Writing sometimes gets me down but it happens more often when I’m less prepared. I’ve read a lot of literary fiction and creative nonfiction. I’ve even read a good amount of fantasy. But I’m writing – and most enamoured with – science/speculative fiction. I’m almost finished with a huge collection of Bradbury’s short stories and I’ve been blown away several times. His writing was – is – so inventive. Ahead of its time in many ways, and maybe even ahead of my time.

These authors, including Ursula Le Guin, Phillip K Dick, Stanislaw Lem, whatever – they’re just cool with cool ideas and next to their imaginations mine feels shriveled. Prune-sized and flavoured. Prune. Flavoured. But prunes are all right some of the time, I suppose.

Give me a day and I’ll be over this and back in a writing mood, but God is it hard not to compare oneself to other people.

That said, I find a lot of other other people boring and derivative, so focusing on geniuses is definitely a me problem.

Here’s the media I’ve been into the last couple weeks:

• Comic: Kill Your Darlings (Image Comics)

• Nick Drake – just revisiting him, he’s great. I put on Pink Moon every few days just to feel something.

• James Ensor, painter. I also quite like this YouTube channel – Blind Dweller. Seems like a nice guy who’s just really into art.