It's that time of year again when theatre and concert brochures are landing on the doormat as establishments send out their new programmes for the Autumn Winter season.
I used to often have a season ticket for a couple of theatres and I always enjoy seeing what's going to be on, although I don't have quite so many free evenings these days to go to a play or a concert. It's certainly difficult for us to find a time when the whole family is free to go to something unless we're on holiday.
But I know that when I do manage to see live theatre, it's usually an enjoyable and memorable performance.
If you've never been to see a play or haven't been to one for a long time, why not have a good look at the brochures you receive and make a point of booking for one? It's very likely that you'll wonder why you don't go to the theatre more often.
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Friday, 29 August 2008
Make Room for Your Creativity
Even in this so-called 'paperless' age, writers seem to collect more bits of paper than anybody - books (which take up huge amounts of space, especially if they're hardbacks), notebooks, print-outs of their own writing, notes, scraps of paper with interesting web addresses written on them, leaflets, newspapers and magazines collected for research.
The trouble is that it all very quickly accumulates and before you know it you can hardly find space to sit at your computer because of the room that all the bits of paper are taking up. And you can't easily go through and chuck out the oldest bits because they're hidden behind the newer ones. So the problem gets bigger and bigger.
The most frustrating thing is if you want to put your hands on something you've written or some notes you've kept, but you can't possibly find them in the morass of material. It means that it was a waste of time to keep the stuff in the first place.
Do you detect the note of frustration here? Do I sound as if I'm taking more than an academic interest in this subject?
Yes, as you may have gathered over the past few weeks, I have been having an almightly de-clutter and file-in. I have so much stuff that the job has taken me several weeks, time when I could have been doing other useful things like sending stories off to magazines or writing articles for Triond.
But I knew the job needed to be done and if I didn't do it now over the summer holidays, it would be a long time before I had the time to tackle it again. So I have stuck at it.
A lot of the time the situation seemed to be getting worse rather than better. I'd done quite a good job of acquiring box files and sorting out lots of my papers into them, but the trouble was that I still had nowhere to put them.
Today I started to empty some more bookshelves to clear some space for them and for a while I seemed to be surrounded by so many tottering piles that every time I turned round I was in danger of starting an avalanche.
However, some of the stuff that's going to go is now sorted out - books for the charity shop in a box, singing books for my son to try to sell at school in a nice strong carrier bag, at least one bin bag of junk in the wheelie bin. I'm getting there, gradually.
I know I have to press on for these last few days as time is running out. The first of my college staff meetings is tomorrow morning (yes, I know it's a Saturday!). Then next week I have three sessions of enrolling students for my new classes and the week after that my In-service PGCE (teaching qualification) begins, so it will be all go!
I'm determined that I start of the term with a place for everything and everything in its place. Not only will it mean that I have a better chance of finding what I need for my classes, but I will also know where all my ongoing pieces of writing are, so it will be easier to carry on with it, or tackle new pieces.
Psychologically, too, it will be much easier to work in an orderly, tidy room, and it will be better for my asthma too if I don't have so many dusty old papers around me. You will appreciate how much of a hoarder I am if I tell you that I still had photocopies of music we used for school concerts when I was at grammar school back in 1975!! There's no way I'm ever going to need those again, and you can carry sentimentality too far!
Maybe you're better than me at keeping your workspace orderly. Maybe you live in a bigger house with lots of cupboards where you can stash away all your bits and pieces. Maybe you just don't accumulate stuff the way I do.
But why not spend a few minutes thinking about whether you could make a bit more physical space for yourself to be creative? A little bit of time spent having a de-clutter could give you more mental space and energy in the long run.
The trouble is that it all very quickly accumulates and before you know it you can hardly find space to sit at your computer because of the room that all the bits of paper are taking up. And you can't easily go through and chuck out the oldest bits because they're hidden behind the newer ones. So the problem gets bigger and bigger.
The most frustrating thing is if you want to put your hands on something you've written or some notes you've kept, but you can't possibly find them in the morass of material. It means that it was a waste of time to keep the stuff in the first place.
Do you detect the note of frustration here? Do I sound as if I'm taking more than an academic interest in this subject?
Yes, as you may have gathered over the past few weeks, I have been having an almightly de-clutter and file-in. I have so much stuff that the job has taken me several weeks, time when I could have been doing other useful things like sending stories off to magazines or writing articles for Triond.
But I knew the job needed to be done and if I didn't do it now over the summer holidays, it would be a long time before I had the time to tackle it again. So I have stuck at it.
A lot of the time the situation seemed to be getting worse rather than better. I'd done quite a good job of acquiring box files and sorting out lots of my papers into them, but the trouble was that I still had nowhere to put them.
Today I started to empty some more bookshelves to clear some space for them and for a while I seemed to be surrounded by so many tottering piles that every time I turned round I was in danger of starting an avalanche.
However, some of the stuff that's going to go is now sorted out - books for the charity shop in a box, singing books for my son to try to sell at school in a nice strong carrier bag, at least one bin bag of junk in the wheelie bin. I'm getting there, gradually.
