Writers panic…

I woke up in a cold sweat last night and panicked… foolish really as there was little I could do to resolve the problem or change the issue at 2am.

I dreamed I had broken the rules of the writing competition by submitting a piece in the wrong font size!

I crawled back into bed after checking my computer. What an idiot. I have submitted the piece correctly. Phew. It seems I had read the instructions accurately and gone into auto pilot and completed the piece accordingly.

Shame I didn’t remember that in my waking dream.

Do you do this too?

Or are you better prepared than me to be judged?

#amwriting

New writing group

Joining a new writing group can be a curious thing to do.

I joined a new group a little over two weeks ago.

Mostly I’m good at turning off my internal critic when I sit and write my own work as I’ve learned to do this over many years of practice.

However, I find it much harder to switch off the 'internal critic' when I hear other authors read out their work.

I find myself comparing my ability (or rather my perceived lack of it) to their ability to write, what I hear seems so much more eloquent than anything I’ve written, and I find myself asking why didn’t I think of that?

I suppose the truth is what we each see and hear, when the written word is spoken, can be different. What we each choose to hone in on is different too. And how we write is what makes writing so tough to conquer.

I know I’ve always enjoyed hearing how a group of people can write such diverse pieces given the same instructions.

One of the exercises last week was to describe ‘hands.’

I enjoy doing observational pieces and the feedback I get often surprises me. At the time of writing I thought I hadn’t done this exercise well.

But once again I was surprised by the responses from my fellow writers, some of whom are already published authors. I thought my hurriedly written piece was just a list (not what we were asked to do in the exercise.) Apparently not so. My writing was compared to a current author who I now need to find and investigate.

And then my tutor surprised me by suggesting I should put the two pieces I’d written into some flash fiction competitions! You could have knocked me over with a feather duster…

‘What do you get out of your writing group?’

Signing off until next time… when I’ll share one of the writing exercises we did this week in my next blog spot.

#amwriting again

I am writing again, getting back in the swing of things and Phew that’s a relief

I have to thank the lovely Ange Barton @angebarton for nominating me to accept: ‘Pass-the-baton’ and encourage me to get back into my writing.

I stopped writing around six months ago when I became distracted by a bright shiny new project that took all my energy and absorbed my creative talents in a different area. I got to choose colours and design new layouts, pick fittings and furniture as I refurbished a one bedroom flat into an urban oasis of calm.

This tired, grubby flat which had alarming holes in the ceiling, has been transformed! I was undeterred by the random holes; and now they are a distant memory.

Today the flat has a warm, welcoming feel to it (a new heating system was installed); it has a lovely modern kitchen with whacky appliances that I’ve not read the manuals for or used yet.

And the once soulless bathroom is unrecognizable. It is a windowless room, not something I’m keen about but there had to be a compromise and this was it. Strange but since the revamp I hardly notice that there is no window, no external light, it’s so bright and clean now.

There are still a few jobs to be done and other creative tasks that I will enjoy. I’ve resurrected my old Singer sewing machine and discovered that I can still sew straight lines. Phew. The practice I put in many years ago, it seems, is deeply embedded. This came as a terrific surprise.

So here I’m back at my pc waffling my way across a blank page, hitting the keys one at a time (with wonky fingers) hoping that what I’ve written makes sense!

I write because I want to get the ideas out of my head and on to paper.
I write because I think I have something to say and record.
I write because I enjoy writing.

By accepting this challenge I wanted to regain my focus so I promised myself
Firstly: to join a new writing group.
Secondly: to write a blog article twice a week.
Thirdly: to be kind to myself.

I accepted the baton on 21st April. On 22nd I joined a new writing group- I’ll write about this next week. Yesterday, 23rd I had a stab at writing a blog article, which I posted, phew and yes I’m being kind to myself. And I wrote a brand new piece this morning so I'm feeling good.

Over the coming days I will need to select another writer to pass the baton too and I’ve no idea if it’s breaking with tradition by asking: but are there any volunteers to accept the baton?

This question when voiced in a class usually meets with silence…prove me wrong…

As I have to pass the baton by 27th

Formula One v Rounded characters

For those of you that know me... I love Formula 1 it’s a sporting event I’ve always loved.

If anyone watched last weekends Grand Prix, for the first time, in China- they could be forgiven for being unimpressed. It was a rather subdued affair. Uneventful to say the least.

How do I know this?

