A Good Start To The Week

As Monday's go, today hasn't been too bad at all.  Oh, apart from having to go back to the school due to a forgotten swimming kit.

On the writing front I am feeling quite pleased with myself.  My Christmas story is coming along very well.  I have found 'a different angle' and the story is progressing nicely.  Obviously it still needs work but in spite of my earlier doubts I am enjoying writing it.

Last week I met up with an old friend of mine who lives here, in Milton Keynes.  We had a good gossip and probably too many cups of coffee but it did lift my spirits.  It's good to see that some people don't change and are just as you remember them.  This particular lady is fun, sincere and I will always remember a great kindness she did for me many years ago.

Also last week I got a call from the local hospice volunteer co-ordinator telling me she had forwarded my details to one of the shops.  Not twenty minutes later I received an email from the shop manager offering me a Wednesday morning shift.  Needless to say I almost bit her hand off.  Having decided I needed to get out of the house a bit more this will be just the tonic I need.  As some of you will remember I used to work in a local charity shop when I lived in Watford, which I loved and missed so much when we moved.  So, think of me on Wednesday and wish me luck.

A Wonderful Surprise

After a bit of a wonky week I had a wonderful surprise last night.  My nephew arranged to visit me.  Nothing wonderful there you may think but I had not seen him in 13 years.  Now, for anybody that is a hell of a long time.  It was brilliant to see him looking well and getting his life together.  I hope he will visit as often as he is able now.

For those of you who are regular readers you will be familiar with my story 'BILLY' which I am pleased to say has received it's final edit and is ready to be sent on it's way to Dog Horn Publishing.  Also, I began a Christmas story today.  Yes, I know it is too late to submit to any magazine but this one is for a competition.  Today I managed 750 meaningful words.  Mind you they are not easy to write though.  As Christmas is a very commercial these days it's hard to find a different angle on it.  Stories of burnt Turkey's, surprise visits from long lost relatives and seeing the big man in the red coat are all well used themes.  Needless to say I have attempted to avoid these, not because I think any less of them but I really want a new angle, which if I'm lucky, I may just have found.

The Truth Of The Matter

The last week has been a bit of a downer.  Don't worry I shan't go into too much detail as I promised I wouldn't use this blog to vent my personal challenges.  BUT, I have felt so down the last week.  I am feeling lonely here in Milton Keynes as I have yet to make any local friends.  I know it's just a matter of time but in the meantime things are very quiet.

I did that thing which we have all done at times, you know giving out the odd hint that we are not happy, in the hope that a friend will pick up on it and perhaps give us a call.  It certainly hasn't been my week because I haven't heard from a single soul.  Enough whining now and back to my news.

BILLY which is my story for the dark side is almost finished.  I asked my husband to read it but given it's dark nature he said he'd rather not.  I am hoping tomorrow to complete the small polishing tasks and to replace my formatting with the layout which has been requested by the competition hosts.  It's not something I have come across before, so if you are a writer who enjoys entering competitions make a note to check the manuscript layout - it might just catch you out.

Almost There

My monster story is going very well, a little too well as my writing has made my own hair on the back of my neck stand on end!  A friend of mine read a draft last week and was very encouraging.  I really appreciated her time and the fact that she read the whole piece given it's dark content.  All in all I am quite enjoying experimenting with rather taboo subjects.  It felt wrong to begin with.  Not that it seems right now BUT there is a point to it.  It's not just gritty for the sake of it.  It is supposed to be a harrowing tale, dare I say well written not just a collection of words to shock people.

I know I said I was putting my WOMAG writing to one side but ideas keep coming into my head.  So persistent are some that I have had to stop what I'm doing and dive for my notebook.  I do need to look at my recent rejections, perhaps jiggle them around a bit and send them out there again.

On another taboo (ish) subject The Daily Mail are running an erotica short story competition.  I attended an erotica workshop this year at Swanwick.  It was led by the lovely Della Galton which was both funny and thought provoking.  So once I have put my monsters to bed - I intend to give erotica a try.  I will of course keep you posted about my entries and the competitions.  Who knows I could be a guest on the 'Wossy' show yet.

Yes!! Back in the Saddle

What a good day I have had.  I wasn't sure how it would go after such a long absence from writing.  But I'm sure we have all heard the quote 'Life gets in the way of what we want to do.'  Life has been so busy what with moving at the end of July, Swanwick Writers Summer School in August, chasing MK council for a school place for Cerys and Lisa starting her A Levels at college.  If that wasn't enough, my son went through a terrible time during the summer and as a result is back here in the nest for a while.

So, anyway, writing.  I have been dithering with the idea of writing for the NEW Mills & Boon or trying my hand at Erotica, thanks to a wonderful workshop run at Swanwick.  Not being inclined to start either I trawled the net for short story competitions.  I wanted something different.  A topic or genre I had not tackled before and I found a real challenge.  The competition is run by Dog Horn Publishing and is titled 'No Monsters Allowed.  So basically it is a twist on run of the mill horror and asks for submissions on 'human horror' our own monsters if you like.  Now I realise that this may not float everyone's boat but I am keen to give it a good go.  After all a change is as good as a rest so they say!!

I managed about 1300 words today which I was pleased with but I can't afford to rest on my laurels as the cut off date is fast approaching.  Having made such a positive start after a hectic summer I fully intend to meet my obligations with relish. 

I am putting WOMAG writing to the back of my mind for a while and will be exploring the dark side.

So Close But yet So Far...

Back from Swanwick - obviously and straining at the leash to get down to work.  I learnt some new tricks at Swanwick and cannot wait to try some of them out.  I received two rejections from WWFS within a week of each other so I need to pull my socks up and get some work back out there.  The problem?  Cerys hasn't been allocated a school place yet and Lisa doesn't start at college until the 10th.  Not that there is an issue with the girls being home for longer than I expected but some of the information and workshops I attended were, shall we say, a little spicy - not something I would like anybody to come across by accident.  Well, regarding the girls not at all.

The house (we moved at the end of July) is 99% sorted now and there are only two boxes left to unpack and really one of those is full of ornaments which can live in the garage for a while.

Getting back to Swanwick, if anybody reading this is interested in attending next year do it - it's such a wonderful week full of fun and great characters (real people not fictitious ones).  I have made such good friends and hope to be able to go until I am an old lady with a stick who insists on wearing fuchsia pink!!

Tuesday at Swanwick

As some of you may remember on August 11th Swanwick Writers Summer School began - and of course I am here.  I cannot believe it is Tuesday already.  On my arrival I was very excited and felt like an Enid Blyton character from St Clares or Mallory Towers boarding school stories.  As soon as I unpacked I went outside to see who else had arrived.  So many familiar faces, it didn't feel like a year since I had seen my Swanwick buddies.  This is such a relaxed and friendly place, the courses are really informative and the tutors are always brilliant. 

The one downside here is the amount of food you end up eating.  After a cooked breakfast I am sure I will be able to skip lunch and wait until dinner but that never happens.  As luchtime approaches I can feel and sometimes here my tummy demanding to be fed once more.  The food here is so good it would be rude not to appreicate it, by the end of the week I shall be at least a stone heavier.  The only thing to have changed since last year is that the 'smoker's tent' has been renamed the 'smokers gazebo' which I thought sounded rather classy.

Our house move went well and we are 99% settled and unpacked.  If I ever see another brown box again it will be too soon.  The new house is lovely and we are lucky to have more space and several other perks!  The garden is charming and I cannot wait to plant my spring bulbs, Daffodils of course.

Anyway, back to Swanwick.  I have a little homework to do today so I will leave you for now and update again when I can manage to slip away from the excellent company I have.