I know I have to press on for these last few days as time is running out. The first of my college staff meetings is tomorrow morning (yes, I know it's a Saturday!). Then next week I have three sessions of enrolling students for my new classes and the week after that my In-service PGCE (teaching qualification) begins, so it will be all go!
I'm determined that I start of the term with a place for everything and everything in its place. Not only will it mean that I have a better chance of finding what I need for my classes, but I will also know where all my ongoing pieces of writing are, so it will be easier to carry on with it, or tackle new pieces.
Psychologically, too, it will be much easier to work in an orderly, tidy room, and it will be better for my asthma too if I don't have so many dusty old papers around me. You will appreciate how much of a hoarder I am if I tell you that I still had photocopies of music we used for school concerts when I was at grammar school back in 1975!! There's no way I'm ever going to need those again, and you can carry sentimentality too far!
Maybe you're better than me at keeping your workspace orderly. Maybe you live in a bigger house with lots of cupboards where you can stash away all your bits and pieces. Maybe you just don't accumulate stuff the way I do.
But why not spend a few minutes thinking about whether you could make a bit more physical space for yourself to be creative? A little bit of time spent having a de-clutter could give you more mental space and energy in the long run.
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Bonus Features of the Collins English Dictionary
The dictionary I mentioned yesterday has some interesting bonus features. If you buy the dictionary, you are given a special 4-digit serial number with which you can access the online version of the dictionary and thesaurus or get downloads for your desktop.
So not only do you get a splendid and very useful dictionary, but you also get online resources with it too.
I've had great fun with the dictionary already. Yesterday, in my Writing Wizard blog, I included a word quiz based on words that can be found in the dictionary. Do log on to Bloglines to have a go at the quiz. You can find it at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/GaleBarker. It's the entry for 26th August 2008. The answers to the questions can be found in the entry for 27th August 2008.
So not only do you get a splendid and very useful dictionary, but you also get online resources with it too.
I've had great fun with the dictionary already. Yesterday, in my Writing Wizard blog, I included a word quiz based on words that can be found in the dictionary. Do log on to Bloglines to have a go at the quiz. You can find it at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/GaleBarker. It's the entry for 26th August 2008. The answers to the questions can be found in the entry for 27th August 2008.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Get to Love Words - Buy a Dictionary
Do you remember a few months ago I wrote about how I'd bought a fantastic huge Thesaurus in a sale at a bargain price? Well, today I bought the dictionary to go with it. It's called Collins English Dictionary and it was on sale in WH Smith for £6.25, which is fantastic value as the original recommended price was £25. That makes a saving of 75%.
There are 1040 pages of definitions plus a further 47 pages of other information - everything from British and Canadian Prime Ministers to Member States of the EU and even several pages about music. I love it! I could sit and read it all day!
It reminds me of the time when I got my first school dictionary back in the 1960s. My primary school class had learned to read sufficiently well to be issued with a dictionary as well as a reading book.
What we were given was an etymological dictionary - one which gives the sources from which the words were derived. I loved reading about these, especially the Latin and Greek words and I was delighted when I was eventually able to learn these languages for myself.
Meanwhile, at the tender age of 6 or 7, I'd read the dictionary every night the way other kids read comics - two or three entire pages at a time! I was fascinated by all these marvellous words, and I still am to this day.
Here are some of the words I've enjoyed reading about today. Perhaps you'd like to look them up in your own dictionary or in one of the online dictionaries you can find on the internet.
mojo - zucchetto - Chiltern Hundreds - percipient - sloop - lubricious - raddled
There are 1040 pages of definitions plus a further 47 pages of other information - everything from British and Canadian Prime Ministers to Member States of the EU and even several pages about music. I love it! I could sit and read it all day!
It reminds me of the time when I got my first school dictionary back in the 1960s. My primary school class had learned to read sufficiently well to be issued with a dictionary as well as a reading book.
What we were given was an etymological dictionary - one which gives the sources from which the words were derived. I loved reading about these, especially the Latin and Greek words and I was delighted when I was eventually able to learn these languages for myself.
Meanwhile, at the tender age of 6 or 7, I'd read the dictionary every night the way other kids read comics - two or three entire pages at a time! I was fascinated by all these marvellous words, and I still am to this day.
Here are some of the words I've enjoyed reading about today. Perhaps you'd like to look them up in your own dictionary or in one of the online dictionaries you can find on the internet.
mojo - zucchetto - Chiltern Hundreds - percipient - sloop - lubricious - raddled
Monday, 25 August 2008
Creativity in Action
This weekend, I've been at some concerts at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. They're part of Chetham's International Summer School and Festival for Pianists. It's a fantastic event which attracts pianists from all over the world and the daily recitals are given by top-class concert pianists such as Peter Donohoe.
Last night, I happened to be sitting next to the Festival's artist-in-residence, Brian Dunce, who was sketching the pianists as they played. It was fascinating to be able to watch a professional artist at work, and I felt it gave me a different insight into the creative process.
Non-artists like myself would be tempted to go for what we consider to be the essential details: the shape of the head, the nose, eyes (almond shaped, of course!), mouth, teeth, the way a child does when drawing a person.
But the professional artist starts with something that is quite amorphous and gradually refines it, altering the contours, marking in the eye sockets, taking into account the bone structure. He examines his subject to see how the various parts are proportioned. Slowly, bit-by-bit, the portrait takes shape.