The Brazilian Grand Prix (two weeks ago) had me shouting instructions and yelling ‘abuse’ at the television. That race was absorbing, frightening, packed with action. Gripping stuff. I find I always support my favourite racing driver and curse the anti-hero!

This weekend I could have multi-tasked and read a book rather than actually watch the race but I didn’t, I remained steadfast and watched the event unfold, to its final chequered flag.

My hero is Lewis Hamilton.

I find his passion for his profession fascinating. He won his first world championship at the tender age of 23, and now he’s a seasoned driver who has not won since 2008 and he has a habit of saying what he thinks and wearing his heart on his sleeve. If he’s having a good day we can tell by his facial expressions and when he’s not we can read his body language. He’s not good at hiding his feelings. And he speaks his mind. None of this should distract from his amazing ability.

The reason I find Formula One so alluring is because a race is action packed and can often reflect the ups and downs in writing, because there is always tension between drivers (characters), team mates (protagonists) and rival companies (antagonists). Each events ends differently.

On race days the drama unfolds rapidly and can without warning spiral in to a frightening turn; especially if there is a collision or an accident, and the safety car comes into play. Hopes, dreams and aspirations can suddenly dissolve.

The most famous drivers can be seen as rounded characters and well known to the public and fans or less known drivers might appear to be slightly flat.

The side issues this year may distract fans from what’s going on, on the track because the rules have changed significantly and this has shaken up the pack, what we once thought to be certain has been turned this event on its head and 2014 promises to be a fascinating year ahead.

No two races will be the same.

Dramas will unfold.

Rivalries will continue develop.

F1 is not to be missed…Come & join track side and see for yourself…

Falling

She stops dead in front of me. Her face contorts with a twist of pain as one knee begins to buckle. Reaching for mid air her right hand stretches in front of her as her shoulder dips and her chin flops onto her chest. Her body continues to crumple and folds in on itself, to meet the pavement.

Before I can reach her a young man cradles the limp weight of her small frame in his hands, as if it is no matter and as if he is well rehearsed in the art of catching, as if he’s done this a dozen times or more. His quick action prevents her from impacting the floor and as he dips his knees, and sinks his own body, he lowers hers to safety without dropping her.

I’m staring. He isn't. His face, impassive, for he shows no sign of uneasiness. He kneels beside her. She’s inactive and powerless and he talks to her moderately. ‘Hello I’m John and you are?’ his voice is calm. Soothing. He waits.

The economy of effort in each move he makes, alarms me, as he checks her pulse, raises her arm and then positions it closer to her side and attempts to comfort her. His tunnel vision concentration is unportentous, as he devotes all his energy to her recovery.

I’m struck by how graceful she looks. Her clothes show no distress, her coat undone, the over large military buttons and the ring on her finger glints, captures and reflects the light of the sharp morning sun. Her long golden hair tied back in a ponytail lies like a discarded silk scarf.

I decide not to intervene...




Writing exercise: I set myself observational writing exercises, from time to time, in an attempt to learn how to capture a moment in time. I’m not sure this works yet…

For me the detail in short story telling is important and if I can hone this skill then perhaps I can keep the creative flow, flowing!

And finally...I'm back to writing - at last!

So how are we all keeping?

Survived the hot nights and even hotter days?

I have to say I’m missing the heat. This comes as an even bigger surprise to me. I got to wear all my summer dresses. I can’t ever recall that happening, some of my favourite dresses actually look worn out, what with all the suntan lotion that was required too! So I’m not complaining.

March through to July I was busy, I mean just plain bonkers busy… and my writing had to take a back seat.

No short stories.

No novel writing.

No blogging.

Not even much on Twitter.

And I was never much cop at/on Facebook!

However, I did discover that while I wasn't focusing on my writing I found I could enjoy reading much more simply just as a reader. I've got through a few more books than normal and simply enjoyed them for their content rather than my ‘critique brain’ kicking in and analyzing the story, plot and characters.

So at last I’m back writing, only very recently, and the critical part of my brain’s doing its usual trick *oh it’s not good enough*

ENOUGH – Just Write!

Hope all’s good/well in your neck of the woods.

I would love to hear from people as I’m back in the world of communication, at last!

Getting back on track...?

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

— Alfred D. Souza

I've been busy and I'm aware that I've been absent from writing for some time now...

I'm hoping this will change once 'these obstacles' that form a major section of my life have eased by mid-July.

Here's hoping I can get my writing back on track as I've missed it!