I had to answer this question a few days ago. I was on my way out of a creative writing workshop I'd opportunistically attended, one of a series that formed part of the 'Aye Write' book festival in Glasgow (there can be no better name for a Glasgow-based literary festival). Despite my usual resolution before… Continue reading Am I Actually A Writer?
Category: Creative Living
My Northern Soul
This morning's rainy-season school run was under overcast skies, and the big drops started falling just in time for clambering out of the car. But I was having a happy moment. The heavy daylight gloom made it easy to see into lit shops, offices and apartments. The usual bright skies mean that interiors become dark… Continue reading My Northern Soul
Recreating Missé – Part Two
It's a mere 5 months since I wrote Recreating Missé - Part One, and I'm sure both of you who read it have been on tenterhooks...or more likely you dismissed me as a two-post wonder and moved on. When I wrote that post, full of inspiration and plans, I knew nevertheless that it was about to… Continue reading Recreating Missé – Part Two
Congo Sketch – Waiting Room
The clinic's always busy on a Monday morning, the maladies of the weekend being called to order as the doors open. Patients sit, patiently, on long wooden benches set in schoolroom rows. Like the GP waiting room I remember from my childhood, where eyes were all raised expectantly to the number display. (I remember that waiting… Continue reading Congo Sketch – Waiting Room
Recreating Missé – Part One
Welcoming retreat There was so much I hadn't expected from 'A Writer Begins' with Circle of Missé. I didn't expect this retreat to feel as if I was being welcomed as a house guest of the family, while simultaneously having the impression of a boutique hotel where every little need was anticipated. I didn't… Continue reading Recreating Missé – Part One
When even the journey is a holiday…
I'm on a TGV on my way to a very special holiday - a residential writing course in the Loire Valley. It's been a few months since the shift in perspective that I managed to think my way into, when I realised that when it comes to the question, 'If you could do anything you… Continue reading When even the journey is a holiday…