In Japan’s 72 traditional micro seasons, winter gradually hints at giving way to spring with rain moistening the soil, mists that linger, and the surfacing of hibernating insects. In Tokyo, some of the old signs of transition still appear, but I tend to notice spring’s arrival elsewhere. As I check the weather each morning, I […]
2024: The Year of Gnawing
It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to the past and future, and for me three words come to mind: gnawing, frustration, and creativity. Let me get the good out of the way first. About 18 months ago, I started my first book with Lonely Planet. I’m now working on my fifth—my 40th book […]
A New Thing About New Things
I’ve never been good at promoting myself on social media. I don’t have a strong urge to spam feeds with links to every story I write or share updates about being on assignment for whoever is currently paying me. I’m (happily) an introvert. I also grew up in a culture where it wasn’t normal to […]
August 2024 Haiku
I don’t know what to say about this month without swearing. Megaquake alert, multiple typhoons, a rice shortage, ridiculous heat and humidity…all we need now is Godzilla to awaken in Tokyo Bay. Add to that a lot of deadlines and a dodgy elbow, and there was plenty to write haiku about. Here are a few: […]
Brevity, Word Choices & Bust My Buffers
Sometimes I like to set myself the challenge of writing about a specific theme with a fixed word count. Just as an exercise in writing, because no matter how silly something is, it still needs tempo and careful word selection. Later in this post, you’ll see an attempt from several years ago to write a […]
The Conversation Clinic
I was at a local clinic today for some elbow rehab. It’s a fascinating place, mostly frequented by elderly who pop in for treatment for the aches and pains of aging, in a communal treatment room full of benches and machines that are showing their own signs of age. Other than a few kids with […]
Rainy Season: Haiku July 2024
Rainy season has officially ended in Tokyo. While summer can be grim here, rainy season for me is even grimmer. It’s peak migraine season for starters. I swear I have a seasonal cognitive slump every rainy season. That’s reflected in the quality and focus of the haiku drafts on my phone. I’ve done nothing but […]
Insomnia & Summer Romance: Haiku June 2024
A SUMMER THING the darkness sweats cicada calls our sweet nothings darkness rising… thinking her words cicada fall silent INSOMNIA 1am the caffeine-nap bites back 2am the dog chases pigeons in a squeaky dream 3am my bladder awakens
Haiku Word Choices
This post is going to start by stating the obvious: word choice is important for all writing. But it could be argued that the shorter the piece, the more precise language needs to be. Poorly chosen words are more exposed when there are fewer words around them. One of the reasons I first got into […]
Travel Writing Clinic
In 2022, I ran a bunch of online travel writing mentoring sessions, primarily to raise a little money for humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine but also to support writers at the start of their careers. It was also something to make me feel more positive and a way to do some form of community service. […]