anyone who has worked in education will feel this pain.

If you enjoy my science cartoons and are a Comics industry professional, you can vote for my latest book 'Physics for Cats' (amongst many other great books!) in the Eisner Awards: www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/

times have changed since i was a kid. we went to a fast food restaurant rarely. whimpey once. chinese four or five times. we just couldn’t afford it. it was a treat. but then we weren’t time poor. we had time to cook. now low income families have multiple demanding jobs. take-away is the family meal

the death of the working class writer the educational section of the guardian is full of stories recently of universities cutting HE courses in multiple subjects. quite often the arts are hit leaving behind business studies, law, and the sciences. anything that might turn a profit according to…

much better working on this section today. 2,400 words flowed. much clearer what i want the scene to do. clearer how character would act. only stopped because n0.1 child came and interrupted me. good place to stop. need to focus on gcse revision now. no.2 child is home.

i will not be distracted by social media. i will focus on writing. i will not be distracted by social media. i will focus on writing. i will not be distracted by social media. i will focus on writing. i will not be distracted by social media. i will focus on writing. i will not be distracted by soci

Ok I've designed an LLM prompt to make Google AI just give you a list of links. It's longer than you might think because it kept ignoring the instructions. This is efficient. This is The Future™

im in the unusual situation for me of having multiple writing projects on the go and incomplete. all at various stages. do i divide my time equally between them or focus on one at a time? finding the head space is challenging when dealing with son’s gcse exams. by end of day im done.

yet more he universities are having a disastrous she up and cutting courses. where is the diversity of choice going to be found if all they teach is law & business studies? how is this building for a sustainable future?

probably the best portrayal of watson bringing gravity and intelligence rather than a confused bumbler www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

reading: the artists and writers yearbook guide to getting published by harry bingham. written in 2009 it makes depressing reading. the market was against the debut non-celeb writer then and things seem to have gotten worse. whsmiths was cited as a chain like waterstones that had a good market

can we all agree it is time to switch reality off and on again. we’ve tried everything else. it’s time for the last resort.

You shall not pass! 🤣 #birds

middlemarch no.1 really. that slow moving dreary overly wordy work. i only read it because i had to. i found it dull as a tory party conference speech. and so many excellent works left off the list. surprised frankenstein scored so highly. it was ok. www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...

got an email claiming to be from a writing podcast about me appearing on it. quick back ground check on email being used. doesn’t match with that cited on podcast. you know the follow up to reply would be ‘we have to charge a fee…’

social media has made me stupid. it has reduced my attention span and reduced my focus to soundbites. ai will do the same but worse. i will be reduced to a pink blob only able to function by posting prompts. any prior knowledge now lacks trust as the great machine tells us different.

the rush to push ai is like that scene from the simpsons where a conman is trying to sell the folk of springfield the need for a rollercoaster. it is impractical. uses up valuable resources. all for little benefit. it makes you sick after using it.

no.2 child has gcse language paper thursday. i suggested i help him prepare. look of disbelief from him. this is despite writing books. having been an english coordinator for years in schools. he looked at me with disbelief. there may be some persuading to do. the faith of family members.

worked on wip today but not happy with what i wrote. ive come up with a few fixes to develop the section more. tomorrow i type what i wrote up with the fixes. it may not be the recommended way to work but it is how i work.

the year is 2026 and oil is scarce. gangs of marauding thugs roam the land in beat up vehicles searching for oil. only one man gets in their way. someone should make a film about that.

it’s 00:00 so time for my book

i’m being told all the time to watch/listen to a particular series. but i rarely start. i cant commit to 10 episode series over 6 series. i haven’t the patience for episodes where two main characters talk about their past to flesh the characters out cos it’s deep. or episodes where someone is in a

up late as spent the day snoozing. my daytime clock is out of whack. I failed to watch a film today as it made me squirm. i often don’t finish something because a scene or moment in the film/series is making me squirm. I connect too much with the characters and root for them.

very slow as I’m usually simultaneously dipping in 4-5 at once

i was going to type up my draft section of wip this morning. i discover i have already done it. this means i will now have to focus and write a new section of it. life can be tough. back to the pen and notebook it is.

i’ve just seen some ai art on blusky and now feel dirtied and sullied. this is the appropriate response to ai produced slop, writing included.

My latest @newscientist.com cartoon.

My books cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com

I covered that march. Here's the first paragraph of the story I wrote about it: www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-t...

it would be errant of me not to mention an experimental film screening tonight at @allgoodbookshop.co.uk from 7pm. a couple of films directed and written by my daughter. i’ve seen them and they are thought provoking and original. well worth a view if you get a chance.

some nice surprises on here www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...

Wes Streeting gives the vibes of someone trying to sell you timeshares in a holiday villa

desperate hamlet fanatic strikes

Hello Wednesday. Bible, France C13th, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Ms. Codex 724, fol. 272v.

so maybe the government should invest in the arts like he universities and creatives? UBI anyone. just saying for any political party looking for a change of direction and impact

#writtenwords #writinginspiration #authors #writerlife #selfpublishing #writerssupportingwriters

signing off now as i have a book to read. yes i know it is 1:50 in the morning.

i am drinking black cherry juice. i do not like black cherry juice. it is far from a first choice. i panic bought.

this is the nightly reminder to plug in your spirit lamp into the darker vortex. you don’t want to wandering the between places without enough wraiths.

maybe we should do a poll about this decision?

i like secret doors in old houses. unfortunately i live in a terraced house with limited space. i suppose a library in front of a cat flap is out of the question?

I am resigning from bookselling and writing to challenge the PM for the leadership. Here are my key policies: All care homes to have lap cats All bookshops to sell wine Kazoo bands to perform in town centres every Tuesday Anyone calling crisps ‘crips’ to be deported UBI for all except Piers Morgan

spring is upon us. the worse time of year if you are a writer. we are cursed. #writing #ukwriters stephenfitzsimons.com/2026/05/06/t...

the curse of spring the months move on and the cold dark days of winter begin to fill with the light and warmth of spring. plants awaken in the garden spreading their leaves and the flowers blossom. animals play and skip across the grass with a spring in their step. literally. you would think with…

spring is upon us. the worse time of year if you are a writer. we are cursed. #writing #ukwriters stephenfitzsimons.com/2026/05/06/t...

the curse of spring the months move on and the cold dark days of winter begin to fill with the light and warmth of spring. plants awaken in the garden spreading their leaves and the flowers blossom. animals play and skip across the grass with a spring in their step. literally. you would think with…

this is happening soon in London in a local community bookshop in Haringey. i will be there for three important. 1) ive seen the film. it’s great. I don’t understand it. i need to see it again. 2) the film is by no.1 child 3) I manage the shop if you fancy supporting a creative in Haringey go.

so focused on writing I’ve only just noticed other people are now in the pub.