Another thing that interested me is that the artist experiments. He makes sketches of the face, the body, the pianist's hands on the keyboard. He jots down notes for himself of little details he wants to remember, like the colour of the person's tie, or the way the pianist holds his hands. Sometimes, he will sketch the same thing several times, trying each time to get closer to the essence of his subject.
Then he goes away and reflects on what he has done, and works on a painting which he bases on all of his drawings. It is as if he has been exploring the person he is going to paint, getting to know them, working out how best he can represent him. When he's at the sketching stage, nothing is fixed - it's all trial and error. He's going to have a go and see if something works, but he won't be too upset if it doesn't.
That seems to me to be something that we writers could incorporate into our creative process. Give ourselves time and space to experiment, to try things out. Don't feel we have to jump in at page one of our grand novel and keep writing till we get to the end. Get the feel of what we are writing about.
Let ourselves gradually get to know our characters, explore our settings and the emotions we want to convey, try things out till we discover what will work for us in this particular creation. Eventually, like the artist, we will put it all together and end up with a finished piece of work.
Last night, I happened to be sitting next to the Festival's artist-in-residence, Brian Dunce, who was sketching the pianists as they played. It was fascinating to be able to watch a professional artist at work, and I felt it gave me a different insight into the creative process.
Non-artists like myself would be tempted to go for what we consider to be the essential details: the shape of the head, the nose, eyes (almond shaped, of course!), mouth, teeth, the way a child does when drawing a person.
But the professional artist starts with something that is quite amorphous and gradually refines it, altering the contours, marking in the eye sockets, taking into account the bone structure. He examines his subject to see how the various parts are proportioned. Slowly, bit-by-bit, the portrait takes shape.
Another thing that interested me is that the artist experiments. He makes sketches of the face, the body, the pianist's hands on the keyboard. He jots down notes for himself of little details he wants to remember, like the colour of the person's tie, or the way the pianist holds his hands. Sometimes, he will sketch the same thing several times, trying each time to get closer to the essence of his subject.
Then he goes away and reflects on what he has done, and works on a painting which he bases on all of his drawings. It is as if he has been exploring the person he is going to paint, getting to know them, working out how best he can represent him. When he's at the sketching stage, nothing is fixed - it's all trial and error. He's going to have a go and see if something works, but he won't be too upset if it doesn't.
That seems to me to be something that we writers could incorporate into our creative process. Give ourselves time and space to experiment, to try things out. Don't feel we have to jump in at page one of our grand novel and keep writing till we get to the end. Get the feel of what we are writing about.
Let ourselves gradually get to know our characters, explore our settings and the emotions we want to convey, try things out till we discover what will work for us in this particular creation. Eventually, like the artist, we will put it all together and end up with a finished piece of work.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Write to Music
Some people like to have something playing in the background all the time when they are working, writing, or studying - the TV, radio, music. I prefer silence, as a rule, as I am so fond of music that if it were playing, I would be tempted to stop what I'm doing and concentrate on what I'm hearing instead.
But music can play an important part in your writing routine by helping you to relax, by putting you into an inspired, creative frame of mind, or by getting you into a particular mood.
Why not try writing to music this week? Put on a different type of music each day you sit down to write and see what effect it has on your creativity. Don't forget to make a note of what you listened to and how it affected your writing. Does it make any difference whether you are listening to the music through headphones?
Here are some suggestions to get you going:
But music can play an important part in your writing routine by helping you to relax, by putting you into an inspired, creative frame of mind, or by getting you into a particular mood.
Why not try writing to music this week? Put on a different type of music each day you sit down to write and see what effect it has on your creativity. Don't forget to make a note of what you listened to and how it affected your writing. Does it make any difference whether you are listening to the music through headphones?
Here are some suggestions to get you going:
- Beethoven's Eroica Symphony
- Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto (especially the end section which is less familiar to most people)
- The Magic Flute by Mozart
- The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky
- Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet
- Anything by Abba
- Traditional or folk music, such as Scottish country dancing music, Irish jigs
- New Age ambient music
- Brass band marches
- Gregorian chant
If you find a piece of music that particularly affects your writing or which you enjoy writing to, write a comment at the foot of this blog and share it with me and my readers.
Happy listening!
Saturday, 23 August 2008
'To Boldly Go...'
There are times when only a split infinitive will do. 'Boldly to go' doesn't have the same ring to it; neither does 'To go boldly'. But 'To boldly go...!' Now you're talking!
There's no place in writing for timidity. Writing is where you take risks, try things out. If something doesn't work, it doesn't really matter. No one ever died from bad writing!
You can always edit what you've written afterwards if you really think you went too far, pull yourself back in. But if you don't take the risk in the first place to breathe life and fire into your writing, it will be much harder to put right.
Timid writing is bland. Timid writing does nothing for the reader. Timid writing does nothing for you either, because inside of you is a powerful man or woman with fantastic ideas that are bursting to get out, if only you'd stop sucking in your stomach, crossing your legs, and trying to keep them all safely inside.
