I can be a terrible procrastinator. Monday comes around, as it does every week, and I sit scrolling through my photographs looking for the next one for a writing prompt. Usually, I can select one with ease. Not because I think all my pictures are amazing, far from it.

A magical thing happened this morning. I woke up, spent an hour writing, took the dog for a pee, cooked some porridge and heated soup for my daughter's lunch. And then there was a sharp bang as a tiny songbird hit the kitchen window.

Rather than making a list of New Year resolutions that are hard to fulfill, why not choose one or two words to live by instead? Like many people, I'm doing Dry January this month. The first campaign for a post-Christmas sober 4 weeks began in 2013, driven by the UK organisation Alcohol Change.

In the summer of 1982, I became a teenager. That same summer my parents announced they were separating and my dad was moving out. My world collapsed.

Why write anything by hand when you can write on a computer? Doesn’t it take too long? Isn’t it messy and pointless?

Explore the magic of photographs for your imagination and the transformative potential of visual prompts.

Are you holding on to fears about your creativity and writing? Try the three-point plan by Beth Pickens to help move forward.

Do you write in your books? Read this guide on how making notes, marginalia and a post-it note system could help you with your creative writing.