When the first sea-creatures braved the shores of a primitive Earth and pulled themselves on to dry land, their attempts were probably not the prettiest thing to look at. They were still getting to grips with, and even inventing, the basic mechanics of locomotion with rudimentary limbs in the open air. They were aeons away [...]

I received a spam comment recently that was masquerading as a request for writing advice. Not that receiving spam is a rare event, but this one caught my attention because it was completely coherent and asked a valid question. The basic question(s) were these: How do you centre yourself and clear your head before writing? [...]

All of us worry, but some worry above and beyond the call of reality. If you’re a writer, storyteller or other spinner of tales and fantasies, you not only worry like the rest of them, but are able to take it to whole new levels of elaboration and absurdity. The average writer’s mind is a [...]

Of all the much touted maxims of modern society and intellectual thought, things like separation of church and state, equality and equal opportunity for all and the like, the one I think is the most artificial construct is detached, unbiased and impersonal reporting. There is a prevailing falsehood about the effect of personal bias on [...]

Like much of my fiction reading, The Gates of Eden (1983) by Brian Stableford was picked up in a bargain bin, where all the strangest treasures are to be discovered, this one in a second-hand book store. The cover art by Doughlas Chaffee showed an auburn-haired beauty standing handsomely holding a spacesuit in an alien [...]

For writers, bookshops are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you were probably first inspired to have writing ambitions somewhere in a bookshop, surrounded by the wonder of words; On the other hand, bookshops and the books in them can be the greatest obstacle to writing that was ever conceived.

People watching is a common pastime; As a social species, it is instinctive. If you’re a writer, however, it can be the difference between flat featureless prose, and descriptions people can fall in love with. Being a keen observer of people gives you insights into human behaviour which are invaluable, whether you are a writer [...]