Normal Service Will Resume…

…but at the moment I’m hidden away in a remote spot without access to the internet – yes, such places still exist and the breathtakingly lovely Helford Estuary in southernmost Cornwall is one of them. It’s an inspiring place in which to think...

Tales from the River Bank # 1

I’m sitting overlooking an almost medieval mooring at the confluence of the rivers Saone and Doubs. I’ve spent the morning feeding the tiniest, new-hatched ducklings yesterday’s bread, then some of today’s because they were hungry. I’ve...

Expectation is All – Or is It??

It’s weird how expectations influence your experience of something.  Last week I went to see the South Downs/Browning Version double bill at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, partly because Nicholas Farrell, whom I hugely admire, received rave notices...

Why Characters Should (Sometimes) Keep Their Own Counsel

Still on the theme of creative spaces, or more particularly, how you can fashion spaces in stories which both you and the reader can use creatively, having glanced at characterisation yesterday, today’s small and imperfectly formed thought concerns...
What To Leave Out?

What To Leave Out?

I think I’ve mentioned elsewhere in my blog (several times — avoid repetition, Ed) that I’m interested in the gaps and spaces in a creative work; in what is alluded to, rather than what is spelt out.  This is particularly true when it comes to...