Wrestling the Octopus: how to avoid writing a novel

by on September 17, 2020 in My First Novel, On Writing and tagged , , , , , ,

At a certain point, a novel-in-progress starts to get a tad unwieldy. When you begin, you have a blank screen and the boundless enthusiasm of a puppy. After a few months you have a mountain of scrap paper scrawled with half-finished paragraphs and synopsis drafts, screeds of ideas jotted down and pinned all over the walls in your office, […]

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Heartbeat

by on May 10, 2020 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , , ,

I have one beautiful daughter, but making her wasn’t simple. I lost two pregnancies before conceiving her, and three after her, while trying for a second. I started this story years ago and dug it out and finished it just today. It attempts to put into words my belief that our children will always be […]

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Dandelion Clocks

by on August 22, 2019 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , , ,

It’s nearly spring; my favourite time of year. I wrote this story after I had witnessed my precious cat Lucy being run over in front of me. I wanted to commemorate her in some way, and I also wanted to reflect on the immense power that throwaway words and small gestures can have, particularly when […]

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The Lost One

by on February 21, 2019 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , , ,

Last year was a year of endings and new beginnings for me. Heartbreak competed with hope and a new sense of freedom. This is the first story I have written for quite some time. I scatter pieces of someone else’s imaginary life in front of me. It has been expertly broken. It is up to […]

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Beginnings

by on December 11, 2016 in On Writing and tagged , , , , , , , , ,

I’m going home next June. I was born in Northern Ireland, and lived with my Protestant minister father and my mother and two siblings in County Armagh, just by the border. In the seventies (yes I am that old) South Armagh was known as “bandit country” because it was such a dangerous place to be during […]

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Choosing a Title

by on June 15, 2016 in My First Novel, On Writing and tagged , , , , , , ,

A short thought today on titles – specifically, choosing one for your story or novel or poem. Each time I start a new post here I am invited to fill in the “Title” section at the top. I used to struggle with this. I tried to come up with something creative and intriguing and clever, […]

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The Cat

by on June 8, 2016 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,

For background on this story and how it came about, you may want to read yesterday’s post first. Short version: the story was inspired by this image, which is the wallpaper on my phone’s lock screen: The Cat I walk with fire on either side of me. Out of the fire skeletons grope and reach, […]

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Writing prompts: useful or not?

by on June 8, 2016 in On Writing and tagged , , , , , , ,

Some people swear by writing prompts: exercises designed to give the writing process a bit of a kickstart when you’re stuck. Personally, I find them a little prescriptive. I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants. I might have an inkling of an idea, so I set it down on paper. Then I […]

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Flowers

by on August 31, 2014 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , ,

This, for better or for worse, is the “crap but short” story I referred to in yesterday’s post. I just sat down and wrote the first thing that came into my head. What emerged was an unintentional mini-meditation on the issues preoccupying me at the moment: love and sadness, regrets and hopes, the dream state, […]

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Tell Me On a Sunday, Please

by on June 15, 2014 in My Short Stories, On Writing and tagged , , , , ,

I don’t often pick up the phone on a Sunday. I prefer to cloister myself at home, with no intrusion from the outside world. If it’s important they’ll leave a message or call my mobile, I reason. I don’t answer my mobile unless the caller ID announces a friend to whom I feel like talking. […]

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