Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (1862 – 1931), more commonly known as Ida B. Wells, was an African-American journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist, feminist, and an early leader in the Civil Rights Movement. #CelebratingWomen

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 268: If you’re planning to set your book in a real- world place, you owe it to your readers to know as much about it as possible. Ideally, go there. Spend time, preferably not as a tourist. Talk to locals. Eat local food. Some things can’t be researched online.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 265: Place in a story needs careful thought. Place determines how we behave; what we wear; what we eat; how we move around our space. How we interact with our location is at least as important as the way in which we interact with each other.

Strive for peace in your families and with your friends and neighbours, and it will manifest in the wider world. Be as kind to the Earth and its life as you can manage.

Whatever weird shit is going on in the world, live the life you need to live, support your communities, local businesses, creative individuals and environment. Don’t let the melodramatic media invade or dominate your mind.

Every vote counts. Don't leave our future up to chance. Together we can build a fairer, greener, kinder Scotland. 🕙Polls are open until 10pm 🗳️Everyone in Scotland can vote Scottish Greens on the peach ballot paper ✉️If you have a postal vote you can hand it in 🪪You DON'T need photo ID in Scotland

Unsolicited writing advice,. no. 2145667: The number of words you write a day, or the time you spend writing, is irrelevant. What matters is that you make progress. One good sentence is better than ten pages you'll have to cut later.

Bright Beltane.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 3: You don't need an MA in Creative Writing to write. You don't need special software to write. You don't need online services to write. All you need is a notepad, a pen and the willingness to take time, make mistakes and learn.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2961: Your voice is unique. It’s a combination of many factors: your upbringing and background; the books you’ve read; your personality. Some people may not like it, but it’s yours. Keep it authentic. Trying to sound like someone else is a betrayal of who you are.

A wee break from #writing to make this: dragon pendant hand carved from boxwood and set with genuine hand polished, beach collected Whitby jet. 87 mm x 46 mm, on adjustable organic hemp cord www.woodlandtreasures.co.uk/product/drag... #woodcarving #dragon #necklace

This month we published Janie Nicoll, Gerry Hassan, Nuzhat Uthmani, Raymond Rose, Simon Murray, Danica Priest, Ewan Gibbs, George Gunn & more. Bella is supported only by its readers. Make a small monthly donation & support independent Scottish journalism: bellacaledonia.org.uk/donate

Just putting the finishing touches to my end-of-month newsletter, with recipes, news, competitions, trivia, work-in-progress (and sometimes its counterpart, work-in-arrears). Not signed up yet? You can do it here: www.joanne-harris.co.uk

This is brilliant news: when I went to the Congo with MSF about 20 years ago, doctors were still having to do lumbar punctures on kids with no anaesthetic, and using an antiquated treatment based on strychnine that was fatal to half the patients...

Remembering the early days of Thatcherism as I get deeper into writing this novella. Man, it seems to have been all down hill from then on... #writing #1980s #cnd

Has it been 4 years already?! We're excited to announce that our 4th Anniversary Contest for Poetry and Short Fiction is opening in one week! Please see the Contest tab on our website for details about the contest and our awesome judges! Submission is free! www.darkwinterlit.com/contests

#Writingcommunity join ALCS and register your works www.alcs.co.uk

Thank you @alcs.co.uk for all your work. It's great to get a spring bonus! #writers - sign up now 🙂

In between the #writing is the carving of wooden #jewellery www.woodlandtreasures.co.uk

The thing about writing a novella mostly set in the late #70s and early #80s is I can't help politicising the characters. My there was so much Thatcherite shit going down none of us could keep quiet #rockagainstracism #falklands #antinazileague #reggae #punk #writing

Every time anyone says 'it's impossible to avoid using genAI' a fairy loses its wings Please stop. You're wrong, and fairies are endangered

Published today! #EmergencyDream out now. Catch it at your local bookshop or there are unlimited signed copies through @samreadbookseller.bsky.social or I believe there are a few @lighthousebks.bsky.social.

Everything's better in the countryside, right? HOME SICK July 2026 @solarisbooks.bsky.social Preorder here: geni.us/homesick

Are you a human writer? Join this 🙂

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 6230: Writing is freedom. You are free to write whatever you like, in whatever way you like. You're free to take advice, or not. You're free to describe the real world, or to build it differently. Your successes, your mistakes, your decisions belong to you. Own them.

THREE DAYS TO GO!!

Groot is helping with a poem I'm working on #writing #poem #cat

Share a TV show that raised you

Finally, the wait is over! Jitterbug hits bookstores today, published by @titanbooks.bsky.social

Today is the last day to check your ALCS account before we start preparing for the March payment. You know what to do, make sure all looks correct & let us take it from there 💸 If you need to update your bank details, get in touch before 5pm

Freshly carved earrings - by a single craftsman - no outsourcing, all designed and made with love and respect in the Highlands of Scotland by me from rescued offcuts. Photos not to scale. www.woodlandtreasures.co.uk

The paperback of VIANNE comes out on March 6th. And doesn't it look terrific?

Unsolicited writing advce, no. 25677: In times of doubt, remember this: Word count isn't everything. It's better to write 100 useful words than 10,000 useless ones.

I'm just a boy standing in front of an Internet asking it to let everybody know that my #book comes out in just over a week.

My February newsletter can be seen here: www.patreon.com/posts/februa... New members welcome - instalments of sci-fi novel monthly. Donations welcome: buymeacoffee.com/geoffkingwriter #writer #books #reading #sci-fi

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 165: Don't wait for inspiration. It's rare and unpredictable. Hard work, lots of practice, editing, and rewriting is what matters every time.

Once again, our right to protest is under threat. I just signed @friends-earth.bsky.social petition to stop new police powers that could shut down many peaceful protests and weaken our democratic rights. Please add your name too: action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/rig...

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 125: Questions to ask yourself when plotting a book. Where's the main conflict? What does my protagonist have to overcome? What will happen if they don't? The higher the stakes, the bigger the conflict. The bigger the conflict, the bigger the story.

Coppicing in our wee woodland on a frosty blue sky day #writerslife #woodland #smallholding

Delighted to share the full ToC for Best of British Science Fiction 2025. Pre-orders now available on the Newcon Press website! www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.as...

Satish Kumar always has some wise words

This week I was #writing #sci-fi , last week I made these #jewellery #woodcarving www.woodlandtreasures.co.uk

I don't mind a cat in the room when I'm writing. It can sleep on the chair, or on my lap, but when it headbutts me, walks across the keyboard, tries to lick the crumbs from my plate, puts its head into my cup and yowls to be let out only to want in again a minute later...well, my patience wears thin

My review of 'The Roma - A Travelling History' by @madelinepotter.bsky.social has just been published here: bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/03/t... Read the review, read the book. #Roma #writing #bookreview #nonfiction

I have now severed my long neglected connection to the Dark Side. I am now fully ex-X

Have you heard all the false facts about llamas recently? It's alpaca lies... #humour #writing #puns

'Happiness and contentment, equability of soul, meaningfulness of life - these can be experienced by the individual and not by the state, which, on one hand, is nothing but a convention of independent individuals, and on the other, continually threatens to paralyse and suppress the individual.' Jung

More wise words from @joannechocolat.bsky.social

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 147: Don't ask yourself if a story has been told before: it has. Ask yourself how you're going to tell it in a way that is unique to you.