Being honest is what counts

It's been a super-busy week with yet another national holiday here in the UK on Monday. That's two weeks of school holidays followed by three four-day weeks.

For most people, this is excellent news. For someone who is self-employed with three kids, it is a time of much stress and all of the things, all of the time.

And so I have nothing to say to you in this introduction. Instead, enjoy the following picture of Tina Fey 'at' her writing desk.

Ricky Gervais On How He Learned To Write

I feel like I might have shared this before, but here goes anyway. There’s a bit that I like where he says, “Being honest is what counts. Trying to make the ordinary extraordinary.” That’s how I feel about writing too. That some of the best stories can come from the most mundane topics or situations and that it’s all in the telling.

Creative Waxing and Waning

This thread from Caitlin Kunkel has been doing the rounds and for good reason. It’s a list of things she did that helped her escape a creative rut. Getting more sleep is permanently on my to do list, as is banning screens. I’m sure if I did both I would see huge benefits.

Simon Savidge on book blogging

Simon is an ace book blogger who also now runs a successful vlog on YouTube too. It’s interesting to read a bit about his story, how his blogging took off and the importance of, you know, really enjoying books.

Aeon Timeline

Need to plan out the timeline of your novel? This is a powerful app that lets you do exactly that and a whole lot more. You can even use it to manage projects and anything else that needs stuff organised by time.

A Comparison of the Best Note-Taking, Writing, and Research Apps

The chaps over at The Sweet Setup compare Bear, Ulysses and Apple Notes. The first two of those I use on a daily basis, Ulysses for fiction and Bear for my quick-I-need-to-write-something-down moments.

Sarah McIntyre on creativity, procrastination

The image about is from Sarah Mcintyre’s picture book, Grumpycorn, which is all about creativity and procrastination. You can click through to read other spreads and enjoy some rather handy tips.