Punctuation (and other) Basics

I know punctuation was one of your favourite things at school, right up there with long division, but there's often confusion over certain points. I've put together the examples below to help clarify some of these, as a misplaced apostrophe or hyphen can cause all manner of problems. So first up, a family favourite: APOSTROPHES … Continue reading Punctuation (and other) Basics →

Pilgrim repeats on Radio 4 Extra

If you've been here before you'll know how I love my BBC audio drama, particularly Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, starring Paul Hilton as William Palmer "compelled to walk [...] between the worlds of magic and of men". Well, BBC Radio 4 Extra is repeating every episode, giving you the opportunity to listen again or discover for the … Continue reading Pilgrim repeats on Radio 4 Extra →

Bringing the ghosts of Birmingham’s criminal past back to life

Always quality writing from the BOLDtext collective. Book your tickets for this unique event now!

Bold Text Playwrights

By BOLDtext writer Tim Stimpson

If you’ve ever walked down Steelhouse Lane in Birmingham you more than likely have no idea what lies behind the front door of the unprepossessing redbrick building on the corner of Coleridge Passage. Unless you’re a police officer or have been arrested, it’s even less probable you’ve seen inside. But the old Central Lock-Up has been the first stop for many of the city’s criminals for 125 years. As such it’s an important and fascinating part of Birmingham’s heritage.

The Lock-Up closed its doors in 2016 and West Midlands Police are now in the process of transforming the grade II listed building into a new home for the force’s museum. All being well it will start welcoming the general public in the next few years. In the meantime BOLDtext have been busy writing short plays about some of the people who would have passed through…

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Create simple text notes using Keyboard Maestro and TextEdit

Sometimes you just want to make a note on your Mac. Nothing fancy – just a text file that's searchable, giving you quick and easy access. There are several ways to do this, but most are more complex then necessary. If you have Keyboard Maestro, however, you can easily create a simple macro that provides … Continue reading Create simple text notes using Keyboard Maestro and TextEdit →

GF Newman’s The Corrupted, series 4

Series 4 of GF Newman's The Corrupted is being broadcast on Radio 4 this week. Check out my previous post on this 5-star drama, listen and enjoy. Click here for my other radio posts. I'm a writer, editor, and Royal Literary Fund Fellow. Find out more, tweet me, or email.

Scrivener Tip – progress at a glance

Scrivener's Project Targets tool is great for keeping an eye on word count, especially if you're writing something to a prescribed length. On a Mac, to set your targets and check progress call up the Project Targets window using SHFT+CMD+T. However, you can also get an idea of your progress as you write with a … Continue reading Scrivener Tip – progress at a glance →

Mart’s Radio Highlight of the Week – Graeae’s Midwich Cuckoos

Graeae's Midwich Cuckoos is a fresh take on a science fiction classic: the English village of the title has a "day out", following which all the women of child-bearing age mysteriously become pregnant, with the resulting infants developing at an unnatural rate and demonstrating mysterious powers. She makes me do things. Do things? With her eyes. … Continue reading Mart’s Radio Highlight of the Week – Graeae’s Midwich Cuckoos →