The Wrong Way

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I spent most of yesterday finishing A Walk Between Heaven and Earth and making notes in my notebook. To say that I found it ‘unputdownable’ is an understatement 🙂

There are so many interesting passages and inspiring ideas, too many to mention, but the one that really struck a cord was when Holzer talked about ‘the right way’……

She says that too often we focus on learning the techniques of writing, that this overshadows the writing itself. She goes on to say that “It is hard to get excited about writing, when 90% of what comes to mind is not good enough, or not right somehow.”

Is this the rut I’ve got myself into?

Am i no longer content to just write, for writings sake? I’m constantly trying to improve, do things right, learn the rules…..punctuation, grammar, syntax, nouns, adjectives…..*deep sigh* It’s hard work….. 😦

But, is it still exciting? Does having the constant pressure of having a ‘right way’ and a ‘wrong way’ take away the pleasure? And, if that is indeed the case, whats the answer? Quit my creative writing courses and just write for me? Give up any ideas I have of publication?

No, sorry, I don’t agree with her. I’m enjoying learning, I want to improve my writing. To do that I need to study and I need to do things the ‘right way’. I’ve always been fascinated by learning, eager for knowledge about everything around me.

Yes, having a ‘right way’ and a ‘wrong way’ leads to self criticism and self doubt…… But don’t we need that to strive to be better? Wanting to be good at something and succeed isn’t a bad thing is it? 😉

Boxing Day

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Had a nice day yesterday….lots of food, alcohol, presents and TV. Normal Christmas day really in our house. I’d love to go somewhere different for Christmas….but my kids would be mortified if they didn’t get my Christmas dinner 😉

I did well on the present front……quite a few books to say the least….. Here’s a selection>>>>

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It was hard trying to decide what to read first, but I finally went with A Walk Between Heaven and Earth by Burghild Nina Holzer. A journal about journalling. A great idea, fascinating, and I’m already half way through.

I won’t bore you with endless quotes….. But I do really like this one……..
“Talking to paper is talking to the divine. Paper is infinitely patient. Each time you scratch on it, you trace part of yourself, and thus, part of the world, and thus part of the grammar of the universe. It is a huge language, but each of us tracks his or her particular understanding of it.”

Holzer feels that when it comes to teaching creative writing, we’re too hung up about the actual product, when, what we should be paying attention to, is the process 😉

It goes back to that ‘audience’ thing again doesn’t it 😦 Who am I writing for? Why am I writing? It’s such a shame that there can be such a huge divide between writing what I want to write and writing what publishers think they can sell. So let’s not harp on about that, it’s depressing lol

Today, I will put pen to paper…..I haven’t for a couple of days and I’m missing it already 😉

All I Want For Christmas………

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…….is……..actually, I’m not sure lol….. J K Rowlings life? A room of my own like Virginias? To look like Cheryl Cole? Ha ha ha…..yeah, I’d love all that, but….I am a realist 😉

I managed to get some early morning writing done yesterday. A couple of short stories that could possibly be turned into longer pieces at some stage. I tried my hand at a bit of chick lit, but, I dunno, I’m not sure I can really pull that off. Didn’t I read somewhere recently that chick lit is dying out? Let’s face it, it’s been done to death 😉 When I was 14 I wrote a bit of erotica (don’t look so shocked, I was full of hormones lol) but I’m not sure I could write stuff like that today…..Now, i shy away from sex scenes lol…..Its not something i enjoy writing, and I’m a firm believer in writing something you enjoy (which is why i could never write horror or sci-fi). If you enjoy writing the story, that will come across on the page. My hubby said a couple of days ago that most of my stuff is quite dark…..is that a bad thing? What does that say about me d’ya think? Lol 😉

I was up in time this morning (as I am most mornings) to watch the sun rise. I love this time of the day… So quiet. Its the time I write my Blog and make notes in my notebook. I re-read anything I’ve written the day before and make notes on any characters I’m developing. But being Christmas morning, it’s even quieter, not even the sound of a car going past, and I’m feeling a bit uninspired.

