furry-tongued breath on New Year’s Day, and daily… Read more

  • Thanks to 1000words for publishing my flash-fiction, ‘Friday’

    Thanks to 1000words for publishing my flash-fiction, ‘Friday’

    Delighted to have a 200 word story on 1000words today.  1000words is a National Flash-Fiction day project managed by writer Natalie Bowers.  It features stories of 1000 words and under, inspired by Pinterest images. My story, ‘Friday’, is deeply autobiographical and entirely fictional. If you look closely at the Pinterest image which inspired my story,… Read more