Getting Substack subscribers and changing writing focus
It has been around a month and a half since I launched my shiny new Substack. Previously, I’d had a science fiction and fantasy newsletter for a month and it … Read More
Category: Writing
Plotting vs. Pantsing: What’s Better for Writers and Readers?
In the world of fiction writing, few debates are as enduring as “plotting vs. pantsing.” Writers and readers alike have strong views on the merits of each approach. Some prefer … Read More
The Intriguing Times Substack is now live!
Intriguing Times – my new Substack newsletter – has been live for almost three weeks. It already has 35 subscribers and over 90 followers, which is pretty damned good if … Read More
MacBook Air 13 inch vs iPad Pro 13 inch after a couple of months. Which am I using most?
I’ve had my MacBook Air 13 inch M1 for about three and a half years now. Whereas, I bought the new iPad Pro 13 inch M4 two months ago. I … Read More
New Substack, The Cosmic Scroll, is essential reading
I started a new Substack called The Cosmic Scroll. If you’re a writer, you will probably know the importance of having an email list. If you are a writer without … Read More
iPad Pro 13-inch M4 the all-in-one device I’ve been looking for
I love my iPad Pro. Actually, that should be plural as I have the original 13-inch version from 2015, and an 11-inch from 2021. Remarkably, both still work, if a … Read More
You should do this with subscriptions and despair
I am increasingly starting to think a lot of subscriptions are scams against the unwary. And that definitely includes me. I recently saw a post somewhere that suggested you list … Read More
How to be more productive and creative
As Ricky Gervais once said: ‘It’s better to create something that others criticise than to create nothing & criticise others. Go create!’
If you have a big project, try Scrivener.
I love Scrivener and have been using it for over a decade. However, I was recently chatting with someone who wanted to write a book, and they asked how I … Read More
Brain.fm for writers and creative types
I have become mildly obsessed with Brain.fm recently. I read a lot about productivity, especially in relation to being a writer – it’s an ironic form of procrastination. I kept … Read More
How and why you should increase your typing speed
As a writer, I spend a lot of time typing. Yet bizarrely, it had never really occurred to me to get better at it. Thinking back to how much time … Read More
The Oculus Meta Quest 2 for work and play
I bought an Oculus Quest 2 a couple of months back. It’s time to discuss whether that was a good idea in terms of productivity and entertainment. Basically, is it … Read More
Day One journaling app review
I used the Day One app on my old MacBook Air years ago and absolutely loved it. But then they moved to a subscription model and I wavered. Did I … Read More
Switching to writing more fiction
I spent last year writing non fiction – this year, that is going to change. Writing fiction is deeply satisfying and after a day of it, there’s a sense of … Read More
Happy 2022! Mindfulness, meditation, writing and routine…
Mindfulness, meditation, writing more, and the importance of routine are concepts I have decided to embrace more this year. It is partly a deepfelt yearning for life improvement and partly … Read More
The Gorilla Who Was Brought up as a Boy in an English Village
I wrote this sad story about a gorilla raised in a small English village for Medium earlier this year. It went massively viral with 63,000 reads. And that was behind … Read More
I am getting ready for NaNoWriMo
It’s that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) time of year again. This time last year I was writing so much I thought sliding a novel into the mix would just … Read More
No more adverts – monetizing with a donate button
I am getting rid of adverts as they feel unnecessary and ineffectual these days. Let me briefly explain the plan. I have been ridiculously busy of late and most of … Read More
Is blogging dying or am I just not good at it?
I started blogging and this website for a few reasons. One was that it was cathartic. I write for a variety of clients and they all require different tones, writing … Read More
How can you get started as a freelance writer?
I have either worked full-time or freelance as a writer for most of my life. My first ever proper job was writing for a magazine as a reporter when I … Read More