Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

Jan 13, 2026

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6 min read

On my tsundoku pile for this year

Whatever you’re reading at the start of 2026, I wish you joy in discovering some new friends and in reconnecting with some old ones.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

Oct 28, 2025

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6 min read

On (the joys of) negative utopias

You never know when you’ll read something that proves itself to be grimly, magnificently prophetic within your own lifetime.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

Oct 14, 2025

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7 min read

On story, narrative and plot

I'm twitching nervously because I've realised we’re venturing into the territory of reader-response criticism here...

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

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

Writing Process

On horsetail, therapy and the persistent roots of creation

Jul 1, 2025

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6 min read

Oh, how I loathe that word — relevant! — and the noun that accompanies it — relevance! I encounter them both a lot in the cultural sector, and they give me the ick.

Philip Holyman

Writing Process

On having a King Canute moment

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

On big issues and small details

On (un)healthy relationships with the metal pet

On how short a short story can possibly get

On my tsundoku pile for this year

On the present and the future

On being more ant or being more dinosaur

On green ink, shenanigans and tomfoolery

On (the joys of) negative utopias

On story, narrative and plot

On gutsy approaches to planning

On saying what you mean and meaning what you say

On contraction and expansion

On horsetail, therapy and the persistent roots of creation

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

On the em dash, one of the great loves of my literary life

On compost, soil and mulch

On the grown-up equivalent of circling products in an Argos catalogue

On models, liberators and guides

On having launched something special

On art and creativity, and the difference between the two

On remembering that hands consist of more than just fingertips

On professionalism and the (super)market

On the corruption of relevance, or the Plastic Cheese Effect

But anyway, I digress...