Update and a Scary Thing

Hey, sorry to have left you so long but I have a good reason.  To cut a very long story short I have had to go 'gluten free' and have discovered I also have an egg allergy.  Thankfully things have settled down now and I'm back to my old self, well new self - oh, you know what I mean.

The scary thing?  PWG (palace writers group) of which I am a member, are hosting a night of readings.  They'll be poetry, short stories and even a sketch or two, sounds great doesn't it.  But - included in the programme are two pieces of my own work And I will be reading them aloud to an audience.

So what - you might ask.  Well for me this is a nightmare, my mind goes back to the classroom where you were forced to read allowed, red faced and stumbling over the words.  I even blush when I'm reading to Reggie (my cat).  So why do it?  I think I owe it to myself to get over the fear of reading aloud, whenever somebody else reads my work it rarely sounds how I want it to.  So what's the answer - do it yourself!!  I can't pretend I'm not shaking in my boots at the prospect but I hope to feel a sense of achievement when I have faced up to this scary thing.

Wish me luck.

In The Wee Small Hours

Well, I went to bed at 10:15 and got back up at 11:30.  Sleep evaded me. I had a little nugget whispering to me, telling me to get up and write - so I did.  I have written 700 words of a flash fiction piece for my writers group.  I can't say they are all good words, things always look different in the morning don't they.  When I say morning I mean proper morning, you know, when normal people get up and go to work not 1:30 in the morning.  Does that happen to anybody else? Please say it does. Don't let me think I'm alone.  Actually I'm not alone, up and around at this silly hour that is.  I just peeped through the curtains and saw a fox.  Ah, such beautiful yet misunderstood creatures.  I'm sure it knows better than to go into next door's garden, not with the size of their dog.

Well I won't say goodnight or even good morning, I have that odd feeling that the wee small hours haven't finished with me just yet.

When 'Its Just Not Happening'

Today I had such plans - and the opportunity.  But it just isn't happening - I have two short stories bubbling away at the moment.  I'm eager to get them completed so I can submit them to TABFF but my head has other ideas.

I don't like to use this blog to share my personal life BUT I'm sure I'm not the only person/writer to feel this way and to be overwhelmed by such feelings.  What feelings?  My oldest two children have left home, one for independence, the other for Uni.  All normal and part of life but for some reason its really hit me today and I can't concentrate on my work and I'm indulging in baby pictures and old forgotten school projects.  Daft isn't it - in reality I should be pleased that they are out there living their lives and making their own way.  Don't get me wrong I'm proud of them both but missing them is hurting, a physical ache.

I'm sharing this because there must be others who have these days too.  But tomorrow is another day and I must wait to see what a new day brings.  Who knows, maybe there's a new story to be told. So I suppose what I'm actually saying is one unproductive day isn't the end, life as a writer isn't over.  Believe in yourself, pick yourself up and carry on writing.

It's Marinating

Firstly, Hello and Welcome to the new peeps. I hope you stick with me and find this blog either amusing or useful.  As for me, I enjoy the company.

The story I blogged about on Tuesday is finished and I have left it to marinate until next week.  I'm really pleased with it.  In fact I was so pleased and happy with my progress I delved into my archives and pulled out a story I'd written last year but was never satisfied with.  The idea of the story was good but I'd not been able to bring it to life.  But now, I can see it really does have potential.  With a polish here and a small re-write there I hope to submit it to TABFF in time.  However tempting never throw away or delete any piece of writing even if it isn't doing what you'd like it to.  You never know when it could come in handy.

I'd ask you all to forgive any small typo's as Reggie, my kitten, is very fond of my keyboard..

Feel free to leave me any comments I'm always happy to chat.

Some You Do And Some You Don't

Do you ever get a feeling about a story?  Either whilst drafting, editing or anywhere along the line - I do.  My latest short story is aimed at TABFF (Take-a-Break Fiction Feast).  The truth is, yes this is going to sound really pretentious, but I dreamt the first line of dialogue of the story.  Now I know a lot of my fellow writers keep a notebook by the bed, as do I.  But the words stayed with me even after showering and eating breakfast, I knew I had to use them.  And I have.  I have a really good feeling that this story could be the one to set me on my way.  The one that makes all previous disappointments almost worth the pain.  Time will tell.

It's odd though, I really want to write novels but I cannot leave short stories alone.  I've tried but the ideas always manage to sneak into my thought stream somewhere along the way.  Maybe I should try harder at doing both.  After all I do have a novel that I've written.  Okay so it needs a huge injection of TLC but hey, it there.

Back To It

So, the kids have gone back to school, at last.  To me it seems like forever as Cerys has had a nice 7 week holiday due to our move in July.  Problem is, now the house feels so empty it's hard for me to settle.  Reggie, the kitten, is fast asleep at my feet content in his own dreams and I'm wondering if I should pop downstairs and put the TV on.  Not to watch it of course but sometimes silence is really distracting.

I now have 2 stories I am playing with and considering trying my with TABFF again - after all nothing ventured nothing gained.  But, as all writers, I loathe rejection and it dents my confidence so. There's no sense in wallowing so back to it I suppose.  Think big, that's my new motto.

The Good, The Bad & The Really Ugly !!

ARRRGGGHHHH!!

So the Good thing is, well I see it as good is that since getting back down to work since Swanwick I have written 1.5 short stories.  Yes that's right 1.5 - I do have anew kitten to watch out for!!

So that's the good.  The Bad is really bad.  As an ex secretary you'd think I could format documents standing on my head wouldn't you?  But no, not this particular story I'm working on and the worst part is that I don't have a glue as to where I'm going wrong.  At the risk of sounding like a spoilt brat 'it's not doing what I want it to do'.

The Ugly part is my mood...ooh very ugly.  Really I could quite happily sling my laptop through the window and myself afterwards.  It's driving me crazy.  I thought writing the stories was the hard part.  I really have had enough for today, formatting that is.  I'm off for a nice coffee and a scream !!