The last couple of weeks of my life have been consumed by readying myself to leave. And I don’t mean packing boxes. Rather, I have been preparing to pack. It turns out that relocating yourself across the Atlantic Ocean, and taking everything you possess with you, is not a piece of cake. For those ofContinue reading “Writing Amidst Chaos”

I haven’t been writing very much the last few days, but there is a reason for it. I’ve been busy helping my partner get ready for her big move to Canada (she is leaving a couple of months earlier than I am). But after she’s left in a few days I will be back toContinue reading “Writing Update”

I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately; remembering fond memories from long ago, and reviewing the last few years. When I cast my mind back to the way I was thinking and acting a few years ago, I feel as if I am a completely different person now. I’ve come a long wayContinue reading “The Influence of Good Memories”

Once again, my life exists in a state of constant flux. In just over two months, I will be moving with my partner to New Brunswick, Canada. It’s going to be a challenging move, as I’ve only ever lived in the north of England. But it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to facing. I’m excitedContinue reading “Changes Abound”

I never thought that I would write these words down, but I have to say that I have started to fall in love with writing poetry again. For such a long time, I suffered a turbulent relationship with poetry, both in terms of writing poems, and also reading them. I enjoyed scribbling down a fewContinue reading “Me, a poet?”

I feel like I’m starting to gather some momentum with my writing again. Specifically, with my Like Pigs project. Recently, I set out with the intention of increasing the word count from approximately 40,000 words to a more conventional 60,000 words. The main reason for this is because I believe that one of the reasonsContinue reading “Like Pigs – update”

On the very last day of 2021, I completed my second full draft of my second novel Like Pigs. At the time I naively decided that under no circumstances would I alter the novel (except to edit it to improve its quality, of course). However, in the weeks that have passed, I’ve realised it’s necessaryContinue reading “I’m returning to Like Pigs”

My partner and I are travelling to Berlin on Tuesday for a short getaway, to visit some of the art galleries and museums. She’s not been before but I have, and I’ve wanted to show her how cool the city is for a long time. When I last went to Berlin back in 2017, IContinue reading “berlin here I come”

The other day I drew this small doodle (image below) in one of my pocket-sized notebooks that I carry around when I’m at work. It is only a simple drawing, as opposed to most of my other drawings, which can take me several hours to complete. I felt an instant sense of achievement when IContinue reading “mini drawings = instant therapy”

I know that my last few blog posts have been pretty negative (with the exception of my last one). This is due in no small part to my mental state. As I’ve previously mentioned, I was feeling lost. I wasn’t doing the things I loved. I was dwelling in sadness. And I wasn’t really doingContinue reading “I’m feeling a lot better”

Sometimes in life, all you need to do is start again. Often, the tasks you set out to complete get overcomplicated because you try to tackle too much at once. This has often been the case for me. I overthink things. I give myself too much work. I become overwhelmed. Working on multiple projects atContinue reading “life is full of little new beginnings”

I’ve been struggling lately. There’s no getting around it. Things haven’t improved much since my last blog post. The main thing that I’m struggling with is a newfound inability to begin. I know it’s often said that starting something is half the effort. I seldom struggled with starting things in the past; it was keepingContinue reading “have I lost my way?”

My last post was a bit depressing, I know. It was difficult to write, and even harder to read back. But I felt better for writing it. It purged me of the negative thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still feeling an immense lack of motivation right now. I do not feel inspired to doContinue reading “I need a break”

Recently, I have been writing a lot about motivation and how stay motivated and inspired. Sadly, at the moment, I have been feeling the taut drag of demotivation. And as a consequence, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. As I mentioned previously, I have finished my last edit of The Black Rook, and this has been sentContinue reading “I’m lacking motivation”

I have finally finished my first edit run of The Black Rook with my publisher’s editor. It took me just over three weeks to complete, but it felt like much, much longer, I can tell you that! Now that that manuscript has been done and dusted (for now), I can shift my attention toward otherContinue reading “the black rook – update”

Having finally got my scanner working again (although it’s still being a bit temperamental), I have been creating a few new drawings to add to my illustration portfolio. I say that but a lot of these drawings I create just to upload to Instagram and Tiktok. I think it’s important to produce regular new contentContinue reading “visual art vs creative writing – when worlds collided”

One of the best ways for me to steer myself clear from sad thoughts is to keep myself busy. Recently, I’ve been doing just that by focussing on my creative writing and doing little else. I am currently less than 100 pages away from completing the edit run of my novel, The Black Rook. IContinue reading “defeating sadness”

