Category: Writing
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Opening scenes: Yippi-kai-yay story lovers – lessons from Die Hard
Die Hard may seem an unlikely way to learn what makes a great introduction but you would be amazed. There is a reason why this movie is a classic and has an 8.2 rating on IMDB. Everything you need to know about the protagonist and his biggest flaw are revealed before the credits even say […]
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Are blogger reviewers better than journalists?
I once read that any such question in the title of an article means that the answer is no. That’s true but only in the sense that the answer isn’t yes. I don’t think it’s even the right question but let me very quickly tell you why. I was looking for a review of Naomi […]
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Why writing is better than thinking
I’ve known a few psychology students and graduates but only one has said something that I still remember over a decade later. We were talking about the difference between thinking and writing and she pointed out that you write linearly. Linear order forces your writing into some kind of structure, but thinking, as Tony Buzan […]
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The Reluctant Detective: 1 (serialised novel)
It was while waiting for the lift from the fourth floor that Myrene decided to divorce her husband. She would wait not one minute more for that ting sound as the carriage finally arrived from floor 15 and she would wait not one year longer for a loving, enjoyable celebration rather than the surprise birthday […]
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Three ways to beat writer’s block
I am writing a book and I have come to the first major crisis point about a quarter of the way in. Something important has happened and I know where I want my main character to end up but how do I get her there? It doesn’t help that I have just finished the first […]
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Why life is better as a sitcom
One of my challenges for the year ahead is to write some blog posts in particular genres or styles. I’d like a sitcom, horror, drama, science fiction, fantasy and whatever else I think of at the time. Part of the challenge is to practise my writing while the other part is to take the opportunity […]
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Unemployed Hack, a favourite blog
The Unemployed Hack calls himself a downwardly mobile journalist and his blog recounts memories of times as a tabloid journalist to day to day recallings of signing on and dealing with a very low income. He has been unemployed for almost six months now. He was previously a reporter, a feature writer, a travel writer, […]
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Posting again, every day?
Last year this time I said I would post every day but I didn’t manage it. The thought of trying again has been gently prodding and poking at me for the last few weeks. There is something comforting about having to write. Having to find something to post and not needing to perfect an idea […]
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The first step in writing
I once had a friend who was a writer. She was a brilliant writer; passionate and artistic. She carried with her a well worn book of Catcher in the Rye and in her notepad of literary scribblings, she had written out Cavafy’s The First Step. She wrote it out in the original Greek but I’ll […]
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Finding my ‘why’ in order to find the ‘how’ in blogging
I scrolled through some old posts in my blog and they all felt so uninspiring. I was bored just looking at them, let alone reading them. I’ve definitely lost my mojo when it comes to blogging. I started up all inspired and enthusiastic nearly two years ago. I wanted to be a journalist and writing […]
Ephemeral digest 