Monday 31 December 2007

This Year, Remember....

The creative process is a process of surrender not control.
Look towards the pleasure of success rather than the fear of failure.
Life is too short not to realise your dreams.
Talking about pumpkins doesn’t make them grow.

My New Years Resolution is to:
Schedule time for writing. Plan my other life around my writing.
Clear my life of things that stop me writing.

Wednesday 19 December 2007

Maybe.....

.......we don't go to hell for the things we do, maybe we go to hell for the things we don't do.
http://www.chuckpalahniuk.com/quotes.php

Thursday 13 December 2007

Only one type of book....

There is only one type of book that comes with the guarantee of never getting published and that’s the one that isn’t finished. Mo Hayder (Writing Magazine: January 2008)

That's the plan...

Christmas will soon be here and then swiftly from nowhere the New Year will be upon us. I intend to have a strategic plan of action prepared to take me into the Writing New Year....

As well as the January edition of Writing Magazine, I have been reading a number of Self Help books. Do they have any relevance to writing? Well, I came across this little poem:

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost
For out of the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will –
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

Excuse Me....

.....but it's Christmas. Writing has (unfortunately) been placed second to the seasonal commitments I seem to have become involved in. People assume that because you aren't 'working' in the paid employment kind of way, that you have nothing to do. Its my own fault for not have a specific routine as yet, but I have been to a school fair; selling raffle tickets (chaos), a nativity play (blink and you'll miss your child!), and an assortment of Christmas parties where you are expected to part with your cash!! Coming up, we have our annual 'scout' party, the Lincoln Santa Fun Run (I am attending as supporter of partner), the family carol evening, not to mention Christingle and more carols...

And did I mention the cat has been ill (two nights in the Park View Hilton) and my brother gets married in a weeks time?? My mind is too full of organising, planning and spending money!!

On the plus (writing) side, the January edition of Writing Magazine and Writers News kept me busy for a number of days and I did attend my Poison Pens group on Saturday. This was a mixture of highs and lows. I was glad to see everyone and hear what they had all been up to. There had also been a discussion as to whether the group would continue in the new year. I am pleased to say that it was decided it will. Phew! I really like the other members of the group as they are all committed to their writing, and attending the meeting always boosts my determination to get down to writing when I return home.

The downside however, was that I read out the beginning of the novel I started during NaNoWrite. I came away confused as I seemed to get three different perspectives on what I had written. I think this highlights my own confusion with the story, and I certainly need to do more work on the plot. The piece I read out is written in the first person and I had intended to write the whole novel in the first person of three people; each taking over when one finishes their piece; thereby having three sections to the novel. (understand?) It was suggested that this might be too much and I should mix the three up. It was also suggested that I needed dialogue in the narrative. Help!! Too many ideas! I need to go away and really think about what was said. Hopefully, when we meet again in January I will have more structure to the plot and the characters. That's the plan at least!!

Thursday 6 December 2007

Email from NaNoWriMonth

We had 15,333 folks cross the finish line this year, which was a new record for us. Way to go, champions of 2007! And now a word to those of you who didn't win. If you missed the 50K goal, you might be feeling a little disappointed. Or embarrassed. Maybe you're just reading this to help dig that guilt-knife a little deeper into your spleen. Yet another project where you started out strong and came up short, right?

Wrong. If you signed up for the challenge and wrote 5,000 words, you did great. Successfully pulling off anything creative given our ridiculously high standards and congenitally overscheduled lives is a miracle, and sometimes that battle just can't be won in a single month. Even 1000 words is an achievement, and more fiction than mos t people write in their entire lifetimes. So keep writing. Next year, we'll be doing it all over again. The great thing about noveling is that you learn something invaluable every time you do it.

Sunday 2 December 2007

To live a creative life,

we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce.

This quote came from The Artists Way by Julia Cameron; which I read instead of writing this week....but the book certainly had a lot to say, such as; we squander our own creative energies by investing disproportionately in the lives, hopes, dreams and plans of others. Their lives have obscured and detoured our own.

The two main aids to creativeness Julia encourages are 'Morning Pages' and 'Artist Dates'. I have heard about morning pages before (Julia suggests doing 3 each morning) but I have always been a bit sceptical of their worth. I suppose I am concerned about the time they take and what I could be doing instead!! She says the stuff you write, is the stuff that stands between you and your creativity. I think I shall stick to my blog.... Artist Dates are time with yourself in the pursuit of creativity; whether going to a gallery, walking in the park. It should be a self-nourishing activity.

She also discusses the issue of control (something I am forever in pursuit of!) and her comment is; The creative process is a process of surrender, not control! Creativity requires faith, and faith requires we relinquish control! Leap and the net will appear!! Look for synchronicity in everything we do!!

My Stars...

...for last week said: Don't try to do everything this week when you have the chance to do one thing well. Saturn warns that if you spread yourself too thinly you risk ending up doing nothing properly. You know your strengths and you know your priorities. Now decide how best to combine them. That about sums it up!!

Excuses, Excuses...

I know I said 'No Excuses' but I think I just went and burnt myself out!! The NaNoWriters challenge is over and I fell short by 30,000 words!! But I am not going to beat myself up (much) about it as I started a novel and managed to prove to myself that sitting down and writing something can be quite easy. I just need to remember not to overdo it as it can be quite exhausting!! I do intend to finish the novel and it would be nice if I could carry on as before until the end of December, but I am sure Christmas and all the things that go with it, will have something to say about that!!

I think the main areas I need to focus on at the moment are:
Forget Should and Ought. Just think 'I would like to...'
Concentrate on my self worth and not my achievement.
Express my needs. Remove distractions. Eliminate Negatives. Don't let your friends squander your time. Clear your life of things that stop you writing.
Set lower and more realistic standards.
Prioritise. Don't overload my timetable!
Take time out to exercise and relax.
Look towards the pleasure of success rather than the fear of failure.
Schedule time for writing and plan your life around this time.

And this should lead to a very Merry Christmas!!??