Day Twenty-Three… Doc Holiday

500 words. Weeks and weeks of chest pain and coughing and bronchial oysters go by and I decide it’s time to surrender and call the doctor. I don’t often visit the GP. I kind of believe in the body as a finely tuned self-healing tool. I was prescribed a course of antibiotics once in my […]

Day Twenty-Two… Back on Track

542 words. I’d like to think that these words, my first as a 41-year-old writer, were even more coruscating and insightful than usual. No? Right, I’ll get my coat… Listened to Navigare, by Simon Scott (thanks, Nick).

Day Twenty-One… Gift-wrapped Wheels Come Off

0 words. It was my birthday… give me a break. Despite not managing anything over the past two days, I’ve just noticed I’ve hit 40,000 words.

Day Twenty… Home

0 words. The last day of a convention and I don’t stick around, not when there’s a five-hour journey involved. I was out of Brighton by 9am.

Day Nineteen… Wheels Come Off

54 words. Woke up late. And felt like something that should not be allowed to exist had laid eggs in my chest that were beginning to hatch. I’ve had what I suspect is a chest infection for the last few weeks and a long night of alcoholic drinks and cold air had done its best […]

Day Eighteen… Busy

511 words. I wrote those words freezing in the park in Brighton’s Regency Square, blasted by the wind coming off the sea. I spent the afternoon at a series of publishing parties, drinking far too much free white wine. By the time the party on the pier kicked off at 9pm, I was ‘refreshed’ to […]

Day Seventeen… Bifurcated

1243 words. After breakfast (in bed) I found my narrative suddenly split in two. I’d been charging on with one strand of my hero’s story only to suddenly realise that there was a bit I needed to tuck in earlier on, so I found myself with two leading edges to deal with. It meant that […]

Day Sixteen… Pain Barrier

704 words. There are a few worse feelings than having to get out of bed before 5am… but not many. Five and a half hours of motorway (is it me, or are there more roadworks now than ever before?) and I reached the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton with 200 copies of London Revenant for […]

Day Fifteen… Chapter Fracture

504 words. It was all going swimmingly, and then I hit a chapter break. New chapter, change of pace, you can see the brick wall coming but there’s nothing you can do to stop yourself from slamming into it… Oh well. Slowly onward. Another BTGG day. Just. I’m in Brighton for the World Horror Convention […]

Day Fourteen… Exterminate all Adjectival Thought

1007 words I’m privileged to have attended Arvon’s Lumb Bank writing retreat twice as a teacher over the past few years. Any writer who wants to spend a week in beautiful surroundings with like minds should think about signing up for one of their courses. They’re not cheap, but they will pay you back immeasurably […]