Today’s picture is one I took last year…
So who’s celebrating what?
Looking forward to hearing your ideas….will share mine on Tuesday 🙂
Tag Archives: Writers Notebook
Is My Writing Improving? Part 1
Since the first of January I have been using The Writers Book Of Days by Judy Reeves to encourage me to write every day. It’s been hard at times, to the point where I’ve wanted to give up, but I haven’t, and I’m determined to see it through until the 31st of December.
As I’m kind of half way in the book (and because Judy provides a checklist), I thought I’d do the exercise How Can I Tell If My Writing Is Improving here on my blog 🙂
Soooo, after 6 months of daily prompts, let’s see shall we…..This is part 1….part 2 will follow 🙂
1. Do I easily fall into writing from the prompt and begin writing without hesitation (not stopping to think or consider & keeping the pen moving)?
Hmmmm, no, not all the time, but, that really depends on whether I find the prompt inspiring or not. Some of them I could write for hours, others, I just about manage a page. But either way, I find it easy to start now 🙂 There are very few times that I actually hesitate.
2. Do I stay with the image inspired by the prompt long enough to explore it, rather than verging off in all directions that go nowhere or jumping from one point to the next? Am I a more patient writer?
Oh definitely a resounding yes! But, I’ve often had to stop mid flow because of time constraints 😦
3. Are my verbs lively and diverse?
Hmmmmm…..i think so lol. But I’ll have to re-read the first month or so’s prompts to compare.
4. Are my images fresh?
Again, I think so, I’m definitely more aware of imagery than I was say 8 months ago. A lot of that has to do with watching films. I never really saw them as anything other than a story on the screen. But now, I’m more aware of what is actually being portrayed. The emotion on people’s faces and the atmosphere.
5. Do I write with fewer cliched words and images?
Ummmm….*blush* nope lol. I do love a cliche lol. I must get out of the habit 😦
6. Do my sentences vary in length and structure?
Yes, this is definitely something I am more aware of 🙂
7. Do I write more naturally, with less self consciousness?
OMG yes! I don’t even think about how crap something is anymore, because all practice is good. I don’t over analyse anymore 🙂
8. Adverbs have all but disappeared from my writing?
Ummmm, nope lol. I’m finding this really hard to be honest 😦
9. Is my writing truthful and honest, am I holding back?
Yes, it’s truthful and honest to a point, but, there are certain things I hold back on definitely. I don’t think that will ever change. There are events in my life that are too painful to write about, maybe one day they won’t be 😉
10. Am I including more detail?
Yes, definitely. I’m more aware of all my senses now 🙂 I love adding tiny little details to things, it makes my writing much more interesting!
Hmmmmm, so there are a couple of things I still need to work on, mainly Verbs and Adverbs. I have to admit, I keep getting the two confused lol *blush*. It’s the technical side of writing that I don’t enjoy 😦 I didn’t pay much attention in my English classes….I wish I had now lol
My husband reads all my prompts and the other day, he said he could see a definite improvement, so I’ll take his word for that lol 🙂
So how are you with Verbs and Adverbs? Or am I alone in not always being aware of them? Lol. Is it really that important in the scheme of things?
What I Learnt From 9 Hours of The Lord Of The Rings
Recently, me and hubby have started to watch film trilogies, all in one day. We’ve done the Mission Impossible Trilogy, the Matrix trilogy, and just recently it was the turn of The Lord Of The Rings…..all 9 hours! Lol
I’ve had Tolkien’s books sitting on my shelf for years now lol. When the films came out hubby took the kids to see them at the cinema, I didn’t go, I wanted to read the books first. But, that never happened, so I decided to sod it, watch the films anyway.
Sooooo, the things I learnt:
1. Tolkien did romance! I wasn’t expecting romance, don’t ask me why lol. Although I had kind of been pre warned by reading Roger Colby’s blog post recently entitled Tolkien’s Advice About Relationships.
2. It was pretty goddam violent! Ok, so perhaps the books aren’t as bad? But I didn’t like all the poor horses being killed, and even the nasty elephants. Why do they have to put animals in eh?
