Blog Posts

  • Three Times I Predicted the Future

    Three Times I Predicted the Future

    I took a parcel to be returned to Amazon to the shop around the corner and I realised I’d predicted this in Recursion. It might…

  • Forbidden Words

    Forbidden Words

    On Sunday I’m going to my writing group. There are number of authors there, some well established, some newer. All of them provide valuable feedback.…

  • Show Don’t Tell

    Show Don’t Tell

    Show don’t tell. There’s online debate at the moment about this advice traditionally given to writers. A lot of people are saying it’s over rated, that…

  • The Proprioception of Christmas

    The Proprioception of Christmas

    Johnny Mathis reminds me of my childhood. My mother would play songs such as The Sounds of Christmas, It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like…

  • Annabel

    I was delighted to be asked to contribute a monologue to Pen to Print. I was even more delighted when I heard the results. If…

  • The Crown S5 E3

    The Crown S5 E3

    I  remember being pushed aside by one of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s goons as I walked through Harrods in the 1990s. They were clearing a path for…

  • Rings of Partridge

    Rings of Partridge

    Richard Feynman coined the term Cargo Cult Science: something that copies the form of science whilst ignoring the underlying rigour.  Watching some old episodes recently…

  • Expelliarmus!

    Expelliarmus!

    I was teaching object-oriented programming the other day (don’t worry this isn’t a post about computers… ) when I came to the part where I…

  • Capturing Emotion: Inspiration and Evernote

    Capturing Emotion: Inspiration and Evernote

    (This post originally appeared on the Evernote blog) To slightly misquote Kate Sanborn, writing is 1% inspiration and 99% hard work. When inspiration strikes, the world…

  • Doctor My Eyes

    Doctor My Eyes

    The trouble with writing anything set in a consistent universe is the weight of what has gone on before. I’m experiencing this with my Recursion…

  • The Most Important Subject

    The Most Important Subject

    Part of my day job is preparing students for Oxbridge applications.Once they have researched their courses and written their personal statements I arrange practice interviews.…

  • Guest Post: Browsing the Bookshelves

    Guest Post: Browsing the Bookshelves

    Steve Croft is a former nurse, former police officer, current grandparent, keeper of dog, cats, chickens and bees. We also collaborate musically. I’ve always been…