I had a brilliant trip to the Modern Art Gallery in town recently. First thing I appreciated was how instrumental Scotland had been in developing and championing the work of serious female artists from the end of the 19th Century. I fell in love with the works of Joan Eardley, the pain and atmosphere of her work, and the subversive nature of her subjects. I greatly admired a still life by Josephine Miller, and felt inspired by the attention-grabbing, nature of work from Doris Zinkeisen.

The surrealists caught my eye too, in particular Delveux's 'Nude in the Garden' and 'Call of the night' - such rich and eerie worlds.

I took the time to reengage with the notion that perception and evocation are essential the artist's relationship with the viewer. This is no less relevant to my personal development in prose writing.

I feel like I have really been learning that the contract you enter into with the reader depends as much as anything on creating the right world for your story. It is how every sensory experience on the page becomes internal and real to the person receiving all the information you are sending out. It is one thing to read about it in numerous writing technique handbooks but it is another to feel responsibility for casting the spell and confronting, what can so easily shatter the illusion. Break the clarity, break the flow and the castle comes tumbling down. It takes time and diligence and it has perhaps been one of the most important aspects of my development, Description is key.