'You've got your hands full'

What's your favourite piece of writing...by you?

AS I'm adding examples of previous writing to this blog, I wanted to include this one. I don't know why but it has always stayed with me. I hope you like it and would love to know what your favourite thing you've written is. This post has been prompted by Josie at Sleep is for the weak too.

Mourners gather to remember victims of repression

EVERY year on September 5 relatives and friends of victims of Stalin's murderous political repression gather at a modest plinth in the shadow of St Petersburg's Peter and Paul Fortress to commemorate the start of the Red Terror.  Linda Jones reports.

They came not only to remember their dead, but to remind the living of their loss.  Some were decorated with medals, others with photos of loved-ones who had perished on the whim of a tyrant. Some cried openly, while many more were lost in a silent world of darkness and grief.

Natalia Konstantinova was nine years old when her father was shot. He had been arrested seven months earlier, accused of designing a bomb to assassinate Stalin.

Write Away: How to write a non-fiction book synopsis

I'VE had seven examples of a synopsis initially accepted by a small publisher or agent. Only two of these ever saw the light of day as a published book.

In one of those books, The Greatest Freelance Writing Tips in the World, I explore what makes a winning synopsis. It should be:

• Compelling
• An excellent example of your writing
• A showcase for your research skills

Photo by Olivander on Flickr

Time to change: Helping people with mental distress tell their story

DID you see the Time to Change TV ad?

I'm working with Lyn Jenkins, a co-ordinator for Mind in the Midlands to help people share their story of how they've been affected by mental illness to reduce the stigma.

One in four people in the UK are said to have suffered from a mental illness, with depression being up there as the most common.

I wrote about my experience of depression here.

It's a privilege to be involved in such a campaign and I look forward to helping make a difference, however small.

On turning the air blue in the supermarket and other adventures up the aisles

Photo by daveknapik on Flickr

EVER wondered what goes on behind the scenes to bring you your weekend news?

Once this involved me standing by the satsumas in Sainsbury’s yelling "cock".

I'm surprised I didn't get arrested - or escorted off the premises at the very least.

Tales from a Travelling Mum out now - with a bit from me...

I'VE just updated Have a Lovely Time with this so thought I'd add it here too. Hooray.

I'm one of the mums, along with Gail Mowat from the wonderful Big Beluga Baby who has contributed to travel writer Alice Griffin's new book.

How exciting. I hope this inspirational mum finds plenty of support in the blogosphere. Go Alice!

My contribution is about how much I love family holidays and breaks in the UK, what fun there is to be had and an explanation of why we wanted to set up Have a Lovely Time.

But most of all, of course, Tales from a Travelling Mum: Navigating Europe with a Babe-in-Arms is Alice's story of adventures across Europe with her baby daughter.

It sounds absolutely brilliant and I can't wait for my copy to arrive. Once I've read all about what Alice has been able to get up to, she's also kindly agreed to be interviewed for Have a Lovely Time.

Mychild.co.uk interview on what blogging has brought me

CHECK it out if you like, it's here.

It's a timely reminder really, what with having had a bit of a break and everything.

Just want to make my voice heard: I won't be buying the Mail again

PAUL usually blogs about online journalism while Becky blogs about cakey buns.

This week, their excellent blogs were closely connected for the first and possibly last time as they both took time to ponder the appalling story of how a journalist ripped into a popular young performer  on the day before his funeral.

On blogging, travel writing and working for free

ALONG with my business partner, I lead training workshops advising freelance journalists on how to make more money. I've written a book which warns against writing for free.

Now I'm an editor of a family travel blog with no budget to pay contributors.

How the hell did that happen?

Would you expect a plumber or mechanic to do their job for free? No and neither would I. Nor do I expect anyone to write for Have a Lovely Time for free.

Stamp out bad punctuation in school letters. Full stop*

* WITH apologies of course to the NSPCC.

JOURNALIST Kim Thomas was featured in SchoolGate earlier this week, raising questions about teachers' sloppy grammar and spelling.

It's a dangerous path to tread. Inevitably, commenters picked up on her use of language.

A boy and a girl? Please just let them live...

ELEVEN years on, the moment I was told I had lost my babies remains a heart wrenching memory.

April Fool’s Day 1998 was one hell of a day. Just 24 hours after a home pregnancy test revealed I was expecting, I was having a scan to find out if I had an ectopic pregnancy. I had gone to my GP to get the pregnancy confirmed but instead she sent me to hospital to discover more about stomach pains.

Thankfully the pregnancy was not ectopic, and the resulting scan showed not one but two tiny heartbeats. At that moment, I was ecstatic. Little did I know that just seven days later I would be having another scan, in more sombre circumstances.

That weekend my partner Neil and I sat down for a serious talk. There was no question of us not keeping the babies but money was tight. How on earth were we going to manage? We weren't even living together. We had twins on the way. Whoah.