When people find out that I’m a writer, the question that invariably comes after ten minutes is: “So are you going to write a book?”

Almost as if writing a book is what makes a writer a real writer.

I usually reply with:

a) No. I’m not long-winded enough.

b) No. I haven’t found a [...]

The beggar woman clutched her filthy shawl closer to her body, as if by drawing it tighter she would be able to ward off the pain and cold of abandonment. It wasn’t the winters that were so hard; the weather she could take. It was the knowledge that she would be alone for yet another [...]

It is finished.

After 21 inconsistent and highly eccentric days, I have now officially written a 50,800 word baby. Far from a sterling effort – you wouldn’t expect anything less than horrifying fiction surely, but I fully intend to edit every inch before unfamiliar eyes should even lay upon it.

For now at least, [...]

This is just the craziest thing.

Imagine frantically typing away for 30 days in November to produce a 50,000 word novel. And knowing there are thousands and thousands of others around the globe doing the exact same thing. Everyone knows it’s going to be vaguely, if not outlandishly, crappy, but no one cares. [...]