In common with a great many others I have been attempting to pen a novel for what feels like (and actually is) years now and at last the first draft is complete. I have come up with a title too... believe me even this small detail was agony.
Now having read it through once to ensure there are no major plot 'howlers' I will sit on it for a little while before I go back and read through it all again very critically. I am quite pleased with myself, to have written so much rubbish takes some staying power I can tell you!
When I think how much writing I've been paid to do over the years it blows my mind... yet this 'pure fiction' is a very different animal! Even if I never do anything with it I know I've created it and had the staying power to get there.
Working on other stuff at the same time...like everybody else, made me constantly want to escape back to the world of my own creating where I could play God! In this world at least I am omnipotent...or am I? If you've always fancied the idea of writing a story but never tried it - have a go...we all have a story to tell and it really does do amazing things to your self-esteem!
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Friday, 2 March 2012
Bit of sunshine
I live on the western side of the country, not far from the sea and half way up a mountain...the Atlantic provides much bounteous rain, to be honest rather too much of it this year in particular. However, in some parts of the UK its been so dry there have been drought orders issued and water supplies are threatened. It seems incredible to me as I squelch about in gumboots and waterproofs and yet my friends in the east tell me this is true. I worry. There has been a lot of talk in the press about us having a lack of Vitamin D - usually naturally provided by sunshine in our bodies...unless you live around here and never get to see it that is. So imagine my delight today, sunshine YIPPEE! I was so excited because it feels like spring outside. Then I ate my lunch and watched the forecast, guess what? torrential rain here tomorrow and the next day...bother! That didn't last long then did it? I'll put my sunglasses away and get the waders out again then. Good job I didn't get all carried away and invest in a solar panel!
I put sheets on the line as well, nothing like spring air line dried bedding! I thought I'd make the most of it before the deluge set in at least. So far, so good. Perhaps when I'm having sweet dreams it'll remind me of the one dry day we had between all the rest when the sun came out, the sky looked blue and winter seemed a distant memory...yeah right...I'll keep taking the tablets! Oh and I'll swap the sunglasses for those rose tinted ones instead and everything will be fine. If ever there was a case of a tiny bit of sunshine 'going to someones head' then I'm living proof...good job winter only comes around once a solar year...
I put sheets on the line as well, nothing like spring air line dried bedding! I thought I'd make the most of it before the deluge set in at least. So far, so good. Perhaps when I'm having sweet dreams it'll remind me of the one dry day we had between all the rest when the sun came out, the sky looked blue and winter seemed a distant memory...yeah right...I'll keep taking the tablets! Oh and I'll swap the sunglasses for those rose tinted ones instead and everything will be fine. If ever there was a case of a tiny bit of sunshine 'going to someones head' then I'm living proof...good job winter only comes around once a solar year...
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Happy Leap Year!
Get down on one knee and propose today if you are female.....it's your BIG chance!
Celebrate your real birthday if you were born on this day and stop moaning you age at a quarter of the speed of the rest of us!
Discover if that digital watch with the automatic date function is as clever as your thought...yep mine passed the test!
Stare in amazement as Windows gets the date right too!
Hooray! It's only around one in every four years so I'm taking my daughter to the pictures to celebrate! You have been warned!
Look out this must mean there are Olympic games on the way too......
Celebrate your real birthday if you were born on this day and stop moaning you age at a quarter of the speed of the rest of us!
Discover if that digital watch with the automatic date function is as clever as your thought...yep mine passed the test!
Stare in amazement as Windows gets the date right too!
Hooray! It's only around one in every four years so I'm taking my daughter to the pictures to celebrate! You have been warned!
Look out this must mean there are Olympic games on the way too......
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Good Luck
I know quite a few A level students are taking their examinations at the moment, some doing re-sits, some early papers. There have been mutterings in my house on this topic, cups of coffee supplied and lashings of toast and Marmite proffered. Information is being crammed in at the last minute, pens checked, pencils sharpened, brains honed and vast amounts of fish being consumed as it has been a long held belief - I'm not sure if there is any real evidence to support it - that this supports the memory. My Mum always called it 'Brain Food' when I was in this situation (all those eons ago when Dinosaurs ruled the earth) so I do the same. I figure 'well it seemed to work for me' so I've kept my side of the bargain and fed the next generation in the same way! I dislike fish, so if anyone tells me I ate it all for no good reason (and now twice over) I shall cry!
