I knew it! Ghosts are real! 👻🎃 societyofauthors.org/2025/10/24/g...

Chuffed to hear Ken Whitmore’s radio play “The Gingerbread House” introduced by @tobyhadoke.bsky.social in the 7th Dimension on Radio 4 Extra. This was my suggestion for the “All Request Weekend”. Listen on BBC Sounds while you have the chance. 🏚️🔊 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

A very enjoyable and inspiring children’s fiction writing workshop this evening with Liz Hyder (@londonbessie.bsky.social). Thanks to Brunel University for this series, plus the usual admirable hosting duties from Helen Cullen (@wordsofhelen.bsky.social)! ✍️

For today's writing displacement activity, I will mostly be playing "The Pyramid" on the Commodore 64. Mutant typewriters; lethal scissors; psychopathic teddy bears; funny shaped things I can't put a name to. It's everything you want from a fever dream. 🕹️

Thank you @clareswatmanauthor.bsky.social for enduring five weeks of my pointless piffle on this excellent @cbcreative.bsky.social course. ✍️ And a special thank you to the wonderful @mariankeyes.bsky.social for her calm and inspiring video lessons. 📺 www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

It is important for writers to engage with their audience via the power of social media. Please find attached a picture of a boiled egg. Like books, eggs are important. For maximum effect, look at this boiled egg whilst eating cheddar cheese just before bedtime, then enjoy the fever dream. 🥚🧀😴

Top tip: if you can't make your illegal pdf download of a book work, the author is not your next port of call.

Back in the day, I used to give writers a very specific piece of advice: never start a line of dialogue with “As you know”. As in: “As you know, we’ve just been to Waitrose.” (Sitcom) “As you know, I’m your son.“ (Sitcom) “As you know, you rejected my script last month.” (Covering letter) ✍️

National reading stats on World Book Day! WARNING: Contains numbers. 📚🧮 www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

I’m currently going through a phase I’ve decided to call “writer’s treacle”. It’s sort of like writer’s block but with slightly less constipation. ✍️🍯

A pleasant afternoon spent at @waterstones.bsky.social Piccadilly, including a browse around the new Booker Prize Library. I bought a Spike Milligan memoir (not a Booker Prize winner but should've been). 📚

Thought I'd demystify publishing language for debuts. 'Structural edit' = rewrite your book 'Line edit' = all these sentences are wrong 'Copy edit' = your chronology is wrong 'Proof read' = there are still loads of errors 'Second proof read' = how the hell is your punctuation still up the spout?

I’ve been struggling with the novel a bit lately. There are many videos on the Tube of You giving tips on “how to fall in love with your writing again” and these have proved invaluable. As such, I've been looking at the areas of the book I enjoy writing most and managed to do 1000 words today. ✍️

Some nice bookmarks with today’s delivery from Booksplease. Reminds me of the good old days of Book Depository! 📚☕

I’m on a mission to read all the unread books I’ve accumulated over the years. I completely forgot that I’d bought “The Rebecca Notebook” by Daphne du Maurier at the same time as “Rebecca”. It was on one of my shelves under a book about how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. 📚

What a wonderful episode of BBC Inside the Factory showing us how the Penguin Clothbound Classics edition of “Pride and Prejudice” is made. 📚🦢 @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Just say “no”. Not a Grange Hill reference but wise words for writers from @nadinematheson.com. ✍️ nadinemathesontalks.substack.com/p/i-have-the...

“Hundreds of thousands of words written, then rewritten.” It’s how the magic happens, folks! ✍️

A Jo Leevers book for a quid. Stick it in your TBR pile! 📚

Finally, after many years of owning it, I’ve read “Ben, in the World” by Doris Lessing, her sequel to the strange and disturbing “The Fifth Child”. Brilliant, gripping and tragic. Like its predecessor, it’s a nice quick read at 178 pages. I love my Flamingo editions which have “metallic” covers. 📚

On the subject of good first pages from @cbcreative.bsky.social. ✍️📚 www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/how-to-...

Valuable insight from @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social courtesy of @janefriedman.com about different writing routines. I currently write most days – but not every day – and it can be anything from 30 minutes to four hours per session. ✍️ janefriedman.com/dont-write-e...

You can’t beat a bit o’ Old English! I’ve added “uhtcearu” to my vocab book (yes, I still do this). Well, you never know when you might need such a word. 💬

I’m slowly getting over the paralysing fear I had for most of 2024 after I made the decision to “pivot” into the world of novel writing. But, somehow, I managed to get 100,000 words down on paper by Christmas. This wonderful and challenging journey continues into 2025... ✍️

I absolutely love my Pentel Kerry 0.7 mechanical pencil. I've mostly used the P205 since I was at school but moved up to the P207 as I found the thicker lead nicer for writing. The Kerry is a writer's dream though as it feels like a fountain pen in the hand. ✍️✏️ www.penaddict.com/blog/2019/2/...

