We are going to take a break for a while so that we can gather more ideas and enjoy the sunshine. Don’t stop writing! How about writing postcards? You could write one a day. You could send the postcard, give it to someone in your family or keep the card for yourself. You might have … Continue reading Postcards
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted. P D James This advice is about noticing. Whatever happens to you. Who you meet. What you notice. All these things are good for a writer. Take notice … Continue reading Advice from a writer 2
When Mole first meets Ratty, in The Wind in the Willows, Ratty takes him out on the river. He stows a picnic hamper in the boat and Mole, curious, asks what’s inside it. Ratty replies, There’s cold chicken inside it … coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfranchrollscressandwichespottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater – Oh, stop, stop, Mole cries. It is too much. Ratty is worried. ‘Do … Continue reading It’sapicnic!
The Meaning of Liff is a little book put together by John Lloyd and Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It is a collection of definitions that they have made up for place names: Ely (n) The first, tiniest inkling you get that something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong. Seattle(v) To make a … Continue reading The Meaning of Liff
The names of things make for interesting writing. A noun can contain masses of information. A noun conjures up the detail. A noun can take you precisely to the thing it names. A noun often brings with it associations that are yours alone. ‘Westridge Road’ conjures for me a house, a street, a time in … Continue reading Knowing the names
Read lots. Write lots.Ian Rankin Summer holidays. Now is the time to take Ian Rankin’s advice. ‘Read lots. Write lots.’ Ian Rankin writes crime novels. He lives in Edinburgh and most of his stories are set there or nearby. He is not the only writer to give that advice: Read lots. Write lots. Read things … Continue reading Advice from a writer
Many of you have been writing about your day to day life for the last few months. You may have poems, lists, observations. Now is the time to put those to use. Kettle’s Yard Gallery has ut out a call for Lockdown Letters. They would like you to write a one page letter telling them … Continue reading Lockdown Letters
For those of us in school, the summer holidays are beginning. For those of us who have been at home for most of the last five months, summer holidays take on a new meaning. We are still in the same place. There are no lessons, but we are still here. How could we mark the … Continue reading Summer list
It is the end of the school year. Summer holidays ahead. Look back over the year and jot down what you remember. This might turn into a list poem or a piece of prose. Start each line with ‘I remember … ‘ Think right back to September. What did you do in October? Did you organise a … Continue reading I remember…
You are a writer! You write notes and letters, poems and diaries. You write on screens and paper, using thumbs or pencils or glorious glitter pens. And that is just great! Hurrah! We hope that you are writing every day. We know that the more you write, the better you become. Lots of your writing … Continue reading Hearing our readers
Writing Box 