It’s festival season where I live – my absolute favourite time of the year. The city is vibrating to the thrum of theatre, film, visual arts, comedy, street performers, world music, artisan markets, forums, a week-long writer’s festival, and a celebration of food and wine, all with a backdrop of gorgeous summer evenings. Out and…
A literature clock … literally
This is one of the coolest things I’ve discovered lately and it’s all thanks to Jane Friedman and her Electric Speed newsletter. If you are not already signed up for her newsletter DO IT NOW. Each edition of Jane’s newsletter is packed full of useful information relating to the publishing world and writing generally. And…
I’m sorry wind, but I’m just not that into you
I don’t like the wind. It makes me agitated and unsettled. I think maybe it’s because my body struggles to settle into its own rhythm amid the noise and chaos of a windy day. Everyone in my family feels the same. Anytime we’ve ranked the weather elements on a likeability scale (yes, I have the…
Writing yourself into the story
I expect there’s more writing rules and pieces of writing advice out there in the world than there are writers. So, figuring out what works for you can be a bit of a trial-and-error process. As someone who spends most of my day in the business writing space, I’m still trying to figure out how…
I’m just going to start here …
I was rummaging around in my drafts folder this morning and found this snippet that I’d scribbled down at some point. Unfortunately, I left myself no clues as to what ending I had in mind – or even if I had an ending in mind – so I guess this is a teaser until the…
The Sometimes Diary of Nina Thirkettle
Tuesday, 22 February Today I had one of those weird-arse out-of-body experiences. One of those ones where you feel completely inside, yet completely outside of your body at the same time. I was both genesis of and unknowing witness to everything I did and said. Every sensation, every stimulation, was amplified, as though I was…
The man
His eyebrows sit neatly between the boundaries set for them. They are so striking in their symmetry that at first you don’t see the way his left eyebrow arches slightly higher than his right. How it lifts even higher as he enquires as to your health. How his lips disappear into his mouth as he…
Hen and chicks
My first Hen and Chicks was given to me by a relative after I complimented them on how wonderful it looked growing in their perfectly manicured garden. Despite their assurances that it was ‘very hardy’ and ‘anyone can grow it’, I left their house wondering if I would be able to keep their little gift…
A sense of occasion
In a previous post, I wrote about not being much of a photo taker and that my favourite photos are the imperfect ones; the ones that capture life as it unfolds, rather than life working to a script. In today’s world of the camera phone, it can be hard to remember there was a time…
Collaborative consumption
This morning I went down to my local bookshop to pick up a copy of What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers. The book was first published some years ago, but like many things, I’m only getting to it now. The reason I’m getting to it now…
thekettlehasemphysema.net 
You must be logged in to post a comment.