David Bowie on why it’s important to be selfish QUOTES FOR WRITERS
All my big mistakes are when I try to second-guess or please an audience. My work is always stronger when I get very selfish about it.David Bowie Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
A saint, a sinner and a chemise…advice from the 1830s Agony Aunt
Mrs Finnegan’s Chronicles: the Celebrated Authority in affairs of the HEART and HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT is not leaving The Regency Town House in Brighton and Hove, a town rich in art and entertainment … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a creative writing exercise and your main character is drunk…
Write two versions of the same scene. The setting is a work place and the main character is someone who turns up very, very drunk. First version: write in the … Continue reading
When it comes to writing big emotions ‘show and tell’ isn’t enough…Donald Maass QUOTES FOR WRITERS
BIG EMOTIONS often fall flat on the page. Trying to evoke them through showing can fail to work any better. Tiptoeing down creaky stairs into a dark basement doesn’t necessarily … Continue reading
Written a short story on the theme of solitude?
Indy publishers Everything With Words are publishing a book of short stories in spring 2021 on the theme of solitude.Submissions should be between 2,000 and 6,000 words long. There is … Continue reading
Protect yourself from the sun and learn how to be the perfect housekeeper …dependable advice from the 1830s
Mrs Finnegan’s Chronicles: the Celebrated Authority in affairs of the HEART and HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT is staying alert at The Regency Town House in Brighton and Hove, a town patronised by Royalty and … Continue reading
START THE WEEK with a Creative Writing Exercise
A very straightforward creative writing exercise …all you have to do is write and keep on writing until you’ve managed to incorporate all the words on the scrabble board. To … Continue reading
It is all in the details – Stephen King QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it’s work. … Belief and reader absorption come in the details: An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand … Continue reading
These Are The Hands…if ever there was a book that spoke to our time this is it
These Are the Hands is a collection of poetry about the NHS written by NHS staff: doctors and nurses at all stages of their careers and the other vital – … Continue reading
Birthday Anguish and Weak Ankles…Sound advice and sober reflection from the 1830s
Mrs Finnegan’s Chronicles: the Celebrated Authority in affairs of the HEART and HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT staying alert at The Regency Town House in that South Coast pearl of a town, Brighton and Hove … Continue reading
How you know it’s a good book…Paul Sweeney QUOTES FOR WRITERS
You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.Paul Sweeney Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
Recipe for a perfect marriage and can women write? Should they…? Advice of thorough probity from the 1830s
Mrs Finnegan’s Chronicles: the Celebrated Authority in affairs of the HEART and HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT staying indoors at The Regency Town House in the most salubrious of towns, Brighton and Hove Now … Continue reading
Ready to make your messy inner self plain to see? Donald Maass on what storytellers have to do QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Protagonists and antagonists are fanatics. So are you. Is that scary? Sure, but own that side of yourself and you are less likely to shut it down. I mean who … Continue reading
Mix too much curry powder with a letter from the Mistress… Mrs Finnegan, the 1830s housekeeper extraordinaire isn’t feeling well
As we enter the month of May let us rejoice in everything it can give us. Even if the merry-making has to be rather solitary we can still look forward … Continue reading
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 