For our first Teesdale Writers creative writing challenge, we’ve chosen the prompt Through the Window. In writing fiction, non-fiction, memoir or poetry, any window can function as a literal and sometimes metaphorical dividing point between two worlds, situations or...
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A writing project for 2026 (and 2027) Over the last month or so, I’ve been thinking about which of my ideas I’d like to develop in 2026. At the beginning of 2025 I was writing a dystopian novella, but decided to leave it to one side and concentrate on something...
I haven't done much writing this month. Again. But it's not really my fault. You see, I have a bit of a problem with dragons. There are five of them in my study. They’re procrastination dragons, and it's taking me a long time to get them trained. I'll sit at my...
The AI would be the hand, the city the glove. On the surface, Datong is the world’s flagship smart city – the fulfilment of Irving’s lifelong vision. It’s Twelve Spires, a majesty of technoscape, where the most talented individuals in the world come to make dreams a...
Leah's latest short story blends a local historical murder with the folklore creature Peg Powler, the grindylow living in the River Tees. The Whim of Water is an unsettling tale of unwanted attentions, murder and an eerie encounter. It could be described as...
Ghosting someone. To many that means cutting communication cold. Cutting someone off. It could be, in that word, there is a hint too of a second image on a digital display - a disembodied phantom not truly representative of - and distracting from - the original....
As a writer of travel memoirs I recognise that we look at things with varying levels of percipience. We interpret what we see with varying levels of reflectiveness. From my own experience of writing about travel, I have compiled the following questions or travel: no...
In my head, there is bread with pink and purple spots. In my head, there is dread of crust and polka dots. The loaf has legs with knobbly knees. His hat and shoes are made from cheese. Does it smell? Yes quite well - of popcorn and red mustard. Does it speak? Not a...
“Why did you write this book?” That’s a question publishers ask. I understand why, but foolishly I let it needle me. Why do I breathe? Why do I eat meals? I’m a writer, it’s what I do. ‘This book’ means my new one, Getting to Know Colombia: a story of loss and...
My brain both runs away with the slightest prompt and strongly resists being told what to do. But here I was, uncomfortably sitting at a table, listening to instructions. I was at a workshop on writing fiction. We were given different exercises to help think of a...
The Author is not dead, but they need to be absent so that their book can be completed. For me, the process has gone something like this. I read a lot of books and, eventually, that made me want to write. So, I wrote a lot of words and that made me start thinking...
One of our members, Raphael was recently interviewed about Teesdale Writers. He talks about writing being a lonely activity and the support that is available in our eclectic group. Listen to Raphael's interview here on Talking Teesdale from 12.34 minutes Or you can...
I mainly write fantasy. Everything is fantasy, of course. All fiction, I mean. We tell stories to make sense of our lives, of people, of the world, so we simplify, condense and, perhaps above all we impose a narrative structure and a terminal point. Fiction is to our...
This post is about how moving to Barnard Castle helped me to broaden my fields of writing. First let me clarify my use of the terms ‘place’ and ‘space’. ‘Place’ is a physical location. ‘Space’ concerns the perceptions and emotions of people who are in that place. A...
One of our members, Leah Hobson, was recently interviewed about her fables and illustrated gift books. Leah had written just 200 words before joining our group last year and now enjoys writing short stories as well as creative coaching material for her clients. Listen...
Members of Teesdale Writers will soon be sharing their thoughts on writing and samples of their work here on this blog...