As I’ve said in several of my blog posts, 2021 was a real rollercoaster of a year for me. I had many victories (I landed a publishing deal for my first novel, and I travelled to Canada for the first time) but I also suffered a tremendous loss in the family. My dad passed away,Continue reading “dealing with grief”

It’s easy to come up with ideas for where you want to be in the future and to set yourself goals. The greater challenge is actually meeting those goals, and continuing to work towards them even when you feel unmotivated. The most difficult thing – at least for me – is knowing how, when, andContinue reading “keeping up with my goals”

It’s something that we all suffer from at various points in our lives, whether it’s motivation at work or personal motivation at home. Motivation is often something that we can’t control – at least it can seem that way. Inspiration can feel like a sudden spark, motivating you to embark on a new project orContinue reading “the challenges of staying motivated”

At present, I am still working through my edits for my upcoming debut novel, The Black Rook. Slowly but surely I’m getting there. The manuscript is around 460 pages, and I have just passed the page-100 mark. I remember when I came to edit the novel at the beginning of Britain’s first lockdown in 2020.Continue reading “writing update – and some thoughts about confidence”

After writing my last blog post, I’ve had time to ruminate on the events that I spoke about. I remember that after I had graduated university with a disappointing 2:2 mark for my BA, I immediately blamed myself for making the wrong decisions with my further education. I looked back at the crossroads that IContinue reading “the moment I lost my creativity – and how I got it back”

Ever since I was a fresh-faced college student embarking on the first project of my Graphic Design course, I loved the process of sketchbooking. Sketchbooks are places where you can capture your thoughts and ideas, collate your research, and experiment with new mediums and practices. It’s similar to keeping a journal, in as much asContinue reading “the art of the sketchbook – and how keeping one helped me become a better writer”

The main project that I’m currently working on is The Black Rook, which I am steadily editing day by day. It’s crazy to think that in the near future my debut novel will be hitting shelves. The rest of my free time is largely spent planning for the relaunch of my clothing brand, The PutridContinue reading “writing update”

After publishing my previous post, I thought a bit more on dyslexia and how it affects me day to day. I would say that there is a stark difference between how I function in a loud, busy environment, and a quiet, calm setting. When I am relaxed, listening to calming ambient music, or simply baskingContinue reading “further thoughts about working with dyslexia”

Working with dyslexia can be incredibly challenging, as it affects virtually everything I do. I believe there are a lot of misconceptions out there in regards to what dyslexia actually means, and I make no claims to understand its definition fully myself. The only thing I can speak about is how dyslexia affects me dayContinue reading “working with dyslexia”

Whenever I start writing a blog post, I aim to provide good news, happy news, or else put a positive spin on whatever it is I want to talk about. In truth, I should just write whatever I want to write about. So, here goes … I’m currently facing a few minor setbacks with myContinue reading “exciting things ahead (hopefully)”

The year has started positively for me, which is a stark contrast to the rotten year that 2021 turned out to be. I say that, but I achieved quite a few things in the past year, and I embarked on my first trip outside of Europe (to beautiful Canada). But there were two losses inContinue reading “a great new start”

I have struggled with mental health issues my whole life. Varying degrees of sporadic anxiety and depression have prevented me from achieving past goals, helping others, taking care of my physical health, enjoying a good social life, pursuing several career paths. I look back at most of my life and realise that these two darkContinue reading “there is always a reason to keep going”

Productivity can be a fickle beast. Often I find myself procrastinating for hours, so much so that by the time I finally sit down at my laptop, I realise I don’t have enough time to focus on my writing. I rarely sit at my screen unsure what to write. That type of writer’s block seeminglyContinue reading “the demon procrastination”

A lot has happened since my last post, much of which I don’t want to go into too much detail about. The important thing to focus on is that I am back doing what I love: drawing and writing. Creating. I have finished my master’s degree now, which is both a frightening as well asContinue reading “life update”

The past few weeks have been quite chaotic for me, even by my own wacky standards. The resulting noise of all of these personal distractions has meant that I have been unable to focus on what I really love: my writing and my art. Slowly but surely, I have made a return to both myContinue reading “a return to sanity”

I have two massive updates. Firstly, my debut novel The Black Rook has been snapped up by a publisher and will be published in the near future. I’m so happy that the hard work that I poured into the project has paid off. I can barely put into words how much that means to meContinue reading “the black rook will be published, plus the putrid hand launches”

