My Life as a writer - When I'm not scribbling

I use Vision boards or dream boards a lot, in fact probably daily.  The aim of a vision board for me is focusing the mind on what I am dreaming, planning, looking for inspiration for and most importantly leading me towards turning what's in my imagination in to something tangible. Using Vision boards for writing is part of my process, it helps me plan out the movie that plays in my head so I can translate to words on the page.  I can use these boards on platforms such as Pinterest to collaborate with readers, giving them a behind the scenes look at the book. Example Book Vision Board Vision boards also help me in my day to day life, I use them to plan out what I want to achieve personally, or to plan a project.  For example, I have several home design projects this year, I use vision boards to plot out how I want things to look. Vision board for home improvements  I'm planning on redesigning my garden this spring/summer so I'm building a vision board of t

I'm a writer - but what does that really mean?   I tell stories, but where do they come from?  I've always been obsessed by stories, ever since I was a child. If I wasn't reading them I was writing them or acting them out.   If there wasn't a story in my collection I wanted to read then I made it up and told it to myself.    As I got older I started writing ideas down and then slowly they evolved in to books or screenplays.   The book I'm publishing next month is something different for me.   I think it's the first time in my life I've told a story with out some kind of twist or mythic/adventure element.   It's the first drama I've ever written and it's probably going to be one of the most personally important books I'll ever write.   I started this project two years ago - I know that's a long time to be working on one book.   But I had to get it right, because its for someone very special.   I spent a great deal of my ch

Ideas are illusive things, they can strike at any time, like a seed in your thoughts they start to grow and develop in to something that you just need to write down somewhere to nurture, consider and assess. So, when the spark hits how do you capture it before it fades just like a dream when you first wake up? If I was asked how I define me as a person, well, I'm a writer, a fictionalist, a scribbler, a dreamer, a story teller and a creative.   Whether I'm sitting at home watching TV, in a meeting in the day job, working out in the gym, walking the dog or even sleeping, my mind and my imagination never stop telling stories. This is not a new development in my life, its always been this way ever since I can remember.  My friends as a child were the books I read or the characters I created in my head.  I didn't really have 'real' friends I was the 'odd' kid, but instead of letting that be a bad thing I've tried to accept it as just part of who I am a

Follow my blog with Bloglovin So I seem to be going from weekend to weekend in these posts!  I promise I do other things but it's just the way events have unfolded! Yesterday, Saturday again, I got the chance to catch up with a couple of my girlfriends and have a nice meal and a killer desert! It's hard sometimes to see your friends when your working, they're working, your trying to fit a million and one things in to life so these moments to me are very precious.   Any way, as it was two of my friends birthdays recently we decided to have a catch up at the local pub and have a nice meal.  The meal was great, but the deserts were amazing! I had an Eton Mess Sunday - believe me you would have your calories for the whole day in this thing.  It was a tower of ice cream, raspberries, meringue and cream which took an age to get through!  my Friend went for the Chocolate Brownie Death by Chocolate and Sunday and my other friend went for Lemon Pie Sunday.  I think by th

So if you're reading my other blog, "My Life as a Writer" you're already following the path I take when writing my novels, this blog is an attempt to illustrate what else I do and love in life. Where to start, well I might as well start off with this past weekend as I indulged in something I do love. I have always had a love of movies and theatre, so on Saturday I indulged my theatrical love and attended the Theatre to see "And Then There Were None" (Agatha Christie). Now this not only plays to my love of theatre but also my love of Christie as a writer, in this 125th Anniversary year her work is still as entertaining and edge of the seat as it was then. The show, which is touring the UK stars Paul Nicholas, Verity Rushworth, Frazer Hines, Colin Buchanan and Ben Nealon, and follows the plot of her famous novel. On a secluded island a group of strangers come together having each received a mysterious invitation.  Following the path of a children