Give yourself a break. Be a free spirit for once. Let your imagination, your pen, your computer keyboard take you to voyage in unexplored realms, to feel powerful emotions. Set off on your journey with nothing like Dick Whittington with your imaginary bundle on your back and hope in your heart, and see whether the streets of the imagination really are paved with gold.
There's a whole big world out there.... inside of you... waiting for you to explore it. Go boldly, my friend!
There's no place in writing for timidity. Writing is where you take risks, try things out. If something doesn't work, it doesn't really matter. No one ever died from bad writing!
You can always edit what you've written afterwards if you really think you went too far, pull yourself back in. But if you don't take the risk in the first place to breathe life and fire into your writing, it will be much harder to put right.
Timid writing is bland. Timid writing does nothing for the reader. Timid writing does nothing for you either, because inside of you is a powerful man or woman with fantastic ideas that are bursting to get out, if only you'd stop sucking in your stomach, crossing your legs, and trying to keep them all safely inside.
Give yourself a break. Be a free spirit for once. Let your imagination, your pen, your computer keyboard take you to voyage in unexplored realms, to feel powerful emotions. Set off on your journey with nothing like Dick Whittington with your imaginary bundle on your back and hope in your heart, and see whether the streets of the imagination really are paved with gold.
There's a whole big world out there.... inside of you... waiting for you to explore it. Go boldly, my friend!
Friday, 22 August 2008
Clearing a Path to Be Creative
You know how there are some days when you feel as if you are surrounded by muddle and chaos but you just can't summon up the strength to do anything about it and other days when you set to and get on with sorting it all out.
Today was one of the days I felt like sorting it all out. I felt I'd been given some bonus hours as I was meant to be going swimming with my son, but he didn't feel well enough to go. By that time, I'd made an excellent start of clearing out my In Tray and Pending Tray which had both been full to overflowing for months. In fact, I found some useful things in there which I didn't know I had.
I was delighted to see empty space there for a change, and now that I've bought several more box files, I actually have somewhere to put the things I need to keep.
I also managed to deal with most of our shredding mountain, another job that nobody seemed to want to tackle. Heartened by these two small victories, I feel better able to get back to sorting out my study, which has been my big holiday task. I'm starting to identify things I can get rid of to make way for the things I really do need to keep and want to keep.
All this might sound like a purely physical pursuit, but I happened to be listening to a CD by Sonia Choquette today which talked about the need to get rid of what you don't need or love or find beautiful to make way for all the new things that are going to come into your life, whether they be relationships or job opportunities or objects. Clearing out is also a spiritual activity and one that relates to our creativity.
We sometimes talk about being 'stifled'. We can be stifled creatively if we don't leave ourselves they physical and mental space in our lives to exercise our imagination and our creativity. Cramming every moment of our lives with work and activities, leaving no space or silence to listen to our inner voices stifles our self-expression. How can we express ourselves if we haven't ever listened to what it is we need to express?
So I am happy to persevere with my mission to clear a pathway to be creative. Perhaps you could take a step towards this too, whether it's deleting hundreds of e-mails from your in-box, getting rid of some old newspapers, or forging ten minutes to sit and be silent with your thoughts.
Today was one of the days I felt like sorting it all out. I felt I'd been given some bonus hours as I was meant to be going swimming with my son, but he didn't feel well enough to go. By that time, I'd made an excellent start of clearing out my In Tray and Pending Tray which had both been full to overflowing for months. In fact, I found some useful things in there which I didn't know I had.
I was delighted to see empty space there for a change, and now that I've bought several more box files, I actually have somewhere to put the things I need to keep.
I also managed to deal with most of our shredding mountain, another job that nobody seemed to want to tackle. Heartened by these two small victories, I feel better able to get back to sorting out my study, which has been my big holiday task. I'm starting to identify things I can get rid of to make way for the things I really do need to keep and want to keep.
All this might sound like a purely physical pursuit, but I happened to be listening to a CD by Sonia Choquette today which talked about the need to get rid of what you don't need or love or find beautiful to make way for all the new things that are going to come into your life, whether they be relationships or job opportunities or objects. Clearing out is also a spiritual activity and one that relates to our creativity.
We sometimes talk about being 'stifled'. We can be stifled creatively if we don't leave ourselves they physical and mental space in our lives to exercise our imagination and our creativity. Cramming every moment of our lives with work and activities, leaving no space or silence to listen to our inner voices stifles our self-expression. How can we express ourselves if we haven't ever listened to what it is we need to express?
So I am happy to persevere with my mission to clear a pathway to be creative. Perhaps you could take a step towards this too, whether it's deleting hundreds of e-mails from your in-box, getting rid of some old newspapers, or forging ten minutes to sit and be silent with your thoughts.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Summer Writing - Go with the Flow
Summer Down Time
One of the nice things about summer, even when the weather is atrocious as it has been this year, is that for most of us the pace slows down. Students and teachers are on holiday and lots of people find their work changes pace because so many of the people they normally interact with are away on holiday.
Since I got back from my holidays, I've been feeling quite chilled out and laid back. I'd done most of the things on my To Do list before I went away, so there isn't anything really urgent that will make me feel guilty if I don't rush and get it done. It will be another couple of weeks before things start to hot up again.
