DID YOU KNOW that writing poetry can beat tranquillisers
A study conducted at the Bristol Royal Infirmary found that writing poetry can help with the emotional pain of bereavement and assist some to stop taking anti-depressants or tranquillisers. Of … Continue reading
DID YOU KNOW the offical new word for 2012 is…
OMNISHAMBLES. Chosen by the Oxford University Press. Created by Tony Roche – part of the brilliant writing team that produced the television political satire The Thick of It Copied by … Continue reading
WIN a copy of A GOOD CONFESSION result
Drum roll. Nervous shuffling of feet. It gives me great pleasure to announce….oh wait, apology first…so sorry for the delay in revealing who has won a hardback copy of A … Continue reading
MONDAY CREATIVE WRITING EXERCISE because it’s a good way to start the week: finding your own words
Edna O’ Brien writes prose as if she were a poet. It seems as though each word is carefully selected, chosen not just for its meaning but also for its … Continue reading
You have until midnight…
…to donate to the first print edition of the highly acclaimed creative writing and arts magazine WHAT THE DICKENS. If you become a backer you will get your own copy … Continue reading
Quotations for Writers (and people who like quotations) PHILIP PULLMAN
If we all read aloud every day the world would be a better place. Philip Pullman
15 literary genres (some you’ve heard of; some you haven’t and some that will surprise you…)
Robert McCrum in Monday’s Guardian published a list of 15 different modern literary genres. Not sure how far he was having fun, but even so some surprising omissions. 1. Lit … Continue reading
Happy World Hello Day
No, I didn’t know it existed either but it began in 1973 to promote peace between Egypt and Israel. There are now 180 countries involved in the attempt to foster … Continue reading
Beautiful Blogger – that’s me! Seven things you didn’t know you wanted to know
Vikki over at The View Outside nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger Award which was really nice of her – thank you so much! I’m new to all this but … Continue reading
DID YOU KNOW…
…that the creative industries in the UK contribute just 1% less to the gross national income than the financial sector. Source: Andrew Marr Radio Four Monday November 19th 2012
MONDAY CREATIVE WRITING EXERCISE because it’s a good way to start the week: using a writer’s notebook to create thumbnail sketches
First read this poem by the Polish poet Wislawa Szymorska THE ONE TWENTY PUB The bomb is primed to go off at one twenty. A time-check: one sixteen. There’s still … Continue reading
The book I really want to read: London Irish Fictions
Tony Murray has just brought out the first book-length study of the literature of the Irish in London. In LONDON IRISH FICTIONS he looks at over 30 Irish novels, short … Continue reading
Quotations for Writers (and people who like quotations) STEPHEN KING
I have never felt like I was creating anything. For me, writing is like walking through a desert and all at once, poking up through the hardpan, I see the … Continue reading
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 