It’s what you’re told, time and time again, when you’re thinking about getting into writing as more than just a pipe dream. You have to write every day. It needs to be a habit, a compulsion. The challenge, of course, is creating the habit. Frankly, when it comes to this sort of thing, I have …
She found Mercury lurking outside, still sulking, when she left the house. At her querying look he grumpily admitted he'd been charged to see her safely back to work after the appointment. Calypso sighed, "For a bunch of people who are so adamant about my being independent, they're awfully protective." "It wasn't the Fates, Athena …
It was a relief to see lights and buildings after the hours of nothing but trees. On the other hand, buildings meant people and she was in no state to meet anyone. Liam's family lived elsewhere, she knew that much from the day's conversation. Tonight she would be meeting the senior forester, John, and his …
I’ve been noting books and bookmarking online courses around writing and storytelling for a while now, and, given the current situation, I may even get through some of them. One I’ve already made a good start on, because it’s brilliant, is the Pixar in a Box course on Storytelling, provided free by the Khan Academy. …
Sophia exhaled, "Well the dress certainly worked on him, and I recognise him, he was frequently on duty when I was taking classes. I'm not sure I want to spend the next however long hearing people lament over 'poor Lady Sophia'. I sound like an invalid." "Sophie, you've always been popular with the castle staff, …
Millie was the daughter of a witch and, being nearly twelve, was about to embark on her own apprenticeship towards witch-hood. Her mother was a careful and caring women with a penchant for potions. She liked the certainty and science behind the measuring and mixing, the predictable application of her practical magic. Millie's magic was …
I’m reading Dan Pink’s book on the power of timing at the moment. Who’d have thought it would be a brilliant source of writing advice? This is a long quote, but it’s one I need to keep well to hand as it’s inspirational as well as a handy reminder of the ways of humans: “…at …
The two-night journey proved to be an exercise in tension and stretched nerves. Leaving Nora's cottage locked, bolted and barred, they moved through the forest as quickly as good sense would allow. Hampered by his bundle but unwilling to give it up to others, Alec reluctantly rode in the middle of the group, next to …
Her one light was Circe but even that interaction was restricted by their respective work commitments. One random Tuesday with nothing in particular to recommend it suddenly took a turn for the strange when Mercury bounded through the main doors of the building. This wasn't a particularly remarkable occurrence, he had a habit of floating …
You can never fully understand something until you've done it. I've always known writing to be hard, time consuming and just all-round challenging. It hasn't been until I've been up to my eyeballs in fiction writing for the best part of a year that I've really started to understand just how hard. I can't settle …
The DNA of Stories 