Occam’s Razor
It’s a while since I did an “on this day” style post, so here goes. On the 26th of May 1328 William of Ockham was forced to flee Avignon by Pope John XXII. William of Ockham, or Occam, is probably best known for his philosophical principle, Occam’s Razor. Entia non...
Dementia
It’s a terrible shock to discover someone you love has dementia. It doesn’t arrive with a herald of trumpets, it sneaks up unannounced. Not long after my father died in 1999, I took my mother to a hospital appointment for her eyes. I was shocked that she couldn’t read...
Barbecue
As I write I’m watching the Hairy Bikers Route 66 road trip. There’s a barbecue competition taking place between two teams of firemen. Naturally, as a writer I’m interested in words, so I looked up barbecue. It comes from barbacoa the Arawak for a raised wooden...
Historical Fiction
I mentioned in my post Practice Makes Progress that I will be on a panel at the Dartmouth Book Festival. I will be on the historical fiction panel with Tim Pears, an award winning writer, who has had an amazingly diverse career. I’m one chapter into his book The...
Step by Step
My last post was practice makes progress. Today’s is of a similar nature. Some goals seem unachievable, when viewed from a distance. Writing a book is a daunting task. But if you write five hundred words a day, let’s say four days a week, then in just under a year you...
Practice Makes Progress
The proverb practice makes perfect has in my mind been superseded by practice makes progress, which the Strictly star dancer Katya Jones uses. It’s just more accurate. However much time I spend at the driving range, my golf is never going to be perfect, but it is...
Sharing Work
I mentioned in my last post on chess that this month’s talk in my writing circle was on sharing work. It started with a discussion on how nervous we felt about sharing our work. Most of our writers seemed very nervous about sharing work. Their reasons ranged from...
Chess
When I’m not writing the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, marketing, or attending to chores, I amuse myself in a number of ways. Golf, sailing, dancing, and walking are my active pursuits. Wordle and Sudoku are ways to limber up the mind, and I’ve also recently been...
Words in Conflict
Conflict is central to creative writing, as of course, are words. I can’t remember why I looked the word liege up this morning. I think it was something I heard on the radio. I already knew perfectly well what it meant. It means lord or master, as in my liege. Except...
Occam’s Razor
It’s a while since I did an “on this day” style post, so here goes. On the 26th of May 1328 William of Ockham was forced to flee Avignon by Pope John XXII. William of Ockham, or Occam, is probably best known for his philosophical principle, Occam’s Razor. Entia non...
Dementia
It’s a terrible shock to discover someone you love has dementia. It doesn’t arrive with a herald of trumpets, it sneaks up unannounced. Not long after my father died in 1999, I took my mother to a hospital appointment for her eyes. I was shocked that she couldn’t read...
Barbecue
As I write I’m watching the Hairy Bikers Route 66 road trip. There’s a barbecue competition taking place between two teams of firemen. Naturally, as a writer I’m interested in words, so I looked up barbecue. It comes from barbacoa the Arawak for a raised wooden...
Historical Fiction
I mentioned in my post Practice Makes Progress that I will be on a panel at the Dartmouth Book Festival. I will be on the historical fiction panel with Tim Pears, an award winning writer, who has had an amazingly diverse career. I’m one chapter into his book The...
Step by Step
My last post was practice makes progress. Today’s is of a similar nature. Some goals seem unachievable, when viewed from a distance. Writing a book is a daunting task. But if you write five hundred words a day, let’s say four days a week, then in just under a year you...
Practice Makes Progress
The proverb practice makes perfect has in my mind been superseded by practice makes progress, which the Strictly star dancer Katya Jones uses. It’s just more accurate. However much time I spend at the driving range, my golf is never going to be perfect, but it is...
Sharing Work
I mentioned in my last post on chess that this month’s talk in my writing circle was on sharing work. It started with a discussion on how nervous we felt about sharing our work. Most of our writers seemed very nervous about sharing work. Their reasons ranged from...
Chess
When I’m not writing the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, marketing, or attending to chores, I amuse myself in a number of ways. Golf, sailing, dancing, and walking are my active pursuits. Wordle and Sudoku are ways to limber up the mind, and I’ve also recently been...
Words in Conflict
Conflict is central to creative writing, as of course, are words. I can’t remember why I looked the word liege up this morning. I think it was something I heard on the radio. I already knew perfectly well what it meant. It means lord or master, as in my liege. Except...