If this pandemic has shown us anything, it’s demonstrated vividly those occupations that really matter. Below, listed alphabetically and not in order of importance, are those jobs without which we can’t live civilised lives. Please use the ‘Comments’ space below to add/subtract from this, giving your reasons. Broadcasters (who provide vital information and stress-relieving entertainment)Civil …
Month: Mar 2020
Finding the #Write #Words? No. 24: Roget’s Thesaurus.
Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 24: Roget’s Thesaurus of English words and phrases (the original): Hardback, 1254 pages, including 613 pages of ‘index’. First published in 1852 by Peter Mark Roget. Mine is the 1987 new edition published by The Bath …
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Steps: Flash Fiction
For today’s weekly creative post, I’m giving you a bit of flash fiction. Considering how many people are caring for others in the current climate, I thought a touch of gentle humour on the topic might be appropriate. Enjoy! # Steps Every time! Can’t the old fool decide? If he’d make up his mind, I …
A Mother’s Day Walk.
Long, early morning shadows and a blue sky. With much of the world’s population confined to their homes, or at least only able to be outside if isolated from other people, my wife and I decided to take one of our regular walks in the forest to celebrate the day. Our daughter is currently living …
Finding the #Write #Words? No. 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English.
Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. subtitled Volume 1: Verbs with Prepositions and Particles: Hardback, 396 pages, including 2 indices. First published in 1975 by Oxford University Press. Mine is the 1984 sixth impression. I …
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The Poop Diaries, by Abby Ross: #BookReview.
237 pages Nonfiction This book is about plumbers and their experiences in the world of pipes, sewers, toilets, poo, and everything that impacts on their lives in that role. I’ll try to avoid scatological humour in this review, but I’m not promising anything! If you’ve ever had to invite or beg a plumber to unblock …
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I Dream of a Day When #poetry
The first of a series of 'creative' posts I promised a while ago for Wednesdays. I Dream of a Day When I dream of a day whenRacists learn they’re related to those they hatePolluters are forced to live in the poison they spreadCheats are made to pay for their crimesWomen are heard, respected, and valued …
Finding the #Write #Words? No. 22: Oxford Compact Thesaurus
Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 22: Oxford Compact Thesaurus: Hardback, 967 pages. First published in 1997 by Oxford University Press. Mine is the 2001 second edition. I paid nothing for it; it was part of a free promotional offer from an …
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Creativity Interrupted
The Hut in the Woods. It happens to us all from time to time: something (often, more than one thing) comes along to distract or prevent us from doing our creative work. For many, judging by comments from blog posts, tweets, and on Facebook, that interruption of the creative flow can be physically as well …
Somebody Else’s Troubles, by J.A. English: #BookReview.
389 Pages Literary Fiction. All serious works of fiction should carry at least one underlying message. Some manage this with such subtlety it barely makes a conscious impression on those not seeking it, others blare it out loudly, covering their story with a condescending layer of preaching. Many lie somewhere in between; a reasonable balance …
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Nexus, by Joshua Grant: #BookReview.
389 pages YA/Science Fiction If you enjoy science fiction packed with action, humour and credible characters, but overlain with emotional content to make you care what happens to those characters, this is for you. So many scifi thrillers concentrate on plot, action, with little attention given to the players. This book contains all the elements …
Finding the #Write #Words? No. 21: New Nuttall Dictionary of English Synonyms and Antonyms
Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 21: The New Nuttall Dictionary of English Synonyms and Antonyms: Hardback, 442 pages. First published in 1943 by Frederick Warne and Co. Mine is the 1986 edition, revised by Editor Rosalind Fergusson and published by Viking. …
Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated
On the 1st of the month I remind followers of this blog the creative writing contest table has been updated. (I update it several times during each month, but I post this reminder comes just once!) You can access the table through the ‘Resources’ page, here. Many contests are free to enter and offer great …
Stuart Aken 