writing
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I’ve been thinking about rejection. Not the dramatic kind. Just the quiet little emails that arrive after you’ve sent something you’ve spent time making. Thank you for your submission… Unfortunately….. Not this time….. I’ve had a few of those recently. And, if I’m honest, they sting. Because there is something vulnerable about sending your writing… Read more
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I’m working on my first poetry collection, so I’ve been spending time with my poems and writing some new ones. It’s been interesting to stay with one art form. And I’ve been asking myself: What happens when I keep returning to one art form and learn how to see through it? I think I’m beginning… Read more
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I think I’ve just learned something about how I write poetry. I used to think the first draft was where I was supposed to write the poem. Now I think the first draft might be where I excavate it. I start with what happened. Not beautifully. Not cleverly. Just the details. The things I noticed.… Read more
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Last week I was bored. Not a little bit bored. Properly bored. And apparently, this is excellent news for my creativity. Because when I have nothing to do, I write. In the boredom, my mind has time to run free and, as a result, I wrote two new poems. One of them came from looking… Read more
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I’ve had a two-week break. Starting again feels harder than I expected. There’s a temptation to try to catch up, make up for lost time, or wait until I feel ready. But I don’t need to wait. I just need to begin again. So today, on the school run, stepping out with my phone, looking for… Read more
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I started meeting my writing buddy weekly on Monday 22nd June and made a commitment to myself to do something uncomfortable: write and release a post every week. Well, I did it! Seven weeks later, 16 posts. I’ve even impressed myself. 😜 But next week (and maybe the following), I’m not posting! I’ve been watching… Read more
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I was chatting to my writing friend Anne about first drafts. We both agreed: they are hard. Not just a bit tiring hard. They are a beast of a thing. It feels a little like giving birth to some strange creature that you don’t entirely recognise. You have spent all this time creating it, feeding… Read more
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I’ve been thinking about what happens when we grow. Not the slow, steady kind of growth that is almost invisible while it’s happening. I mean the sudden kind. The kind where, almost without noticing, you find yourself finishing things you would once have abandoned. Writing more. Creating more. Sharing more. Becoming more visible. A Creative… Read more
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Last week I took down my box of journals and put them on an empty shelf beside me. It might seem like a small thing, but it felt significant. My long-term project, my dream project, has been with me for years. The first time I wrote creatively was in a creative writing class, and on… Read more
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21 years together.14 years married.Still here. This is one of my favourite photos of me and Eddie. It’s not the most glamorous or flattering, but it’s the story behind it that I love. The photo was taken in Kuching, Malaysia, on what was supposed to be a romantic evening boat cruise. Except there was a… Read more