“Don’t wish for an easy Life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” — Bruce Lee After spending a week down by the harbour of Poole in the UK, it made me reflect on the lives of people who make a living fishing at sea, or some other…

There are stories in everything. I’ve got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands. — O’Henry — A good park bench, discovered during a summer walk, is the most enticing structure you can find. There was a time when you’d see a wooden bench on every corner. Early in the morning, on my way to the baker I’d often pass several interesting benches. …

Life is simple, just add water — I’ve just spent a week in England by Poole Quay Harbour. In summer, it’s a tourist attraction, now that November has arrived, the streets are free for the locals to freely wander, without the crowds. I did ask myself what on earth I was doing by going to a rainy…

“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too” The sea is always on the move. I don’t know much about the seas, but in reading I’ve discovered that it is a…

When I first began writing fiction, over a decade ago, I was fascinated by the idea that a writer develops a protagonist, and an antagonist, then chucks a few supporting characters into the mix, followed by sit-down-and-write-it. — It really isn’t that simple. It took me a while to write unforgettable fictional characters. The thought of being able to create a character gave me a feeling of power. …

There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment. — Firstly, read a lot of stories that you know cause readers to weep, cry, tear-up with joy. Ask questions about why that happens. How do you write a short romantic story that will make the reader tear up with joy? Read “Love Story”, then, “Oliver’s Story”, by Erich Segal. These…

Short love stories are often sad. It means it didn’t work out for two people who started out with hope, but discovered that hope, being the last thing at the bottom of the jar, wasn’t enough. — I recently started writing a love story. I wanted to finally get to the thing in life that matters most, and write about it. Get away from all the pretensions of writing what I think the world would expect from a man like me; Tough Guy stories, gangsters, and robberies…

If you want to develop empathy, write for others. If you want to be a good writer, learn to articulate. — What are the benefits of starting a personal blog? How can you grow through blogging? Well, firstly, is to think about what you want to write. Then whittle that idea down to an angle. …

I often think about how to increase my income. Always whittling my ideas down to a nut, attempting to find fault, attempting to prove its worth. — Sometimes, I’ll read a book on business ideas, or marketing, or the infamous practice of “niching down” till your product is skin and bones, till it’s as honest as the day is long. Right now, I’m reading a book. Not to mention its name or author, it’s about building a…