Summer vacuum – the time of little writing

Pergola and swimming pool in summer

Updated and republished

Hooray! Summer is here; warm, lazy days, extra wine, days out with the family and friends, a holiday away. Mmm.

We have two scenarios before us:

The first:

You have a deadline looming, your fans are waiting, your muse is bashing away in your head with fantastic scenes you simply must write. […]

Lorna Fergusson – Tapping into Sensory Memory in France

Absolutely delighted to have Lorna Fergusson back on the blog after a 10 year absence! Apart from being a skilled and evocative writer, she’s a writing coach, editor and speaker. Her work includes The Chase and An Oxford Vengeance.

She runs Fictionfire Literary Consultancy and has taught on various Oxford University writing programmes since […]

Across the sea to Dublin

I was delighted to be invited to speak at the International Dublin Writers’ Festival again. This year, the theme was the creative well, something essential to good writing, but a slippery one to grasp. In essence, it’s the part of you that feeds your imagination. If it’s kept at a healthy level, it will […]

Writing retreating

Left to right: Me, Carol Cooper, Jean Gill, Jane Davis, Karen Inglis, Clare Flynn, Lorna Fergusson in April 2024

No, I don’t mean retreating from your writing, but going on a writing retreat.

A retreat implies withdrawing from the world.

A writing retreat implies getting away from the everyday and being able to […]

Plagues ancient and modern

Statue of recumbant Roman woman

Recently, I caught Covid-19. Not a unique story these days, but I’d dodged it until last month. Vaccinated five times and an avid mask wearer, I’d been hyper-careful. I was nervous last year when I started to go to author events, either to speak or take part. I was a rare person at the London […]