My next read just arrived in the post from @blackwells.bsky.social. Booker Prize 2024 winner ORBITAL by Samantha Harvey. A nice slim paperback edition with with French flaps! 📚🚀 @thebookerprizes.bsky.social

I hit the wall with my first draft a few weeks ago after reaching about 83,000 words. More clambering up the brickwork today after a little festive break to try and push through. ✍️🧱

Today I will mostly be falling over in a food coma. Happy Christmas to all writers and festive eaters. ✍️🎄

Time for a bit of pre-Christmas Sunday writing before "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" on the telly. Yes, I always use the full title (you lose a mark in Film Studies O-Level if you don't). ✍️📺

Crime and noirish reading for the season. All the classics are here but there are one or two I’ve never heard of so will definitely check out. 📚🎄 www.theguardian.com/books/2024/d...

Agree 100%. Let’s start a movement, people. We want bigger fonts and we want them NOW! 🔍👀

James Bond has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm writing at the moment but I'm doing it to the new expanded "Moonraker" soundtrack courtesy of the fine people at @lalalandrecords.bsky.social. The holy grail of my soundtrack wishlist (well, one of them). ✍️🚀

I've been in the writing game for years but I'm a beginner when it comes to novels. So I've signed up for "Writing Fiction with @mariankeyes.bsky.social", hosted by those peeps at @cbcreative.bsky.social. Can't wait to get going in May! ✍️📚🔑 www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

At my first ever Writers’ Lunch at the Royal Court Theatre. Look, ma, I’m a real writer now! ✍️🥐🥪

A shameful longstanding viewing hole finally filled. “The Three Faces Of Eve” (1957)

Writers of Bluesky. Do seek out the @ukpageone.bsky.social podcast. It’s always a useful and inspiring listen (or watch). The latest episode is a chat with author @jocallaghankat.bsky.social who, in the blink of an eye, you’ll find frequenting this new butterfly-shaped land. 🔊✍️🦋

A brief diversion from my main read to enjoy some Sherlock Holmes stories. This gorgeous vintage John Murray edition is a beloved gift from a friend. Last night was “The Speckled Band” which is one of my favourites. 📚🐍

Definitely me! And not just at official bedtime. 📚🛌

Top tips about finding the time to write from the @cbcreative.bsky.social folks. Little and often is my method (which also applies to Toblerones). ✍️🕔🏔️ www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/10-tips...

I’m adding “tinted A4 pads” to my writing arsenal for a bit of long-form drafting by hand when I’m out and about. Typing has to be done at home as I need to use my robust mechanical keyboard in my personal writing space. 🗒️✍️ #AmWriting www.penguin.co.uk/articles/202...

Incredible news from @lalalandrecords.bsky.social about the next two expanded James Bond scores! “Moonraker” is perhaps my holy grail of soundtrack releases. ⚪⚪🚶‍♂️🔴

Writers of Bluesky! I read an article last night about how authors should choose one social media platform and “boss it” rather than try to be everywhere. I’m finding Bluesky is probably my main new “place“ (jury’s out on whether I can “boss it”) but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. ✍️🖥️🦋

The first draft of this thing I'm writing is currently at 86,000 words. That's ultimately the kind of length it needs to be but there is still a loooong way to go before this will be a completed draft. ✍️

Excellent article on writing an Author’s Note. Having done the filmmaking equivalent (Director’s Statement) I can tell you it’s worth getting starting on these things long before you need them. ✍️ janefriedman.com/writing-the-...

Penguin Classics poses an interesting challenge. For me it’s probably “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells which I read on a hot Thursday afternoon whilst bunking off games at school. It wasn’t in a classics edition back then, but it is now. 📚🐧

A good little piece from a few years ago about time and place. careerauthors.com/time-setting...

People of Bluesky! These days I'm more of a writer than a filmmaker but if you'd like to watch the film I made, "The Watcher Self", then hop over to Vimeo. You'll need a login because it gets a bit saucy! Meanwhile, I'm focusing on writing my debut novel, so do say hello! vimeo.com/channels/the...

The musical you never knew you wanted, folks... www.whatsonstage.com/news/cast-an...

Always nice to ease myself into a new writing day with some hilarious problem-solving chat. "Now You're Asking with Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn" is back – live from the Hay Festival! 🎙️ @mariankeyes.bsky.social @taraflynnirl.bsky.social @hayfestival.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Okay, I need to stop looking at Bluesky and actually get some writing done. As Hannah Fry would say: "It's your own time you're wasting." 😫