The Unexpected

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The first time I saw this advert, I almost snorted wine through my nose (almost, but not quite - it would have been a waste of good wine, not to mention painful!). I'll let you watch it before I carry on.



Why is it so unforgettable? For me, it's the sheer unexpectedness of that tractor! The audience is led to believe it's just another schmaltzy advert, and then...

How do you use the element of surprise in your writing? Do you prefer to signpost so the reader isn't surprised, or do you introduce a tractor?

(Annoying peeping bird update: I'm happy to report no harm has been done. Wee birdie did not keep me awake last night. Now if I could only say as much about my husband's snoring...)

A Little Write Music

(OK, OK, so that title doesn't exactly work grammatically, but did you get the pun there? Aren't I clever?)

It's chucking down rain outside and I was up all night thanks to a bird outside my window who persisted on bleating the same four notes every thirty seconds or so, so I'm going to make this sorta short.

In On Writing, Stephen King says he writes with heavy-metal music blasting. It's so far from my own writing preferences (absolute silence!), that it made me wonder: can music help the writing process? And what do most writers prefer, silence or tunes?

So, I'd love to hear... Music: Yea or Nay?

And if it's 'yea', what's your favourite writing tune?

PS - If anyone knows a humane way to shut up a silly little bird in the middle of the night, please let me know! It's the second night running and if I don't do it humanely soon, I fear for that bird's life.