More than Writers

I had been sitting at my desk, trying to write a story about Thomas, the disciple. I was feeling sorry for the man who seemed to be remembered mainly for his doubt. I had done my background reading and prayed about it, but still nothing was coming, so I prayed again. When I say ‘prayed’ I was actually telling God that I was struggling and it would be far more effective if he just dictated what I had to say, plus no one would really be interested in my writing and the book would probably never get published anyway. As I waited in silence, it dawned on me that I was sounding like a spoilt child who didn’t want to do her homework, so I asked for his forgiveness. He had put this project on my heart and so I’d do it. It’s strange how he hardly ever responds as I would expect him to. This time two Bible verses embedded themselves in my mind. ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ That hit hard. I was cheerful enough giving financially and timewise to other people but I wasn’t cheerful about givin...

How to describe the past two weeks? Almost, but not quite, laid up with the worst cold I’ve had for years. Normally in recent years, a cold would hold me back at night (when tablets would need to be swallowed so I could sleep in comfort), but during the day, apart from making sure there were plenty of tissues to hand, I’d be carrying on with whatever schedule my day held. This time, I was forced into drastic measures: a visit to the local Spar shop for daytime cold remedies (16 tablets). A whole box of tissues had been used up by my frantic nose-blowing, so a new box had to be bought. The two items came to a grand total of £11 – I held my bank card to the machine without a murmur. Before those of you used to cheaper products say (or write) anything, I will point out I was on Iona. Supposed to be on retreat – concentrating on ‘higher things.’ Now I am on my last full day as I write this, I am feeling (and sounding, I’m told) better. The weather is even improving in that we’ve gone most ...

      Dolphins gamboling in a calm sea ‘The mind at rest produces holy and mysterious thoughts, like dolphins gambolling above a calm sea.’       Heyscius of Batos, an early monastic writer I’ve not been lucky enough to see a school of dolphins in the wild, only in a ‘show’. The beauty of their lithe forms executing perfectly synchronised parabolic paths above the waves is so satisfying. It’s not at all surprising that the ancient Greeks thought of the dolphin as a symbol of life. (I feel I should apologise for the very stationary dolphins in the picture; pressing the camera button at precisely the right moment to catch them in the air was quite beyond me.) The quote is from an ancient book about prayer. It describes beautifully the experience of having a new thought during a time of waiting on God, but it’s also an apt description of a moment of writerly inspiration. A fresh idea may suddenly strike us out of nowhere and it’s so compelling ...

St Paul is scathing in his criticism of those who suppress the truth…as was Jesus before him…and Isaiah before Christ. ‘The wrath of God is revealed against all…who suppress the truth in unrighteousness’ Rom 1v18 ‘Woe to you scribes (interesting?) and Pharisees! For you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven against men; you neither go in yourselves nor permit others who are entering to go in’ Matt 23v13 ‘Truth has fallen in the public square’ Is 59v14 When Mao, Stalin, and Hitler burned books, the world witnessed the power of dictatorships to suppress the truth. Watching Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 - the temperature that paper burns - at school was a good use of education. Like all of us, I am watching the development of AI with interest. My antennae are twitching, trying to sift, discern, weigh, not condemn wholesale…but there’s more than one way to dictate what others are permitted to read or not. Burning books is one way. Preventing good literature (and awful literature) fr...

Impressions of cherry blossom, imperfectly painted by me I’ve been practising watercolour painting for over a year. Many art tutors, online and elsewhere, say that perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. Budding artists are advised not to aim for perfection because that will only cause endless frustration. For people just starting to draw and paint, there is usually a wide gap between what we see and what we try to capture on paper! Watercolour in particular is a beautiful medium but not always an easy one: you have to practice water control, how to load your brushes so you have the right mixture of water and paint, and how to judge the amount of water on the page so you can get those lovely watercolour effects. I make loads of mistakes, but that is how I learn. Sometimes those mistakes, like ‘blooms’ with hard edges on the page – watercolour artists often call them ‘cauliflowers’ – can work. Accidental water blooms in one of my seascapes ended up looking like reflections. Tha...

                         Picture credit: HBO Some years ago, I spent Christmas Eve in the living room of an elderly lady’s one-bedroom flat. The Wizard of Oz was playing on the TV. The lady sat bolt upright on the sofa, neatly dressed, eyes glued to the screen. On her lap was a Yorkshire Terrier, growling and snappy. Perhaps he didn’t care for the Wicked Witch, or Toto was setting him off? Or maybe he was upset about the lady being dead. The telly was on a high volume. That was the giveaway. When it stayed on all night and all morning, neighbours called the police and I turned up to force entry.   I was twenty-two years old and had been a copper for about a year. My colleague was even fresher out of the box, yet to deal with his first body – a sudden death, as they’re known. I’d already encountered a few, so it was my job to show him the ropes. When people think about policing and dead bodies, the fir...

  Last Monday, 30 March, just after 7.00 pm I walked out of a shop in a busy shopping centre in Orpington, to the most beautiful, breathtaking sunset I have ever seen, as shown in the photo above.    It wasn’t there when I went into the shop, and to my absolute surprise, there it was like a gigantic painting, suspended in the sky.    I immediately got my phone out and started taking photos.    I noticed one or two other people doing the same.    The photo doesn’t actually give it justice, as it was one of the most awesome and largest scenes in the sky that I have ever come across. My first thought was that it was a sign from God placed there for everyone to see, and the words “Jesus is coming” flowed from within me to a gentleman nearby who was also in awe of it, taking photos and who replied “Yes, He is coming soon”.  I love the wonderful, special connection you feel with brothers and sisters in Christ, even though you have never m...

