How to banish the harsh inner critic – by Nick Cave

Nick Cave’s incredible blog The Red Hand Files features Ask Me Anything question and answers. It’s a beacon of pure creative joy for anyone in search of inspiration. Here’s an unforgettable nugget of wisdom from Nick on how to forge on with big ideas and ignore the asshole inside of you, telling you to stopContinue reading “How to banish the harsh inner critic – by Nick Cave”

Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night Part 2

Our new camera got a big work out on our night walks through the eastern suburbs. This looks towards the city centre and with a huge zoom on the camera we were able to capture the night-time hustle and bustle of the Ports of Auckland. A constant fixture of background activity is always going onContinue reading “Every Picture Tells A Story: Auckland by Night Part 2”

Wild Woman Quote: Don’t wait

Oh, my God. What if you wake up some day, and you’re 65 or 75, and you never got your novel or memoir written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools or oceans because your thighs were jiggly or you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out onContinue reading “Wild Woman Quote: Don’t wait”

Beautiful Geometry: Hypnotic and Satisfying Geometric Art Blogs

I’ve written a lot about gifs in the past and how they throw a comical light on old forms of art, when remixed with renaissance art and also discussed what makes a gif become a piece of art.  I’ve looked at the intricate moving world of Paperholme, gif art which shows the whimsy of aContinue reading “Beautiful Geometry: Hypnotic and Satisfying Geometric Art Blogs”

Wild woman quote: Give it all

One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. Something more will arise forContinue reading “Wild woman quote: Give it all”

Every Picture Tells A Story: Tamaki Drive at Night

I have a complicated relationship with Auckland. Over the past five years since we moved here, the city has become a bloated, enormous metropolis which simply cannot sustain its ever-growing population. Essentials like roads, public transport, health care and housing have fallen apart at the seams in Auckland leading us to head south and awayContinue reading “Every Picture Tells A Story: Tamaki Drive at Night”

Wild Woman Quote: Who We Used to Be

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, whoContinue reading “Wild Woman Quote: Who We Used to Be”

Finding the flow with writing and polishing a raw piece of meat into a powerful monster

I recently began a course with one of the most famed writers in the world teaching creative writing. I already know things, having studied creative writing years ago, however at the time I had zero confidence in my abilities. So I languished for a while in a corpo doing finance admin after my degree –Continue reading “Finding the flow with writing and polishing a raw piece of meat into a powerful monster”

Narrative arcs: a funny and simple explanation by Kurt Vonnegut

This amazing explanation of narrative arcs by Kurt Vonnegut had me laughing out loud. To actually be present at this lecture would have been totally awesome. This video is great starting point for narrative structures and point of view, although really only the tip of the iceberg of a very gigantic topic. I hope otherContinue reading “Narrative arcs: a funny and simple explanation by Kurt Vonnegut”