where the story began

memoriesstory

where the story began

When I started my MA course in Creative Writing, I told a few people the story of how I started writing. I had an inspirational teacher at the age of 9, that's the shortest version.…

interstitial

stocktakingNews

interstitial

Interstitial spaces are defined by what they are between. They are non-places, between other, proper places. Here is one. In web design, an interstitial meant a “please wait” screen displayed to deter the user from closing the browser whilst the…

the map’s in your soul

mapsmemoriesquotation

the map’s in your soul

I found this quotation about novel-writing from E.L. Doctorow and immediately liked it. It reminded me of a car journey I once made, when I was a PhD student. I needed to return to Newcastle, but there was a very heavy fog; I didn't realise how heavy, until I got out of town…

map research

changemaps

map research

I've written about my contributions to OpenStreetMap before. Surveying the ever-changing Newcastle Helix site for OSM, I noticed that part of Corporation Street no longer exists on the ground, bulldozed to make way for a new building that is just being started…

thought experiment

imagining

thought experiment

Latency, in computer networking, means the delay between preparing to send information and the start of the transfer itself. It was a term borrowed from biology, where latency is the delay between stimulus and response.…

sedimentary

storyimage

sedimentary

It is hot even under the trees in Central Park. People are strolling, having languid conversations on the lawns, or dozing off on an outcrop of warm Manhattan schist.…

being a writer

stocktaking

being a writer

I've noticed one or two of my Creative Writing classmates referring to themselves on social media as a writer. Perhaps it jumped out at me. Obviously I write (the evidence is right here), but I don't really think of myself as a writer.…