The Worst Thing You Ever Write

The worst thing you ever write is infinitely better than the best thing you never write.

Quote from Nick Ahad in Writing Magazine - July 2014

He also says; You just do it.  You wake up early, you go to be late.  You sacrifice a Saturday night, or a Sunday lie-in.  You remain motivated by lots of things - by the past rejection or by the desire that you know you have stories that need to be told.

www.nickahad.com/ 

Post Karen Maitland....

I can't believe what a lovely night it was.

Going to The Collection in Lincoln and seeing all those writers / readers made me realise what I have been missing.

The stimulation of a good book talk, the anticipation of a good novel (yet to be started) and hearing about the logistics of writing.

I loved it and I realised I missed it.

Karen Maitland at The Collection

Had a fantastic night seeing Karen at The Collection in Lincoln. Her webpage for those not familiar with her work is:   http://www.karenmaitland.co.uk/      

She talked about her new book The Ravens Head but also The Vanishing Witch; of which I bought a copy, as it is set in Lincoln.

Her plots (she says) are character driven.  Who they are, their role and their dilemmas drive the plot.

Usually after she has written the first third of the book, her characters become 'friends' and they take over!  She 'knows' the personality and how they will behave....

She said that she types straight onto the computer in order to get it down as fast as she can, as if recording what she is seeing.  She never edits the same day, but waits a day, and will only edit it once  - as opposed to perfecting each page before moving on - and then she is back into the voice / mood for the next day to start writing again.

Just got to find some time to read it....

Failed!!

Have been taking some photographs recently, but mostly of friends and family.  Today I took Jamie and his cousin to Whisby Nature Reserve http://www.naturalworldcentre.co.uk/ for a craft morning.  We arrived little early so I decided to take some photographs in the reserves itself.  Saw a lovely shot of a couple of Robins.....

But had omitted to check on my battery life before leaving the house.....

Rubbing Shoulders with Alan Davies

 

What a very funny man.  I laughed til I cried - and this was the second time I had seen him on this tour!!  xx

Deleting old work?

In Novembers edition of Writing Magazine there is an article by Lora Bishop who
discusses being 'blocked' and unlocking inspiration..... She tells of how she has thrown out old diaries and notebooks spanning 15 years as she felt they were cluttering up her emotional space.     

Then she starts on any unfinished documents on her computer.  'Deleting old work is less about freeing up memory space on my computer and more about creating mental and emotional space for myself in which to expand' she says.

She says she hopes that by scoring a resolute line through her past writing, she will move into a more creative future.

I am not sure this is the answer.  I suspect that even now she regrets not saving at least some of her old words......

Photography Workshop with Trevor Gibbs

Went on a brilliant photography workshop at the weekend at Whisby Nature Reserve www.naturalworldcentre.co.uk/ with local photographer Trevor Gibbs; who currently has his own exhibition at the Reserve entitled Abandoned Lincolnshire. 

Showcasing some of Lincolnshire’s iconic institutions from a bygone year that are in various states of dereliction.  The exhibition is running until Sunday 22nd February - Free Entry

It was really about getting us off Auto and using the Manual mode.  I have to admit to being previously scared about using the M mode and for the first half hour I struggled.  However, I think I got the hang of it and will definitely be using M in the future!!