A 'bits-and-pieces' kind of day yesterday, dipping into a variety of things. Lots of morsels of progress therefore, the largest portion of which came in beginning to think about characters in the "C" fiction project. It was also a good news / bad news kind of day too - and all from that large 'waiting … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 9th January →

Very occasionally something happens which makes all the hard work worthwhile - and yesterday I had one of those moments. A US reader of my novel, At Maunston Quay, wrote this: "My new year started with reading Ian’s novel, At Maunston Quay, and it was perfect. I had forgotten that for the last two years … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 8th January →

As it turned out yesterday was far more productive than I had imagined it would be. Primarily this was down to a couple of impromptu sessions working on the background for my new fiction idea - and believe me, there's an awful lot of background to be prepared! In this particular instance - if it … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 7th January →

I did manage to put in a little more effort yesterday - which was great. And having spent some more time thinking about my next fiction project, I had a really interesting idea which may well develop into something. I find myself increasingly frustrated by the 'trivial' in contemporary writing - including my own. Perhaps … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 6th January →

As planned, yesterday I was able to publish a new episode to my Walkingthrufire podcast. This time it was a short story called "Smoking in the Park" which is included in my new collection, An Irregular Piece of Sky, to be published later this year - one way or another! I learned two things from … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 5th January →

So, with "Crash" and a selection of my sonnets as of yesterday now in the hands of Carcanet, another log sits on the fire of anticipation. (Perhaps that's too fanciful, but then fires do burn to ash..!) I can't help but feel all I need is a break, a slice of luck...but then perhaps everyone … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 4th January →

I think sometimes at poetry reading groups we fall into the trap of preferring to talk about 'meaning' rather than explore and critique the craft on display. Most often we do this because it is an easy way for readers to make a contribution; occasionally it's an authorial necessity because a poem isn't working. Indeed, … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 3rd January →