Starter for 10 is a writing exercise where I write for 10 minutes and try and complete a story/idea/thing. I'm doing 30 days of these and I'll be posting some here onto my new Paragraph newsletter. I won't do every day as I know that can get a bit much, but if you want to see all of them then follow me on Tiktok, Instagram or Facebook.

The learning from this week have been:

• TikTok generates a bizarre number of views, which doesn't always seem genuine

• Watching someone write is fundamentally uninteresting

• I don't smile very much when I write. I also seem to act things out with my face as I'm writing, which looks really weird

• I'm having mixed thoughts about ChatGPT and AI's role in creativity, which probably means I should just not worry about it and see where we are in 10 years

I'm writing full time for the next six weeks to do the first draft of the next book. Looking forward to it, but as per usual I'm shitting myself that I'm a gigantic fraud. As I get older I realise that this is true of all people, excluding airline pilots and surgeons.

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All the ideas and thoughts that coalesced in my brain between 19:41 and 19:51

A cosy ninja. Furry slippers. Marshmallows on the points of his shuriken.

The Smiths on a camping holiday.

The 100 Acres Wood implies the existence of a 100 acres wouldn’t.

I bet The Fonz really struggled to buy batteries. What size would you like Mr Fonzarelli? Aaaaaaaaaaay.

Floating, floating, floating, floating, floating, then not floating

Tesla superchargers, Tesla superduperchargers, Tesla supercalifragilisticexpialidocious chargers.

Why are we making ourselves redundant?

Tell me what you want to do

Sitting pretty lying still

Etcetera is a pretty good band name

How would witches or wizards with speech impediments ever do any spells properly?

You’re a wizard, Harry.

I’d pay good money to see Harry Potter and the Malleus Malificarum

When I try not to think of things my mind often goes to the problematic character of Batman. Not just that he was a billionaire doing judo on the mentally ill, but because there are so many difficulties about his dual life of being a billionaire and being Batman. Poor Batman. I wonder if anyone else in the yoga class is thinking about Batman. Is it ok if I break the shivasana to ask.

“Hey guys, is anyone else thinking about Batman?”