

Five Tough Truths to Unleash the Writer Within You
You want to be a writer? Here are five things you need to confront, if you want to succeed on that road: 1. Ask yourself ’Why am I not...


Prospecting for Gold
I wrote earlier of the similarities between teaching and coal-mining. In this article, a close adaptation of that earlier one, you’ll be...

The Forces Within Marvel's Film 'Doctor Strange'
One of the things that hard to believe about Doctor Strange, the 2016 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios is that it is...

Learn what a story really is...
Learn: • what a story really is • what it is actually doing to and for you and other readers ​ • the magnetic power that attracts readers...

The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde
In many ways, Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an early example of an Irony, a precursor...


Encouraging the 'Muse'
Writers, who is it that writes? The most infamous and annoying question asked of writers is ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ It may be...

The Origins of 'Doctor Strange'
Doctor Strange’s very earliest appearance in July 1963 was in the pages of Strange Tales #110. His original run, drawn by his creator,...

Learn what a story really is...
Learn: • what a story really is • what it is actually doing to and for you and other readers ​ • the magnetic power that attracts readers...


The Biggest Single Factor in Improving Learning
Volumes and volumes of opinion exist as to what gets results in education. A rapid consultation of newspapers, political statements, even...

Who Wants To Be A Mediaeval Millionaire?
When teaching 11 to 14 year olds about mediaeval literature like Beowulf or Gawain and the Green Knight, one runs into the enormous...