Must Do’s 15th to 21st July

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well here in the UK summer has finally arrived, and as we’re all sweating our nuts off, being typical Brits it won’t be long until we’re all moaning about it *snigger* 😉

Sticking to my To Do List this week has been difficult…who wants to follow a stupid old list of stuff to do when you can sit in the garden and read? Plus, Albie’s arrival has kinda turned my world upside down and I smell of “dog” 😉

So last week this is what I was supposed to do…

1. Finish reading/critiquing Faber work for meet. Did that and had a lovely evening catching up 🙂
2. Decluttering/sort out hallway. Done, I had to, for Albie.
3. Take Tangled to the post office. *sighs* It’s still sitting in its envelope at the bottom of my bed…but…I’m going TODAY!
4. Clear up desk and writing stuff. Nooooo, fraid not, it was too nice outside to sit at my desk in the corner of my stuffy bedroom 😉

I started doing The Artists Way at the weekend. Spent all day Saturday having a major catch up session so I can take part in the FaceBook group I’ve been invited to join. This will be my 3rd time of doing it now and I’ve gone back to Morning Pages. Just gotta make sure it’s not a 3 page rant every morning lol 😉

So this weeks list looks like this, but I also have some Artist Way stuff to do…

What are your writing plans for the week?

Meet The Newest Thompson

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Some of you who have been following my blog for a while will remember that in May last year we lost our much loved Yorkie, Georgie. I still get tearful looking at that picture *breaks to compose herself*

Ok, where was I? Yes, we have been “dog less” for a year, having lost Bill, our Shih T Zu in 2010 and then Georgie in 2012. I said I would never get another dog. Why? Because the thought of going through that pain again (I’ve been through the loss of a pet pain 5 times now) was not something I thought i could cope with (although i do have my 2 cats still).

Why do we do it to ourselves? We know that at some stage they will die, or need us to make that painful decision for them 😦

But, the house feels so empty. I miss being greeted by a wagging tail when I come home from the shops. I may have only been gone an hour, but I’m sure most dogs think you’ve been gone a week! Lol. I miss the walks, I miss throwing a ball, I miss the love.

Soooo, after much family discussion (and my hints on here recently at exciting news – this is exciting news part 1 lol) we decided it was time to go back to being dog owners 🙂

I e mailed a couple of breeders who were advertising puppies. Most of them replied saying their puppies had all been sold, but one lady replied saying that although her new puppies were all sold she did have a 5month old boy who was looking for a home, and as I told her in my e mail that I’d previously owned a Shih T Zu and a Yorkie, she was confident that I knew what I was doing when it came to small dogs.

He was sold to a couple who said they only worked part time. Then, when they rang the breeder to complain that at 4 months he still wasn’t housetrained it transpired that the poor little thing was being left on his own from 8am to 6pm! The breeder was furious and told them to bring him back and she would give them their money back, which they did. Not a great start for the poor little fella.

He’s been in the breeders kennels for 4 weeks now. She doesn’t want to get attached to him, but he was with his sister. We went to meet him a couple of weeks ago and I’ve spent the last week dashing around buying doggy baby stuff and getting the house “puppy proof” lol.

So here he is…meet Albie 🙂

He’s such a happy little guy, we all fell in love with him and the breeder has given me strict instructions that if I don’t want him I’m to take him back because she doesn’t want him passed from pillar to post. I don’t think there’s any chance of that 🙂 The kids are already talking about getting him a friend 😉

I promise I won’t go all dog obsessed on you 😉

Wordsworths Summer House

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

During our trip to the Lake District we visited Rydal Mount which was the home of William Wordsworth from 1813 until his death in 1850. It was while living at Rydal that Wordsworth penned his most loved and well known poems. So I was rather excited to find that his summer house, where he would sit and compose his poetry (whilst staring out at the beautiful gardens) was still intact and available to view.

So after a tour of the house including his attic study (sorry, no pics, you’re not allowed to) I was desperate to get out into the garden and see where the great man did most of his writing. The summer house was well hidden up a steep bank (lots of tiny twisting paths) and when we finally stumbled across it I was shocked. I’m not too sure what I was expecting to be honest, but it wasn’t this:

Of course we sat in there and looked out at the view. You can just about see Lake Windermere in the distance, but in Wordsworths time the view probably would have been slightly better, due to less/smaller trees.

