Headphones and Notebooks

Ever since most countries went into lockdown, I’ve been seeing a lot of social media posts about what people want to do with their time. And, unsurprisingly, a large number of people are talking about writing the book they always planned to write or go back to an unfinished writing project. But that’s not necessarily the best idea. Now, before you get all indignant, it’s also not a bad idea. What I mean, however, is setting yourself a task of totally completing a project you’ve been ignoring, or using the time to write an entire novel, could quite possibly be adding more stress to a stressful situation. So if you’re looking for creative things to do- or ways to get the creative juices flowing- without totally stressing yourself out, why not take a look at my suggestions. 1 Colour Colouring is a great stress reliever at the best of times, and it allows you to be creative without really having to concentrate all that much. It’s also a great activity to do if you just want t

We’ve all seen those sitcoms, or those gritty dramas, or those post-apocalyptic movies that revolve around a family, or a group of people who act like a family even if they’re not related by blood. But how do we actually write those sorts of dynamics in our own work? When you sit down to write, it can be difficult to figure out who plays what role within the group, beyond ‘parent’, ‘child’, ‘older sibling’, ‘younger sibling’. And because of that, it’s very easy to fall into stereotypes- the stern or goofy parent, the stubborn older sibling, the energetic younger child who annoys their older sibling(s). But that’s all been done before. So, where do we begin when creating interesting family dynamics and relationships? When writing families- or family-like dynamics- perhaps one of the first things you need to think about is the individual characters. Looking at the characters as one big group can become muddled and confusing, and is often why we fall back on stereotypes. But if

With Hellmouth having wrapped, and Angel and Buffy parting ways for now, it’s time to see what’s going to happen next in the Buffy and Angel comics... Angel & Spike #9 The newly rebranded Angel & Spike comics jump right in to life after Hellmouth as Angel returns to Los Angeles. But when he gets there, he not only finds Spike with his friends and an evil law firm following Fred, but an LAPD Detective who may need his help... Issue nine was definitely a fun one, with Angel returning to the fold. Unlike with Buffy returning to Sunnydale and immediately having to deal with the loss of Xander, it feels like Angel gets to ease back into it a little more. While he is alarmed at Spike hanging around Gunn and Fred, and also about a law firm hunting Fred down, there isn’t quite as much urgency to the pace of the plot as with the Buffy comics. I found that I enjoyed it, particularly as it gave not only Spike and Angel a chance to talk, but also for Fred and Gunn to talk

When Harlan Coben’s The Stranger came to Netflix, it was no surprise that it quickly became the number one show for the week. I, like many people, was keen to watch and I spent much of the first week it was available watching a few episodes at a time to draw out the enjoyment. The show, focusing around the disappearance of Corinne Price (Dervla Kirwan) after her husband Adam (Richard Armitage) is approached by a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen) who tells him of his wife’s secrets and lies, is gripping from start to finish. Over eight episodes, strands of the story are pulled together as we uncover more information about the Price family, the Stranger, and the cast of supporting characters all of whom seem to be hiding something. Boasting a fantastic cast, The Stranger truly deserves its place as Netflix’s most-watched show for the first few weeks since it was released. There is something of a nervous excitement as you watch the story unfold, and there are twists and turns that he