Last year I made a single New Year's Resolution: finish a first draft of the novel I've been working on. Hmm. I did make substantial progress on it though. In fact I'm fairly certain I wrote the most number of words I've ever achieved in a calendar year. So, although I didn't precisely finish it, … Continue reading Recap on a year of Word Wrangling
Thoughts on The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit movie (part 1 -- An Unexpected Journey) has finally arrived. Given my love of the three Lord of the Rings movies, I have looked forward to this day with excitement and some trepidation -- could the dramatisation of this humble book possibly live up to the magnificence of LOTR? And what's with stretching it … Continue reading Thoughts on The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
Remembering song
I remembered something this week. Something significant. It happened on Christmas Eve, when I unexpectedly found myself singing Christmas carols in church. I love singing Christmas carols at any time -- possibly because they're among the few songs for which I can remember the lyrics. But when I found myself in the midst of a … Continue reading Remembering song
Why I write – 5 reasons from Liv Rancourt
Paranormal and/or Romance author Liv Rancourt is my guest today and I like her post so much I think I'll follow up next week with one of my own on the same topic. She's addressing a question I ask myself frequently... Why do I write? She's also included an excerpt at the bottom from her … Continue reading Why I write – 5 reasons from Liv Rancourt
What’s tall, bright and measures temperature?
As a one-time engineer, I am particularly interested in how things work -- especially pre-industrial objects that I can weave into the cultures I create for the fantastical worlds I write about. I have, for instance, two Galilean thermometers standing on my bookshelf. These are elegant cylinders filled with a clear liquid in which float … Continue reading What’s tall, bright and measures temperature?
When you read, do you hear voices in your head?
One of the reasons I enjoy audiobooks so much, aside from their role in alleviating my commuting boredom, is due to the interpretation given to the text by a good reader/narrator. Often actors and performers, these good narrators not only give texture and inflection to the narrative, but also tend to put on voices to … Continue reading When you read, do you hear voices in your head?
Live Wonderstruck…
...is an inspirational blog by writer, S.M. Hutchins, focused on encouraging us to appreciate the wonder all around us in our everyday lives. This is a wonderful thing and we all need reminding! Every Wednesday she hosts an interview with someone -- encouraging us to see things from a different perspective and perhaps find something new to apply … Continue reading Live Wonderstruck…
Journeying through Middle Earth again
The imminent arrival of the new Hobbit movie (part 1) to our cinemas has me indulging in yet another viewing of the movies that started it all: Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I love these movies. I'll never forget the first time I saw Fellowship of the Ring. I went a couple … Continue reading Journeying through Middle Earth again
Fake plastic trees of colour and light
It's that time of the year and I put up my Christmas tree tonight. It's not a 'real' one... rather, it's made of plastic and optical glass fibres. The way these work is really cool. All the optical fibres terminate in the base, where a lamp shines down their length. A semi-transparent disk, tinted various … Continue reading Fake plastic trees of colour and light
Imagine wide, dream big
I like to surround myself with reminders of why I'm here, what I'm doing, and give myself the occasional pep talk while I'm at it. It's so easy to let life get in the way of dreams, so easy to get all caught up in the mechanics that you forget how to unleash creativity and … Continue reading Imagine wide, dream big
Ellen Gregory 