I think I've just discovered a wonderful way to give the old ego a bit of a reality check. If you happen to have a blog (or other online vehicle...
Well…that’s embarrassing…
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Writing
Between the sea and the sky…
Very occasionally, people ask me why I chose to move to Scotland (generally) and why I chose to move to the rather remote end of Galloway...
Let there be books…
South-West Scotland has much to recommend it. First off, it's part of Scotland which is, itself, no bad thing at all. Second, it has some beautiful...
Underneath the spreading chestnut tree…
No, this isn't going to be a post about old nursery-rhyme songs, Winston Smith, Mr Charrington and 1984, apposite as that might be when it comes to...
Always read the small print…
It's a good rule of thumb, reading the small print. Taking out a mortgage? Signing the employment contract for your new, executive suite,...
(Anti-)Social Media…
Ah, Facebook. That dodgy doyen of data miners. The pernicious paragon of privacy invaders. The appalling accomplice of advert slingers. We all know...
Finding a voice…
If I were to dig out all of the old posts that used to be on this blog, you would find a distinct pattern emerging. It's probably best described as...
The Clachanpluck Poems
I still seem to be stuck in poetry mode at the moment, although these little verses came about in a slightly different fashion. It's all Facebook's...
The Hills
When you're on a roll, you're on a roll. Yet another poem. This one isn't dark, it isn't angsty and it isn't an airy-fairy exercise in writing...
If I had known…
More poetry today - and this one is deliberately a little bit of an arty-farty exercise. It's also another slightly dark one. Well, maybe not...
At the End
When not trying to dream up characters or plots or similar fictional devices (and when not being silly on Facebook or elsewhere) I sometimes try my...
Dinner Date
Authors, critics and experts on writing have identified various models for the creation of characters. One particular model offers four ways to...