Twenty similarities between Season 22 of Doctor Who, broadcast in 1984, and the 2016 American election. A ridiculous plan to change the course of history. Policemen shooting innocent people. A society addicted to reality television. A decent but weak leader, frustrated by the political system. A repulsive capitalist intent on usurping power. A female environmentalist, […]

Barrack Obama has declared that democracy is on the agenda in the forthcoming election. The two main candidates to succeed him have spent millions campaigning within the current democratic system but is that system truly democratic? Democracy in its purest form means rule by the people. Every eligible person has a vote and the majority […]

This week I was directed to a Facebook post which asked people to vote on banning Muslim immigration to Australia. It follows a recent opinion poll on the same topic, leading to global headlines that fifty percent of the population support a ban. The poll surveyed 1000 people, with 49% in favor. That’s 490 people, […]

Writers obtain inspiration from events around them. Take this report about Maroochydore adopting a new waste disposal system. How would you use this as the basis for a work of fiction? Firstly there is the impact on the current refuse collectors. How will they find alternative work in a challenging environment and what happens to […]

This week saw the 126th anniversary of Agatha Christie’s birth. Christie is the world’s best-selling novelist, 40 years after her death and the posthumous publication of her final novel. There are two reasons for her enduring appeal. The first is the quality of the books. Some are breathtakingly brilliant, simply and effective written with a […]

In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, issue 503, the show’s executive producer Brian Minchin talked about writers limiting themselves because of online debates and concern about what some communities might say. I know several people who no longer post opinions online because they have experienced unacceptable personal criticisms or fear that they will. Some […]

When I started writing self-publishing was frowned upon. It was seen as the expensive route for gullible and inadequate writers whose work was not up to published standard. Now, for many, it is preferred to the conventional route. In 2015, on average, a third of Amazon’s best-selling 100 books each week, were self-published. This change […]

Imagine being asked to write a screenplay about an election. In the first draft you pitch a maverick against the establishment. It gets declined for being unoriginal. So, you turn the maverick into a maniac. You make him arrogant but leave it unclear if he is malevolent or stupid. He uses rhetoric from a more […]

This advice from the first Doctor Who in 1964 remains relevant to writers today. The historical novelist Phillipa Gregory recently reported that she has a clause to stop adaptations of her work changing the basic historical facts. As a trained historian I am constantly amazed by the writers who sacrifice reality to suit their own […]