3. Tolkien was a genius! Yeah, ok, I’m a bit late in coming to the party with this one, but, OMFG! What a mind, to create all that!
4. The scenes, battles, and cities were incredible! Ok, now I understand why all 3 films won Oscars for the Visual Effects lol.
5. Life can never be the same after some experiences 😉
And I guess that’s what I took away from the whole 9 hours. The fact that some adventures just impact on your life so much (well, obviously I’m not sure many of us get the opportunity to have as big an adventure as what Frodo did lol) that you will never be the same again. Sometimes, that’s how I feel about my writing “life”.
I was on a bit of a downer last week, about the whole writing and being a writer malarkey, but, if I look at it as just a big adventure, perhaps that makes it easier to cope with the insecurities? Does that make sense? Tolkien wrote about a little guy (literally) taking on the world, and actually winning. So, if Frodo can do all that (yeah yeah, I know it’s fiction lol), then surely I can achieve my goals, if I put my mind to it 🙂
Have you ever read or seen something that’s had a huge impact on the way you think? Something that’s given you hope that, actually, you could achieve your goals?
For Sale
So now we’ve all recovered, finished doing our Ernest Hemingway impressions, it’s back to normality *picks party streamer out of her hair* 🙂
Today’s picture was taken in Rochester. At the time I was doing a treasure hunt on Flickr. You were given a list each week, and you had to take photos for each item on the list. It was great fun, actually, I’m not quite sure why I stopped.
Anyway, this one was for the clue “For Sale”
Lots of scope there, but sometimes that makes it harder, don’t you think?
So what story does this image conjure up? I’ll share what I’ve written in my notebook tomorrow 🙂
Writing Prompts…..How Do You Eat Yours?
Apologies to my non UK readers who don’t recognise the title of this post. It’s in reference to the TV ads we have here in the UK for Cadburys Cream Eggs. Every different advert asks at the end, “How Do You Eat Yours?” as everyone eats their Cadburys Egg differently….apparently lol.
Anyway, back to the post lol
Writing prompts…..I love them, but I know some people don’t. I know that if I’m struggling, I can always rely on a prompt to get those creative juices flowing. Many of my followers will know that I’ve been doing a prompt a day since the 1st January, and it has turned me into a bit of a preacher lol. I cant help it, it’s something I’m quite passionate about. Even when I’m really not feeling it (regarding my WIP) I still write every day…..and it’s the prompts that have kept me going. Without them, when I’m feeling really down on myself, I could quite easily go weeks without writing a word 😦
Way back in February, I wrote a post Prompts, Good or Bad? because I was beginning to get the distinct impression that most people don’t like them. almost like, if you use them, well, you obviously can’t think for yourself.
So, as I’m a bit anal *coughs* I find myself collecting ideas to use as writing prompts. I recently stumbled across this idea from Amanda Webster on her Write On The World blog. Wow, that’s a goooood one. I’m really loving that idea.
Here are some of my recently used prompts:
From Judy Reeves
The colour of midnight
“That night I was happy”
It shimmers in the distance
What waits at the top of the stairs
I tend to mainly use photos (that I’ve taken or that I’ve stumbled across in magazines) and specific writing prompts. But, I’m interested to hear……tell me what method of writing prompts do you use? That is, if you use them….and if you don’t, to settle my nosey streak, why not?
By the way…..how would you feel about me posting some of my prompts?
Writers Block…..My Top Tips
*shudders*
It’s a pain isn’t it?
The nightmare situation for most writers….a blank page (or computer screen) and your mind, desperately searching for the words that just won’t come *gulp* 😦
The lovely Andy Szpuk wrote this poem which, to me, sums it up very nicely 🙂
You sit there looking at the page
The page stares blankly back at you
You’re locked in a wordless cage
You sit there looking at the page
So glad you’re not up on stage
With your heart and soul all askew
You sit there looking at the page
The page stares blankly back at you
“Locked in a wordless cage” is the line that really made me think, the connection between being blocked and being inspired, is freedom. Ok, now bear with me on this lol.