  This year Good Friday falls on April 03rd which is actually quite fortunate given its my turn on the blog this month. I first wrote this piece some four years ago not long after becoming a regular blogger on this site. It was originally published in our local Methodist circuit monthly devotional newsletter which started during Covid when our churches were closed and who lacked internet access  and still continues to this day. My reason for writing it was to show that in the age of modern media which all of us especially Christian writers have to adapt to especially with ChatGPT and AI now part of the mix, I wondered had the internet been around in first century Palestine how the events of that first Good Friday may have been recorded for posterity especially from Pilate's perspective.  It is based on  John 18:28 – 19:16 (NRSV) . . Context: When we read this version of Christ’s passion, we can almost feel ourselves becoming caught up in the action. Are we among ...

  Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading through the accounts in the Gospels depicting the events of Holy Week, and, while the narratives are very familiar, I’ve been struck by some of the little details that add interest, or even intrigue, to the basic story.  For example:  ·         The disciples were told to find the venue for the Last Supper by entering Jerusalem and following a man carrying a pitcher of water (Luke 22:10-12) ·         Simon of Cyrene “happened to be coming in from the countryside,” (Luke 23:26) and was thrust into a key role in a world-changing event as he was forced to carry Jesus’ cross ·         As Pilate was attempting to make his judgement about Jesus, a message came from his wife, urging him to leave Jesus alone (Matthew 27:19) ·         One of the criminals on the cross beside Jesus turned t...

  When I’m preparing to write a post for More Than Writers, I often search the blog site to check if the topic has been raised before. This also checks I’m not repeating myself. Not finding many posts using the word ‘Comfort’ was satisfying and disappointing at the same time. While grateful I wasn’t regurgitating age-old topics, I was concerned that many posts covered the struggles of being a writer, myself included. From ideas to marketing via structuring and editing, it seems as if comfort is not a word familiar to writers. I’ve often reflected on creating a commissioning document for my writing. I wrote one when I was exploring freelance writing and journalism in the early 2000s to dedicate my writing endeavours before God. I dismissed this as irrelevant as I sought to engage with poetry as my writing focus this time. While I considered topics I could write about, I struggled to know how find ‘my voice’. I enjoy the artistry and wordplay of poems from Maya Angelou to Brian Bil...

  It might seem crazy but one of the most helpful things I read last year was a book that told me to put it down. Not in an audible voice, as that would be reason to seek medical intervention! The suggestion came from the author, who in no uncertain terms told the reader to stop reading and put the book down. Right now . That’s not a strategy employed by many authors. In fact, most authors employ a whole range of techniques to captivate their readers with the express intention of keeping them hooked for as long as possible. Suspenseful cliff-hangers are commonplace to keep us page-turning into the next chapter and the next title in the series. The book in question was “Tides and Seasons” by David Adam, a book of prayers and reflections in the Celtic tradition. No suspenseful cliffhangers here. Instead, the author simply reminded the reader that we don’t have to go searching for Jesus or strive to find his presence anywhere other than where we are. Reading, writing, work, leisur...

  I’m gallivanting a lot these days, what with my trip to the Netherlands not that long ago, and a Writers’ Retreat coming up in a couple of weeks. Last week was spent in Somerset where we have a caravan. My sister and cousin came over for a few days, to see the sights of Somerset. Whilst researching the best places to go to, as my sister likes a very full programme in the holidays with as full an itinerary as can be managed in daylight hours, I came across Lorna Doone. I found out that we were near the Lorna Doone Valley, which may or may not be a much later invention, but it was a lovely outing. As I’m getting all the research ready for a historical novel myself, I was intrigued by Lorna Doone. I started reading it, and some of the things he mentioned sparked my interest, as I haven’t really written a proper historical book before. It seems like the author has woven facts and fiction together in a way that feels right. To me at least. We visited what would have been the main ...

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images I see March as a hopeful month. I admit I’m biased. I had my 60th birthday a week ago. This year also marks my thirty year anniversary of taking up writing seriously. But March is lovely, whatever the weather does, because with each passing day, there are more and more signs of lighter evenings, spring flowers emerging everywhere and so on. It is a month to lift the spirits. And, of course, Easter often falls in March though not this year. Easter is the definition of Hope Springs Eternal because our hope is eternal. As writers, we’re not always hopeful, are we? The rejections, the never hearing back (publishers, agents, competitions), the setbacks do take their toll.  It’s why we need the support of other writers who know this writing journey for what it is - hopeful, tough, and a right roller coaster of a ride. It’s why ACW is so important.  If you don’t know anyone in the writing industry when you’re star...

Photo by  JESHOOTS.COM  on  Unsplash I’m writing a follow-up to the excellent blog piece by Brendan Conboy on 26th March: https://morethanwriters.blogspot.com/2026/03/are-you-offended-by-bad-language-by.html , but with a slightly different slant. Brendan writes about how he left a secular open-mic poetry event early because he found the language and attitudes offensive. It’s normal for a Christian to have heightened sensibilities to the use of swear words or disrespectful attitudes. This comes from our upbringing, or in my case, learning about the faith and following the example of others.  But what is the line that a Christian writer shouldn’t cross? Is it acceptable to include topics such as immorality, violence or explicit sex in our fictional writing? Or should we skirt around and allude to them? Some would argue that these things should not form part of a Christian writer’s story. And yet, they are a part of life. If we don’t include them because we are a ‘Chris...