Neil Mach

How does it feel to be forced to wear cast offs? Due to poverty, the worldwide demand for second-hand clothing is on the rise Buying clothes at charity jumble sales was extremely common in the 1970s  Doug, my closest friend from that period, had a talent for finding second hand deals on market stalls Doug remodelled, personalised, and accessorised the cast-offs to create amazing new…

An introduction to #Fantology What is a #fantologist ? #fantasy #creativefantasy #creativethinking #amwritingfantasy

#fantasy #creativefantasy #creativethinking #amwritingfantasy What is a fantologist? What does the fantologist do? First let’s think about fantasy. What actually is it? Fantasy is an experience that transcends logic. The general belief is that the universe described by science is the real one. That means that everything “outside” the general vision expounded by science is represented as unreal…

How can we learn to talk to aliens? Solomon’s new seal #ProjectCETI #machinelearning #communication #linguistics #SolomonsSeal

A machine learning expert is helping an interdisciplinary group of scientists, comprising of marine biologists and other experts, to communicate with whales. Is this the first step towards successfully interacting with non-human beings? The CETI Project (Cetacean Translation Initiative) will attempt to understand the series of clicking sounds that sperm whales use to communicate with each other.…

How to Order Your Novel's Hierarchy #PrepTober #NaNoWriMo #Prepping #NovelHierarchy Don't start world building until you've read this!

What is the hierarchy of a novel and why is it necessary to get it properly organized before your start typing? Without an underlying theme, all hope is lost! I remind new authors of this over and over, but my words often fall on deaf ears. Why? Because, I suppose “finding” a theme is demanding. But without a theme, the words in your novel won’t mean much at all, your audience won’t be able to…

The Myth + Magic Interview with Etherea Magazine @EthereaMagazine #EthereaMagazine #MythMagic #amwritingfantasy #amreadingfantasy

Check out this engaging Myth & Magic interview with the editor of the latest Australian speculative fiction magazine — Etherea, created espcially for science fiction and fantasy fans! Listen to the interview on the Myth & Magic podcast now, Episode 104 aired on 20th October 2021 Available on all podcast services Apple: https://tinyurl.com/y9ae6fyhGoogle: https://tinyurl.com/ya7qhzz8 Myth &…

SAM FISCHER @SamFischer #NewSong #HopelessRomantic #SingleReview

Following the release of his duet with Demi Lovato on ‘What Other People Say’, and the hit single ‘This City’ and recent fan track ‘Simple’, the neo-soul pop-rock performer & songwriter SAM FISCHER has now shared a redemptive and encouraging new single, titled “Hopeless Romantic” available via RCA Records. On Hopeless Romantic Sam reveals intimate emotions, detailing in his characteristic honest…

Turn things around — tip things upside down — on your next #fantasyfiction project #amwritingfantasy #NaNoWriMo #storycraft #nanowrimo2021 #preptober

If you are presently preparing a fantasy adventure for this year’s NaNoWriMo novel writing challenge, could I encourage you to consider shifting the fashionable tropes of and flipping those worn out old stereotypes? For instance, why do wizards have to be enlightened old men? Why wise, why old, and most important, why male?  Why not incorporeal? Why not multicellular? Why not a cyborg? So, with…

What does the expression “losing face” actually mean? Why does it matter? #Identity #selfidentity #MindPower #HealthandWellness

How many faces do you use? I’m not being silly or deliberately insincere: this is not a trick question — how many faces do you wear each day? I use a different face for church than I do when partying with friends. I use a different one when communicating with my (now adult) daughters. Another one when I communicate with my grandchildren (babies). And of course a special & unique face when I…

Ten Misconceptions about Creativity: Some Common Misunderstandings about Inspirational Thought #CreativeThinking #Creativity #CreativeWriting #BeingCreative

1: Creativity is commonplace and easy Prehistoric humans simply sought to survive. Just existing used-up all of their time and effort. They weren’t squatting in dark caves scribbling on the walls or building monoliths all the time! Oh no, mostly they were hunting, fishing, gathering, stalking, etc. you get the idea. When they applied their fingers in a creative endeavor, it was to assemble…

Interview with Kristy Sumner of Soul Sisters #Paranormal #podcast #Wednesday #paranormalinvestigation #ghost #haunted #ghosts #paranormalactivity

Welcome to Myth & Magic, the podcast for fantasy fiction fans, focused especially on fantasy fiction authors… my listeners (and I) take paranormal beliefs very seriously and most of us deal, in some measure, with subjects such as supernatural phenomena, ghosts, poltergeists, life after death, reincarnation, faith healing, human auras, and so forth. You’ll find we fantasy authors are a very…

Seven icons of the 1970s that stood the test of time #SeventiesVibe #SeventiesFashion #Retro1970s #Seventies #Supergirls

When Margaret Thatcher said (in 1978) “We [women] are bored of being regarded as a curious and endangered species...” she might possibly have been talking about herself, but evidently not about those genuinely pioneering women of the 1970s that unleashed freedoms and smashed glass ceilings, glitter-balls and all, over disco floors across the globe. Here’s a list of women who outfought,…

How to write a Smiley Synopsis for your book : #SmileySynopsis #WritingCommunity #WritersTips #indieauthors #writerslife

A synopsis is: A summary of your book, all the gumbo Composed using objective and not very dynamic language The order of events as they occur within the structure of your book, regardless of narratives and / or chronologies A product with a maximum of 500 words Not an advertisement, a sales description or a preview You will divulge all your most secret confidences like the perfunctory…

I like to be an “early adopter” of undeveloped technology and one adventure into a clumsily performed service led me into an altogether peculiar, profound, and yet productive creative direction. I was one of the first guys to ‘sign up’ for online grocery delivery here in England (they reckon about ¾ of UK customers now choose groceries on-line. But back then, nobody did.) Michael Aldrich The…

How to sculpt a champion protagonist #champrotagonist for your novel. The true definition of hero. Definition of heroic #writingtips #writinglove #writershelpingwriters #writerslife

Hero means “protector” or “defender” so the first thing to establish (in your mind) is what your heroic character will be required to protect or defend in your story. Without this approach, your champion protagonist has no role in the narrative! So deal with this first: Who or what needs to be defended? (deserves preserving, upholding?) Who or what needs to be protected? (deserves shielding,…

Welcome to the days of the full corn moon, also known as the time of the barley moon. The southward equinox is the moment when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward and in the South of England, here where I am, this occurred last night before the day that begins the 25th September, 2021. Therefore, the full corn moon marks the end of the astronomical summer and the…

Collective memory is the bigger and more powerful brother of folk memory and it helps explain faith and belief and a host of glorious mythologies, but collective memory (as a shared set of memories) can also help safeguard & nurture a species whose members can instantaneously & reflectively connect and synchronise with each other. We might describe this type of intuitive collective memory as…

Break the creative yoke: take charge of your talent #writingcommunity #amwriting #creativewriting #creativethinking #author

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” Virginia Woolf. When I was a nightclub entertainer in the 1970s (yes, another of my less than healthy occupations) we organised “spot prizes” and handed out bottles of liquor or boxes of chocolates to anyone who could answer prank questions, similar to riddles. One of my…