Writing life | Alison Morton Author

Writing things I forget, but need

Viglen 1 desktop

Do you use some your applications, programs or software occasionally and then forget how to do them?

I’ve used a computer since 1989. Yes, there was personal computing then. We bought a Viglen Plus, 640K RAM and 30Mb hard drive storage and a 360K disk drive which took 5¼” floppy […]

Do writers live in permanent lockdown?

Writers spend much of their lives in lockdown. I don’t mean since March, but all the time; about 60-65% in my case.

But what really goes on in the head of that person hunched over a computer grunting and tapping away at their latest masterpiece? Are they dreaming up new plots, imagining engaging or repelling […]

Distraction in the time of plague, or can you still write?

Lockdown sucks.

But you’d think as writers we’d glory in all this time. We don’t have to go out, nobody calls, the television is dull, dull, dull. We can’t run (generally pointless) errands, waste time drinking too much caffeine in coffee shops, or even go gallivanting off to literary events.

On that last, three of […]

Is doing your highlights in time of crisis important?

We are scared. We feel unsafe. Our routine is shot. Our friends are distant. We can’t hug our children, parents or friends who live in other houses. No trips to the restaurant, pub or club. Not even a quick coffee with a friend before getting on a train to a meeting or show. And research […]

Post-completion let down...

This week, I finished self-editing a 92,600 word draft of a new book. Much celebration/relief! It’s both an exhilarating and a sad feeling when you write that last scene. Of course, this is only the beginning of the process of producing a book. 😉

I drafted it last year, did a first read through, then […]