Inspiration isn’t going to fall into your lap, it doesn’t just magically show up the minute you sit down to write (ok, perhaps it does for some people lol). Most of the time, you have to find it…..and that’s why I’m a big believer in always carrying a notebook 😉
As writers, most of us don’t bother to nourish our muses with experience. So, for me, when the words just won’t come, I try to come up with things that will excite my muse 😉 we need to give him/her the freedom to experience new things, great things, small things 🙂
Here are my top 10 things to do to free my muse from that cage:
1. Go to a cafe or park and people watch. Take your notebook, write down snippets of conversations and free write.
2. Go to an art gallery (most of them here in the UK are free). Immerse yourself in visual stimulation.
3. Sit on a beach and stare out to sea (one of my favourites….I love beaches 🙂
4. Make soup! Lol…..can’t cook? Yes you can, don’t tell porkies 😉 Making soup is so therapeutic, all that chopping lol
5. Listen to music, read, or watch a film, depending on your preference. All can be really inspiring, and relaxing, coz lets face it, being blocked is stressful 😦
6. Go for a walk. I must confess, I’m not a huge fan of exercise, but, I love walking down a street and looking at people’s houses, imagining who lives behind each door and what their lives are like.
7. Do something arty. Paint, draw, do some colouring, or make something out of modelling clay.
8. Go notebook shopping. Always fun IMO and a great purpose to boot!
9. Do some gardening. Ok, so you haven’t got a garden….but I bet you have a windowsill that could do with a few pot plants or herbs?
10. Tidy your desk/work area….ORGANISE even if that means you have to invest in a couple of pretty folders or brightly coloured plastic wallets (ooooo, another excuse to visit a stationery shop! Lol).
And my top top tip …….wherever you go, and what ever you do….take a camera!!!!! (or mobile phone lol). Any photos you can take can be used as prompts 🙂
What do you do to excite and stimulate your muse?
Character Sketch – Say Hi To Shirley & Daniel
Shirley is a single mum who has brought up her son Daniel with no support from her family. Her ex, Daniels father, is in prison for murder. When their relationship broke down because he was violent towards her, he stalked her for 3 years before finally stabbing to death Shirley’s next door neighbour Tom. He thought the guy was her new boyfriend.
All that happened 10 years ago now and Shirley is scared about his release. Daniel is now 15 and remembers little of the events. He is a quiet boy, caring and sensitive, not at all like his father. Shirley is very proud of him. He’s doing well at school and wants to be a policeman.
Shirley works part time as a receptionist at a local vets, within walking distance of her home. She enjoys it, as she loves the animals, but they’re not allowed any in their rented flat. As Daniel is still at school she claims benefits, so although they can’t afford luxuries, they manage. Daniel has been looking for a Saturday job to help out but can’t find one.
Shirley sometimes gets lonely, the other receptionists at work have set her up on several blind dates, but she finds it hard to trust anyone now, seeing all men as bullies and possible psychopaths. Daniel hasn’t had a girlfriend yet and Shirley is petrified of losing her little boy.
At 5 foot 6 she is painfully thin (but not through choice) and often looks pale and drawn. Her hair is a natural golden colour. Daniel looks like her and is also painfully thin, but has his fathers dark hair and eyes.
Shirley loves to do cross stitch and has started making them into cards, which she gives to the local Cats Protection League shop in town. She volunteers there every Saturday morning after walking to the library with Daniel where he uses the Internet, as they can’t afford access at home. Shirley feels guilty that she can’t give Daniel the things he wants.
Daniel is a loner, he doesn’t have any close friends that he sees outside school. He enjoys reading and playing on his games console (one of the other receptionists at Shirley’s work gave it to her when her son got the newer model). He loves his mum to bits but there’s a little piece of him that hopes he’ll see his dad again when he is released…..
Awwwww, poor Shirley & Daniel, I so want them to be happy 🙂 But, in the life of a fictional character, things are never easy. Will the ex track them down? I have a sneaky suspicion he will 😉
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Me!!!!!! Well, ok, I was, but not now lol
I’d been avoiding watching this film for years and I’m not sure why. Did I think it would be too intellectual for me? Probably……I actually thought it was about Virginia Woolf lol….the power of a title eh? 😉
So imagine my surprise when I discovered that actually, it’s a character driven plot (if you can call it a plot per se) that centres on just 4 characters. Two married couples. Martha & George (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) the older couple, have a volatile relationship (lots of conflict, I like that!) and poor Nick & Honey, the younger couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) who get dragged into a night of merciless personal attacks. It’s basically 2 hours of screaming, fighting and general mud slinging lol.