So how am I reacting to not being under pressure? Normally I enjoy having a deadline and really put a spurt on, but this week I'm enjoying going with the flow. There are things I could be writing or sending out, there is more de-cluttering I could be doing, but there's no rush.
Time to Be Creative
One of the things I've enjoyed is the chance to use my creativity in a slightly different way. I've always enjoyed words, languages, writing, but never really been one for craft work or art. But since I began having Reiki treatments, I've become a lot more passionate about colour and a lot more interested in using it. So I've been using my hands and being creative.
Making My Wish Box
The first thing I turned my hand to was a Wish Box of my own. It was something I'd read about in a sprirituality/self-help book. The idea is that you get a box, decorate it, and fill it with lots of things that express what you wish for yourself in the future.
I'd been collecting bits and pieces for it since last Autumn, but they'd been sitting in a big carrier bag in my study doing nothing for months. But this month I finally got round to doing something with them.
I took an ordinary brown box and used coloured card and paper to cover most of it, then embellished it with lots of paper stickers and epoxy stickers, the sort you can buy for making greetings cards or scrapbooks. I decided to make the outside of my box express my wishes too, so I used stickers of things I want in my life such as cats, musical instruments, butterflies, musical notes and even words such as 'Reiki' and 'salsa'.
Once the outside of the box was as I wanted it, I set about filling the box with all sorts of things that had meaning for me, like a little dancing shoe to show that I want to keep on dancing, angel Christmas tree ornaments to symbolise spirituality, and special cards I'd received that show how much I'm appreciated. I even added rose and lavender scented pot pourri to enhance the overall effect and little silver cut-out angels, stars, and hearts.
It will be interesting to open the box in ten or twenty years time and see how many of my wishes have come to fulfilment. Meanwhile, I have it sitting in my study and I can look at it every so often and remember all the special things and people I have in my life and all the things I still want to accomplish and experience.
Creating Boxes for my Instant Writing Exercises
Having done that, I decided to decorate some other cardboard boxes so that I can use them with my students for instant writing exercises. If you've been following my blogs for some time, you may remember me writing about my Box of Delights, a lovely brown suede box which I filled with lots of objects for an instant writing exercise then tied up with a big shocking pink bow.
I thought that there are lots of other prompts I would like to use for writing exercises this coming year, and it would be fun to make colourful, inspirational boxes to put them in, so I've decorated boxes of various sizes with paper and stickers, so that the containers will be a source of inspiration as well as the contents.
I know I could have used the boxes as they are, but what fun is there in a Nike trainers box? I'd much rather look at my decorated version. The task has tested my ingenuity too, as I've had to work out ways to cover up the labels and the Nike symbols. I've certainly enjoyed the exercise and I hope my students will find the boxes fun too, and they will give them even more pleasure when I produce them for instant writing exercises, filled with all sorts of stimulating things - objects, pictures, cards...
Find Your Own Way to Be Creative
If you've got a bit more time on your hands than usual, maybe you could try being creative in a way that's new to you and see what effect it has on you. You've nothing to lose, and you may surprise yourself by how much you enjoy a new activity. Your new-found creative imagination will provide a boost for your writing as well, when you eventually return to it.
So go on! Be creative! And have fun!
One of the nice things about summer, even when the weather is atrocious as it has been this year, is that for most of us the pace slows down. Students and teachers are on holiday and lots of people find their work changes pace because so many of the people they normally interact with are away on holiday.
Since I got back from my holidays, I've been feeling quite chilled out and laid back. I'd done most of the things on my To Do list before I went away, so there isn't anything really urgent that will make me feel guilty if I don't rush and get it done. It will be another couple of weeks before things start to hot up again.
So how am I reacting to not being under pressure? Normally I enjoy having a deadline and really put a spurt on, but this week I'm enjoying going with the flow. There are things I could be writing or sending out, there is more de-cluttering I could be doing, but there's no rush.
Time to Be Creative
One of the things I've enjoyed is the chance to use my creativity in a slightly different way. I've always enjoyed words, languages, writing, but never really been one for craft work or art. But since I began having Reiki treatments, I've become a lot more passionate about colour and a lot more interested in using it. So I've been using my hands and being creative.
Making My Wish Box
The first thing I turned my hand to was a Wish Box of my own. It was something I'd read about in a sprirituality/self-help book. The idea is that you get a box, decorate it, and fill it with lots of things that express what you wish for yourself in the future.
I'd been collecting bits and pieces for it since last Autumn, but they'd been sitting in a big carrier bag in my study doing nothing for months. But this month I finally got round to doing something with them.
I took an ordinary brown box and used coloured card and paper to cover most of it, then embellished it with lots of paper stickers and epoxy stickers, the sort you can buy for making greetings cards or scrapbooks. I decided to make the outside of my box express my wishes too, so I used stickers of things I want in my life such as cats, musical instruments, butterflies, musical notes and even words such as 'Reiki' and 'salsa'.
Once the outside of the box was as I wanted it, I set about filling the box with all sorts of things that had meaning for me, like a little dancing shoe to show that I want to keep on dancing, angel Christmas tree ornaments to symbolise spirituality, and special cards I'd received that show how much I'm appreciated. I even added rose and lavender scented pot pourri to enhance the overall effect and little silver cut-out angels, stars, and hearts.