I still haven’t done the 3000 word competition entry….and the closing date is the 31st December! I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get it done. I still haven’t even decided exactly which short story to expand for it lol

Oh well, i must love you and leave you now…..I want to open my pressies…..ESP as hubby has let slip that I have rather a large amount of books 😉

Merry Christmas…..have a good one 🙂

It’s Christmas Time

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It’s Christmas Eve today 🙂

Yesterday I didn’t really get much writing done…… I’ve given up on adjectives until after the ‘holidays’ so I just did some work in my notebook (tidying it up basically, adding some quotes, observations etc) and finishing a couple of short stories I had on the back burner. I hate having things unfinished lol I’m a bit anal like that 😉

I stumbled across a quote by Horace….. “Never a day without a line’ My 2012 motto?

A friend asked me yesterday what my New Year resolution is…..but I didn’t really have one. Soooo, I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve decided that it will be something along the lines of ‘get something published’…….anything in fact lol…..and…….make sure I go out once a week, on my own, an artists date (or more like a writers date) to just see things, and experience life outside my 4 walls and the supermarket 🙂

Right, I must crack on…..so all that’s left for me to say isMerry Christmas! see you on the other side 😉

In my search for a Santa pic to use on Face Book I came across this cartoon. Love it! Hmmmmm…..I feel a short story idea coming on 😉

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I’m A Pussy ;)

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Is “pussy” a Concrete Noun? I think it is 😉

Had an e mail yesterday from the OCA offering me a place on a Writing Course/Retreat at one of the Arvon Centres as part of my course. Considerably reduced rate, only 16 places available, all participants will be OCA students studying my course. Initially I’m thinking, oooooooo 🙂 and then, hello, reality check! All the way to Yorkshire to live in a house with 15 people I don’t know (plus 3 Writing tutors) on my own? *shudders* ummmm, no, I don’t think so lol

It’s funny…..a friend said to me yesterday that she doesn’t mind being in a crowd of people she doesn’t know when she’s with me as I’ll be the one doing all the talking lol….oh wow, how wrong can she be! Lol….I am so not really like that! She’s known me for 30 years lol

Soooo, after much consideration I won’t be going. Yeah yeah, I know it’s a great opportunity, but, there’s nowhere to hide is there. At Swanwick there are lots of places to hide. There are so many people that when I want a quiet cigarette, on my own, I can, quite easily….i wont be missed. I’m a bit of a loner at heart 😉

A shame I know, but I’m just not confident enough to go on my own *deep sigh*

Just been alerted to this page through another Blog I follow. I’d love to get involved in ‘creative’ projects in my area…..but don’t really know where to start. I’ll visit all the websites listed and see what catches my eye 🙂

Today I cracked on with the next part of the course which is all about Concrete Nouns *yawn* I had to pick some random Concrete Nouns and find other concrete Nouns that could be used to describe the originals. Actually, it wasn’t too difficult after all 😉

Right…..onto Adjectives lol

Moving Along……Fowler

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Fowlers Usage & Abusage……never heard of it! Lol

Ahhhhhhh that Fowler lol.

Ok, so Fowler had this idea that basically boils down to the fact that you should keep it simple, don’t overuse words and phrases. So if you want to say that “Tom walked into town” you say just that. Not “Tom preambulated into the municipality” lol….. yeah, I can live with that 🙂

When I went through some of my own writing with Fowlers list In front of me I realised that my natural style is simple. I don’t try to overcomplicate things. I say what I want to say, as I speak, so if I wouldn’t use the word ‘ghastly’ in real life, you sure won’t find it in my narration of a story (although you might find it in dialogue….depending on the character).

So that’s another part of the course done 🙂 I’m now moving on to the next section, Language *groan*. My punctuation is shite, my grammar and syntax, hopeless…..I can’t even write a whole story staying in the same tense! Lol…..So, yes, I am a little bit anxious about this next few exercises.

In 1996 I decided (don’t ask me why lol) to do a GCSE in Englsh….. I got a C lol….. But only because 1) my oral test was apparently first class (I can talk proppa sometimes you know) and 2) my coursework essays were good (ie non fiction, one about comparing modern adaptations of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein to the original and the other about how society’s opinion has changed so much towards women). which means I did appallingly in the actual exam *snigger*

Remind me again exactly why I’m on a creative writing course? Lol

Action!

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Well, I finally finished my action piece today. It’s taken me ages lol…. I wrote 3 short stories trying to get it right, the balance between dialogue and things actually happening. Anyway, all I have to do now is type it up and I’ll post it to my other blog later today 😉 I’m thinking I might use it for this 3000 word story comp i keep meaning to do, but, the trouble is it doesn’t really go anywhere, it’s just a scene about domestic violence. There I go again not writing the happy stuff lol

In my attempts to get my action piece done I did a lot of faffing (I love that word lol) about with my notebook…..and one of the things I did was an exercise on Quests….what is it that people/characters seek? Here’s my list so far…….

