This pdf contains the reviews of mine that were published in Teach Secondary magazine in 2024.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Literary Journeys: Mapping Fictional Travels across the World of Literature
Here are two versions of the same review: the one I submitted to Teach Secondary magazine, and the edited one they published.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Hitler’s People – The Faces of the Third Reich
Here are two versions of the same review: the one I submitted to Teach Secondary magazine, and the edited one they published.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Review of How to Teach Literature – and Still Love Reading
Here are two versions of the same review: the one I submitted to Teach Secondary magazine, and the edited one they published.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Review of Dickens: The Funny Bits
Here are two versions of the same review: the one I submitted to Teach Secondary magazine, and the edited one they published.
Read MoreMy 60 Minute Writer course
Next week I’ll be teaching a course called The 60 Minute Writer. The title always makes me smile because it sounds like I teach people how to be a writer in an hour. It reminds me of a joke by, I think, Frank Carson…
Read MorePoetry writing and me
Poetry writing is not my thing. At least, I don't think it is. The reason for my uncertainty is that although I attended a one-day poetry class some years ago, the feedback provided by the tutor was not very detailed, to say the least.
Read MoreFish (flash fiction)
This is a piece I wrote during a flash fiction course several years ago. It’s exactly 90 words long.
Read MoreThe 60 Minute Writer
My creative writing course
Read More7 ways to get ideas for blog posts Updated
Fortunately, I don’t often suffer from writer’s block — my problem is more often a lack of time in which to write what I’d like to. But if you are stumped for what to write or, like me, you sometimes wish to publish something without having to spend hours on it, here are some ideas you might wish to consider. They have all worked very well for me.
Read MoreHow long should a blog post be? Updated
One of the questions that is bound to come up in the blogging taster course I’m teaching later this week is: how long should a blog post be? (I know it’s bound to come up, because I’m going to ask it!)
Read MoreA literature course I'd like to take if it were available: an Oulipian puzzle
Blogging is not dead!
There is still a great interest in writing blogs. One of the reasons I know this is that my course on blogging currently has twelve sign-ups. That may not sound a lot, but many courses at the City Lit have far fewer.
Read MoreForget perfection...
Another quick tip for writers who want to get stuff done.
Read MoreLists: Bullets or numbers or checkboxes?
When should you use bullet points, and when numbers? And when checkboxes? Read on to find out.
Read MoreBlogging: a course
Every so often I read some pundit, or usually a journalist pretending to be a pundit, suggesting that blogs are dead. What can I say? They’re not.
Read MoreThe spy who went down with a cold
“Good afternoon”, said the doctor. “What seems to be the trouble?”
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Picture Perfect
As indicated by the title, the first thing to know about this anthology is that it comprises both poetry and prose, rather than one or the other. Many of the pieces are quite unusual...
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Nuts and bolts
It's rather disconcerting when one considers that buildings like The Shard are essentially held together by nuts, bolts and washers.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: Love Triangle
Like, I suspect, many people, I have never knowingly come across an isosceles triangle in my life, and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. However...
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