Cooking on the barbeque in the summer and having just grilled meat with salad for most of our meals is the best. I know this is true. I am not cut out to be a primary teacher. Spending a couple of hours with some Year One age children (i.e. Austin's age) whilst I chaperoned at… Continue reading I Know This is True
Tag: writing
Keeping it Fresh
The previous incarnation of this blog, Single Glorious Thing, marked a shift in gears. As the pandemic struck in 2020, I had been struggling to find a rhythm in writing and so I tried something different. For a while, it was helpful to focus on those simple (and sometimes not so simple) pleasures and glories… Continue reading Keeping it Fresh
Halfway
It is halfway through 2022 and I haven't written a blog post since I managed to write every day for January. I thought I had cracked my writing drought but as usual, without the concrete obligation of an arbitrary challenge, I have not been able to keep it going. I haven't added any words to… Continue reading Halfway
A Little Acceptance
One of my most frustrating traits is that I find it impossible to stick to a routine. I do not do the same things every day in the same order, even the most basic things. I regularly forget to put on deodorant! So when I realised I wanted to write, every single piece of advice… Continue reading A Little Acceptance
A Change in the World
How are you changing the world? That is the question that comes with today's Bloganuary prompt. There have been a few questions that I have shied away from this month but as a teacher, I suppose there is an argument to say that I am changing the world by educating young people and teaching them… Continue reading A Change in the World
A Knowing List
Five Things I Know: I know how to analyse the writer's use of language and structure. I studied English Literature at GSCE, A-Level, and degree level but it was only when I started teaching English that I think really mastered the art of analysis. I love pulling the words apart and interrogating the text to… Continue reading A Knowing List
A Little Promise
One of the things that I put on my 22 in 2022 list was to find a writing accountability partner. This is somebody preferably another writer who will help keep you accountable for your writing goals. As well as supporting and encouraging you with your writing. Ideally, this is a mutually beneficial arrangement where you… Continue reading A Little Promise
A Pretty Little City
I spent the weekend in the city of Bath. While my friends took advantage of the Thermae Spa, I decided to explore the city. The timing of this trip with me reading Northanger Abbey for the first time was a happy accident. A large portion of this novel takes place in Bath at the end… Continue reading A Pretty Little City
A Writer’s Identity
I have been writing a blog in some form or other since 2005. That's over sixteen years. Thousands of blog posts in, I should be able to call myself a writer without feeling a frisson of embarrassment, and yet despite working on my novel for years, chipping away a few words at a time, and… Continue reading A Writer’s Identity
My List of 20 in 2020
My list of 19 things for 2019 was a total success. I allowed it to be a success by changing up some of the items on the list. I didn't see the point of ignoring all the things that I had managed to achieve just so that I could stick doggedly to (and fail at)… Continue reading My List of 20 in 2020