Writing Challenge Day 13: A funny family story. Or not.

Fellow scribe Anna Belfrage and I outside the Nobel Prize Institute waiting to be called in to collect our joint literature prize. Such is my sense of humour.

Todays challenge is called ‘Tell us a funny family story’.

Hm… My whole life has been both strange and ordinary as were those of my […]

Helen Hollick: Fact vs. fiction – the historical fiction writer's research dilemma

This week’s guest is one making a very welcome return. Helen Hollick is a multi-published author and indie advocate. She lives on a 13 acre 18th century farm in North Devon, with a variety of pets and her family. For over twenty years, she has delighted readers with stories of Arthur Pendragon, Saxon kings and […]

Writing Challenge Day 12: Early bird or night owl?

Photo: George A Shealy Jr

This is a weird question, not just for implications for me as a writer, but because I’ve sometimes been both. I decided to investigate further.

A night owl is a person who tends to stay up until late at night, or into the early hours of the morning, […]

Writing Challenge Day 11: Favourite writing snacks/chocolate porn

Yep, chocolate, the stereotypical writer’s munch.

The nuts and raisins, although also calorhorrific, are a nod towards healthiness. But these are both types of energy foods, so writers must need to replenish their energy levels fairly constantly. Thus must mean that it takes a lot of exhausting work to write.

So, what does chocolate […]

Writing Challenge Day 10: Post an old picture of yourself

Age is the weirdest thing. At seven, you are fresh-faced and hopeful; several decades on, bolder and more cynical. And in between several other things depending on where you are and what you’re doing. And what you have learnt.

Sometimes you have full make-up on and tummy pulled in; other times you don’t care […]