The Wordsworth’s daughter Dora loved her fathers Daffodil poem, so when she died Mr & Mrs Wordsworth (both in their late 70’s) personally planted a whole field adjacent to Rydal with hundreds and hundreds of Daffodil bulbs. It’s now known as Dora’s Field and must look incredible during Spring.

The Daffodils

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Published at Rydal Mount, 1815.

Did I feel inspired? No, not really. It’s definitely a gorgeous place, but I’m often shocked at the meagre surroundings of some of the great writers. The following day we went to Beatrix Potters house and saw her desk/bureau where she wrote and drew her characters. It was tiny and not what I expected at all. And then take Rudyard Kipling…I’ve been to his house several times and his office was pretty unimpressive too lol. Do well known/successful modern writers prefer their writing spaces to be simplistic do you think? I will need to Google this and see what James Pattersons office looks like, or Stephen Kings lol.

If money was no object would you have an impressive office (huge desk, opulent surroundings) or do you think there is a lot to be said for keeping it simple?

Wordsworth (theothersideofthebrain.wordpress.com)
Poetry Post – I : Daffodils (iitbwritersbloc.wordpress.com)

Must Do’s 8th to 14th July

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, last week was a wash out 😦 I think I left the house, what, twice, between Monday morning and Friday afternoon lol….so annoying!

So nothing from last weeks list got done lol, although “Tangled” is now in it’s envelope lol.

It will be going off Wednesday morning (it’s the earliest I can fit in going to the post office) and I have spent the weekend decluttering. So the plans for this week are:

It’s gunna be a good week, a few nice “writerly” type events to look forward to, especially after such a poxy week of illness.

What are your writing plans for the week?

My Faber Reading

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

A HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on my IWSG post a couple of days ago. I will continue to write, but I’m not going to make it the entire focus of my life anymore. I need to step back, chill about it, and if I don’t write for a week not stress about it.

Ok, I’m gunna share with you the piece I read out at the Faber event. Be gentle with me, I know it’s not brilliant lol. In the anthology there is a synopsis and a 1500 extract from Laura’s journal, the one that arrives in this scene…

Ruby knew the handwriting, but didn’t recognise the post mark. As she tore open the large manilla envelope her hands shook. Inside were a black Moleskin notebook and a folded piece of pink paper, a similar shade to the fluffy slippers she was wearing. Her chest tightened as she unfolded the letter.

Dear Ruby,

I know this has probably come as a huge shock, did you secretly hope that you’d never hear from me again? I pray that’s not the case. We are so alike, you and I, stubborn to the bone and we have wasted so much time. Regardless of what you think of me, I love you, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you, worried where you were.

You’ll be pleased to know I finally summoned the courage to do what you’d been telling me to do for years. I’ve left Daniel. I walked out with a small holdall, my passport and our joint savings. I managed to find a room in a house share, which is where I’ve been for the last ten months.

I know you said when you left that you felt I had chosen him over you. That is something I’ve had to live with these past years. At first I was angry with you for saying that, but now, I think you were probably right, and it breaks my heart to admit it. How could I have chosen my husband over my daughter? I’ve been an awful mother. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please accept this notebook. I’ve been writing in it these last few weeks. There is so much I want to tell you.

I don’t expect your sympathy, I’m not asking you to come and see me, pretend nothing’s happened and pick up where we left off. I know it’s too late for that. But always remember that regardless of what you think of me I have always loved you and I’m so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I hope you are happy and having the wonderful life that you deserve.

Love, always.

Mum x

Ruby closed her eyes and slid down the hallway wall to the cold ceramic tiles, her head spinning, her breathing erratic. And that was where Sam found her, twenty minutes later, clutching her knees to her chest, the notebook on the glossy floor at her feet.

I really don’t know how I managed to read it with all the crossing outs lol

The general consensus from my writing group was that it was a bit too “tell” which is fair enough. But how do you stop a letter being all tell, because that’s what a letter is isn’t it? Any ideas on another way I could have done it would be much appreciated 🙂

Insecure Writers Support Group – July 2013

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, that’s another month gone lol 😉

Today is Insecure Writers Support Group Day where participants get the opportunity to moan and whinge and get a sympathetic virtual shoulder to cry on. Many thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this wonderful group and please check out the other participants by clicking the ‘insecure writers’ link above 🙂

Ok, so where do I begin?

