Inspired by - of all things - a line on The Great Pottery Throw-down!

The 2020 book just arrived from eBay. I did have it before. I might have had two copies. But, I probably gave them away, so, when I wanted to fill a shelf with this particular decade I had to resort to the internet. Why these ten? Well... Back in about 2003, encouraged by my writing group tutor, I began sending little stories to The Friendship Book in hopes of getting one published. I got rejected. Quite a few times. But, Alison Cook did what writers pray editors will do. She

The Lines For The Day project was inspired by Lia Leendertz. She has followers of her newsletter write in with their impressions of the day where they are, and she combines them into a Poem of the Month. I suggested something similar to the writing group - and it kinda died! But, I kept on with it. Let's face it, we all have an experience of the day. And there are certain socially acceptable ways we describe it to each other. But, how would a writer - who was interested in fi

This prompt was inspired by the proximity of Burns' Night, celebrating Scotland's Bard, Robert Burns. But there is a long history of response poems (and songs). In this instance, take a Burns poem and write a response to it. "Tae A Moose" might become " Fae A Moose". "My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose" might become, "My Love, He Has A Big Red Nose" (that's brought on by the booze!) If you are not too familiar with Burns, pick another poet, or a favourite poem, either writing a

City of Poets Tiny Prize winner!

Most of us are a collection of stories. Some are our experiences. Some come courtesy of others. Sometimes they are a combination. The thing is - they are all potential kick-starts when it come to creating something new. I mentioned telling my granddaughter about a dairy from my childhood. It's a private house now, but back then it had a yard for a cart and a stable for the horse. The idea of the milk being delivered by horse and cart is at the furthest reaches of my memory. B

Bobby Ronnie caught me in passing.

I've been trying to write a line or two for every day. Just to remind myself I am a writer. Hey, we all - thankfully - have these days, so why not practice describing them? Finding new ways to describe an "ordinary" day isn't easy. You soon get into the habit of looking out for those moments, those moods, and swapping descriptors as you do all the other things you usually do. These are some from December 2025. LINES FOR DECEMBER / AN DUBHLACHD     The Gaels call this month An

Some of you might know, I won a City of Poets Tiny Prize with this piece. City of Poets is a Glasgow-based organisation, promoting opportunities for writers. You can join if you have some connection to Glasgow. Their Tiny Prize is a monthly affair. Write a piece to a set prompt and, if your poem is selected, you win a fiver and the glory! It might not seem like much, but it's always lovely to be selected and, as they point out, the fiver might get you a celebratory drink. AND

I was sitting in West Coast Wonderland with Julie. I say sitting... mostly we were in and around the inflatables with Aidan. When I did get to sit down, I brought out the book I had just collected from The Book Nook in Stewarton. Jane Hirshfield's Ledger. Reading the information at the beginning of the book, I was amazed at the amount of poetry she has written. What must it be like, I wondered, to be so prolific. Would you always be looking for inspiration? Which prompted the

I am posting this a little early. The month hasn't finished yet, but... The challenge was to write a line or two about each day of the month. Nothing more. But it was a reminder to see the world through the lens of the imagination, to remind yourself each day that you are a writer. And, who knows, perhaps one of those lines might spark into another piece of writing. That was certainly the case for me. Not an easy exercise, but one that got easier. And a writing habit I think

I told the woman behind the counter, I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I would know it when I saw it. Mostly, I was looking for older books that might inspire Friendship Book stories, but I wasn't getting into that. So, she did what any good bookseller should do - she recommended something. I might have walked past it, but she said it was different and, sometimes, that's all it takes to hook me. I found some "work" books, then I added Seascraper to the pile. It

One week off isn't long - but I missed the place :-) Welcome back! As is so often the case, a small group makes for a good session. To those of you who were busy elswehere, we missed you. But we still had fun! Today was mostly talking, but we got a lot of stuff lined up, which is as good a way as any to start a session off. We talked about Ravenfest (the deadline is on the 7th of Nov) and what made something in the style of Edgar Allen Poe. Who is up for that challenge? Deird

Continuing my line-a-day for October.

Sorry for the scary picture. Like most monsters, underneath it all he's a sweetie!

Inspired by Lia Leendertz and her poem of the month, I suggested the writing group, individually, come up with a line to describe each...

What are you seeing, or doing, right now that could make a good piece of writing? Julie and I are sitting in The Paddle Steamer in Largs....