That makes it sound very simplistic doesn’t it? But trust me, if you haven’t seen it, it’s not. It’s full of mind games and very clever manipulation. I am in awe of Edward Albee who wrote the original script for the play. Its a fascinating piece, that’s given me quite a few ideas for my own stories, especially the way the characters interact. A bit too complex for a short story though.
And as for the title? The one I was so scared of for all these years? It’s actually a pun on the Disney song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” from the Three Little Pigs. Here’s a quote from Albee, explaining the title:
‘I was in there having a beer one night, and I saw “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” scrawled in soap, I suppose, on this mirror. When I started to write the play it cropped up in my mind again. And of course, who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf means who’s afraid of the big bad wolf….who’s afraid of living life without false illusions. And it did strike me as being a rather typical, university intellectual joke.’
Now that’s what I call inspiration!!!!!! Something scrawled on a restroom mirror *laughs* incredible. So it just goes to show, you must take your notebook everywhere! 😉
Have you ever found something inspiring on a restroom mirror? Or in any other interesting places? I found this on the back of a toilet door in Cafe Nero once, but I don’t have a clue what to do with it lol 😉
Notebooks – Finding What Works For You
Firstly, thank you so much, everyone, for your suggestions yesterday on how to get myself motivated, I really appreciate it 🙂 One thing I realised (along with many others!) is that I need to be more organised lol…..so I’m hoping this will help 🙂
I usually skim read The Writers Forum magazine when it thuds onto the doormat…..stick it in my pile of TBR magazines and then forget about it for 3 months. But this month, an article by Simon Whaley caught my eye so I just had to read it 🙂
In Notebook Know How, Simon explains how he has different notebooks for different things. Now, I’ve always been the one notebook for everything kinda gal. But reading Simons article made me realise that yep, he’s right, I can never find anything lol. I’m now on my 13th notebook, and though I can mostly remember what was in a previous book, I haven’t got a clue what was in say, book 4 lol
So as from the beginning of May I started working with 7 notebooks, all at the same time. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, 7 is a bit excessive, but, I can’t seem to cut it down to any less than that (Simon himself says that he has 6). Here are the books I’ll be working with:
Ideas Book – Where I’ll put ideas for stories, titles, articles I’m interested in, name ideas for characters, blog ideas and useful web site addys.
Prompts Book – Where I do my daily prompts.
Characters Book – As you know, I do a lot of characters, so a notebook dedicated to them will make it a lot easier when I’m trying to find one.
Goals/To Do List Book – I’ve decided to start each week with a set of goals, so a notebook dedicated to them would make sense.
Novel Notebook – A notebook dedicated to my current WIP novel, anything and everything that relates to it.
Dumping Book – The book that I take to my writing class and take out and about with me for free writing sessions.
Nano 2012- I’ve prepared a notebook for my A-Z characters, so I can add stuff that I come across which might be useful.
Simon says (i lovethat!) he uses his dumping book and then at the end of every day transfers the information into the categorised books. He says the transfer process also gives him an opportunity to develop the ideas further. Yeah, I can see that, extra work yes, but good to go over stuff I think.
How many notebooks do you work with and why?
I’ll let you know whether it was a good idea or a bad one in a couple of months LMAO 🙂
C is for…..
Clarissa, who has been removed because I want to use her for my Nano 2012 novel.
Sorry you missed it 😦
Christ Church College Oxford
Hmmmmm, so is Clarissa sad? Is she hiding her true feelings? I’m not too sure, I think she thinks she’s happy 😉
Yesterday’s prompt about the hot wind was totally uninspiring….was it the prompt, or the fact that I was in Starbucks writing it? Lol….. I ended up with 2 pages of dribble about a guy getting off a plane in Tenerife 😉 Today’s prompt is a stranger came to town. Now that’s more like it 😉
The View Outside 