Broomeshtick

…moving to 70Decibels made this happen too.

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:59:27 +0000

…moving to 70Decibels made this happen too.

Write for Your Life podcast joins 70Decibels

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:56:49 +0000

Write for Your Life podcast joins 70Decibels:

Long time no post. I’ve been busy moving house and that kind of thing. Stressful business. Anyway, while I’ve been away, it so happens that the Write for Your Life podcast has been acquired for literally no money at all by the 70Decibels network. That means it’s going to be a weekly gig and I’ll have a trusty steed in Myke Hurley who’ll be on hand to co-host and produce the darn thing. I’m very grateful to him.

Head over an subscribe to the podcast now!

How to sync Scrivener with any text editor (and go mobile too)

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:04:57 +0000

How to sync Scrivener with any text editor (and go mobile too):

Something I wrote for Write for Your Life that you might find useful. Well, if you use Scrivener, anyway.

harkaway: If you watch nothing else today, take two minutes to...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:13:46 +0000

harkaway:

If you watch nothing else today, take two minutes to watch this breathtaking labour of love: a stop-motion film of books playing after closing time.

Delightful.

Here’s an extract from my novel, A is for Angelica. It...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:10:52 +0000

Here’s an extract from my novel, A is for Angelica.

It comes right in the middle of a chapter that’s right in the middle of the book. The chapter is called New Testament.

There’s quite a bit of dialogue in the extract, which is generally trickier to read/perform, but that’s also why it’s worth recording and listening back. You know, for practice and that.

Hope you likey.

Just read: The Judgement and In the Penal Colony by Franz...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:20:44 +0000

Just read: The Judgement and In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka

Yikes! Grim! Wasn’t expecting that. Quite enjoyable though, in an unpleasant, gory sort of a way.

Just read: Bringing it all back home by Ian Clayton. Glorious,...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Just read: Bringing it all back home by Ian Clayton. Glorious, beautifully written memoir about growing up in the north, places and people, and above all, music. Also, totally and utterly heartbreaking. I cried and cried.

Abandoned: The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. I got...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:49:00 +0000

Abandoned: The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. I got halfway through but couldn’t take the awful writing any longer. Watch the film.

Now that’s what I call… what Iain listened to in 2011!

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:39:51 +0000

Now that’s what I call… what Iain listened to in 2011!:

I made a Spotify list of stuff I’ve been listening to this year. It wasn’t necessarily released this year. But I listened to it anyway. Just because I could.

alwaysunpresentable: If I ever own a house big enough (or at...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:56:36 +0000

alwaysunpresentable:

If I ever own a house big enough (or at all at this rate), I’ll probably be buying and sticking up a few of these because they are great and have a variety of Sheffield and Newcastle/Gateshead prints. They’re ace.

They are wonderful aren’t they? And created by my pal, Jonathan, husband of friend and colleague, Joanne, who is also co-organiser of Words Aloud. Sheffield Connexions FTW!!!

Plain Song by Native and the Name, directed by Nick Park I...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:20:36 +0000

Plain Song by Native and the Name, directed by Nick Park

I mentioned this a while back, but my pal Joe and his band have just released their first album and the lead single, Plain Song, is directed by Nick Park. I was part of the audience for the live shots. Even if you look closely, you won’t see me.

Also, I made their website for them.

A new site for The Workshop

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:58:19 +0000

A new site for The Workshop:

I’ve spent the best part of six weeks working on the new company website here at The Workshop. It’s very much a 1.0, but that’s an achievement in itself.

When you work for a busy design agency, it’s difficult to set the time aside to work on your own projects. So we decided to dedicate this short period of development time to the site and then iterate as we go.

It’s been great fun to work on and there are lots of plans in store. I’m looking forward to putting more ideas into practice.

Just abandoned: Apples, Richard Milward. Mmm, not my cup of...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Just abandoned: Apples, Richard Milward. Mmm, not my cup of midnight cocoa. Sorry.

Hopeful Eyes (by Native and the Name) This is my pal Joe and his...

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:22:51 +0000

Hopeful Eyes (by Native and the Name)

This is my pal Joe and his excellent band, Native and the Name. The lad can sing, I might tell you.

Their album is called Under Branches High and is out now on the old iTunes. You can also nip to the Native and the Name website for more information. The album’s on Spotify too actually.

How CCTV can improve your productivity. This is something I...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:53:53 +0000

How CCTV can improve your productivity. This is something I recorded a couple of years ago. Here’s the theory behind it.

I found it because I was looking through my videos on Vimeo to try and find one where I liked my hair.

What? What’s wrong with that?

"It does neither reader nor author justice. What you end up with is an impression of something having..."

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:41:47 +0000

“It does neither reader nor author justice. What you end up with is an impression of something having happened. Pale paragraphs that you can never fully recall. Silhouettes of broken sentences.”

- I want you to stop speed reading | Write for Your Life

My thoughts on speed reading and why, especially if you’re a writer, you should probably pack it in.

"The past beats inside me like a second heart."

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:01:57 +0000

“The past beats inside me like a second heart.”

-
John Banville, The Sea

(via Ben Johncock)

Gorgeous sentence.

Just read: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore....

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:39:00 +0000

Just read: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. Beautifully written and found myself totally hooked in some sections, but overall it felt like hard work. I’m not sure why either. There isn’t much of a story, but then that’s not much of a criticism, generally speaking. I think, perhaps, sometimes, a book simply isn’t one’s particular cup of tea. And that’s all there is to it.

Just read: The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes. Clearly well...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Just read: The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes. Clearly well written and beautifully paced, but not enough soul for my ever so sensitive tastes. I like sentences that surprise me and characters with hearts as well as minds. I can see why it won the Booker, but yeah, I was a bit like, whatevs mate by the end.

Read Your Bookcase I’m trying, I’m trying, I...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:46:36 +0000

Read Your Bookcase

I’m trying, I’m trying, I promise.

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