Tag Archives: mystery

Does the reader care? Should I?

Posted on July 30, 2011 by

Sometimes I wonder why I care so much about the quality of my writing. I wonder why books, magazines, workshop leaders and so on encourage writers to polish, polish, polish and to make their work the best it can be. … Continue reading →

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The weight of water

Posted on March 14, 2011 by

A couple of years ago I read a murder mystery, the solution of which depended on the fact that the guilty party had moved an aquarium from one room to another. The author didn’t specify the capacity of the aquarium. … Continue reading →

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Of mediaeval midwives and steampunk Scotties

Posted on February 5, 2011 by

I sometimes wonder about the characters writers create, about their independent existence. Many years ago I heard a writer speculate that anything you can invent already exists somewhere. The “mulitverse” theory of the universe, the idea that there are multiple … Continue reading →

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Flake by flake

Posted on January 27, 2011 by

Today it’s snowing here in Wharncliffe; it’s not a blizzard, but a steady, gentle fall of fluffy flakes that’s going to pile several inches onto my driveway. The good news is that both Sky and I love the snow. (The … Continue reading →

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BANG! And “click”.

Posted on August 10, 2010 by

I’m late with this post, because on Sunday morning lightning struck the transformer that supplies power to my house. (As the transformer is a mere hundred yards away, that was rather too close for comfort. I’ve been closer, and that … Continue reading →

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Ampersand on yoga

Posted on August 5, 2010 by

Quotes on writing stick in my head much the way dictionaries stick to my fingers. One I really like is “Writing is a yoga – you become a writer by writing.” Yoga is about moving and stretching. Ampersand knows all … Continue reading →

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Giving the Muse a break

Posted on July 27, 2010 by

I’m sure there’s hardly a writer anywhere who never gets blocked.  Writer’s block is probably as prevalent as writer’s cramp, and just as painful in a different way. A couple of years ago I had a two-month stretch where I … Continue reading →

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