It will be interesting to open the box in ten or twenty years time and see how many of my wishes have come to fulfilment. Meanwhile, I have it sitting in my study and I can look at it every so often and remember all the special things and people I have in my life and all the things I still want to accomplish and experience.
Creating Boxes for my Instant Writing Exercises
Having done that, I decided to decorate some other cardboard boxes so that I can use them with my students for instant writing exercises. If you've been following my blogs for some time, you may remember me writing about my Box of Delights, a lovely brown suede box which I filled with lots of objects for an instant writing exercise then tied up with a big shocking pink bow.
I thought that there are lots of other prompts I would like to use for writing exercises this coming year, and it would be fun to make colourful, inspirational boxes to put them in, so I've decorated boxes of various sizes with paper and stickers, so that the containers will be a source of inspiration as well as the contents.
I know I could have used the boxes as they are, but what fun is there in a Nike trainers box? I'd much rather look at my decorated version. The task has tested my ingenuity too, as I've had to work out ways to cover up the labels and the Nike symbols. I've certainly enjoyed the exercise and I hope my students will find the boxes fun too, and they will give them even more pleasure when I produce them for instant writing exercises, filled with all sorts of stimulating things - objects, pictures, cards...
Find Your Own Way to Be Creative
If you've got a bit more time on your hands than usual, maybe you could try being creative in a way that's new to you and see what effect it has on you. You've nothing to lose, and you may surprise yourself by how much you enjoy a new activity. Your new-found creative imagination will provide a boost for your writing as well, when you eventually return to it.
So go on! Be creative! And have fun!
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
An Inspirational Non-Fiction Classic - The Monk who Sold his Ferrari
I love books with intriguing titles and this one certainly has one - The Monk who Sold his Ferrari. It's by Robin S. Sharma and it's subtitled 'A Spiritual Fable about Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny'.
It's ideal reading for anyone who feels oppressed by the relentless demands of the rat race but hasn't yet figured out how they can stop being a rat. It tells the tale of a hard-nosed, driven trial lawyer who has a health crisis and goes off to find himself and recreate his life by studying the traditions of the East.
It's a fascinating, thought-provoking, and inspiring book, which packs a lot of wisdom into a charming and captivating story. If you feel jaded with life and resent the fact that it is passing you by, this is definitely the book you need to read to set yourself on a more positive track.
Even if you don't have a Ferrari to sell, it will help you to identify what is really important in your life and how you can work out a balance for yourself which will help you find enlightenment, health and true satisfaction.
It's ideal reading for anyone who feels oppressed by the relentless demands of the rat race but hasn't yet figured out how they can stop being a rat. It tells the tale of a hard-nosed, driven trial lawyer who has a health crisis and goes off to find himself and recreate his life by studying the traditions of the East.
It's a fascinating, thought-provoking, and inspiring book, which packs a lot of wisdom into a charming and captivating story. If you feel jaded with life and resent the fact that it is passing you by, this is definitely the book you need to read to set yourself on a more positive track.
Even if you don't have a Ferrari to sell, it will help you to identify what is really important in your life and how you can work out a balance for yourself which will help you find enlightenment, health and true satisfaction.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
The Boleyn Inheritance
You might remember that I wrote a couple of months ago about how I'd been reading Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl for our Writers' Novel Reading Group and how I'd really enjoyed it, even though I didn't expect to.
I took advantage of some down time on holiday to read the sequel to it, The Boleyn Inheritance, which continues the story of Henry VIII and his wives after the death of wife number three, Jane Seymour. It's told from the point of view of three characters. One of them, Jane Boleyn, appears in The Other Boleyn Girl, as she is the unappealing wife of George Boleyn and the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn. The other two are new to us - Anne of Cleves and Katharine Howard.
It's very interesting to see how the author switches viewpoint between the three and how our views of them and our sympathies change as the story progresses. Our attitude to Henry VIII also alters throughout the book - although for anyone who has read The Boleyn Inheritance, we don't start off with a very good opinion of him in the first place.
I found this book gripping and managed to read it very quickly. I think I probably enjoyed it all the more for having read about the events that happened before it. It would be interesting to hear how it would come across to someone who begins with The Boleyn Inheritance instead of The Other Boleyn Girl.
Reading both books has certainly given me a totally different understanding of the history of Henry VIII. I think I can probably even manage to name the queens in order now, as well as identify what happened to each of them. In fact, my knowledge of English history has increased incredibly quickly, a very useful by-product of a couple of very entertaining and absorbing reads.
I took advantage of some down time on holiday to read the sequel to it, The Boleyn Inheritance, which continues the story of Henry VIII and his wives after the death of wife number three, Jane Seymour. It's told from the point of view of three characters. One of them, Jane Boleyn, appears in The Other Boleyn Girl, as she is the unappealing wife of George Boleyn and the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn. The other two are new to us - Anne of Cleves and Katharine Howard.
It's very interesting to see how the author switches viewpoint between the three and how our views of them and our sympathies change as the story progresses. Our attitude to Henry VIII also alters throughout the book - although for anyone who has read The Boleyn Inheritance, we don't start off with a very good opinion of him in the first place.
