Blog Thoughts

Oh, my word, this blog has been horribly neglected this year! I've been working on Dragonheart, writing talks, my Moorlander column, the Circle of Spears audiobooks I narrate and the live theatre we produce. My show WITCH enjoyed a fantastic London premiere last month, and we had some wonderful feedback from the performance. October was a crazy busy, hectic, wonderful month and I enjoyed every moment - but I have to say that I'm enjoying the more relaxed pace of November!

Now that my speaking engagements are finished for the year, and we are winding down the theatre events to focus on our current audio projects, I've suddenly got a bit more time on my hands, so I have been using some of it to rediscover other people's blogs. I am not an experienced blogger, as I am sure you will have realised - my approach is rather scatter-gun. I do enjoy other people's blogs, so I thought that I would share some with you.

First up is the utterly superb Bang2Write, run by author/screenwriter/script reader and all-round powerhouse Lucy V Hay. It is a writer's treasure trove of no-nonsense, practical, sweary advice from someone who knows exactly what she is talking about. If you are a writer, and you haven't checked this one out already, what are you waiting for?? (PS there is free stuff to download, too!)

---

Next is Jenny Kane's blog, a wonderfully varied selection of writing tips and insights alongside a cracking guest blog feature called Opening Lines, where writers from every genre present the first 500 words (precisely) of one of their books. I've discovered new voices from reading this blog, as well as appearing on it myself back along, when I shared the first 500 words of my Lovecraftian horror story Dark Words.  Like Lucy, Jenny is a formidable writer whose mind is teeming with ideas and who produces a staggering amount of top quality books under a number of aliases. Jenny is also a writing tutor and I have taken several of her classes, all of which were inspirational and from which I have learned many useful tips to put into practice in what passes as my day-to-day writing "routine".

---

For those of you who don't know me personally, you're probably not aware that I like to knit. A lot. Particularly socks. So as well as seeking inspiration from other writers, I also like to find inspiration in the act of creating. I have recently found this fun blog Knit Om, which attracted me because the knitter is a doctor, specialising in internal medicine. This blog has a mindfulness element to it which I like, particularly at the moment, when I am focusing on winding down a little at the end of a busy summer season. I am really rather bad at self-care, so tying it in with something I love to do may help me improve!

Here is one of the things I make - this is the Fourth Doctormouse, based on a pattern by toy designer Alan Dart. This one went off to raise money for charity some time ago.
I also make socks. Lots and lots of socks......

---

Next is another hugely varied blog, belonging to author Richard Dee and which I featured on some time ago. Richard shares a lot of fascinating insights into how he writes, where his inspiration comes from, and recipes - he used to be a baker! (He also used to be a Thames pilot!) Richard's stories are always innovative and the guest blogs he features have helped me to find new voices to enjoy.

---

I'll be sharing another set of interesting blogs soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy checking these ones out!