I have nothing to write. It’s a bit like being stuck at a railway station when your train is cancelled. You’re used to jumping on an idea and riding the bumpy journey until you get off – or are thrown off – at a random narrative juncture. Instead your muse didn’t show up today, now … More Nothing to write
Darkened sky,Barren hill –Bloody field,Deathly still.Circling cryRings the sky,High aboveThe scarecrow. Hanging head,Flapping wind,Tortured mouth –Weight of sin.All who passLaugh at him,Passing byThe scarecrow. Limp in limb.Heavy eyesDrooping, seeAll that lies.Not a word,Not a sound –MercifulThe scarecrow.
Continuing my attempted trend of blogging about the books I read each year (here’s 2017 . . . that’s it so far), here’s how 2018 shaped up – and it was a pretty good one. First of all, in 2017 I managed 10 books; this year I was somehow able to bring it up to … More The 15 books I read in 2018
I’ve just finished Writing Better Lyrics. Let me try that again: I’ve just finished reading the book entitled Writing Better Lyrics by Pat Pattison. This book has already cropped up once or twice on the blog. It was recommended to me (and a room full of other starry-eyed songwriters) by Graham Kendrick – the father of modern worship … More Writing Better Lyrics, by Pat Pattison – book review
I found some words at the bottom of the garden – Slimy, squirmy and more – I took those words, hastily squiggled, And shoved them in a jar. I tried to catch some fish with them – Slippery, silvery and wet – But those tired adjectives didn’t make good bait, Left me angling in regret. … More Wiggly Words
Then leaving Summer’s sandy shores Now beckoned by the breeze We donned our jumpers, hats and boots And entered Autumn’s eaves. Into the whisper, rustle and crunch Adjusting to the cold Watched age and sunsets run like fire And light the world in gold. No bonfire night or fireworks Could near compare to this We … More Autumn’s Eaves (poem)
Isn’t it quite something That something came from nothing? That nothing could do something To make it all appear! But let me tell you something: Nothing can do nothing! We all have come from something – Ain’t that a quaint idea? So lay the heavy burden Of proof upon the person Who in some strange … More Nothing (A poem)
I mentioned recently that I’m reading Pat Pattison’s book Writing Better Lyrics. One of the exercises he recommends doing is a 10-minute exercise known as ‘object writing’. You take an object, and ‘dive in’ to its ‘sense-world’ – what are the sights, sounds, smells, feels, physical responses, etc., that are associated with that thing, in particular, … More 10-minute Object Writing Exercise for 25 April
Poetry has always been the means by which human beings have creatively expressed that which is outside ordinary everyday speech. ‘Poetry’ in this sense encompasses poetry as we know it, but also plays, songs, and even some forms of prose; anything which seeks to use metaphors and similes, symbolism and imagery, hyperbole, creative contrast, rhyme, … More Theology and Poetry
I’m reading Pat Pattison’s wonderful book, Writing Better Lyrics. One of the many, many great things about this book is its inclusion of useful exercises to do as you go along. I have devotedly set aside a notebook for the purpose; it lives with this book, getting pig-eared and dog-chewed as I read and re-read … More Lyric writing: A window on a coffee shop
Ben David Trigg 