“A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.” – Willy Wonka This quote is, of course, taken from Roald Dahl’s immortal children’s tale, Charlie and the great glass elevator*. I re-read this story recently (yes, I still read childrens’ books) and the above phrase leapt out at me. Perhaps it is […]
General writing
Tips and skills in writing generally
Lessons from Winnie-the-Pooh
“Poetry and hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you.” Winnie-the-Pooh (from The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne). For a Bear of Very Little Brain, Pooh shows remarkable insight into the world of creativity. Sometimes we writers […]
The Worry Bank
I’ve been really worried lately. You name it, I’ve been worried about it. Health, work, family, even sleep – which, ironically, stops me from sleeping. I’ve been worried about it all. And I’ve made an important discovery: worry gets me absolutely nowhere. It’s tricky, isn’t it? I know that God is in control. I […]
Under Pressure
Gagh. I’ve been trying to figure out what to write this week. There are many voices in my head clamouring for attention, telling me to write about this or that. I can’t see my way clear. It’s only when I go and sit on the toilet (inspirational, right?) that I realise what my problem is. […]
Adopt-A-Book
“Write a book, they said. It’ll be easy, they said.” – Jeff Goins, Author. The concept of writing a book is a notable and noble-sounding goal. It holds the promise of notoriety, publicity and personal reward, with the act of publication held high as a sort of monumental achievement. But there’s another, less-often discussed side […]
It Takes a Village
It’s funny how people talk to you once you have a book published. Since the launch of Surviving Singledom I’ve had people approach and tell me of the book they want to write, asking for my advice. Suddenly I’m a mentor to a whole bunch of aspiring writers, even though I feel I’ve just begun […]
A Story of Self-Publishing
I was recently asked, “What prompted you to turn your story of prolonged singleness into a book?” I thought this was a good question, as many of us experience lengthy periods of singleness or “late” marriage (relative to Christian early marriage) but not many of us write books about it. The answer is that I […]
Behind the Book
I was asked recently, “What inspired you to write a book about your singleness experience?” In my somewhat descriptive answer I told of how God used a shopping trip to spark the beginning of my writing journey. Today I will share part of that story with you. Come back with me to a time 7 […]
Write Your Passion
Writer Red Smith famously penned, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” Although our modern world has moved on from typewriter times, I believe that the art of writing has not varied in its inherent nature. I used to write a diary. During my emotional […]
The Power of Meandering
“The first sentence of every novel should be: ‘Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.’ Meander if you want to get to town.” – Michael Ondaatje. This well-known quote from Ondaatje’s novel In the Skin of a Lion speaks not only to the style of writing that […]