I’ve virtually written nothing this year. I’ve done the odd prompt, tinkered with my novel for Faber, thought about jacking it all in and argued with myself about my motives for being a “writer” and more importantly being published.

And then last week I read this post by the lovely Jo Phillips and if you don’t follow Jo’s blog, 1. Why not? And 2. You really should! 😉 Anyway, I could relate so much to what Jo was saying (seriously, go read the post!) but what particularly struck me, hit a nerve, was when she mentioned wanting to do other stuff, other projects. Yes, so do I!!!!! I want to create some art, I want to learn how to draw, I want to make my own clothes and stuff for around my home. I want to bake, I mean really bake (not just the odd cake) and I want to go back into volunteering…or even *shock horror gasp* get a job! (part time of course!).

I’m bored….. Ok, there, I said it! I’ve been at home now for 2 years concentrating on my writing. The Hubster’s suggestion which I totally agreed with at the time, and thank him for (hes always encouraged me to do whatever i want to do). Ooooo, yes, 8 hours a day to concentrate on my writing! But it hasn’t worked out that way. I procrastinate, I faff about, and probably only write for a couple of hours a day anyway, well, ive not even done that this year 😦

I talked last month about losing the fun from writing, and reading Jo’s post made me realise that I really need to get a grip. It’s the story of my life really (the Hubster will be shaking his head at this point and saying “here we go again” lol). I’ve spent the best part of 25 years asking myself “what do I want to do when I grow up?” And I thought I’d finally found something I could devote my life to. But perhaps being a published author isn’t it? But what else do I have? There’s nothing I’m good at, and that’s the problem 😦

Perhaps I’ll never know, never find it….but in the meantime, there’s no such thing as failure. If you never try, you’ll never know, and it’s all part of the journey, right? I know some if you have been writing since you were children, I haven’t. I caught the bug late in life, so writing was never something I’d really considered as a career choice, until 2010 lol. But perhaps it really is the wrong choice?

I have a book, somewhere in a box that is about finding your life’s calling. I never actually got around to reading it….perhaps I should dig it out lol 😉

Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Do you know what your life calling is now?

Don’t get me wrong, I love writing, but do I really want it as a career?

IWSG: That Whooshing Sound (ascenicroute.wordpress.com)

Must Do’s 1st to 7th July

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Pinch punch! 😉 Can you believe it’s July already? Wow, before we know it it’ll be Christmas lol

Ok, well there was only one thing on my “To Do List” last week…

Get Tangled sent off to the RNA!

I didn’t exactly do it *snigger* But only because it’s a pretty complicated processs and I didn’t realise I had to have 2 copies of a Synopsis. A synopsis that didn’t even exist! Lol

So I threw something together (which actually sounds more like a blurb lol), have printed it all off, bought the Jiffy bag, filled out the forms, and now, all that’s left to do is take it to the post office, weigh it, put some stamps inside (and an SAE) and say goodbye to it as I hand it over 🙂

And here it is, just to prove its all ready to go 🙂

I haven’t done any writing this week (apart from blogging and in my journal) so I spent an hour yesterday doing a schedule. I’m so unorganised at the moment. I’ve got a lot going on (more news on that at a later date) and although it’s exciting, it’s clouding my head lol

So here is this weeks “To Do List” which is nothing stressful, the main thing I want to do is actually write 🙂

What are your writing plans for the week?

Free Writing In The Lake District

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Standing in the grounds of the hotel as there’s nowhere to sit. Everything is covered in a fine layer of rain. The air smells clean, earthy, like a box of button mushrooms and the only sound is the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. Even the birds are fed up with the incessant wetness. They sit huddled on branches and dry stone walls, their feathers puffed up.

Is this really summer? The only animals that seem to like this weather are the Llamas in the field next to the hotel. They lay down on the wet grass and click their tongues at each other. I guess if I had a thick wooly coat like that I wouldn’t mind it so much either!

The Lake District…a place loved by writers, poets. An inspiration to artists so they keep telling me. But is that because it just seems so miserable? A place that suits a tortured soul? Perhaps I’m just not depressed enough to appreciate it. I just want to go home now, back to my concrete town where everyone shops at Icelands and where the Llamas would be well advised to wear a bullet proof vest over that warm wooly coat.

