Who was your most influential teacher? Why? It’s been a long time since I was at school but five teachers immediately came to mind when I read this question. Three nice ones, two atrocious, one might say, monsters. The temptation … Continue reading Prompted
November is National Novel Writing Month and, as I have for the last few years, I signed up. This time, not to write a novel that I then never look at again but, to work on a short story collection. … Continue reading NaNo Interrupted
Hello, you have landed on post #2 of a series in which I examine what it is to be a procrastinator in lockdown. In post #1 I found a delightful chap called Tim Urban on YouTube. He was giving a … Continue reading Lockdown Lethargy #2: What’s Going On?
It’s six-o-five, still dark, and I am sitting by an open window at the dining table of our New York apartment. The city is waking, cars, which never quite stop moving, are gathering force, a man walks by with a … Continue reading Brooklyn Morning
I should be packing – which means finishing the ironing I began yesterday.I should be cleaning the house so our return won’t be too gruesome.I should be going to the Post Office to bank the cheque that arrived this morning, … Continue reading One More Sleep
I’m in the throes of preparation for our imminent trip to America. Which means I spend hours frantically making lists; trying on various combinations of my clothing (it’s amazing what you can do with half-a-dozen shirts; three pairs of jeans; … Continue reading Tributary
I’m currently writing a novel about a shit-storm that ensues when a small Scottish community decides to buy the island it inhabits from the wealthy, always absent and appallingly neglectful, landlord. I’ve written the first draft, and now I’m onto … Continue reading Research & Motivation (or is it the other way round?)
This week’s story is a true one. I did begin to write a normal, fictitious one, but found myself too absorbed in the new project I’ve taken on. It involves working on-site with a client, helping them with all the … Continue reading Story-A-Week #14: Birthday
I’m a day late with this post for a stew of reasons, the culmination of which being I couldn’t get any purchase on this week’s story until I woke on Monday morning and realised what it was about. Then had … Continue reading Story-A-Week #7: On a Dig
A couple of weeks ago I overheard a woman telling another woman everything she didn’t like about the menu they were looking at in the window of a café. Some days later I read a few stories in Lydia Davis’s … Continue reading Story-A-Week #3 What She Doesn’t Like
Eryl Gasper-Dick, still curious 