Failing this, if you are amongst those taking exams, tests, driving tests, proficiency boards or whatever...every good wish from me to you. After all a bit of good luck can't go amiss either surely can it?!
Failing this, if you are amongst those taking exams, tests, driving tests, proficiency boards or whatever...every good wish from me to you. After all a bit of good luck can't go amiss either surely can it?!
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Sage Advice
I met a total stranger this week who was trying to take a photograph. It doesn't sound very interesting on the face of it I'll admit, but it was. We took the time on an overcast winter's day to talk about it, the light, the movement in the image, the composition which makes for a good picture, the setting required for the light, the contrast and why shadows on a sunny day cause such problems! I was told quite candidly
"So many people just look, but they don't see"
Which got me to thinking how right this was as an observation on life as a whole. We don't notice subtle nuances because we are in too much of a hurry, we don't appreciate what is in front of us because it has become commonplace or we just don't bother to observe the textures, colours and movement because we take it all for granted.
Ask yourself, when did you last look closely at a birds feathers and the way the light hits its plumage, even apparently dull birds like starlings have an iridescent quality like oil on water which is staggeringly beautiful and produce a myriad of colours if you truly look and yet they appear a muddy brown if one only glances. Have you noticed how an animal's coat is made of mixtures of different coloured hairs, even a white coat is full of greys and yellows or even the odd black hair if you look! Have you observed the way the world is reflected upside down in a raindrop suspended on a branch before it drops to the floor? Have you noticed how many colours are visible in the pebbles on a stream bed or how many different shapes and types of lichen grow on a tree? Have you watched a sunset reflected in the glass of a tall building? Have you made a note of the cracks in the pavement beneath your feet and the shapes they create, or perhaps the paint peeling on a railing revealing its past life and previous colours? No? The highlights in a loved ones eye, the colours in their hair, the texture of their skin? Perhaps you should! If you start to truly look around you the commonplace becomes extraordinary, it's just like viewing a new world through a child's eyes or experiencing what you thought you knew like an explorer visiting a wilderness for the first time! Try for yourself! I guarantee it will amaze you.
So a chance meeting with a fascinating stranger who enthused about a hobby and the world at large opened my eyes again. I've passed it on. It's up to you what you choose to do with it!
"So many people just look, but they don't see"
Which got me to thinking how right this was as an observation on life as a whole. We don't notice subtle nuances because we are in too much of a hurry, we don't appreciate what is in front of us because it has become commonplace or we just don't bother to observe the textures, colours and movement because we take it all for granted.
Ask yourself, when did you last look closely at a birds feathers and the way the light hits its plumage, even apparently dull birds like starlings have an iridescent quality like oil on water which is staggeringly beautiful and produce a myriad of colours if you truly look and yet they appear a muddy brown if one only glances. Have you noticed how an animal's coat is made of mixtures of different coloured hairs, even a white coat is full of greys and yellows or even the odd black hair if you look! Have you observed the way the world is reflected upside down in a raindrop suspended on a branch before it drops to the floor? Have you noticed how many colours are visible in the pebbles on a stream bed or how many different shapes and types of lichen grow on a tree? Have you watched a sunset reflected in the glass of a tall building? Have you made a note of the cracks in the pavement beneath your feet and the shapes they create, or perhaps the paint peeling on a railing revealing its past life and previous colours? No? The highlights in a loved ones eye, the colours in their hair, the texture of their skin? Perhaps you should! If you start to truly look around you the commonplace becomes extraordinary, it's just like viewing a new world through a child's eyes or experiencing what you thought you knew like an explorer visiting a wilderness for the first time! Try for yourself! I guarantee it will amaze you.
So a chance meeting with a fascinating stranger who enthused about a hobby and the world at large opened my eyes again. I've passed it on. It's up to you what you choose to do with it!
Monday, 26 December 2011
Phew! Survived again!
It's an odd moment when I flop down in bed on Christmas Day and realise it's all over and somehow it has arrived, happened and gone by and I have survived for another year. I measure this in terms of several levels of success, as I am sure do many others these include:
How many have I upset by failing to send cards too which will require an abject apology and grovelling letter in the New Year? and as a rider to this is this fewer than last year?
Did the presents arrive on time?
Have I received all the gifts I might have expected?
Have I obviously upset a member of my close family or circle of friends by some kind of omission?
Did the festive season pass with adequate supplies of tissue, toilet tissue, headache or other pain relief remedies and antacids?
Did I manage to cook the dinner, on time, with ALL its intended constituent parts included?
