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The halfway point
Amongst the busy day of driving children around to their activities, I managed about about two hours of writing. I learned recently that I should bring my laptop with me when I bring my daughters to their activities. When they’re off doing gymnastics or learning science stuff, it’s ideal writing time for me! It’s a…
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The poem that started it
Back in June, I was inspired to start writing poetry, as a result of a competition by the Irish Writers’ Centre. I was proud of my entry, but unfortunately it won’t be featuring in their anthology. So instead, it gets featured here. Yes, none other than on darraghobradain.ie – oh, the honour! You can read…
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New poem
Have a look at my new poem, Cothú. After writing a blog post earlier today about finding time to write, I remembered that I liked writing poetry, so I put this one together. Enjoy. Loads of imagery!
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Writing while working a full time job
I’ve noticed that I haven’t updated this blog in over a month, and this is owing to the fact that I’ve been writing less. I returned to my full-time primary teaching job on 1st September 2026, after 14 months away from that work. Being a teacher means being prepared, so in reality my return to…
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Returning to my first novel; exploring threads and continuity
A week ago, I finished the first act of Witness to the Forgotten. This seemed like the natural point to return to Lessons in Absence. Juggling two major works in progress can be tricky, so I think it makes sense to do them both in chunks. I had spent just over a month working on…
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I’ve finished the first act of my latest WIP, now what?
Should I ask for advice from the people I trust? Should I ask them to evaluate what I’ve written? No, actually. I shouldn’t. This is exactly not what I should be doing at this juncture. Sure, it’d be lovely to see what people think and if they’d be interested in finding out where I’m going…
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Writing two male protagonists: keeping them separate
As I’ve written the first two chapters of my new story “When Sunday Ended”, I started thinking about the fact that both novels that I’m currently working on contain a male protagonist. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this. What I’m getting at is that I’ve encountered a new challenge in my writing. I need…
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I’ve been told I can wallpaper my house with these!
That’s right, I got my first rejection email yesterday. I was on my way to see Toy Story 5 with my wife and children, and just before we entered the nearly-empty Screen 6, I got a lovely email from the editorial administrator of a well-known Irish publisher. I quickly glanced at it, told my wife…
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A story taking shape
When I last wrote here about my new story idea, it was mainly just a concept. Now, I’ve written a whopping two scenes! Yes, two! At this stage it could have been more, but the awful heat we’re experiencing in Ireland right now does not a productive writing environment make. So much for making loads…
