We hear daily news stories about the ‘evils’ of using the internet, whether it’s sick adults grooming children, trolls jumping on anything they can to provoke a reaction, or those being recruited to fundamentalist causes. That said, social media can also be a brilliant place, connecting like-minded individuals, raising awareness about issues, spreading news stories that […]
About Writing
Should authors be paid per page?
Do you love books? Do you think that it’s fair that when you buy a book, you only pay for the pages that you actually read? Well there was uproar recently when Amazon announced that it would be paying authors not according to the sales of each title, but rather the percentage of that title […]
Why Guilt Trips Don’t Help Writers
If you’re anything like me, you probably read a lot of blogs about writing. You probably read about writing more than you actually do any writing. But I’ve noticed a real upswing in posts that either prescribe daily word counts, or daily time periods that must be spent writing. All of them have the same […]
Having Too Many Ideas Is As Bad As Not Having Enough
If you read any blogs about writing, or follow any writers on Twitter, then you’ll probably notice a lot of writers complain about having too many ideas. Too many ideas?! It’s hardly a complaint designed to engender sympathy, if you’re one of those writers who doesn’t feel they have enough. A productive writer will sit somewhere […]
Mary King’s Close: Exploring the Underground City for real!
Mary King’s Close is a fascinating attraction in Edinburgh, and while I’ve never been much of a fan of the paranormal TV series Most Haunted, I did watch a ten year old episode at the weekend purely because the team were in the Close! I visited the Close myself in March 2012, and it inspired the narrow closes […]
Help Needed: Blogging
I don’t often talk about my day job on here, and to be honest, I’m not about to start now. However, I’ve been tasked with delivering a masterclass session about blogging for those foundation degree students who need to set up and produce a blog throughout their time here. I’m doing it because, being a […]
