Writing
Twenty years as a writer: a first look at The Farthest Shore
A few thoughts about the long and winding road to the publication of my new book.
Writing (two) books during the pandemic
It’s a hell of a time to be an outdoor writer, isn’t it? Since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off early this year, I have written not one but two books. Here’s a little about how it’s been. At the best of times, I’m a slow
OWPG Award for Excellence for my TGO magazine feature ‘Summits and Skylarks’
This weekend, my wife Hannah and I headed to the Norfolk Broads for the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild AGM and awards dinner. Updated 2019-10-11 with corrected information on David Lintern’s award. This is my first year as a member of the OWPG. I joined due to recommendations from
New Sidetracked digital feature: No Borders
My latest digital feature for Sidetracked magazine is special – an essay on life and death, mountains and war, lightning and ethereal beauty. I believe it’s some of the best writing I’ve created in 2018, and you can read it now at sidetracked.com/mercantour-traverse/. All mountains have something
Why I don’t use blue ink any more
In 2007, I made the first of several visits to the Alpine Club archives in London. I was conducting research for the novel that would eventually become The Only Genuine Jones, and those early archive trips were vital in establishing a baseline of knowledge for future research. I had started
A new Commonplace Book
For many years I have kept quotes and snippets from everything I’ve read, adopting the ancient technique of the ‘commonplace book’ to facilitate later analysis and interpretation. Until now, I used a haphazard system of text files and index cards, but as my collection has grown I’ve felt
Forty years of The Great Outdoors
An important milestone for the most authoritative voice in British hillwalking and backpacking Today, the 40th anniversary issue of The Great Outdoors went on sale. Here’s what TGO means to me, and why I think it’s a vital force in outdoors media, as strong and relevant now as
Things I wish I’d known as a new writer
A few things you won’t learn on that creative writing course Of all the emails I receive each week, a small but growing number are from new writers – often young, and sometimes a bit bewildered, seeking advice on writing. They don’t know where to find ideas, or they
A roundup of my published outdoor writing in November 2017
It’s been a busy month for outdoor writing. I’ve written a number of features for The Great Outdoors – skills pieces, interviews and more – an interview for Sidetracked, and a one-minute mountain for UKHillwalking. I’ve included a couple of notable pieces I’ve posted on this site too.
NaNoWriMo week three: capitulation
After just over 25,000 words, I’m calling it quits on NaNoWriMo 2017. It was always going to be a tall order, if I’m honest – I noted before I began1 that I don’t have anywhere near as much spare time as I did last time I completed