Another writing exercise to get the juices flowing! This time we’ll explore five of our favourite words – these could be any word you like or whatever is rattling around inside your head at the moment. Try to choose words that are concrete rather than abstract, words that point to something real, not an idea.… Continue reading Writing Exercise: Five Favourite Words
I’m preparing to rewrite my second novel (again) so thought I’d limber up with some writing exercises, get the old fiction juices flowing. I’ll share the instructions for each exercise and the results, and you can ‘write along’ with me, if you like. Note: I’m doing these exercises longhand and then typing them up –… Continue reading Writing Exercise: What’s in a Word?
I dream of being a flexible yogini. To balance with poise and grace, and wrap my feet around my neck. Such strength, such self-mastery. I can’t even touch my toes! There are many kinds of yoga, but my kind involves a lot of swearing – not exactly the spirit of the thing. Years of bad… Continue reading Yoga Pants: A Day of Yoga (and swearing!)
Yoga is an ancient spiritual discipline from India which aims to transform the body and mind. Many think yoga is just another form of exercise, but the word comes from the Sanskrit yuj which means to join or unite. In Hindu philosophy the mind and body are seen as a single, unified entity. Imbalances in the… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Yoga
We end my Newcastle Writing Conference notes with the afternoon sessions. After lunch there were more workshop choices: meet another agent with Jo Unwin, developing your online presence, postgraduate writing courses, and non-traditional publishing routes. I went for the latter because I thought it might be interesting and I wasn’t disappointed. Who needs a publisher… Continue reading Writing Conference Notes: Part 3 – Non-Traditional Publishing
The Newcastle Writing Conference included various break-out sessions, such as websites and blogging, how to edit your work, vlogging, and meet the agent with Mark Stanton. But I chose the pitching session, because I already have a blog, I didn’t have a piece of work I was willing to share in the editing session, I… Continue reading Writing Conference Notes: Part 2 – Pitching
Last weekend I attended the Newcastle Writing Conference at Northumbria University. I went armed with a fresh notebook, which was a good thing because I made more notes than I thought I would, such was the amount of useful advice on offer. I arrived with streaming eyes and a rosy complexion after battling through a… Continue reading Newcastle Writing Conference Notes: Part 1 – the Digital Age
Where there is light, there is darkness, but hidden within the dark are the seeds of creation and the key to finding the light. In the last two posts we met the predator and discovered how he works in the story of Bluebeard. It’s time to get our hands dirty and jump into the viper’s… Continue reading Sympathy for the Devil: the Nature of Evil
This weekend I’ll be going to the Newcastle Writing Conference which is about DIY. No, I won’t be learning how to grout! The conference covers all aspects of digital publishing, such as self-publishing, crowdfunding, social media, blogging, and more. There are various industry-types who’ll be sharing their wisdom, and lots of others writers. I’m particularly… Continue reading Writing Advice from Meg Rosoff
“What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.” – Rumi We’re on a quest to discover more about the murky depths of the mind and our worst enemy. In Going Dark we met the predator. Now we’ll dig a little deeper using the story of Bluebeard to learn how he operates and what we… Continue reading Surviving Bluebeard: How to Deal with the Predator
“One does not become conscious by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” – CG Jung There’s a demonic creature that stalks us through our nightmares. He targets the innocent and the hopeful. He squats in the dark, hidden until he attacks. He wants to destroy us, to stop us from growing… Continue reading Going Dark: Stalking the Predator
This placement is similar to Chiron in Pisces. Chiron in the 12th shows that your unhealed wound is to your inner life and spirituality. It may manifest through areas of unconsciousness, institutions, and mysticism. Other possibilities include: Strong need for the experience of unity, ecstasy and loss of identity Overwhelmed by chaos and struggle to deal… Continue reading Natal Chiron in 12th House
Jessica Davidson 