More than Writers

Friends, I have a confession to make. Don't tell anyone ( puts finger on lips and emits a loud shhh-ing sound ). I feel embarrassed to tell you, particularly in view of Nikki Salt's wonderful post here  about hand written letters, which I fully agree with by the way. Ok, I'm screwing up the courage. Are you ready? ( shuts eyes tight and speaks quietly from behind hand.) I write a Christmas newsletter. Aaargh! There I've said it. I don't often write personal messages on Christmas cards. I write an annual newsletter which we put in most of our Christmas communications. Not all. Not if they're close friends who know all our news already. But also, if people generally don't send us newsletters, I tend not to send them one, my reasoning being (perhaps wrongly) that they might not write one because they find other people's annoying. And I totally get why they would. Here's why my Christmas letters might have been annoying in the past: - They can come acros...

With the exception of one blog post for Chandler’s Ford Today and briefly here, I’m not planning to write about coronavirus. I am one of those writers and readers who, when trouble strikes, looks for comfort or light relief (or  both) so I turn to Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse to make me laugh. And when I just want to smile because it is irony I’m after I return to a certain Miss Austen. Wherever your stories are set, readers should be able to understand what drives your characters. Pixabay There is a place of course for writing about what is going on around us but I know it isn’t for me. If I have any mission with my writing, it is to try to entertain others. We all need somewhere to escape when life gets too much and for me that has always been in three worlds:  stories (reading and writing them), music (especially classical), and chocolate. What all characters should have. Pixabay image. I believe I have to be true to myself when I write. I won’t force ...