22nd April

22nd April 2020

A Virtual Writing Morning

I was delighted , this morning to be able to link up with The Writer's Hour via Zoom.
Isn't Zoom a wonderful tool at this present time?

There were more than seventy of us in the meeting.
I tried to link up yesterday, but technical difficulties got the better of me,
so today I was determined not to be beaten.

With my husband's tablet - my laptop is too old,
apparently - I was signed up just in time for the 8.0 am start.

We introduced ourselves and sent messages in the chat to say
 what we hoped to do in the hour.
" I'll be journaling," I wrote, others said the same.
Some were working 
on chapters in their books and still more were writing posts on their blogs.
At 8.05 we were muted and set to work. I found it so interesting,
like being in a huge workshop together.
I could see some of our group on the screen, about twenty.
They all had heads down , beavering away, which gave me the impetus to start
 and to continue to the end.
But I found that an hour is too long to be journaling. I lost interest after
half an hour, which is the usual time I would give to my "morning pages".

So, tomorrow, I plan to be better prepared, maybe start with my journal ,
 but have either my blog or, if I feel brave enough, my memoir at hand as well to
keep me busy for the whole time.
It will be good practice to work for an hour at a stretch. It's not normally how I
do things, unless, of course I get so into the writing that I forget the time . Don't
you just love those times.

A little bit straight form my journal this morning:

But I will  take one step 

at a time,

one after another, just one

no rush.

Sometimes that step will be

a baby step, imperceptible,  

but it'll be there.

One step after another

and in the end

I'll have gone a mile

And that mile will turn 

into two.

The pilgrimage will end,

but not till I take

my last breath.

Only God will count 

the  steps.

Only God will know

 how many miles.

I will just take each step

one at a time.

And I will enjoy each step

As if it's going to be

the only one

I will ever take.

 Till next time...

On The Practice of Writing

26th April 2017





On The Practice Of Writing


There is a lot of advice out there for writers.
From where to, when to and for how long ...

• Read everything you can lay your hands on - I'm not actually keen on fiction, but love memoir and poetry.
• Always carry a notebook - when I want it I've always left it at home. I very rarely need to use it when I do carry it.
• Protect the time and space in which you write - Having a large family there's no point in trying that one. Sunday afternoon, when everybody is happy I might let myself do something for me ( I am getting better at that one)
• Have a writing room or at least a designated place                      of your own - I thought this one would solve all my problems of leaving my work somewhere where I could go back to and mean that I would be "left to do my work". It hasn't happened. Even though I have a purpose built writing room, I am often found writing at the dining room table on my laptop or in a chair by the window ( the sun streaming in) 
• Write at least five hundred ( 200, 1000, etc etc)                            words a day  - well actually, if I can get started , the numbers of words don't seem at all relevant and it seems more important to get down what needs to come out.
• Write for one ( two, three , etc etc ) hours a day - and again, Sometimes I can write for half an hour and I've done what I set out to do and other times I will write for nearly two hours. I never get to three or more. 

These are just a few of the ways I fail at writing . 
No wonder I'm getting nowhere.
No wonder there is no book to boast about
No wonder I feel that I am lying to call myself a writer at all.

But, I do have nearly 30,000 visits to my blog.
So someone is reading some of the things that I share .
And that is good, isn't it.

So, I will start tomorrow. 
I will plan to write 500 words in 2 hours .
I will write in my writing space .
When I go and have coffee with my friend I will take my note book.
And I will do the same the next day and the day after that , until I have something worthwhile written.
I will 
I will...

15th April

15th April 2016


Looking back at my blog for this day last year, I see that it was a warm sunny day, very different to the one we've just had.
When I traveled  into Canterbury for the Writing for Wellbeing workshop , it was pouring with rain and I arrived a bit sodden, as did others.
I saw no white sails today, no ice creams, no children throwing stones into the sea.

Instead

Instead, shoppers hurrying
To get where they are going,
Out of the grey wet,
Hoods up, Heads down ,
Some carrying umbrellas.
Visiting students, standing in groups,
Miserably,
Trying to write on damp paper
The answers to "important"
Questions.
School children, uncaring
Ambling, white shirts stuck to skin,
Ties waving,
Weaving
A world of indifference.


What shall I  write about today?

Day 15: 15th April, 15th poem.

Yesterday, we went for a walk in the sun along the coast near our home.

White Sails

The sea a shimmering sheet of glitter,
Sails - white, pointing  skywards,
Formed like swallows returning
Home after the winter.
Watch-Children -
Throwing stones,
Ice creams dripping,
Screaming with delight as
they paddle in freezing water.
Watch -Couples- young,
Embraced  in happy dreams,
Caressed by warm rays..
Breathe in  North Sea health
And- Fish and chips.
Glorious summers day
In April

Catching Up

Catching Up

Hi, all you lovely friends and readers, I thought I'd write a catch up.

Life has been a bit busy the last couple of months, which has left very little time to write. I've managed a few pieces but  do feel I need some mental space to think and ponder and get the creative juices flowing - or is this how it is? Do all writers have to chain themselves to their desks (real or imagined) and just get on with it, just work hard and something will happen?
I have yet to try the disciplined approach. I mean some writers sit at their desks for a certain number of hours a day. Others complete a pre- decided number of words or pages, every day.  Maybe this is where I fall down.
With me, it's more like I have to find some time to write or I'll go mad. It's not even that I have a great deal to say, I just have to write.
I feel a bit like that now and that is why I am just babbling on. I'll feel better then ( does this sound like addiction??) and be able to get on with real life. After all the washing still needs doing, the bins need putting out , food needs to be bought and cooked etc etc ....

Anyway, we have been in our new house now for six weeks and have been busy getting everything as we want it. We are eagerly waiting for the delivery of a cabin for the garden, which will be a studio for the artist in our midst. Currently all the art paraphernalia is taking over a room in the house. So I can't wait for the cabin to be ready. We are also waiting to hear if we can have a drop-kerb so that we can drive our newish car onto the drive.

Another drama that has kept us busy is the birth of a dear grandaughter a good few weeks earlier than she was due. They are all well, thank God, but it has been an anxious month or so. Much anguish was felt by all. She was ( still is) so small. Baby and mum are now getting out a little bit , which is a sign that things are going in the right direction.

And then, my own mum has been unwell which has been somewhat of a distraction. The good thing about this is that I've had the chance to visit her more and in so doing have connected not only with her but with my dad and my two lovely sisters.

And in amongst  all this there is the usual coming and going with children and grandchildren as the days just keep passing. For instance a couple of weeks ago we helped our eldest daughter move house.

Must go now...

Do get in touch and give me your thoughts...