Did I manage to not give anyone I served with this repast food poisoning?
Did I manage to steer clear of the washing up? NO! stop being ridiculous that's just fantasy thinking!
Is everybody still talking to everyone else?
Where did I put my drink?
Why are my feet hurting so much?
and finally which idiot ever called this a holiday? they need to check on the definition of same and alter this accordingly because I for one am kn...exhausted!
Its been like a combination of the UN having important diplomatic meetings with every warring state we can think of, against bickering for what's on TV and groaning over eating too much... and it's all over in one day...well there is Boxing Day but nobody ever really seems to know what all that is about. I know there's the underlying Christian message, or the Pagan one depending on your theological point of view but really!
Well survived again! All parts still standing, all family members still speaking, all food consumed, yes even the turkey....only went for something small this year. So as I prepare a salad and jacket spuds and feel a bit healthier than this time yesterday and the relief washes over me in waves, all that matters is...will be going through it all again next year. What fun! Wouldn't have it any other way! How about you?
How many have I upset by failing to send cards too which will require an abject apology and grovelling letter in the New Year? and as a rider to this is this fewer than last year?
Did the presents arrive on time?
Have I received all the gifts I might have expected?
Have I obviously upset a member of my close family or circle of friends by some kind of omission?
Did the festive season pass with adequate supplies of tissue, toilet tissue, headache or other pain relief remedies and antacids?
Did I manage to cook the dinner, on time, with ALL its intended constituent parts included?
Did I manage to not give anyone I served with this repast food poisoning?
Did I manage to steer clear of the washing up? NO! stop being ridiculous that's just fantasy thinking!
Is everybody still talking to everyone else?
Where did I put my drink?
Why are my feet hurting so much?
and finally which idiot ever called this a holiday? they need to check on the definition of same and alter this accordingly because I for one am kn...exhausted!
Its been like a combination of the UN having important diplomatic meetings with every warring state we can think of, against bickering for what's on TV and groaning over eating too much... and it's all over in one day...well there is Boxing Day but nobody ever really seems to know what all that is about. I know there's the underlying Christian message, or the Pagan one depending on your theological point of view but really!
Well survived again! All parts still standing, all family members still speaking, all food consumed, yes even the turkey....only went for something small this year. So as I prepare a salad and jacket spuds and feel a bit healthier than this time yesterday and the relief washes over me in waves, all that matters is...will be going through it all again next year. What fun! Wouldn't have it any other way! How about you?
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Goodwill to all and a shamelessly poor poem
Twinkle, twinkle Diggingstar,
How they wonder who you are?
Writing words in cyberspace
A soppy smile upon your face
As the Christmas star so you should shine
Light their faces with a rhyme.
Happy Christmas one and all,
Peace, joy and goodwill says it all,
Don't care what your faith might be
That matters not a jot to me
Just you be happy, warm, content
Accept my good wishes sincerely meant.
So much angst divides our world,
Pain, distress, despair unfurled
War and famine, flood or drought,
Earthquakes,winds, volcanic doubt,
What we need and we want it quick
Love, hope and shelter will do the trick!
No matter who or where we are,
Our needs and wants don't stray too far
We crave our safety, health and peace,
Shelter, strength and food to eat,
Enough to drink that's clear and pure,
Laughter, justice and friendship, sure.
Not much to ask I hear you cry
The Diggingstar who floats on high,
From here the world is small and round
Like a ball which spins around
All looks smooth and calm to me
If only that's how it all could be!
Take Care and strive to be safe and happy.
How they wonder who you are?
Writing words in cyberspace
A soppy smile upon your face
As the Christmas star so you should shine
Light their faces with a rhyme.
Happy Christmas one and all,
Peace, joy and goodwill says it all,
Don't care what your faith might be
That matters not a jot to me
Just you be happy, warm, content
Accept my good wishes sincerely meant.
So much angst divides our world,
Pain, distress, despair unfurled
War and famine, flood or drought,
Earthquakes,winds, volcanic doubt,
What we need and we want it quick
Love, hope and shelter will do the trick!
No matter who or where we are,
Our needs and wants don't stray too far
We crave our safety, health and peace,
Shelter, strength and food to eat,
Enough to drink that's clear and pure,
Laughter, justice and friendship, sure.
Not much to ask I hear you cry
The Diggingstar who floats on high,
From here the world is small and round
Like a ball which spins around
All looks smooth and calm to me
If only that's how it all could be!
Take Care and strive to be safe and happy.
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