John Dudley Nixon – Pens Around The World

Can you write creatively in any situation?

John takes us through a less than successful attempt to make a YouTube video about writing creatively in any situation

By John Dudley Nixon 2026-08-24Writing Lifecreativity, writing, writing during difficult times, writing on film2 Comments

Collage showing the covers of six 1970s or earlier editions of (l to r) A Wizard of Earthsea, The Lord of the rings, The Wind in the Willows, The Annotated Alice, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Winnie-the-Pooh

Writing Life

Literary foundations

John reviews his "best books" in the light of the recent Guardian lists of great literature. These titles, he says, form the foundations of his literacy and literary interests.

By John Dudley Nixon 2026-06-29Writing Lifebest books, children's books, reading2 Comments

Writing Prompts

Using transpositions to help your writing move forward

For this week's writing prompt, John shares two exercises that may help you write your way out of a writer's block.

By John Dudley Nixon 2026-04-13Writing Promptsinspiration, motivation, writer's block, writing prompts2 Comments

Writing Prompts

Reading Poetry, Writing Prose

John suggests an exercise to prompt you to write a short story or flash fiction after reading a poem that you like.

By John Dudley Nixon 2025-11-24Writing Promptsinspiration, Maggie Smith, Marjorie Lotfi, poem, Seamus Heaney, Simon Armitage, writing prompts2 Comments

Writing Prompts

The Universal Turing Machine

John introduces the Universal Turing Machine (UTM), a mass human memoir writing project devised by British author Richard Beard.

By John Dudley Nixon 2025-10-27Writing Promptsmemoir, Richard Beard, Universal Turing Machine, writing prompts, writing tools6 Comments

Writing Life

Writing, Retiring, Recording: My First Year on YouTube

At 65, John retired and his lifelong dream of becoming a published author became his fulltime job. Under those circumstances, starting a YouTube channel to document his progress might seem counterintuitive. But it's become one of the most rewarding (and occasionally frustrating) elements of his creative life.

By John Dudley Nixon 2025-07-28Writing Lifeinspiration, writing tools, YouTube for writers4 Comments

Writing Prompts

Re: Writing / Re-Writing

John's writing prompt for this week: Take a story, a film, or a TV show episode from one genre and re-write it in a different genre.

By John Dudley Nixon 2025-05-05Writing Promptsinspiration, writing promptsNo Comments

This is Your Year - header image : Photo by Jessica Thames via Pexels.com

Writing Life

My writerly resolutions and how I keep them

Do you make New Year Resolutions? John shares his writerly resolutions - and the secret of how he keeps them.

By John Dudley Nixon 2025-02-10Writing Lifeinspiration, motivation, resolutions2 Comments

Writing Prompts

It was a dark and stormy night …

John presents a writing prompt in three stages, adapted for the lone writer from one he met in a creative writing seminar.

By John Dudley Nixon 2024-12-16Writing Promptsinspiration, writing prompts3 Comments

Treasure trove 2: Gold neck rings and bracelets from a display case in the Swedish Historical Museum's Gold Room. These were probably made in the period 300-500, from the gold of Roman coins paid to Scandinavian mercenaries in the Roman army.

Writing Prompts

Writing for gold – a double flash fiction prompt

A prompt to write a very short, 100 word story based on an object seen in a museum, or a for sale in a secondhand, antique or charity shop.

By John Dudley Nixon 2024-09-09Writing Promptsflash fiction, inspiration, writing prompts1 Comment