For the last couple of months I’ve been submitting both poems and short stories to competitions and magasines. I find it difficult to ‘write’ (as in a creative way) and to submit my work (as in boring, administrative and frustrating) at the same time. It must be one of those left/right brain things. But it has to … More poems and perseverance

My first visit here for far too long – to the Troubadour, the home of the rather wonderful Coffee House Poetry evenings run by the lovely Anne-Marie Fyfe (who remembered my name – an enviable skill). And it feels like a home-coming, so many familiar faces, other poets/writers to talk to and a selection of … More Last night at the Troubadour

Why is it that even when I know deadlines for submissions and competition entries are looming, I leave everything till the last minute, and then it’s a mad rush to edit my writing, or fill in the forms, or write the covering letter?  I’m not so absorbed in my work that I’m not aware of the passing days – right in … More Deadlines and dosh

Fantastic session in the Festival Hall with tutor Emily Midorikawa discussing how to use dialogue in fiction – what to say and when to say it; when to use reported speech and when to leave it out altogether. We looked at two short stories and analysed how each writer develops the story through dialogue, then Emily … More How to write dialogue