Post from the Hideout

I'm blogging today from a secret hideout. Really, I'm at home but the family has gone away for a few days and I have pulled down the blinds and taken the phone off the hook. It's WRITING TIME! It's day two now and what have I achieved so far? Plenty on the writing front. On the non-writing front I have eaten half a mud cake (to tidy the fridge), chased chickens round the yard and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. What came of this, in order was: feeling ill, catching our mystery egg thief and writing passionate but mediocre poetry. The egg thief turned out to be a large blue-tongue, caught mid-mouthful right in the chicken's nest. It could do little but wriggle and blow furious egg-yolk nose bubbles at me as I relocated it. The movie was good.Possibly I'm a bit thick but it was one of those movies where for the first half hour you're thinking "Huh?" and then finally " Oh, right." for the middle bit and a knowing " Ahhhh." at the end. Clever movie, slightly dense viewer.
On the writing front I spent several hours listening to music for my books so I could make up an inspiring sound-track for my novels. This was really great and I came up with a dozen new parts for the stories as I went along. I sure hope I get to do the soundtrack when they make a movie out of these books!!! Doing three novels at once is like doing three large jigsaws but more fun and less frustrating. Since the stories are just a pile of notes so far I decided to blu-tac my plot onto the hallway wall to see what we had so far. This was really great as I am a very visual person. I have heard other authors draw plot lines and others plan it all out on cardboard but I found this method worked for me though I will have to relocated it to my bedroom or somewhere more private before the family return. Or perhaps sooner as my critiquing buddy is over in a few hours and though I don't mind her seeing it but it feels a bit like having your knickers out to dry. I'm not ready to show my polka dot numbers to people just yet!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggetty Jig

Well, I'm home. It's a rainy old morning out there, perfect for writing.

My beachside Christmas is a warm, sunny memory; the sand in my luggage and the sunburnt shoulder are still current! It was strange to come home to a cacophony of excited doggies and clutter after a week of basic necessities and nothing but the sound of waves breaking. It all just seemed too much, too stripey, too decorated, too chaotic. Like a fluorescent checkerboard old cardigan- comfortable but shocking to the eye. Between that experience and reading Walden, my New Year resolutions are already under way. Aside from my writing and publishing aims, they include growing more of my own food, consuming less, being more by being less, and other such vague and well meaning phrases about keeping it simple.

Aside from the general enjoyment of my holiday I had two things happen that were very exciting whilst away. One was on the first morning I headed off to the nearby beach around 6:30 to do some writing in peace. I was also looking for some particular inspiration as the beach looked stormy, though still. The only other person around was a fisherman and we were both treated to a lovely show of two dolphins slowly sweeping the bay. Apparently they are commonly seen in the area but it was the only time I saw them on my trip and was a wonderful thing to experience. The other thing was getting a text to say a book I had illustrated (self-publisher) had come back from the printers and would be there to see when I returned. And now for some show and tell (see above coz I can't get the darn thing to go here *^# stupid technology challenged #^#*! Grrr. Relaxing holiday wearing off already........

Doing a Christmas Runner

Last night I went to a BBQ and became an expert on carp fishing. It appears there are just so many things in the world I am ignorant of! Speaking of things fishy, I am off today down the coast to spend Christmas at the beach. Am I bragging? Hell yes! Taking a holiday over Christmas is something we have dreamt about for ages and I am so excited we're finally doing it. Sure, we'll miss the stress and awkward situations and feeling ill from eating too much (from not wanting to upset anyone who has cooked), but somehow we'll cope.
Of course, since I am already a selfish cow, running away from Christmas, I will have no qualms about sneaking off to write whilst I am away. This I am busting to do since my fantasy novel is taking up my head space and growing likes there's no manana. Funny thing is, my general memory is not so good but what I come up with for a story, is in 3-D, full colour and sound and impossible to forget. Remembering to buy bread and milk on the other hand seems down right impossible!
So for this post I send you seashells and dolphins and a good dose of sand for your cossie bottoms. Have a wonderful, safe and beautiful Christmas!

Can't See the Tree for the Stupid

Yesterday I amazed even myself with my own stupidity. Having written out my Christmas cards, I had just spent hours telling people (publicly committing myself!)how 2010 was going to be spent on writing. That writing was going to be my priority. I then, with barely a pause, tried to work out how I was going to fit in all these appointments with people, social and other commitments that I had. I then sat down and wondered why I felt glum! Duh! I had to backtrack and reschedule my appointments outside of my planned work hours and also look at which of them really needed to be done at all. I have to say, meeting up with friends is something I will always try to do, but I'm just going to have to make firm times with myself and be realistic. After all, I've known my friends for a while but I've yet to meet my best-seller!

