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  #scribesandmakers Mar 25 Do you use music as a storytelling tool? Give an example. Exhibit one of several: The Broken Bottle https://youtu.be/3xgFZpr41NE?si=qbNsQjdmYDN2iUCZ

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 26 Do you dance or move along to music when you listen? Not if anybody is watching. I am ridiculously self-conscious, and some of the worst words anybody could say to me are ‘do you want to dance?’ It’s the stuff of nightmares- both the thought and the actuality.

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  I shall be doing a gig. It is definitely the first one of the year. It might possibly be the only one of the year. Tickets are available here https://www.universe.com/events/amplify-all-my-trials-layla-j-old-strings-johny-no-cash-tickets-3PWDMC?ref=ticketmaster with the discount code JOHN26 Most of you won’t be able to come for a variety of reasons, all of which I completely understand, and which include: geography, money, general disinterest, prior engagement. However, if you were to find...

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 28 Does your day job (past or present) influence your creativity? Sometimes… but not usually in any way I can specifically identify. However, here is a song that was definitely inspired by the toxic atmosphere created by a minority of people years ago… https://brokendownrecords.bandcamp.com/track/breathe

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 29 Griddle? Great for halloumi, not so great for the washer-upper.

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  @Emmacox 😂 but even more of a faff to wash, no?

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  @Emmacox hmmm. I might have to give that a go.

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  #scribesandmakers Apr 1. How many creative projects do you have going right now? Let’s see. I need to finish reading and taking notes for Mr. Thinman’s draft. I need to edit the first draft of ‘A Ghost At The Old Rectory?’ I need to start working on preparing ‘The Old Couple/Nothing Much’ for self-pub I need to write a 500 Flash Fiction piece about a hat I need to prepay my second poetry anthology (I don’t count the lyrics one) for self-pub I need to do the vocals for one song, and write anot...

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 20 Self-promotion day. Shame optional. I’ve written this trilogy, which starts with a boy falling in love and being in a band. Those who have read it have loved it, by all accounts. Please give it a go. https://books2read.com/b/3nBzEP

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  #scribesandmakers Apr ∆ 4. How do you answer if someone asks you what you do? Is your answer different in person than it is online? It very much differs on the situations the person asking. Sometimes I’ll say I’m a teacher, sometimes I’ll say I work in a special school. Sometimes I’ll say I’m a teacher in a special school. I might expand to then describe being the deputy head. I never expand to saying I’m a deputy head of a special school doing a doctorate in preparation for adulthood and...

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  In a bid to save the world from JK Rowling and her ilk I’ve written some books. Please buy them. #books #fiction #indieauthor

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  #scribesandmakers Apr 8. Victuals? A clip from ‘This Is Not The End’ (see poster). Text and images copyright me, of course.

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 30 Do birds ever feature in your work? Give an example. From the first draft of ‘A Ghost at the Old Rectory?’ Copyright me, John, with all rights reserved etc.

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 21 What everyday object would you photograph as if it were art? Absolutely anything. Here’s some oil and vinegar.

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 23 Do you consider yourself a frood who knows where their towel is? I consider myself a fraud who knows where their towel is. It’s in the bathroom, on the rail above the radiator.

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  #scribesandmakers Feb ☼ 28. How did your month go? I peaked on day one, finding the new prompts. Since then, I’ve just bumbled along, finishing off three &ything songs for the Right Hon. Walter Thinman, started beta reading his novella, written and recorded a demo for Darcy Louch to maybe sing, written and poem and a flash fiction piece that both came 2nd (out of 12 and 9 in their respective fields), and written two other short stories. I’ve also taken some seaside photos in Whitstabl...

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 03. Ripple? Preferable to a Flake, which just falls apart on sight and leaves debris on the sofa for someone to sit on and ruin both clothing and upholstery. The downside is the richness which can clog in the roof of the mouth. Can I have a Twirl instead?

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 6 How do you choose a title for your book Sometimes the title is the starting point. Others it’s a working title until something in the text leaps out and claims the title spot for itself. I’m currently querying a novella titled ‘The Old Couple’, but I’m not convinced that’s the right title. I can’t find anything better though, which is frustrating, and the suggestions I have made to people who have read it haven’t produced positive reactions…

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 7 Are you able to communicate in sign language? Oh yes. I work with young people with severe and complex learning difficulties. It’s a routine part of the job. We use Signalong, a key-word signing system based on British Sign Language, and much more flexible than the very rigid and vocabulary-tight Makaton. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but Signalong works best in our setting. I was also one of the initial working group writing a simple on-body signing sys...

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  Some new Sunday evening reading for you: https://johnhartleywriter.blogspot.com/2026/03/extract-from-new-sound-melody-interview.html #writingcommunity #scribesandmakers

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  #scribesandmakers Mar 8 Is there a country other than your own that influences your creativity? Only that identified by my namesake L.P. Hartley; ‘the past is a foreign country. You cannot stay there’

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  #scribesandmakers January 28. What's the most stressful thing about your creativity? 29. What's the most rewarding thing about your creativity? 29. Floating things into the sea of public domain content 28. Watching my things drown in the sea of public domain content

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  #scribesandmakers Jan 31. Share something about your creative work this month. A few things. I wrote a poem which came fourth out of fifteen and made me realise that my writing will never be attractive to the masses, no matter how good it may be. I received two rejection responses from literary agents for my story ‘The Old Couple’. I rewrote the synopsis and my submission letter for ‘The Old Couple’ and submitted to a couple of different literary agents. I realised ‘The Old Couple’ might n...

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  #ScribesAndMakers 1Feb—What's one creative thing you'd like to get done this month? Find out where the prompts are on the web. I remember mention of them being shifted, but buggered if I can remember where…

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  Bookshelves. A new post. #writingcommunity #bookstodon #reading #randomhashtag #scribesandmakers https://johnhartleywriter.blogspot.com/2026/02/bookshelves.html

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  #scribesandmakers Feb 2. Do you have any annual traditions not tied to holidays? In September we celebrate ‘Have something sweet with your coffee’ day, which commemorates the day eldest Nocash Jr came down stairs, scoured the cupboards, and into the living room and asked if he could have a variety of things, none of which he was allowed to eat for various reasons, and then stomped off saying ‘I just want something sweet with my coffee.’ On that day forever more we make sure we have somethin...

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  “I once wrote a poem that came in the top 0.17% of a national competition, and still didn’t win” New blog post https://johnhartleywriter.blogspot.com/

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  #scribesandmakers Feb ☼ 3. What's a creative project you would want to give someone for their birthday? I’ve given a few… the one line a day, five year diary I gave my mum was something I was pleased to do. It suggested an expectation that she’d still be around in five years, which can be challenging for some people in their seventies.

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  #scribesandmakers Feb ☼ 5. You now have the same occupation as the main character of your current WIP (or book you are reading/last read) What job are you doing? It looks like I’m a seventeen year old stuck on a bus that’s broken down in the middle of nowhere on the way home in the November murk. Rather than having any job, I’m actually proving myself to be hard work for the two friends I’m with.