My muse is a shapeshifter. She’s indiscriminate: a divine whore and angelic trickster up to her knees in mulch and butterfly cocoons. She’s in sunshine and dogs and fleeting thoughts and pain. She isn’t something other than me, but I can’t control her. She is my daemon, my guide. She would also like me to… Continue reading Musings on the Muse
I was always odd, the resident freak or weirdo in any situation. And then I became a sound engineer. As a woman, that makes me exceptional. There aren’t many of us, so when I heard about Laura Marling’s latest project, Reversal of the Muse, I gave a cheer. It’s about time there were more ladies… Continue reading The Only Girl: the search for female sound engineers
I’ve struggled with Morning Pages for years. I would do them for a bit and then quit. Start again. Quit again. Repeat. Then last week I finally worked out why: I understand the problem with Morning Pages and I know how to fix it. If you don’t already know, Morning Pages is a writing practice… Continue reading Getting the most out of Morning Pages
I’ve lost my voice. It sneaked off when I wasn’t looking. One day I realised I was no longer telling the truth. Every time I sat down to write a blog post or work on my latest book, a tiny part of me died. I knew there was something I needed to say – but… Continue reading A Confession: I’ve lost my voice
“I traffic in fiction. I do not traffic in lies.” Alan Moore reminds me of an Old English Sheepdog with a wry twinkle in his eye. You just know he’s got a juicy bone hidden somewhere. He’s best known for his comics, like Watchmen and V for Vendetta, and for the fact that he hates… Continue reading Alan Moore on the magic of fiction and imagination
I started self-publishing early and, as it turns out, I was writing fantasy and science fiction right from the start! My first books were small but ambitious, and lavishly illustrated. In Write Like a Beginner I shared one of these stories – Creepy Castle – which wasn’t really a book, more a couple of sheets… Continue reading My First (handmade!) Books
A little while ago I went to a Writing for Wellbeing workshop and one of the exercises was called ‘Writing Like a Beginner’. The idea was to stop worrying about getting it right and just write any old stuff – like you did when you were a child. It frees you up and gets you… Continue reading Write Like a Beginner: A Silly Tale of Derring-Do
More Than This is a mind-blowing YA science fiction novel by Patrick Ness that’s so good it’s hard to believe. This is one of my all-time favourite books and just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. “Whatever happened to you down there, whatever the world looks like now, that’s not how… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: More Than This
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is about a travelling Shakespearean theatre company set in post-apocalyptic America. You could call it speculative fiction or literary sci-fi, although Mandel herself calls it “literary fiction that’s set partly in the future.” Whatever the category, it’s an extraordinary book; compelling and spellbinding. I couldn’t stop reading, and… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: Station Eleven
There’s a Buddhist story I like about overcoming the fear of death: a Zen monastery was under attack by an infamous warlord and his army. All the monks fled, except for the abbot who sat peacefully in front of the shrine. The warlord entered the courtyard and approached, pulling out his sword. He shouted at… Continue reading Fearlessness in the face of a hot spoon
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is the first of his Urban Fantasy series set in London. The books feature Peter Grant, a mixed race policeman and apprentice wizard with an eye for the ladies and an inquiring mind. The series is hugely enjoyable and funny, each book has a case to solve and the… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: Rivers of London series
“Right Mindfulness: Write Thought” is the old tagline for this blog. In this post from a few years ago, I explain what it means… I thought it was about time I explained the tagline of this site: Right Mindfulness: Write Thought is a Buddhist pun based on two of the steps on the Eightfold Path… Continue reading Right Mindfulness: Write Thought
Jessica Davidson 