Three Books in a Window

Couldn't sleep this morning. The grinder in my mind had begun to turn and little crumbles of words kept tumbling out. So I lithely sprang out of bed, almost gracefully headbutting my dresser.
I headed out to my writing desk and sat looking out at the mandarin sky. I couldn't switch the kettle on for a cuppa. This alerts the dogs outside that I am up and sends them skittering and yipping to be let in for brekky. The dog noise alerts the hens in the hen house who then want their brekky...........all in all, animal chaos and no peace for writing. Instead I scribble madly in the orange light of the small window of time that I have.
OK, I mentioned I bought three books for myself . Here they are- read them at your own risk!
One: ' Is There a Book in You?' by Alison Bavistock. Self explanitory why I bought this, but I need to say it's helping me to measure exactly how much I love writing and to understand what it takes to be successful. An excellent read.
Two: ' Howard's End is on the Landing- A Year of Reading' by Susan Hill. This book can put a happy tear in my eye for two reasons. The first is, that it is a book by an author who spends a year reading all her forgotten or unread books (which I plan to do this year) and secondly because she does it from her old English farmhouse surrounded by rolling hills and hedgehogs. And if you've ever read my profile you'll know that books and things English are on my drugs list.
Three: Walden by Thoreau . Note how I did not give his whole name or book title to impress you with my obvious and wanky prior familiarity of this book. But I say it with great affection too as I am a huge Thoreau fan. As an idealist, Walden is my kind of choccy. I only need read a few pages and it's a soothing peppermint to my mind. Ahhhhh....much better now.

I also wanted to mention I saw 'Where The Wild Things Are' yesterday. Clever and brilliant but very melancholy. Probably not for kiddiwinkles either. So a difficult audience. Very inspiring to write from afterward but I sure as heck wasn't much fun to be with. The soundtrack I adored and will buy- I could write a book from that alone- excellent stuff!

Muscles To Carry, Muscles to Write With

Yesterday I wandered happily, basket on arm, through the magical land of Kinokuniya. Some time later I struggled home under the weight of 16kg of books.
I remember when I finally hit the checkout, the cashier glanced at my laden basket and I'm sure, thought- " Damn! (Whatever that is in Japanese) I'm going to get the greedy bibliophile. RSI here I come."
Next blog I'd love to tell you about the three books that somehow happened into my basket just for me- Oopsy!

You know, I realise I talk a lot(!) about things I do. Are people wondering if I am doing any actual writing. Will my tombstone say I was a writer and then just give out this blog address? I do write but I can't really put my book writing stuff here. I do try and do daily writing about whatever just to keep my writing muscle ripped. Well, it's more just non-flabby at this stage.
OK so early yesterday I wrote after I walked the dogs, simply recalling observations eg
' The sun is rose gold. Tiny sprinkles of rain like icy talc float down onto my chilled arms.'
' Hundreds of baby acorns peep from the strong arms of an oak.'
' A bulging, battered, grimy skip looking far worse than the rubbish it contains.'
' The wind shearing softly through an emerald Liquid Amba.'
' A lawn of dandelion wilderness next to a clipped, manicured verge with nothing but an imagined neighbours frown between them.'

And there you have it. Please feel free to nominate me for the Pullitzer Prize.

Later I made written observations on the train but we shall wax no further. Apparently no writing or reading is wasted, so if I can't or don't work on my stories, I'm at least observing and recording. And I have to say, I love every bloody minute of it.

Various Nibblies

My critiquing buddy came over the other day. She gave me a large plate full of home-made Rocky Road, a lovely Christmas card and talked about the royalties we'd be getting next year after we were published. You've got to love this woman! I nearly had a sugar aneurysm after she left, but it felt good.

In breaking news, I am now the official minutes secretary of my local sub-branch of the Children's Book Council. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I hope I can do a few pictures. Also, can minutes be funny? I hope so. I am not a fan of the formal meeting. I can't ever get used to a small bunch of people sitting around seconding things. I keep thinking- "Are we for real?" Anyway, I guess I've got to give the impression of being a grown-up some of the time.

