What's in a name?

“Once upon a time,” I begin my story, “there lived a king whose name was…” Here I stop. Henry? No, too common. John? Too short. George? Nah, I keep misspelling it while typing fast. Besides, why am I limiting this to English names? The story certainly doesn’t require it.

Let’s begin again. “His name was…” Mbwango? Hmm, a bit of a tongue twister. Kwon Yun Ming Chan? Too long. Muhammad? Not exclusive enough, too prolific and popular. Dmitri? Suddenly I’m trying too hard – and am still stuck on the first page of what was supposed to be my masterpiece.

One of my major problems when writing any story isn’t...
Read the full article in the March/April 2010 issue of Writer's Digest

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950 words
Humour
US publication
Includes exclusive quotes from best-selling authors David Baldacci, David Nobbs, Debby Holt, Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Kellerman!

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Words from the Wise

"I definitely enjoyed it!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"I thought your article was great fun and it was a pleasure to be involved in it! All (the) best, Debby"

Debby Holt

Best-selling Author

The Ex-Wife's Survival Guide, etc.

"(Your) article (was) very interesting"

David Nobbs

Best-selling Author

The Reginald Perrin books series, etc.

Who are you? (How to write a good bio)

“Please provide a short third-person bio along with your submission.” The usual polite request beams up at me cheerfully from the guidelines of a well-known magazine. It is just what I have been dreading.

If you are the type who breaks out in sweat when asked to introduce yourself infront of a sea of strange questioning faces, then you are not alone. It is the single worst request in the world guaranteed to put anyone in an anxious quandary. What to reveal? How much of it? Why do they want to know anyway? Now visualise the number of onlookers multiplied by a few thousands, as in the readership of a...
Read the full article in the March/April 2010 issue of New Writer

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2270 words
Humour
UK publication
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Words from the Wise

"It has some solid points and some good humor"

Zachary Petit

Managing Editor

Writer's Digest

Confessions of a stamp murderer

30 May 1931. An unremarkable date. The British Raj is still lording over the Indian populace as revolts are cropping up like angry acne all over the country.

It is an unremarkable day in an unremarkable remote village of India. On the main road, cycles trill shrilly and overbalance into pedestrians. A cow squatting on the footpath is placidly chewing the lungi of the newspaperman established on the wayside. A radio teetering on the edge of his table blares out classical music between bursts of static. With every knock it receives, it emits a fresh outburst of indignant squawking.

Adding to...
Read the full article in the Vol. 20 No. 4 March 2010 issue of Eureka Street


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1160 words
Drama
Australia publication
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Words from the Wise

"A lovely piece"

Tim Kroenert

Assistant Editor

Eureka Street

"I really enjoyed reading your piece. It is a thought-provoking look at history. You're a very talented writer with good instincts for intriguing stories."

Paula Jolin

Manuscript Reader

Sun

"I like it - (it's) different..."

Mairin Holmes

Assistant Editor

Stamp News

"It's well written"

Guy Thomas

Editor

Stamp

"It is very well written, and the opening scene is especially well evoked"

Melinda Selmys

Editor

Vulgata

"It is a really good read, and very evocative"

Helen Tovey

Editor

Family Tree Magazine

T(h)reading the water

When my sister, a busy Project Manager, went away to a conference – for busy project managers – she left me in charge of her daughter. Specifically, her daughter’s school assignment.

‘Sophie has to do a history project for school and I thought who better to help than you?’ my sister had said as she bustled about at the last minute.

‘But I thought you were the ‘project manager’,’ I had protested, holding up a perfectly good dress that she had earlier discarded and offering it to her again.

‘Ah, but you’re the writer, the arty one,’ she had countered, dismissing the dress with a disdainful wave. I had...
Read the full article in the March 2010 issue of Aqua Zone


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1230 words
Humour
UK publication

Includes nine stunning colour illustrations!