Douglas John McLean Cairns used to hide behind the persona of Sid Ozalid, the one-legged tap dancing poet. It was as Sid that he became well known on radio and TV in the late 70s and early 80s and became part of the live comedy circuit. Today, he has come out as himself, admitting to his battles with dyslexia and depression and using his determination to be authentic in all areas of his life. As Douglas John McLean Cairns, he is an expat living the Hague and working on diversity and inclusiveness for an international oil company. As DJMC he is a role model for all those corporate beings who dare not admit they are musicians, sportsmen, writers, artists, ADD, or somehow not simply men or women in suits. Always and everywhere, he is now himself, still a poet, still a very funny man but now an inspiration to us all. In this incredible, heartwarming and inspiring interview the man who allows me to call him Douglie Wooglie Agogo, shares how the profits for his memoir-cum-poetry anthology go to charity, shares what matters to him and how he dared to be himself. At the very end of the interview he shares a poem, one that just won him an award from the dyslexia society. Be inspired. Be very inspired.

You can listen to the interview here

This month, in my column, as Writer in Residence, for The Hague Online, I wrote about the magic of writing and how, sometimes, my characters actually teach me stuff I didn’t know… weird eh?

It is also the first time I mention the Speedwriting Slam, my Writers’ Circle has planned to take place on Sunday October 16th at Quirky Lunchroom in The Hague, from 6-8 pm. Just turn up to attend.

So, to find out about that magic I was talking about, please read on.

jolanda and maggie

chanting mantras

Do you ever sabotage your own happiness? Do you stop yourself from doing things you really want to do? I’m a bit like that with singing. And I expect some of you are the same with your writing. In my May column for the Hague Online, where I am writer in residence, I share new ways you could try to get into the zone.

I would like to thank Jolanda Jonker of DruYoga for leading the evening and her work for the World Peace Flame.

To hear some of that incredible chanting, sung by Manish Vyas, enjoy this on YouTube:

Anyone who ever claimed that they needed to ‘get in the right mood’, have the perfect pen, take a week off or create exactly the right spot in which to sit and be inspired is simply procrastinating!

Look at the plain old motel on the left. It has a view of a road and a scrubby parking lot.

That very place inspired a wonderful song and it only took a couple of hours.

To read the story and how I found myself on the trail of the Rolling Stones, read this month’s column at The Hague Online, where I am writer in residence.

Read it here and enjoy. Then stop procrastinating!

Do you ever have moments when suddenly everything you have ever done seems to converge into a wonderful whole?

I am fortunate in that it has happened to me several times.

Firstly, when my life abroad and persistent offering of articles to the Lloyds Bank Offshore Club magazine, Shoreline, led me to be invited to be the editor of a new magazine, called Woman Abroad.

Secondly, when the work I had done writing and speaking about how expat partners could have thriving portable careers, led me to be invited to be the closing keynote speaker at the  Families in Global Transition conference.

And thirdly, today, when my  recent journalism student, Linda Janssen, interviewed my recently published author, Niamh Ni Bhroin, of The Singing Warrior and that article was published by Sergios and the guys at IAMEXPAT. It’s all about connections. I connected Linda with Niamh and Sergios and voila, not only a super article, but the knowledge that Linda is well on her way to a fabulous career as a freelance writer. Amazingly, she only attended my article and blogging courses three months ago, and already her blog has won an award with Expat Arrivals (Linda is now writing for them too) and commissions are starting to come her way.

Niamh’s book is available on Amazon for Kindle any day now and at the ABC book center in The Hague. Her music CD is available via Kunaki and very soon her audio book (she is a fabulous performer) will be for sale too.

If you ever have days when you feel you are swimming upstream and that all your efforts are in vain, think of me. It took me 13 years as a freelance journalist to get the job at Woman Abroad. It took me 9 years as a portable career expert to be invited to do that keynote. Linda, however, has worked steadily and hard with tremendous focus and her journey took just three months.

A few years ago I had the immense pleasure to attend a novel writing workshop at a castle in Scotland. The castle belonged to Lois and Bill Breckon and the course was led by the very successful novelist, Anita Burgh. Lois and Bill now live permanently, in Italy at a Watermill in Posara, and run a range of writing and painting workshops there. All are, I hear, as wonderful as the one I attended.

Yesterday, Lois contacted me to ask me to share with you the news of a writing competition they are running that is called The Posara Prize and that has a whopping £1,000 prize! All you have to do is write a piece of fiction or non-fiction on the subject of a foreigner in Italy and you are in with a chance. I’m not actually sure of the deadline, but I do know that they want entries to be a maximum of 2,000 words.

Only last week I wrote about the importance of grabbing every opportunity for my column at The Hague Online. Here, then, is the perfect opportunity for you to produce a piece on a prescribed theme to a fixed word count.

Are you up for the challenge?

I am a lazy writer. There I said it. In fact, one of the reasons I made a career out of writing was because I could get away with what I call researchless writing. I admit that I write about what I know and where I’ve been and what I’ve done because it meant I did not have to do much extra research before I had a passable article or book written. Sure, I would speak to some experts and interview a few people to case study, but by and large I could write from personal experience.

If you fancy the idea of being a lazy writer too then I urge you to read the piece I wrote about Writing about Your Life in the Netherlands for I Am Expat. Sure, it focuses on the Netherlands, but actually, the rules I mention apply wherever you may live.

If you want to see some examples of other expat writers who have created whole books based on personal experience, then take a look at my free report - How to Write Your Life Story – the Inside Secrets and find there more than 10 ways of writing a book about your life as well as some secrets about how to write it.

And if you do happen to live in the Netherlands and would like to attend a free lecture on exactly this subject then catch me at 11.25 on Sunday 19th Sept at the Feel at Home in The Hague fair and 4pm on Sunday 10th October at the Expatica I Am Not a Tourist Fair in Amsterdam.

Go on, be lazy!

Many of my students find it hard to let go of their work and send it out into the universe. Pressing the Publish button on your blog, sending that proposal out to a publisher, or emailing that pitch to a magazine editor can be tough.

If you procrastinate about letting go then read my column at The Hague Online this month about why letting go is a good thing.