Pokemon addiction

WARNING – If you are a writer, do not pick up this game. EVER.

I have just wasted the best part of several hours (I won’t tell you how many – I’m too embarrassed) ‘evolving’ (I didn’t even know what that meant in relation to this game this morning) a giant bird creature for my five year old. The worst part was, I was supposed to be editing. The other worst part was, I kept telling myself I was doing it for the five year old. The next worst thing is, I know she’ll have forgotten she asked me to do it by this afternoon, won’t care that I have, and I will have done zilch editing.

Does it really matter if the giant bird creature evolves and gets his three pronged crown thingy? No. 

Readers… this has been a sad, sad day for the procrastinator I thought I’d managed to get rid of. 

Sash

Daily writing – I’ve blown my new habit already!

Like sooooo many other people, I started the year (yet another – this is getting tedious) with the New Year’s Resolution of writing everyday. This wasn’t just any old resolution though. I was on a mission. I needed to finish my draft for submission for my master’s degree. So finally, this year, (unlike any other) I did write every day. 

Then I finished. 

Then I started editing. 

And now it’s nearly February and I’ve realised that I haven’t actually ‘written’ for over a week. Yikes. Such a great habit was forming and I’ve blown it already.

Anyway, it made me realise how important it is to have other projects to contribute to outside of the novel. Because sometimes, let’s face it, you need to step away from the writing of the novel to complete the novel. You need time away from you work in order to look at it with fresh eyes. Time away from it because you’ve been writing it and re-reading it for so long that you are (dare I say it?) bored with it. 

So what, as writers,  do we do this problem? I’ve heard of writers having several novels on the go. But I think it would be the death knell for all of my novel ideas if I started trying to write multiple novels at once. Instead, (and Elle will be pleased about this) I’ve realised how important it is to keep on blogging; that I should start journaling again, and; that all writing counts, so why not use part of our creativity to come up with fresh ways to practise our craft each day. 

And having a writing partner helps too. Elle is currently taking a masterclass in scriptwriting and will no doubt come back inspired enough for both of us! 

I’m sure you’ve all got some great ideas on how to keep on writing – be brave, share your thoughts.

Sash.

those hairy, scary book proposals…

Just a quickie… I’ve just read this amazing article on writing book proposals for non-fiction writers. So if, like me, you’ve got that non-fiction manuscript bubbling away in your head (or skulking on your computer), this is a brilliant read.

I’m inspired to get cracking on my step-parenting book now! Oh, but I’ve gotta finish those last few chapters of the novel first. Which would involve me not hanging around here too long today

ciao for now

elle x

watch this space…

Sash and I had the ‘power lunch’ today… hmmm, that’s a bit 80s, dahling! Okay, we did lunch and vino and talked about what we’re going to work on this year.

After the second glass…look out world. We moved into the ‘what if’ zone. What if, this year, we really mean it? What if, this year, we really do it? What if, this year, we actually take real time, real hours to work on our dreams and see what happens?

Oh, that’s scary territory. What if we actually have a bit of fun, enjoy the process, get it done?

What if we fail? Reminds me of Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena speech:

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

I’ve had that pinned to my various walls since I was 15 and read it in a martial arts magazine (as you do). I love it.

And you’ve got to love a new year, a fresh page, and the rekindled desire to carve out a bit of time to do some dream-chasing. To fail while daring greatly…

So stay tooned. There are plans afoot. And that means you will get to hear from us more this year. Which may, or may not, be a good thing!

Tallk to you soon

Elle x