As it’s Groundhog Day, here’s the story behind ’11:42′ – but not because of the cute little woodchuck that predicts the arrival of Spring every Feb 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania… (Click title to read more) Continue reading Groundhog Night
Standing in the corner of my grandma’s hallway in my disgrace, the stolen shortbread still melting on my tongue, I placed my hands on the walls, closed my eyes and saw Grandad. Continue reading The Walls Have Ears (and Eyes)
I’m currently working on a top secret, wonderful project and was deep into some research when something quite odd happened… I stumbled upon an obscure article referencing New Zealand’s first Gothic Novel ‘The Ice Station’, written in 1912 by Violet D’Ath.
The storyline sounded so good I immediately decided to find a copy and read it. But it wasn’t that easy, as you can probably tell by my title.
Continue reading “The Odd Disappearance of Violet D’Ath and New Zealand’s First Gothic Novel”
You never need to throw writing away, because every piece of writing contains something useful. Continue reading Writing and Cucumbers
Christina realised her chances of getting away unscathed were hideously low without some kind of brilliant intervention, but her mind was so busy being terrified it couldn’t think of anything brilliant. So, instead, she settled for the oldest trick in the book which, at that point of time, was not very old at all.[1]
Continue reading “Alternative Fact #1 from ‘Blackwood’”
Writers are funny things. When the dreaded writer’s block rears it’s ugly head, they often think back to when they were writing really well. What were they doing then? Had they had three cups of coffee instead of just one? Were they using a red pen or a blue one? Had they gobbled down cornflakes for breakfast, or Cocopops? Was their computer exactly 23.5cm away from the edge of the desk?
It’s very easy to fall into the trap of: ‘If I do this, this and this, in that order, I’ll be able to write some good stuff today.’ But some writers can go a little too far…
Continue reading “Odd Writers #7: Sitwell’s Spooky Habit”
German poet (later called ‘the pop-star of his time’), Schiller believed in the magical power of apples. AND, after he died, his mate kept his skull on his desk. Beat that!
Goethe popped round to Schiller’s one day while he was out and decided to wait in his office for him to return. A strange smell pervaded the room, and Goethe prowled, his nose in the air, looking for the source. It was stronger as he approached Schiller’s desk. He neared, sniffing, but could see nothing to cause the smell. He frowned and sniffed again, tentatively pulling open the desk drawer.
Continue reading “Odd Writers #5: Schiller’s Rotten Writing”
Diaries are supposed to be full of secrets and intrigue. Rev. Robert Shields’ diary was absolutely not one of those diaries. Continue reading Odd Writers #4 : Robert Shields & His Enormous Diary
Could the humble razor be a major secret weapon for writers? Demosthenes, the great Athenian Speech Writer and Orator, thought so. To keep himself holed up in his purpose-built underground chamber, working away like a demon, Demosthenes would often shave half the hair from his head. He would be so ashamed of how odd he looked that he wouldn’t leave the chamber until it grew … Continue reading Odd Writers #3: Demosthenes
