The hand of a child
July 1, 2026
As I get older, I find it harder to downsize when it comes to sorting out a lifetime collection of 'things'.I am a typical Cancerian. Home is my shell of shelter, my place of being, my comfort and foundation, and surrounding myself with items that reflect those aspects of my...
Today it's a sore knee
June 29, 2026
One of the most challenging aspects of 'getting older' can be pain in parts of the body: continual, coming and going, random, without explanation, and not happening all at once, thankfully. For example, this morning I woke up with a sore knee and thought, 'What t...
Old age ain't for sissies
June 26, 2026
It was my mom who first said those words to me, 'old age ain't for sissies', and she attributed them to one of her favourite movie stars, Bette Davis. I've looked up the quote since and it does vary: sometimes it's as I've written here, other times it is 'old age ain't...
Standing up for the Arts
May 29, 2026
Photo credit: Radio NZI just watched a short video of Lynda Topp speaking at the Aotearoa Music Awards earlier this week.The whole country is mourning the loss of her twin sister Jools, so many memories and tributes shared, but never is the grief more profo...
The value of the writing prompt
May 8, 2026
Ah yes, the blank page, how it taunts us with its empty whiteness and smartly ruled lines, smug and judgemental, intimidating and unforgiving, saying to us, 'Call yourself a writer? You can't even make a start!'Don't listen to it.Look up my page of prompts and start scribbli...
What stops you from writing your story?
April 28, 2026
'Just sit down and write' is a phrase we may hear as writers, like, we can sit down, turn on the creative tap, and words pour forth. I'll admit that sometimes happens, words tumble out in such a rush to be seen, acknowledged, there's no time to waste. However, the usua...
The old school typewriter
April 20, 2026
I don't mind you knowing that I'm old enough to remember working on a typewriter. The photo above is of my old Olympia, still looking comfortable in its hard, protective case. Mom had an Olympia manual typewriter too, one she used for writing letters, typing ...
Going to the donut shop in your PJs
April 14, 2026
Our writing can often be 'triggered' by something. That might be a smell or sound, the sight of something long forgotten that brings back a flash of memory, or words we read in our daily trawling through social media and internet platforms. Such 'triggers' can provide us wit...
Many are the times I've sat down to write, feeling all geared up and creative, inspiration infusing my nerve endings ... and then ... paralysis. That blank page or screen stares back, waiting, reflecting what I increasingly perceive to be my hopeless inability as a writer to...
Learn by doing
January 21, 2026
I've often heard the words, 'I can't write' and 'I'm not a writer'.I have always believed that where there is will, there is way. We learn by doing.It's true that our craft can be learned, the nuts and bolts like punctuation, sentence structure, vocabulary, and reading alot ...
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