Fi Phillips

This month's photo inspiration is a shot I took while out walking the dog. It was one of those days ('brisk' as my father would have called it) that pinches your cheeks and hurries you along. The grass was crisp over the frozen soil beneath, and as my dog investigated a nearby tree, I took a moment to, well, just take a moment. Normally, I look up. On that day, I looked down. Peering up from beneath the layer of frost were three daisies. While the winter world lay dormant and still, these tiny flowers dared to show their faces. This year is all about (more) change for me and these daisies, surviving in the chill, reminded me that to make progress, I will have to run the risk of poking my head outside my comfort zone. What do these daisies in the frost mean to you? Survival? Hope? Perseverance? Let me know. I'd love to know what they inspire you to write.

There's plenty of choice creative advice out there at the moment in the enthusiastic light of the new year. I recently came across a wonderful article by brainpickings,  Margaret Atwood's 10 Rules of Writing . It's not new but it's well worth a read. Have a look. In My Personal Zero Moment: How I became a writer  I mentioned that I'd signed up for Gabriela Pereira's diy MFA book club. Well, now I have a wonderful TED talk from Gabriela for you too. 'Creativity is a craft and it belongs to everyone' Gabriela Pereira of diy MFA

It was back to work for me today and I have to say that 2018 feels very different to 2017. Maybe, it's the 'new year vibe' with all its associated intentions and resolutions or perhaps it's starting the new year in a new home. Whatever it is, I feel motivated and raring to go. January, never mind 2018, is a very different world to the one I lived in a month ago. I've joined a new Facebook group for creatives which encourages its members to assign a word to 2018. My word is 'growth'. So what am I up to in January? My main focus will be setting up my copywriting business. Although I started down the freelance copywriting path in 2017, this year I want to solidify that path with an actual named business. I also want to set up my business in the right way this time round, not just flitting around the issue and missing critical areas that tripped me up further down the line when I was setting up Murdering The Text . There's legal steps to take, a we...

It's all a bit bleak out there at the moment. It seems to have rained every day in January so far where I live. Dog walks are short, pavement-bound and with my eyes downcast. I took this photo on one of the few dry mornings we've had recently. The towering branches of the oak trees, dotted with crows, painted a picture of black on white. I always enjoy watching the crows which mass in these trees at the end of the road where I live. What do you think? Depressing? Foreboding? Stark? Or do you find something inspirational and thoughtful in this image? What does it inspire you to write?

This is how I started the second day of the new year, walking around in rainy Venice with my husband to celebrate my fiftieth birthday. With our children safe at home with their uncle, we spent a wonderful long weekend in a city that constantly inspires me. Come the Tuesday morning, my children returned to school, my husband to work, and me to my writing and plenty of post Christmas housework. Smack down back to earth. January is my birthday month but unfortunately it's also a month that acts as an anti climax after the festive break. It's cold, often rainy and, let's face it, most of us have usually spent all our pennies until the next pay day comes around. It always seems like a terrible time to me to be making resolutions so I keep those until the spring. This month, therefore, continues without a lot of change. I'll continue to wait for responses from the literary agents whom I've submitted my novel to. I've had three no's (with encouraging feedb...

This month's photo inspiration is an image taken on my birthday trip to Venice straight after the new year (which is why I haven't posted until today). There's a burnt-out candle, Christmas decorations, two finished hot chocolates and one biscuit remaining. A lone figure stands at the bar in the background. What does this inspire you to write?

This is, obviously, the first photo inspiration for 2014. What do you think? Do you like gems? Do you like purple? What do you associate with this colour? Crocuses? Velvet? Pick out a gem. Which will it be - the largest faceted one or the round cloudy one? What does this image inspire you to write?

Nature is waking up and we're starting our new life in a new home so I thought I'd make this post about beginnings.