Publish or Perish?
Some thoughts on unpublished versus best-selling writers
The Surrealist Muse
Surrealist women: muses or artists?
The Makeover
A short story to amuse you. It's sort of about writing.
Author Archives: kathyhopewell
The Great Spring
Natalie Goldberg, one of the greatest writers on freewriting, began as a student of Zen Buddhism. It involved long hours of sitting meditation, disciplined timekeeping and mundane tasks, all in the spartan environment of the zendo (meditation centre). At the … Continue reading
Posted in freewriting, writing exercises, writing inspiration
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Surrealist novels?
Can you name any Surrealist novels? I don’t mean books with surreal elements such as magical, illogical or dream-like ideas or events, I mean novels about Surrealism as a movement or depicting Surrealist artists. No? That’s because there are very … Continue reading
Posted in publishing, Surrealism
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Hopewell Ink on Radio 3
Instead of a post this month, here’s the link to the Radio 3 programme Exposure featuring my band Hopewell Ink at Neuadd Ogwen in Bethesda, North Wales, broadcast last Thursday. We are on first, and there’s also a short interview … Continue reading
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Hopewell Ink – Exposed!
Since 2013 I’ve been part of a band called Hopewell Ink and we’ve performed in local venues around North Wales. Hopewell Ink consists of spoken word, and various instruments including drums, harmonium, and slide guitar. The words are written and … Continue reading
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Finding Your Voice
Some artists have an utterly distinctive voice. Within a second of hearing one twisted, mournful note, I can recognise the great Johnny Marr of The Smiths. In the same way, the weirdly uncomfortable but perfect half-beat-off of Emily Dickinson’s poetry … Continue reading
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Dieting for the Unconscious
New Year is the time for dieting but what is the best way to feed the creative mind? A diet of high-energy, fast entertainment and hectic socialising is all very well for a short time and a change is as … Continue reading
Posted in writing exercises, writing inspiration
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It’s time for Surrealist Games!
When people get together for Christmas or other festive events they often play games. There’s Charades, especially for when a few drinks have been taken, or board games (often ending in family arguments). Then there’s the one where you have … Continue reading
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The Surrealist Muse
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a muse as “a person (often a female lover) or thing regarded as the source of an artist’s inspiration”. Here is one of the muses of Surrealism: The image appeared on the cover of the … Continue reading
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The Makeover
This month’s post is a fairy story I wrote some years ago (all rights reserved, folks!). I hope it will amuse everyone and appeal to writers especially. See if you can identify the different writing gurus, they are all connected … Continue reading
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The End of an Era
School uniforms and new pencil cases are in the shops and this is the time, every year since 1989, when I look forward to meeting my new students at Bangor University’s School of Lifelong Learning. But not this year. Lifelong … Continue reading
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