The other day, I decided to experiment by drawing directly onto a paperback book page. I’m really happy with the result, and it got me thinking that I might create a series of such drawings in the near future. It also felt good to be working on a new kind of paper. The paper isContinue reading “experiments and managing time”

I’m currently working on two fiction pieces right now: Like Pigs, which comments on several ethical and societal issues, such as animal meat consumption, over-population, and what (if anything) makes us better or worse, as a species, than the rest of nature. I realise this is going to be a massive piece of work, andContinue reading “update”

It’s been a while since my last post, in no small part because I have now started working in my job full time again. I do really like my job, but it can be a bit disheartening not being able to spend the time on my writing and illustrating. But the disappointment of not beingContinue reading “still here”

It’s crazy to think that I spent almost all of 2020 editing my novel, The Black Rook. Besides the regular drawings that I did exclusively for my Instagram account, all of my creative energy was poured into that novel. And once the editing was finalised, my time was occupied with university work and trying (andContinue reading “time well spent”

That’s right. I’ve finally published my first novelette, Putridity, which is now available on Amazon. (Just search “Davey Cobb”). Crafting it certainly wasn’t easy. I wrote most of it whilst having to endure the constant drilling and hammering of the builders working on the unit next door to our flat. There was a time whenContinue reading “putridity is live”

I’m currently in the process of editing my first novelette, Putridity, which I’m hoping to self-publish in the coming weeks. Process has been slow with it, as I’ve got so much going on at the moment, but as soon as it’s completed and ready to purchase, I’m sure you won’t hear the end of theContinue reading “putridity”

2021 had a bit of a slow start for me, in terms of my art. I’d reinvigorated my passion for drawing during the first lockdown last year (the less said about that time the better), but more than anything, the reason I did so was simply to pass the time. After all, I was furloughedContinue reading “bleeding eyes”

I’ve felt really inspired lately, for a number of reasons. Firstly, my Instagram account has started to grow in the last couple of weeks. I only have around 600 followers as I write this, but compare that to two weeks ago when I had around 400, I’d say that’s pretty good progress! Not only that,Continue reading “inspiration”

This is my latest drawing, Distress, which I’d describe as fine art rather than an illustration. And like many of my more emotive, swiftly-drawn pieces, the themes and subject of the portrait are undefined. Indeed, I find that drawing without a particular subject or theme in mind is often the best way to describe aContinue reading “visceral imagery”

As you can probably tell by the title, this blog deals with sensitive topics. Consider this a warning: what you’re about to read may be upsetting to some. Having said that, I’m won’t go into any real detail in regards to individuals or events, as I don’t believe it’s appropriate here. So, where do IContinue reading “creative writing saved me”

My greatest struggle, when it comes to writing, has to be multi-tasking. No matter how many (or how few) writing projects I have on the go at any one time, one piece will always be prioritised over the rest. Often, this has few negative consequences, as I do like to have one large, overarching projectContinue reading “juggling work, work and work. oh, and work”

I can finally say I’ve started writing my second novel, which, coincidentally, is the sequel to the first. I’ve yet to find a publisher for The Black Rook, and at the rate I’m going by the time it’s published I’ll have completed the sequel. The Black Rook deals with themes and issues very personal toContinue reading “a new beginning”

It’s been 5 days since my last blog, where I spoke about finding inspiration for creative work. In a tragically ironic twist, since I made that post I have found inspiration to be in short supply. The fabled muse has sewn her lips shut, or she’s given up on me and gone to whisper inContinue reading “the lockdown blues continue”

I don’t know if any of my fellow writers are like this, but I find that my inspiration to write (and also to read) springs itself upon me at the most random of times. I can spend hours staring at a Word document and feel as if I’m physically and mentally incapable of producing anythingContinue reading “the beast called inspiration and its cousin, the fickle muse”

I’m not even referring to this lockdown as “lockdown 3” like many others, as the second one never really felt like a real lockdown – it felt more like a hospitality/shop lockdown, sure, but students were still attending universities and colleges and workplaces were simply told “if you can work from home you should workContinue reading “lockdown blues”

It almost felt like 2020 would never end. In many ways, the year felt as if it actually lasted for four or five years, dragging on and on and on. But I don’t have to tell you how grim the previous year was (I don’t think there are many who hold the belief that 2020Continue reading “2021 is upon us”