This week a friend of mine told me his novel will be finished by the end of the year. He has a full-time job and three kids, but he has been super disciplined and through sheer determination and hard work…he will have finished. I’m really proud of him but…it just reminded me how terribly far I have to go. I …
When I write, I always try to visualise each scene and character as if they were in a film. It’s incredibly important for me to be able to ‘see’ it as if it was really happening. It may also reveal my secret ambition; that my books will be so damn good, they’ll become movies. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big …
“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?’ So she was …
I have an important message for you. As a leader in my field, and as part of my ongoing commitment to best practice, innovation and sustainability, I constantly strive to generate evocative statements that inspire and empower my stakeholders to achieve and exceed their expectations and bring their overarching vision, mission, goals and objectives into critical alignment, while ensuring operational …
When your’e writing fantasy it often involves creating worlds that don’t actually exist. I find that it’s critical to find pictures that represent or inspire the kind of places in my imagination. Here are just a few images that tell part of my 100,000 word novel. If you want to see more images like this follow my Pinterest board. Woman …
This is bad! I mean really bad. My day job – you know the one that almost pays the bills – is so ridiculously busy at the moment that not only haven’t I got time to do any writing, I don’t have time to write a proper blog post either. I wonder at what point you should bite the bullet …
There was a time when I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve ‘kind of’ done it a few times. I taught English in Japan, I have worked as a Business Trainer in tertiary education but I have to be honest I know it’s not the same as being a teacher. I have to say it, teachers are awesome. Well the …
Ever since I can remember I have been obsessed with stories set in historical periods. The historical period didn’t really matter – as long as it was a different time and place. My husband would say: “Is that another ‘Olden Days’ story your reading/show your watching?”. The main attraction for me I think was the (perceived) romanticism or days gone …
Over the years I’ve gone to a few different leadership courses for work. Some stick in my mind for different reasons. There was the one that had half the room sobbing uncontrollably within the first 30 mins of a four day course – surprisingly a good course. The one though that I remember above all included a moment that is …
Who doesn’t love a bit of romance between their favourite characters? It gets me thinking about my favourite marriage proposals in literature – starting with Mr Darcy of course. 1. Pride and Prejudice – Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett Mr Darcy declares his love to Elizabeth, though it took two shots to get it right. “In vain have …