Money
Success
Power
Fame
A Different Life
A Soul Mate/Love
A Cure For A Disease
Adventure
Excitement
A Purpose
Spiritual Enlightenment
Fullfillment
Companionship
Happiness
Salvation
Peace & Quiet
Community
Support
Strength
Good Physical Health
Good Mental Health
Knowledge/Education
Change
Immortality
Faith
A Perfect Body
Youthfulness
Friendship
To Be Liked
A New Start
Freedom
To Be Needed
To Win
To Be The Best

I’m sure there must be hundreds…..so this is a page that will definitely get added to over time. Something will suddenly come to me when I least expect it lol (I’ve even added 3 more since I’ve been typing this lol). All characters are seeking something aren’t they? It’s what drives the story.

I won’t get much writing done today as I’m out later, with a friend for afternoon tea….I don’t think she’d appreciate me whipping out my notebook do you? Lol 😉

Where Do The Hours Go?

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Last Christmas hubby bought me a book…….this book >>>>>>>>

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I have an enormous Amazon wish list and every year he picks some off the list and buys them for me 🙂 Soooo, last Christmas I had this one (amongst many others lol). At the time I just kinda flicked through it. Picked it up again in the summer, and had another flick……Fast forward to October and I came across it again, only this time, I made a diary entry on my phone instructing my future self to start this book on January 1st 2012

Judy Reeves has a great web site. So much stuff to read and I’m really excited about working with the book next year 🙂 I’m just so gutted I don’t live in San Diego *pouts*

So yes, thanks for that Judy……your web site is a complete time suck lol 😉 I should have been working on my 3000 word short story, I should have been writing my “action” piece for my course. But instead, all I’ve done is read Judy’s web site.

No, tell a lie…..i did make some notes on basic plots. The common ones that crop up all the time. You know, like Quest, Rags To Riches, Voyage, Rebirth, Revenge, etc etc. I’ve managed to compile a list of 25……I wonder if I could write a short story for each one? Hmmmmm…….

Best Article I’ve Read In A Long Time ;)

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I’ve been reading Kirsten Lambs Blog for a while now, but this post is great. Although, the idea of calling myself a writer? Perhaps when I’ve had something published eh? Lol 😉 I totally see where she’s coming from, but I dunno, personally, I just can’t do it lol

Aspiring is for Pansies–Tough Love & Being a Writer.

Yesterday I was awake at 4.45am….I only went to sleep at 12.30 for gods sake! Still, it did mean that I had some nice quiet time to catch up with other peoples Blogs and make a start on my “mundane task” description 🙂 I completed that and then started to tackle the next exercise.

I have to write a piece that describes some sort of fast action. Initially, I’m thinking, ahhhhh, that’s not too hard, but I’ve gone a bit blank. Ended up getting about 400 words into a piece and giving up with it as there wasn’t enough action. Back to the start again today then 😉

I also completed and sent off another competition entry. A 2000 worder this time. Over the next couple of days I’ll be working on a 3000 word short story for another comp. It feels pretty damn good to have 2 stories now that are complete…..finished and edited (hopefully) to a fairly decent standard…..although, I’m sure if my OCA tutor saw them, she’d have a fit lol

Weekend Writing

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It’s so hard to get any writing done at the weekends. With hubby at home, if I don’t get up early, ie before him, I don’t tend to get much writing done lol.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s very supportive. I just feel bad, like I’m neglecting him 😦 Friday night he watched a film and I was able to finish my current short story. It needs a bit of editing (something I’m hoping to get done today) and then I’ll submit it 😉

He’s not feeling very well at the moment, so I sent him to bed for a couple of hours this afternoon, which gave me enough time to work my way through the next section of the course, and make some notes on the next exercise.

I have to write a piece in my own voice, about something mundane I do every day. After making a list of all the mind numbingly boring things I do every day. I’ve finally chosen to write about tidying the house, something I do every morning.

So now I have the subject, I guess I better crack on and write about it lol. I did consider writing about the daily ‘de-pooing’ of the garden, but thought that would probably be going a bit too far 😉