I found this book gripping and managed to read it very quickly. I think I probably enjoyed it all the more for having read about the events that happened before it. It would be interesting to hear how it would come across to someone who begins with The Boleyn Inheritance instead of The Other Boleyn Girl.
Reading both books has certainly given me a totally different understanding of the history of Henry VIII. I think I can probably even manage to name the queens in order now, as well as identify what happened to each of them. In fact, my knowledge of English history has increased incredibly quickly, a very useful by-product of a couple of very entertaining and absorbing reads.
Friday, 8 August 2008
A Pause for Thought
Remember what I said yesterday about how you sometimes need a break? Well, I'm taking a few days off to relax with the family and gather my strength for the coming term.
I'm looking forward to getting on with some more writing when I get back - I have lots of ideas for articles - but I'm very relieved to be escaping the grand de-clutter for a few days!
I've made a lot of progress, but there's still quite a lot to do and I'm getting to the stage where I'm started to lose things that I had right under my nose a couple of days ago. I think that means I need a break. I need to say 'Stop! Breathe! Rest! Clear your head!'
If you're short of things to read, you could log on to Triond.com and call up my Profile page which will link you to lots of other pieces that I've written. Of course, there is quite a sizeable back catalogue on Blogger too, so do read some pieces I wrote earlier, if you haven't already done so.
Normal blogging service will be resumed on Monday 18th August. Till then, goodbye and take care...
Gale
I'm looking forward to getting on with some more writing when I get back - I have lots of ideas for articles - but I'm very relieved to be escaping the grand de-clutter for a few days!
I've made a lot of progress, but there's still quite a lot to do and I'm getting to the stage where I'm started to lose things that I had right under my nose a couple of days ago. I think that means I need a break. I need to say 'Stop! Breathe! Rest! Clear your head!'
If you're short of things to read, you could log on to Triond.com and call up my Profile page which will link you to lots of other pieces that I've written. Of course, there is quite a sizeable back catalogue on Blogger too, so do read some pieces I wrote earlier, if you haven't already done so.
Normal blogging service will be resumed on Monday 18th August. Till then, goodbye and take care...
Gale
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Do You Need a Rest from Your Writing?
It's something that often happens when we've been working intensively on a project or struggling to meet a dealine - once the pressure's off, we slump, our brain seems to close down, and we feel as if we're incapable of doing anything. How can we manage to write books, create poems, finish a thesis ever again? Even the thought of it makes us feel exhausted.
The truth is that sometimes we just deplete our energy reserves and we need to have a rest and build them up again before we attempt anything else. This applies especially if we've been involved in a creative endeavour in which we have been digging deep and giving of ourselves, not just going through the motions of showing up at work every day and putting in a set number of hours.
So what are we to do if we find ourselves in that position, feeling we ought to be writing, but not having the physical, emotional and mental energy to do it? Listen to our bodies, give ourselves time and space to recover. Do something undemanding, reduce the amount of stimulation we are exposed to or do something which is a complete change.
Today I watched a one-off drama I'd recorded some months ago called The Good Samaritan. It was light-hearted, entertaining, undemanding, and very, very funny. It was just what I needed after a hard week of de-cluttering and filing papers.
You might like to go for a walk or a swim or do some yoga. Go and visit some friends you haven't seen for a while. Do something with your hands, like making cards or jewellery. Anything to help your body and mind make the shift from the high octane gear that you've been operating in to a more gentle, restorative frame of mind.
So if you feel you need it, have a rest - you'll be glad you did.
The truth is that sometimes we just deplete our energy reserves and we need to have a rest and build them up again before we attempt anything else. This applies especially if we've been involved in a creative endeavour in which we have been digging deep and giving of ourselves, not just going through the motions of showing up at work every day and putting in a set number of hours.
So what are we to do if we find ourselves in that position, feeling we ought to be writing, but not having the physical, emotional and mental energy to do it? Listen to our bodies, give ourselves time and space to recover. Do something undemanding, reduce the amount of stimulation we are exposed to or do something which is a complete change.
Today I watched a one-off drama I'd recorded some months ago called The Good Samaritan. It was light-hearted, entertaining, undemanding, and very, very funny. It was just what I needed after a hard week of de-cluttering and filing papers.
You might like to go for a walk or a swim or do some yoga. Go and visit some friends you haven't seen for a while. Do something with your hands, like making cards or jewellery. Anything to help your body and mind make the shift from the high octane gear that you've been operating in to a more gentle, restorative frame of mind.
So if you feel you need it, have a rest - you'll be glad you did.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Develop as a Writer - Become Curious
I mentioned yesterday that it's good to be curious when you meet people and helpful to ask them about their work. But actually, it's good for writers to be curious about all sorts of things. That's surely one of the defining attributes of a writer, curiosity, nosiness, a desire to know about things and find out about how people think.
You can be curious in any situation at any time. Take, for instance, a simple walk round the streets where you live. There are all sorts of things to notice and observe, from the flowers in the gardens to ladybirds on leaves, people's various sort of cars, alterations or extensions they have made to their houses, their style of furnishing, whether their houses and gardens are well cared for.
Observe and ask yourself why things are so. For example, if you are on a street of beautiful gardens and there is one house which looks really out of place because the paintwork is scruffy and the garden is overgrown, ask yourself why it might be. Who lives in a house like that?