It’s not really that rough where I live….a slight exaggeration, but only slight 😉

No seriously, it’s a beautiful place but I didn’t find it as inspiring as I thought I would, or was told I would. Perhaps it was just too cold and wet? It got me thinking, what place would I find inspiring? And it has to be the beach, no doubt about it 🙂

What kind of place do you find inspiring?

Write from the Heart in the Lake District (mufidahkassalias.com)

A Lotta Liebsters

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Ok, well, due to the A-Z Challenge in April, and my break from Blogging during May, and all the Faber stuff a bit of a backlog has occurred lol….so sincere apologies to anyone who has nominated me for an Award in the last, oooooo, 6 to 8 weeks lol…I will get to them, I promise 🙂

Lin over at The Voices in My Head nominated me for the Liebster Award.

The rules for this one are:
Post the award on my blog
Thank the blogger who gave me the award and link back to their site
Post 11 random facts about myself (Sorry not doing this one, I can’t come up with that many facts about myself!)
Answer 11 questions that the presenter of the award has asked
Nominate 11 new bloggers with fewer than 200 followers to pass the award on to
Ask my nominees 11 questions of my own

And Lins questions to me are:

What’s your favourite TV program? Recently I’m loving Dexter, Da Vinci’s Demons, The Voice and Dr Who….
If you were buying a book for someone who doesn’t usually read, what would you buy? Thats a hard one and would depend on whether they were male or female. If female I’d give them a copy of Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard, if male, I’d get The Hubster to choose something.
Fiction reading or non-fiction reading? Fiction, but I do like a writing guide and the odd cookery book 😉
Do you read more than you write or write more than you read? I write far more than I read 😦
What’s for breakfast? It depends if I’m fasting or feasting 😉
Type or handwrite? Handwrite every time!
What was your favourite childhood tv or book character? I loved Bagpuss.
How do you think the world will end? With a Big Bang!
Radio/music or TV in the background? TV definitely, I can’t concentrate when I’m singing along.
Housework: love it or loathe it? LOATHE!
How good are you at doing what you know you should do? Awful lol

Then i got another Liebster from Madeline at Reincarnated As A Writer and the rules on this one are:

I have to give 11 random facts about me (I’m skipping the facts….see above! Lol)
I have to answer the 11 questions the presenter of the award has asked
I have to nominate 11 new bloggers to receive the award, they must have fewer than 200 followers
I have to ask my nominees 11 new questions of my own

The questions Madeline asked are:
1) How much do you like your steak cooked? (If you don’t eat steak, what is your favourite equivalent?) Medium rare.
2) Tea coffee or something else? Tea, but I’m very partial to a Latte 😉
3) How much was your first pay-packet for, and what was the job? £25 and it was a YTS Scheme (remember those?) lol
4) Favourite film, and why? My Fair Lady for the dresses, Audrey Hepburn and the songs and Citizen Kane for just sheer quality!
5) How long does it take you to read an average length novel? Ha ha ha, it used to be a week, but nowadays it’s more like 3 to 4 😦
6) Was your school co-educational or single sex, and do you think that was the better option? My primary school was mixed but my secondary school was girls only. I’m not really sure which is better to be honest.
7) Which emotion do you feel the most easily/most often? Do you enjoy it? oh gawd, I dunno….I’ll say happiness 🙂
8) Has anything out-of-the-ordinary wonderful ever happened to you? Can you tell us about it? Not really *thinks* no, not out of the ordinary lol
9) Left or right handed? Right
10) What’s your favourite kind of holiday? Oooooo, a bit of sightseeing and sitting on a balcony with a cup of tea and my notebook 🙂
11) Do you have a pet, what is it, or if not, why not? I have 2 cats. A moggy called Tigzz and a British Short Hair called Treacle.

