Authors Electric

As this is the last of my AE blogs for 2017, I have been casting around for a suitable topic to sum up the past 12 months.  New year resolutions sprang to mind but they can be such a mine field when you make your own choice a matter of public record. I am quite bad at them. I start with the best of intentions but by the end of January my well meant promises are already being shoved to the back of the queue as life gets in the way and by the 1 st March I am usually trying to forget I ever made them in the first place. So what then? The general wisdom is to make a resolution that is within your grasp and to be specific. I was giving this very matter some thought as I struggled through a step routine for the first time this year! It would be fair to say that I am not a natural athlete, and that, combined with hours spent at the keyboard, does mean a certain tendency to spreading out a little. The recent weather has even limited my walking any distance – and if I am perfectl...

Muses are tricksy creatures. They come and go at the slightest hint of change and occasionally desert you entirely for no apparent reason. People refer to those arid spells as writer's block, but would probably be more precise to call it writer’s mind-is-elsewhere. There are many causes for a haitus in the force, and asking around brought me as many suggestions for bringing it to an end. Here are just ten of the most popular suggestions: 1.       Take some exercise . Yoga and tai chi seem to be favourites for this one, though a walk can be as good or better. As a meditational healer I can't stress the benefits that walking meditation can bring whether you are a writer or not. 2.       Free writing . Sit at your keyboard or notebook and write whatever comes into your head, however trite or non-sensical and keep writing for a set period, at which time you down tools and turn to something else. Some people find this incredibly...

Man wielding his mighty plunger You know, we all get bunged up now and again. No, I’m not talking about constipation, I leave that to cringe-making TV ads. However I might be using plumbing metaphors, partly, ok, largely so I can write about men with enormous tools (yes I know there are female plumbers, and small tools, but those are for other blogs, other times). Man with enormous tool. Just because I like writing that.  There have been many discussions of Writers’ Block online, and responses are reminiscent of those about sea- or morning-sickness, or gluten or dairy intolerance, in that those who’ve never had it (YET), often seem to assume it’s imagined or just other writers being over-precious weedy wets chiz chiz. Just apply bum to chair, fingers to keyboard, and keep going, they bark like Sergeant Majors. Those of us with livings to earn can’t afford to have WB! Well those who lay bricks can’t afford to have bad backs, and yet they do. Others, at all levels of fame...