I've seen Americans give bad reviews for books in UK English because they said they were full of spelling errors! No one should have to change their preferred language version, although publishers might do so to accommodate an international audience. As for onanism, please close your dictionary first.

I thought this was a euphemism for 'desperately needing to go' when I saw it first - like 'touching cloth' (I'm also partial to the colloquial 'prairie-dogging'). 😂 How wrong was I?! Anyway, on to the point. As a writer of SFF, your advice is tough to follow, albeit not entirely without merit. Much of my inspiration comes from cerebral exploration and introspection, coupled with research into astrophysics and quantum mechanics - the latter baffles me. In saying that, being immersed in whatever nature has to offer quietens my mind and helps me hear what it's trying to tell me - usually something like 'why the hell aren't you writing?' - so you're certainly right in that regard. Very often one needs to step back before moving forward. Even with the historical fiction novel I step in and out of every few months, it's going to be very difficult for me to immerse myself in that ancient world. I'm always inspired by ruins and rundown buildings, but I really need to get to Jerusalem and surroundings areas before I complete that novel. And I certainly don't want to waste 8.5 years in university by not bringing that ancient world to life in some form.

Looking forward to hosting the stall again. Had a great weekend and met some excellent people.