My Top Ten Best Albums Ever

I chose these albums as my top ten because they influenced my musical taste and that I played them a lot at certain points in my life. Inevitably,…

The Amadeus Myth: Debunking the Illusion of Effortless Genius

An iconic scene from the movie Amadeus encapsulates what I call ‘The Amadeus Myth’. Picture this: a dimly lit room and the sound of a piano in the…

How to Write a Tagline for a Novel

A great tagline can make the difference between your novel selling like hot cakes and it not selling at all… and that, fundamentally, is why you need to…

Overcoming Self-Doubt as a Writer

Did you ever stare at a blank page or screen for so long your eyes went funny? Or rewrite a sentence fifteen times and then finally delete it…

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Book Review

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, written by John le Carré and published in 1974, is le Carré’s masterpiece, even better than The Spy Who Came In From The Cold….

The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met

An analysis of ‘The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met’ and why Disney cartoons used to be so incredibly dark and traumatic.

Melodrama and How to Use It

How to tread the fine line between making your story dramatic and slipping into melodrama.

How to Write a Frame Story that Works

What a frame story is, why they’re hard to get right and how to write one that works.

633 Squadron – Novel and Movie Review

633 Squadron, written by Frederick E. Smith and published in 1956, was the source novel for the classic 1963 war movie of the same name. Although it’s not…

Is AI-Generated Art Ethical?

You’ve heard about AI-generated art. Maybe you’ve even played with some of the commercially available AI art tools. But are we really artists if the AI is doing…