When you stop treating your work as a nerve-wracking exam and start treating it as play, the friction evaporates. Work hard in private so you can play without fear at the desk. 🎶

youtu.be/gfF8jzBVWvM...

You can feel the years of quiet preparation beneath it, but on stage, it looks like a kid building sandcastles with complete, unbothered abandon.

I won’t give the destination away just yet, but let's just say Agatha Christie has been heavily on my mind this week... 🕵️‍♂️🚂

💬 How much does literature influence your travel choices? Do you book trips for the sights, or for the story waiting there? 👇

When I think of how many little nuggets of learning are to be found in there—how many small personal adventures have been documented and then lost—it boggles the mind.

I would recommend a visit as soon as you can!

But what really struck me was the range of titles and topics. You could find books on everything from detailed construction plans for a 76-gun wooden frigate to a comprehensive history of the most niche little church in a far-flung county. It was incredible!

If you are a book nerd, going somewhere like this is always a treat. You could easily spend a day in there.

When you feel that sudden catch in your chest at the keyboard, stop editing. That isn't a mess to clean up, that’s the heart and soul of your book waking up.

💬 When was the last time a scene you were writing surprised you with its own emotional weight? Tell me below. 👇

This is the results of a quick flash fiction challenge which I shall tidy up and publish at a later point.

When people say, “write from experience,” I like to think this is what they mean.

This is the same trial a character must go through: to be challenged, whether from within or without; to recognise the unconscious sides of ourselves; to step into the world below, untangle the issues, and return to the world above with wisdom.

💬 Quick desk check: When you draft a new story, are you Team Ink & Notebook or Team Straight to Keyboard? Tell me below. 👇

On a digital screen, we write with an editor looking over our shoulder. On paper, there is a direct, friction-free path from the brain to the words beneath the nib. It’s messy, it’s raw, and it’s the only way the magic actually gets out.

We spend so much time over-intellectualizing our fictional worlds, forgetting that real magic is just a deliberate decision to make the present moment extraordinary.
Bring a little extra glamour to the page today. 🎨

1940s attire, polished carriage wood, brass lamps, and passengers dressed up as if travel were still a grand, romantic adventure to Edinburgh.
It felt like stepping out of a monochrome afternoon and into a vibrant keyframe of pure fantasy.

I felt the pull to film it, post it, live through my phone. But with no reception, I stayed with the moment from start to finish.

Now I can share it. Then, I just got to be in it.

It’s always a privilege to be there: the atmosphere is electric, the sound is immense. This time it meant even more. We were finally seeing the band my partner has wanted to see her whole life — and until now, never had the chance.