Sandra Harris Writes

I’M NOT A HOARDER, DEAR; I’M A COLLECTOR…! BY SANDRA HARRIS. © I’ve been watching a load of programmes about hoarders on YouTube lately, purely in the interests of research, you understand, and not just because I’m procrastinating and putting off writing things. I found the programmes wholly fascinating, anyway, and I wanted to share some of my observations with you and see what you thought. Firstly, it’s kind of like car crash TV, isn’t it? What you’re looking at is truly awful and disturbing, but you can’t look away. What’s more, you don’t want to look away, because what you’re watching is so compulsive. Addictive, even. I could no more skip or miss the outcome of a particular hoarding show than I could eat a banana without gagging at the squishy brown bits. Also, if you’re in any way inclined to hold onto too much shit yourself (books, ahem, my own personal downfall! Oh, and Victorian dolls…) , these shows make you feel better about your own hoarding habits. I never know if ...

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR WRITING IDEAS FROM? BY SANDRA HARRIS. © People who know I’m a writer are always asking me where I get my ideas from. You can find inspiration literally anywhere in life, I tell them. Look around you in the house; pick up an ornament and make up a story about it, or write a non-fiction piece about its origins, if you know them. Read books, watch films, study paintings or listen to music. Better yet, get out of the house altogether and go for a walk.  It’s better than a book of writing prompts. You’ll see ideas around you wherever you look. People always look a bit dubious when I say that. A walk? Really? Just walking around and observing things and people? They probably wouldn’t believe me if I added that, if walking around the place observing and inter-acting with people were a job that you got paid for, I’d do it in a flash. And, just to prove my point about how rich and fruitful our local neighbourhoods can be as a source of inspiration and ideas for...