I can remember my father bringing home spruce gum. He worked in the woods and filled his pockets with golden chunks of pitch. For his children he provided this special sacrament and we’d gather at this feet, around his legs…

Think of something that moves across water, sky or land. You might choose something from nature (like a cloud, a shark or sound waves) or something manufactured (like a drone, a submarine or a satellite).

Welcome back to our writerly thoughts to distract, inspire and reassure you. Be well, keep reading, keep writing and know that we’re always here.

My first novel Leaves was published in 2015, but I had written the original draft of it in 1970, straight out of university.

From the Wife of Bath to Jay Gatsby, literature is full of fibbers. Nothing beats a good lie to add suspense and intrigue.

The prospect of a visit to a museum, theatre or art gallery is tantalisingly close. Create a gallery of your heart.

Some of you noticed last week that we’ve now racked up a year’s worth of Dark Angels Notes. The passage of time is inevitable, but don’t those beating wings still catch you by surprise?

Change is happening. That’s good, but the odd wobble now and then is only to be expected.

As we teeter on the emerald verges of May, this week’s prompt celebrates Short Story Month.

Welcome back to our writerly thoughts to distract, inspire and reassure you. Be well, keep reading, keep writing and know that we’re always here.

Northern Ireland has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, but all the right ones too.

Last night on the Advanced Writing Course we had an interesting discussion around the sense of smell, particularly how the perception of odours can vary significantly from person to person.