Fate
On 29th May 1648 King Charles I of England was caught trying to saw through the bars of his prison cell in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. How might events have changed if he had not been caught? Fate decreed that he was. In the timeline of The Favourite...
Shaken not Stirred
How does James Bond like his martini? My recollection is that his preference is a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. But how much of that recollection is from the books, from the films, or from the popular conceptions surrounding both? I’ve recently reread Casino...
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The proverb practice makes perfect has in my mind been superseded by practice makes progress, which the Strictly star dancer Katya Jones uses.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...
Fate
On 29th May 1648 King Charles I of England was caught trying to saw through the bars of his prison cell in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. How might events have changed if he had not been caught? Fate decreed that he was. In the timeline of The Favourite...
Shaken not Stirred
How does James Bond like his martini? My recollection is that his preference is a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. But how much of that recollection is from the books, from the films, or from the popular conceptions surrounding both? I’ve recently reread Casino...
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...