Then another Liebster from Maggie at ExpatBrazil and the rules for this one are:

List 11 facts about yourself (Again, I’m skipping!)
Answer the 11 questions given to you
Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award
Choose up to 11 up and coming blogs to nominate
Go to each blogger’s page and let them know about the award
Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog

My questions from Maggie are:
1. Favourite Writer and why? Hmmmm, I have a couple, but I’d have to say Anita Shreve
2. Who is your best friend and why? The Hubster
3. The genie has granted you three wishes, what are they? To own a house by the sea, to live a long and healthy life and to have a bidding war over my first novel he he he!
4. Which historical figures would you love to have dinner with? Oscar Wilde
5. What couldn’t you live without? Lattes and the people I love
6. What do you do for fun? Fine Dining, films, visiting art galleries, museums and historic houses
7. Favourite Quote? Never, Never, Never, Give Up – Winston Churchill
8. If money was no object where would you live and why? By the sea. I’d like to be able to see the beach from my desk.
9. What’s your secret pleasure? Glittery stickers lol
10. Who do you admire and why? Anyone who achieves their dream!
11. What superpower would you like to have? Teleportation 🙂

And last but not least, the final Liebster from The Write Romantics and the rules for that one are:

Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.
Answer the 11 questions from the nominator.
List 11 random facts about yourself.
Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs (or less) who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.
Pass on the 11 questions to your nominees (or create new ones).

The Write Romantics questions are:
1. If you could be an animal for a day, what animal would you be and why? A much loved cat lazing in the sun all day 😉
2. If you could invent something, what would it be? Some sort of robot where I could feed my manuscript in and it would come out edited and polished *snigger*
3. What advice would you give to novice bloggers? Include at least 1 picture in every post, for visual interest.
4. What motivates you to write your blog? If I didn’t I’d go mad, all this stuff running round my head lol
5. What book would you take to a desert island? A dictionary!
6. Which fictional character would you most like to be? Eliza Doolittle
7. If you could have a super hero power, what would it be and why? Teleportation so I could travel wherever I wanted whenever I wanted 😉
8. How would you define your life in ten words? Now? Approaching middle age and determined to not waste what’s left!
9. What makes you cry? Anything sad about animals 😦
10. Who or what is your biggest influence/inspiration? everything around me!
11. What would you put into a time capsule for future generations? One of my notebooks he he he 😉

Phew…i think thats it! If you have nominated me for a Leibster and cant see it here please let me know incase ive missed it for some reason.
Ok, so I can’t really nominate 44 bloggers can I….sooooo, I’m going to nominate 11 and let you decide which Liebster you would like to accept….take your pic of the badges. Personally, I like the pink one! The punk and brown ones remind me of jammy dodgers lol

So, I nominate:

Sabrina at Creativity or Crazy
Florence at Fois In The City
Tessa Tangent
Joanne Phillips
Sue Howe
Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge
Pauline Conolly
Lord David Prosser
Alberta Ross
Patsy Collins
Anita at Food My Family And Me

Please take a few moments to check out all these WONDERFUL blogs…you never know, you might find a new one to follow 🙂

And here are my 11 Questions…
1. Whats your most embarrassing moment?
2. When’s the last time you sent or received flowers?
3. Have you ever sought revenge?
4. What’s your greatest personal strength?
5. What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done (has to be different from number 1 lol)?
6. Who’s the most famous person you’ve met?
8. What do you collect?
9. Favourite all time song?
10. Favourite ice cream flavour?
11. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

HAVE FUN! 🙂

Must Do’s 24th to 30th June

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, I’m back from The Lake District 🙂

Everyone said it was a beautiful place, and it is. But, it’s very wet *snigger*

You can sum up the Lake District in 5 words…

Wet
Green
Sheep
Hills
Lakes

But if you’re looking for a relaxing break with no mobile phone signal and intermittent Internet access (via the hotel) I can highly recommend it!

We did some sightseeing (of course) and the highlights were Beatrix Potters house and Rydal Mount, home to William Wordsworth. In the garden is a summer house where Wordsworth wrote most of his poems (a post coming up about that soon).

So now it’s back to the real word and this weeks to do list. I didn’t do much writing when I was away, and i didn’t do any reading. I was up at 5am most mornings, just wandering the hotel grounds pondering life lol. I didn’t actually come to any conclusions, but, the peace and quiet and time with my thoughts was relaxing.

So this week there is only one item on my to do list…..

1. Get “Tangled” off to the RNA New Writers Scheme for its critique.

I meant to do it last week but my printer has run out of ink, and then The Hubsters (at work) keeled over too so he had to order a new one. As soon as he’s got that set up I’ll be emailing him the MS for him to print.

I also need to send off my first assignment to The Writers Bureau and continue to work on my 2nd, but that’s not a priority… What is though is catching up with about 400 emails, blog comments, Twitter, FaceBook…..

What are your writing plans for the week?