Mrs Finnegan’s Almanac – Beware of treacherous fruit
One sip ROBBED me of speech, turned my mouth into a desert and left the DISTINCT impression that my teeth were covered in fur…
Bringing a Setting to Life – Don Maass QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Powerfully portrayed settings seem to have a life of their own, but how is that effect achieved? Make your setting a character is a common piece of advice given to … Continue reading
How to Breathe Life into a Science Report – Anna Farro Henderson QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Read this if you ever need to write a formal report and discover how passive verbs can drain it of life and make it less readable.
The Best New Library in the World
I LOVE THE SOUND of the Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez in Barcelona which has just won the Best New Library award for 2023. In the Exiample district – not far … Continue reading
Mrs Finnegan’s Almanac – Get a Thistle and Find A Husband
Mrs Finnegan, housekeeper at The Regency Town House in Brighton, author, almanac-ist, bookkeeper and wife, is today preoccupied with thistles,…
One Word at a Time – Matt Bell QUOTES FOR WRITERS
…. you may have to pretend that what you’re writing doesn’t matter, that it’s for you alone, that it’s not that important: not chapters, but scenes; not scenes, but scraps … Continue reading
A Chance to Write for BBC TV
The Open Call is the BBC’s once a year submission window. It opens at 12 noon Tuesday 7th November 2023 and closes at 12 noon Tuesday 5th December 2023. They … Continue reading
My Son the Poet…would Byron be rapping if he were alive today?
It may not be your kind of thing, but you might like to try by pressing Watch on You Tube . I’ll be honest and say it is going to … Continue reading
Historical Fiction Should Reflect the Things that Concern Us Today – Tim Weed QUOTES FOR WRITERS
As a reader of historical fiction, I’m looking for something bigger than a simple reconstruction of history. I’m looking to experience a new world, to enter a new and de-familiarized … Continue reading
Mrs Finnegan’s Brighton Almanac – the Perils of Hair Washing
Mrs Finnegan, Brighton’s Regency Housekeeper, advises on hair washing (Don’t!) and tells the story of poor St Rocco. Mrs F is making a personal appearance next Saturday do come and say Good Day!
We Make Sense of our Lives through Stories – Heather Webb QUOTES FOR WRITERS
History isn’t just a series of bygone eras, littered with a mélange of fascinating and horrific events and people. It’s a detailed map of who we are and what we … Continue reading
Historical Fiction – think of it as a painting rather than a faithful photograph – Hilary Mantel QUOTES FOR WRITERS
Hilary Mantel on what readers should expect from a historical novel “…you are buying a painting with the brush strokes left in…”
Writing the Past as if it was Now
Free writing workshop in Brighton September 2023. The setting: a glorious 200 year old house. The subject: the past (and that need not be as far away as you might think.)
Mrs Finnegan’s Brighton Almanac – How Needlework Solved a Murder Case
The housekeeper at The Regency Town House returns to reveal a dastardly murder in 1831 and a Saint who should be thoroughly ashamed of himself.
BRIDGET WHELAN writer 