Many years ago, Becky was a sweet teenager in my class. When she left school, I didn’t see her, but over the years, we’ve connected over Facebook. When I read that Becky had a brain tumour and, after surgery, subsequently suffered a debilitating stroke, I was heartbroken. After a routine scan last year, it was […]
‘Would you like a digestif? Limoncello? It’s on the house.’ The waiter, dressed impossibly tight, black jeans, white-tight t-shirt, thick leather belt, ankles bare above leather loafers, hipster beard, sculpted hair—you get the picture—tilts his head and we shrug a why not? ‘ Si. Grazie. We would love limoncello.’ I sighed. How perfect. The sky […]
The Music of Life: Writing in Italy The pop of a cork from a Prosecco bottle. Soft, murmuring Italian voices. Cucina. Mangiare. Si Grazie. Bene. Words, food, sharing, friendship in a bookshop café in Florence. My friend and I sit and write. An iced café, served in an Italian wine glass, invites us to sip […]
There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Shauna Niequist I call myself a writer, but I haven’t written anything in the last two weeks. Travelling in Italy has been distracting to say the least, but that’s not the real issue. I don’t […]
It was 9am on the 26th of February 2010. I sat down at the kitchen table with a coffee and my notebook. I had an idea—an idea that I wanted to write a novel. I’d met a character in my early morning dreamtime. I pictured her. I heard her voice. I imagined what would happen […]
To create art, you need building materials. Not just physical materials like canvas, film, or banjos. First, you need an internal supply of building materials like vision, determination, and inspiration. Products of the soul. Michael Gungor I’m re-reading Stephen King’s book On Writing and what’s striking me as interesting is the way he writes about how […]
100 Day Creative Challenge Day 89: The Three C’s Number One: Craft The creative life requires the ‘Three C’s’ — Craft, Community and Conversation. Writing is a solitary pursuit. We sit and tap away on our laptops for hours—alone with our thoughts. We go off on amazing adventures and spend time with created characters—in isolation. […]
On the worst day of writing, the work is instructive. On the best day, the act is transcendent. Chuck Wendig My best day ever of writing was on the 8th of October, 2010 at Le Fontanelle near Siena in Italy. I sat on a lounger overlooking the Tuscan landscape. The sun shone on the vines and […]
100 Day Creative Challenge Day 78: One Wild and Precious Life When I was four I wanted to be a teacher. When I was ten I wanted to be a writer. When I was fourteen I wanted to go to Norway. When I was seventeen I had no idea of what I wanted to be […]