In preparation for the Year of Me Writing my Butt Off, I have hired a De-cluttering person. I was disappointed to learn she doesn't have a wand and we'll be doing it the hard way. But having been haunted by clutter for a long time, I am looking forward to the exorcism. No more being distracted by the debris that seems to gather around the edges of each room. This is going to be a freeing experience that unfortunately is not for free, but hopefully the results are priceless.
Today I am off to Kinokuniya bookstore to buy Christmas presents and meet up with a lovely friend. Hello happiness and goodbye budget!!!

Noice Voice

I've been thinking a lot about my voice recently. Not the voice that people would tell you goes on and on a bit too much, but my writers voice. Who is she? Does she also use a posh phone voice?

When I was doing a lot of art I would think about my style and wonder what the heck it was. I had lot's of different styles. Now that it's writing which I have in a headlock, I am looking for my writers voice. I thought about the things that I have written, whose quality surprised me; a piece that was pretty good and astonishingly had been written by moi. I like her. Is that my voice?

There is quite a bit of advice on the Internet on this subject but I thought I'd glean the suggestions of one Holly Lisle ( www.hollylisle.com ) who listed ten things to help find your voice. I will use literary latex and paraphrase a bit here. Ahem.........This may be a bit muffled behind the rubber mask..........

1. Read a variety of books and do it a lot.Read in and outside your usual.
2. Write all genres to give everything a whirl.
3. Try writing as different fave authors.
4. Play games- give yourself lots of fun writing exercises.
5. Challenge your preconceptions to know yourself better.
6. Dare to be Awful
7. Write your passion
8. Be controversial and write about things that shock your inner critic
9. Don't be complacent- if your stuff isn't challenging it's not happening.
10.Write through your fear- say it anyway.

I like this quote too " ....the only thing in the universe that readers cannot get anywhere but from you is...you."

Well, I'm off to find her. I hope she has better typing skills than I do!

Description Drugs

When I'm in writer mode, what I see and what I hear (and if I'm good, what I smell, feel, taste and sense) is all recordable for future use in writing. It's like hold up an all-recording microphone to the world. If I'm in a strong mood, I can try and train that emotion to come out the end of a pen. Of course some moods are better taken with the dogs for a walk around the block!
I find, for me, music is a great muse. I can't yet write and listen to music with lyrics but I can listen to music,, fill my 'cup' to brimming and then go pour it into writing. Seeing a movie is also powerful inspiration and probably why I like soundtracks- a convenient way to recapture a mood in the comfort of your own home. Cinematic take-out.
Whatever drug works for you, you're sure to get addicted and suffer all the highs and lows of being on them. It can be hard to have a regular life under the influence. You can spend a lot of your time in your own head, pen poised over paper, while your body goes through the motions of family and home life. And I don't want to be a zombie to my family. I guess you have to learn to just engage and disengage. But it is really hard when you're on those damn description drugs.

Loving That Research

Yesterday I was given a small wooden writing desk by a nice friend. Topped with a red enamel mug full of sharp new HB pencils and a few favourite pens it is now my very own writing space. I had been using our lovely old maple dining table but got sick of piling things on to the sideboard at mealtime. This created Mountains of Mess containing the odd surprise layer of a Star Wars DVD, a sock or an overdue electricity bill. Not good. So now I have my own cute little table with three drawers all for me. Small sigh of happiness.
I began today with some critiquing. This is surprisingly fun. Especially since the writer is not here to argue my changes! But it really is useful for both parties on several levels and I strongly recommend it. I also recommend Natures Cuppa organic tea. 'The tea that puts flavour in a writers masterpiece.' Sorry, bit of product placement there.
So after making lot's of fun changes to someone else's hard work, I proceeded to do research on my fantasy trilogy. This involved looking up some inspiring images of settings and character.These I cut and pasted together to make inspiration sheets which help me to to instantly get a feel for a scene or dialogue for a character. The thing is I am rather enamoured with one of my male characters who happens to look amazingly like James McAvoy. This is a handy coincidence as I was able to trawl through hundreds of images (I take my work seriously)of James McAvoy to find the ones that looked most like my character. Who would have thought research could be so much fun? I was certainly smiling through a good deal of it. Anyway after several hours I had to stop, pour a glass of cold water over my head and get on with other research that needed doing.
So the thing I learnt today, is that research is terribly important, just don't get caught up in the fun stuff and over-research an area. It may be amusing but it doesn't a book maketh. Darn it.