Two Years On.....

I am ashamed to say that in the last year, I have not really progressed any further with the novel that I started all those months ago. My review at one year http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2008/11/year-on.html lists all my excuses and the attached photo shows the main reason I am strapped for time. But, I really would not have it any other way. Having a baby turns you into a totally different person to the one you were before - its as if a switch gets flicked in your head and your whole being exists only to look after your little bundle of joy!! Having a baby forces you to streamline your life in a way you would not have thought possible before. You realize just how precious time actually is and the need not to waste it. When I had all the time in the world after I left work, my writing should have been proficient but it wasn’t. Now I only have a few snatched minutes of time, I find I am using my time so much better - although not necessarily for writing.

At my recent visit to Lindum Scribes Pete clarified the situation with regards to the time spent on writing and my demands as a parent. He said writing should be seen as a hobby and therefore enjoyment. If it isn’t giving you enjoyment then why are you doing it? Yes, I would love to be the next Ruth Rendell (or whoever) but at the end of the day the chance of this is very slim and so time spent on my writing needs to be pleasurable.

I am pleased to say I have maintained my baby blog http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.com/ which enables me to write about being a mother and at the same time give myself a free therapy session but I feel that if I am to begin writing again, the novel I have been looking at for the last 2 years is probably not the one that I am going to finish. I am a totally different person to the one who started this blog 2 years ago. Re-reading this blog I realise I have always set myself too many (impossible) tasks and I have always been too hard on myself when they don't get done!! I can't be sure, but perhaps this is one of the reasons that Jamie decided to appear 5 weeks early - mummy rushing around like a blue arse trying to do a million jobs before he arrived. This stems I am sure from a feeling at school of not being quite good enough....

A quote to consider: "You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not." Isabel Allende

William Safire's Rules for Writers

Thanks to www.writers.com - THE NEWSLETTER - 10/09 for reprinting William Safire's Rules for Writers following his death last month. His sense of fun pervades his famous (or infamous) "rules for writers" which we republish below.

Remember to never split an infinitive.
The passive voice should never be used.
Do not put statements in the negative form.
Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
A writer must not shift your point of view.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
Always pick on the correct idiom.
The adverb always follows the verb.
Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

Manic Mums.....

Can't say I have done much writing recently. I am pleased with myself for at least reading a few books including one of fiction; The Other Hand by Chris Cleave (very good. Read it!). Although I didn't make the actual Book Club evening for which I was reading it for I was still pleased I had read it! I have also read both Writing Magazine and Writing News this month with Mslexia waiting for me this evening. Oh yes, and to maintain my commitment to writing I have already purchased next years Mslexia diary!!

So, the mind is willing but the flesh weak. Having a baby seriously interferes with life outside your little bundle of joy!! However, I recently bought a very good book which helps to put everything into perspective and I must try to remember some of the valuable advice when I get a bit 'manic' with regards to not accomplishing everything on my 'Must Do' list. Time Management for Manic Mums by Allison Mitchell, published by Hay House (2009), has some great points for any mum struggling to cope with the demands of a baby and a house, families and husbands etc. not to mention that burning desire to see your name in print - or at least a completed manuscript - and I have summarised some of the more relevant ones below:-

• Time is precious. You have a tight budget of just 24 hours.
• Ask yourself: is this the best use of my time now?
• Unless you know what you want to do with your time, you’ll never find time to do it.
• Break down jobs into smaller chunks – start the journey…
• Reframe jobs i.e. cleaning party / space for something else / exercise!!
• Don’t put it down. Put it away.
• Remove distractions to the job in hand.
• Define the actions needed to step towards your goals.
• Look to the future – what happens if you do, what happens if you don’t?
• Focus on what you want and not on what you don’t want.
• We become what we think about.
• Focus only on what is valuable to you.
• It’s about choice and focus and priorities.
• What future is your present creating for you?
• Savour / enjoy every moment.
  

One tool against procrastination

Jurgen Wolff's August Brainstorm E-Bulletin discusses Tyler Cowen writing in Money Magazine, who offered an insight into one of the major causes of procrastination: we over-estimate the amount of control we have over our day.

So we could do that unwelcome task first thing in the morning but we say we'll do it later. However, as the day goes on there are more interruptions and more demands from others and it becomes more and more difficult to do what we've postponed - so we promise ourselves we'll do it tomorrow... but not necessarily first thing...

ACTION: Apply the micro-task method to this. Spend a minimum of five minutes on the hardest or least appealing task first thing. Often going that far makes it easier to finish right then. If not, then give it another five minutes first thing the next day.

How to write like George Orwell

In Writing Magazine (September 2009) www.writingmagazine.co.uk Tony Rossiter writes about what you can learn from one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers.

He discusses Orwell’s 6 elementary rules but under the 6th Break any of these rules rather than write anything outright barbarous, Rossiter quotes Orwell as saying ‘Good Prose is like a window-pane.’ He believed that before putting pen to paper a writer should ask himself 4 key questions:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

Today's Quote

Life is like a narrow bridge. The most important thing is not to be afraid.......

Old Rabbi’s saying referenced in Writing Magazine: September 2009 by www.meggardiner.com/

A couple of Haiku's

As I said in my last post I have written a few Haiku's in the last week. Two I will be sending of to the Writing Magazine, but here are two that didn't make the shortlist:

Newborn in the Sun.
Leaves fall and die as he cries.
Burnt by nature’s gift.


Black and white keys. Played
in a trance. We do not speak.
Thoughts echo the sound.

Joanne Borrill

August 2009