Hello Netherlands!

There are a few things I know about the Netherlands.
It has a history of great painters.
And good cheese such as Edam and Gouda.
There are tulips, windmills and clogs.
50% of the land lies less than 1 metre above sea level.
Tuesday's weather will be a minimum of -7 and a maximum of -1, with a chance of snow and 20% chance of rain.

What I don't know is why there has been a sudden rush of views of my blog from the Netherlands.
Can anyone tell me?

The big question on short stories

The skill of a good short story is that it offers the reader a glimpse into their own life truths in a way that other writing can't offer. Often, with novels, the reader is caught up with the characters or the plot.
The end of a good short story can give you a kick in the guts.
Or it can linger with you long after you've moved onto something else.

Just as writing books for children is not easier than writing books for adults
so writing short stories is not an easier option to writing a novel.
Australia has a history of short story writers
and it feels like lately it has started coming back into vogue.

Or maybe I'm just hoping?

Back to the future

Some people love to do it and some people would rather poke themselves in the eye with a sharp (or burnt, depending on your upbringing) stick.
Some people spend time wondering and some never give it a second thought.
Some people do it once and wish they'd never done it.
Some dream about doing it but don't have the guts.

I did it on Friday night and I'm glad I did.
Thanks for the great school reunion Caroline...

A word on speeches

A good speech is really just another way of telling a good story.
It's not about being word perfect, about precise annunciation or having a posh accent.
Or about being so incredibly rehearsed that you could talk without really thinking about what you are saying.

Time and again, I have to remind myself that a good speech is about speaking from the heart.
it's about believing what you say and being passionate about your subject.
It's about being yourself.
(And ignoring the fact that your face is the colour of a beetroot.)

You want eggs with that?

When I studied copywriting (last century) we had a fantastic marketing class which was the highlight of the course. I can't remember the name of the lecturer now, but he was a dapper man who had a colourful range of bow ties and a never-ending bag of anecdotes. One story that has always stuck with me is the story of the instant cake mix.

As a young man my lecturer was given the job of selling instant cake packet mixes. The manufacturer had done a great job of creating an instant cake mix that only needed water added by the busy housewife (and housewife it would have been then) to create a perfect cake. But the mix didn't sell. Subsequent surveys of the target market suggested that the end user felt they hadn't put enough effort into baking the cake, and questioned the nutritional value of the cake. Feedback was given to the manufacturer who changed their recipe so that it required the addition of one egg. Sales rocketed.

In a similar vein, publishers over the past few years have cannily rejacketed books to increase their market share. Books with child/teen oriented covers have been given more sophisticated treatments so that adults can happily sit on trains, in cafes and any other public place without the stigma of being seen to be reading a children's book. Nothing else has changed, just the cover.

I guess it's all about the perception of the end user.

There is nothing worse...

than driving someone to the airport
to watch them fly away
without you.

More on the power of three...

Then there were the three musketeers.
The three little pigs.
Three blind mice.
The three bears.
Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three strikes and you're out
Three batsman out in a row is a hat trick

Three witches in Macbeth
Three sisters by Chekhov


It is also the first odd prime number.