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Some thoughts on unpublished versus best-selling writers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.
Category Archives: freewriting
Hello and Welcome to Write to Done Readers!
I’m excited to say that my post How to Use Freewriting to Supercharge Your Work is up at WRITE TO DONE, a great website that really does have “unmissable articles about writing”! I’d like to thank Laura, the editor, for … Continue reading
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Freewriting: Back to Basics
Every Saturday morning, in a side-room of the wonderful Kyffin Café Deli in Bangor, North Wales, I now have the pleasure of introducing people to the practice of freewriting. This is because I am running a course there, based on … Continue reading
Writers! Resolve to be BAD in 2019!
This New Year, instead of making all the usual resolutions to eat less and exercise more, why not resolve to be bad and have fun writing instead? Writing need not be serious, and the things we do for pleasure are … Continue reading
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Six Uses for Freewriting
It’s my belief that anyone can benefit from freewriting. A marketing guru once told me that claiming something would work for everyone would weaken my brand and I had much better target a specific audience. But I really do think … Continue reading
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
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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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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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Training to Write
Imagine what it’s like to be an Olympic athlete about to compete. Your name is called. You raise your arm, or fit the pedal straps to your feet, or stand at the edge of the diving board, or crouch in … Continue reading
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Going to the moon
I’ve been writing for nine years and produced a handful of short stories, some performance pieces, a completed novel and about a third of a second novel. I’ve also filled at least a dozen notebooks with freewriting. As I plan … Continue reading
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Freewriting is Surrealist!
Most creative writing guidebooks, even when they recommend freewriting (or whatever they call it) don’t mention its origin in Freud’s theories and Surrealist practice. Knowing where it came from might enlarge the way we do it. If freewriting is magic … Continue reading
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