Sunday 17 April: Marvellous weather for our last full day. I power-walk to Clun and back first thing, almost stopping at the church to find John Osborne’s grave but the impulse to feel the burn is too great. ItRead More
Saturday 16 April: Last night it snowed! No warning. Yesterday’s evening walk was mild and pleasant. The sun’s up now and it’ll melt soon. If it wasn’t for the photo I’d think I dreamt it. Snow in April. IRead More
Friday 15 April: There’s something unusual about the Clockhouse Retreat that requires self-discipline. I’m not talking about the writing. It doesn’t take a huge amount of effort to write here, if you admit deep down it’s what you’d rather beRead More
Tuesday 12 April: You either go on retreat to kickstart a project or end it. Today I’m starting a new book of poetry. Everything about today is new. It’s the unofficial first day of spring. I’m on theRead More
There just isn’t time! That’s what it feels like when you have kids and would like to do some writing. Early on in this blog series a reader said that she pretty much put writing aside when her kids wereRead More
I think you can probably forget creative output in your early days of maternity leave. However experienced you are with babies, each one presents its own new challenges, so your household will be turned upside down, you’ll grapple with feedingRead More
For my second post I’m looking at creativity during pregnancy in a bit more detail. A lot of what I’m writing here might be most true of the first pregnancy you experience, although subsequent ones can be so different fromRead More
The writer Cyril Connolly famously said that ‘There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall.’ In other words, he believed that having children meant that the parents’ creative abilities, outputs and opportunities wouldRead More
Hiho, warrior. You know, I hardly recognised you. You’re looking a bit low. Where’s that confident swagger gone? Rather not talk about it? Okay, but you better buckle up, because here comes Continued Rejection. Pass me that flambeau, would you?Read More
I want an audience, Sonya, you say, but I don’t have enough ideas to write and publish a thing once a week. To which I reply: Of course you’ve enough ideas! You just have to capture them. I’m trying notRead More
