Does Reading Make You a Better Writer? Avoiding the Creativity Trap

Reading as a writer We are big believers in the importance of reading as writers. We have talked about it many times before, such as in this blog, but are there any pitfalls? Of course there are, nothing is perfect. Before we begin, it is important to reinforce the...

Advances in AI and how to use it selectively

You can’t avoid AI anymore Back in May we posted about our decision to stop using AI at all in our business. As a creative business that focuses on the wellbeing benefits of writing, it just didn’t fit with our values. As with all technology though, it...

7 books you might want to read about writing nonfiction

As a writer, you can never read too much. Reading is like … well, erm, I won’t cobble together a simile to describe how I feel about reading as a writer, because Pam Allyn’s is unbeatable and worth repeating: “Reading is like breathing in; writing is like breathing...

Exploring speed

Speed writing seems to be becoming a trend. We’re not talking about being able to scribble down notes or use short hand, but generating large volumes of writing incredibly quickly. It may be social media posts, blogs, articles or even books. When I was teaching,...

Untapped emotions

This week my emotions caught me out, as they often do. It was an ordinary day. I was doing bits of work in my front room because we had a plumber round doing some work in the bathroom. As I sat tapping away at my keyboard, a sound drifted down the stairs that...