Ali Bacon

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020

Helpers and Handmaids: Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor #historicalfiction #biographicalfiction

In June 2018, Nuala O’Connorwas kind enough to give me a copy of her 2015 novel Miss Emily when we met at the Bath Flash Fiction Festival I’ve only just got around to reading it and discovering that rare thing – a really lovely and satisfying example of historical/biographical fiction. A famously reclusive writer can’t … Continue reading Helpers and Handmaids: Miss Emily by Nuala O’Connor #historicalfiction #biographicalfiction

January 14, 2020

Song and Story: a lightbulb moment on Radio 2. #writingtips #writerscraft #showdonttell

I don’t suppose it’s surprising that composing in different artistic genres and media should be simialr but these things always catch me unawares. Like on Sunday when I was half-listening to Elaine Page on Radio 2 interviewing songwriter Steven Schwartz. When he alluded to songs which tell a story successfully, something he also tries to … Continue reading Song and Story: a lightbulb moment on Radio 2. #writingtips #writerscraft #showdonttell

November 18, 2019

#Nanowrimo2019 – what’s the point?

If you’ve never heard of it, Nanowrimo is an annual event in which novelists and aspiring novelists are challenged each November to write 50,000 words in the course of the month. It’s been going on for quite a while and although, November being a Novemberish kind of month, I occasionally make a private challenge to … Continue reading #Nanowrimo2019 – what’s the point?

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019

On getting history very slightly wrong (then winning a prize)

As most of you will know, when writing in In the Bink of an Eye I was careful – (some might say too careful, to those who spotted the odd gaffe not careful enough!) – to stick to ‘the facts as we know them.’ And if anyone would like a summary of the story I … Continue reading On getting history very slightly wrong (then winning a prize)

September 22, 2019September 22, 2019

Denmark: old and new and more than its very good pastries

I didn’t intend this blog to be a travelogue but Denmark surprised me enough to want to feel the need to shout about it. I’m not sure what I expected of Copenhagen other than a change of air and maybe something akin to Amsterdam. In fact although there are canal-side walks which ressemble the Dutch … Continue reading Denmark: old and new and more than its very good pastries

August 10, 2019August 10, 2019

Ship-ahoy! Summer fun at Brunel’s SS Great Britain @ssgreatbritain #summerspectacular

We first came to Bristol way back in the 70s, not long after Brunel’s SS Great Britain had been rescued and towed all the way back from the Falkland Islands. Like Concorde it was very much part of our new neighbourhood. Since then we’ve seen the ship restored to her former glory and now transformed … Continue reading Ship-ahoy! Summer fun at Brunel’s SS Great Britain @ssgreatbritain #summerspectacular

June 11, 2019

‘Fame’ at the Bristol Hippodrome – #FametheMusical 2019 Tour

I always used to think the eighties (shell suits and shoulder pads!) pretty much passed me by, but not even I (stuck in the groove of nappy changing and ‘nursery teas’) could miss the impact of the film and TV series Fame whose style and music even made it into our local keep-fit classes. Everyone … Continue reading ‘Fame’ at the Bristol Hippodrome – #FametheMusical 2019 Tour