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Sharing Some Dots

Writing Process

+1

On being too busy writing to write

Jul 21, 2026

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3 min read

On being too busy writing to write

Out of courageousness, folly or perversity — and I’ll let you decide which — I’m cracking on with my writing.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+2

On solitude, phones, and the garden of the mind

Jun 2, 2026

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3 min read

On solitude, phones, and the garden of the mind

How awful it is when people talk about spending so much time on their phones and using AI so much, as if these were things to be proud of.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+2

On a trip to the zoo

May 19, 2026

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8 min read

On a trip to the zoo

I'd be fascinated, in this new era of extreme prudishness and extreme permissiveness, to watch visitors react to animals having sex.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+5

On the unimprovable

May 5, 2026

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5 min read

On the unimprovable

A word which has never, I expect, been said to us, or used to describe anything we did, anything we made, anything we laboured over.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+2

On the value of multiple touch points

Apr 21, 2026

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6 min read

On the value of multiple touch points

I'm noticing more and more that devotees of AI, or AI apologists, as I prefer to think of them, are much more focused on product than process.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+3

On having a King Canute moment

Apr 7, 2026

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7 min read

On having a King Canute moment

Writing has been how I rediscovered and retained my dignity during this weird, liberating, insecure, rewarding, exposing time in my life.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+1

On marshmallows, binge-watching and delayed........................... gratification

Mar 24, 2026

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8 min read

On marshmallows, binge-watching and delayed........................... gratification

My educational attainment is pretty good. My BMI, less so. I doubt my parents would describe me as "competent" at anything.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+3

On the utter waffling bollocks either side of ad breaks on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year

Mar 10, 2026

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8 min read

On the utter waffling bollocks either side of ad breaks on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year

I honestly think the note of letting self-doubt fuel you is entirely unplayable, entirely unusable, in any creative context.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+4

On big issues and small details

Feb 24, 2026

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6 min read

On big issues and small details

If you let them come for your milk and say nothing, next they will come for your apples, and before you know it, they come for your freedom, your life, and no amount of bleating will stop them.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+3

On pride and productivity

Feb 17, 2026

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6 min read

On pride and productivity

[FROM THE ARCHIVE] So many employers profess to value wellbeing — until it comes into conflict with the productivity which they value even more.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+5

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

Feb 10, 2026

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6 min read

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

"And then I realised, geez, how dependent I have been on my cellphone. But I should confess, you know, after the first day, I felt liberated."

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+6

On how short a short story can possibly get

Jan 27, 2026

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4 min read

On how short a short story can possibly get

“I saw! I know!” "He knows! Don't go home!"

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+2

On waving goodbye to 2025 and saying hello to 2026

Dec 31, 2025

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7 min read

On waving goodbye to 2025 and saying hello to 2026

Here's to a 2026 filled with daily bread — the kind we bake for ourselves, with craft and sweat and discipline and love.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+4

On the present and the future

Dec 23, 2025

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7 min read

On the present and the future

Ballard's trick, or technique, is deceptively simple — observation, which gives the impression (especially with hindsight) of being extrapolation.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+3

On the 88 Club

Dec 9, 2025

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4 min read

On the 88 Club

The thing I will always love about Tom Stoppard is his spectral hand in the script for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+3

On being more ant or being more dinosaur

Nov 25, 2025

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5 min read

On being more ant or being more dinosaur

Is dickishness, I wonder, a price worth paying for access to the joys and freedoms of curiosity and imagination?

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+2

On green ink, shenanigans and tomfoolery

Nov 11, 2025

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6 min read

On green ink, shenanigans and tomfoolery

"The vast majority of novels, including those with explicit scenes, use standard black ink. This keeps production costs down and follows the established norms of the publishing industry."

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+2

On gutsy approaches to planning

Sep 2, 2025

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6 min read

On gutsy approaches to planning

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood."

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+4

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

Aug 26, 2025

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6 min read

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

"If you're making a statement, artistically, then when you're making that statement, as far as you're concerned, it's an absolute."

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+1

On (five kinds of) boredom

Aug 12, 2025

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6 min read

On (five kinds of) boredom

Are humans the only creatures who engineer the circumstances which bring about their own boredom?

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+2

On contraction and expansion

Jul 29, 2025

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6 min read

On contraction and expansion

Have you ever felt like a broken accordion sometimes?

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+2

On liking

Jul 15, 2025

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5 min read

On liking

Maybe we all need to stop using the word “like” for good; maybe we need to retire it forcibly from the English language.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Sharing Some Dots

+3

On using just one element and really going to town with it

Jul 8, 2025

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7 min read

On using just one element and really going to town with it

Quite possibly a total nightmare for stage managers — I do sympathise with them when faced with designs and designers like these.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman

Writing Process

+3

On horsetail, therapy and the persistent roots of creation

Jul 1, 2025

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6 min read

On horsetail, therapy and the persistent roots of creation

It's survived asteroid impacts and waves of mass extinction. It's not going to surrender lightly.

Writing Process

+4

On when the mind is empty and when the mind is full

Jun 24, 2025

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5 min read

On when the mind is empty and when the mind is full

Joy is currently failing me and I’m very aware that this is a dangerous, not to mention costly, headspace for a freelancer to find themselves in.

Philip Holyman
Philip Holyman
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But anyway, I digress...

But anyway, I digress… from UK-based writer Philip Holyman —— my blog and newsletter that includes things I’ve read, heard or seen that have started living rent-free in my mind (for better or for worse) — with sources fully credited and with external links so you can read, hear or see these things for yourself.

© 2026 Philip Holyman.
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