Could it be someone who is elderly, no longer up to the physical tasks required in looking after a home? Could it be someone who has had to leave the country in a hurry and hasn't been able to sell their house? Could it be a young single parent struggling to look after sickly, premature triplets?
When you finish your walk, make notes about what you have seen and what thoughts you have had. Keep them in a safe place as a resource to inspire your writing.
You can be curious in any situation at any time. Take, for instance, a simple walk round the streets where you live. There are all sorts of things to notice and observe, from the flowers in the gardens to ladybirds on leaves, people's various sort of cars, alterations or extensions they have made to their houses, their style of furnishing, whether their houses and gardens are well cared for.
Observe and ask yourself why things are so. For example, if you are on a street of beautiful gardens and there is one house which looks really out of place because the paintwork is scruffy and the garden is overgrown, ask yourself why it might be. Who lives in a house like that?
Could it be someone who is elderly, no longer up to the physical tasks required in looking after a home? Could it be someone who has had to leave the country in a hurry and hasn't been able to sell their house? Could it be a young single parent struggling to look after sickly, premature triplets?
When you finish your walk, make notes about what you have seen and what thoughts you have had. Keep them in a safe place as a resource to inspire your writing.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Give Your Characters an Interesting Job
As well as providing a locale for your characters and a suitable name, another thing you can do to add interest and depth to your writing is to provide them with a suitable occupation. It's all too easy to plump for obvious jobs for your characters - doctor, nurse, teacher, waitress. But there are many other jobs you could choose for them which have not been so overused in fiction.
How about a nail technician? A pharmacist? A dog handler? A court stenographer? A website designer? A graphic designer? A surveyor? Remember, you can always give your character a job that's unusual for their gender too to make them even more intriguing. What's to stop your surveyor from being female or your nail technician from being male?
There are lots of websites you can look on which advertise job vacancies. You could look in the appointments pages of your local newspaper to find some more. Or spend an hour or so browsing round the offices of a careers adviser - you'll find enough jobs to last your characters years! You'll also pick up some real life facts which will make them seem more realistic too.
Another thing you can do is be curious about people that you meet. If you get chatting to someone on a bus or at a party, ask them what they do, and if it's a job you don't know much about, ask them questions about it. People love to talk about themselves. Make notes afterwards about what you've found out, and perhaps get their contact details.
Or you can seek out people and ask for their expertise. I was once doing some research about how dentists train and what it's like to be a dentist, and my own dental surgeon gave up his lunch hour to chat with me. He gave me some marvellous anecdotes that I'd never have thought up myself. I also rang someone at one of the university dental hospitals, which resulted in a very interesting visit to the department - more interesting things to spot - and he even rang back the following week with lots more information for me.
These days it's even easier with e-mail. It's a cheap way of communicating experts and if someone doesn't want to answer questions, he can ignore your request without you having to suffer the embarrassment of being knocked back on the phone.
So why not give it a go? Find your characters an interesting job. It will make your job as a writer that bit more rewarding too.
How about a nail technician? A pharmacist? A dog handler? A court stenographer? A website designer? A graphic designer? A surveyor? Remember, you can always give your character a job that's unusual for their gender too to make them even more intriguing. What's to stop your surveyor from being female or your nail technician from being male?
There are lots of websites you can look on which advertise job vacancies. You could look in the appointments pages of your local newspaper to find some more. Or spend an hour or so browsing round the offices of a careers adviser - you'll find enough jobs to last your characters years! You'll also pick up some real life facts which will make them seem more realistic too.
Another thing you can do is be curious about people that you meet. If you get chatting to someone on a bus or at a party, ask them what they do, and if it's a job you don't know much about, ask them questions about it. People love to talk about themselves. Make notes afterwards about what you've found out, and perhaps get their contact details.
Or you can seek out people and ask for their expertise. I was once doing some research about how dentists train and what it's like to be a dentist, and my own dental surgeon gave up his lunch hour to chat with me. He gave me some marvellous anecdotes that I'd never have thought up myself. I also rang someone at one of the university dental hospitals, which resulted in a very interesting visit to the department - more interesting things to spot - and he even rang back the following week with lots more information for me.
These days it's even easier with e-mail. It's a cheap way of communicating experts and if someone doesn't want to answer questions, he can ignore your request without you having to suffer the embarrassment of being knocked back on the phone.
So why not give it a go? Find your characters an interesting job. It will make your job as a writer that bit more rewarding too.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Finding a Place for Your Characters
I talked in an earlier blog about how you can find names for your characters by using internet baby name sites, random name generators, and telephone directories. But this week one of my students said she has trouble finding place names for her stories and asked if I had any advice about how to go about this. So here goes...
The most obvious sources of place names are an atlas, a guide book, or an internet site which deals with geography. But the range of places available is vast, so it might be useful to find some ways to narrow it down. Here are some questions you could ask yourself:
The most obvious sources of place names are an atlas, a guide book, or an internet site which deals with geography. But the range of places available is vast, so it might be useful to find some ways to narrow it down. Here are some questions you could ask yourself:
- Is my story set in a rural area, in a large city or in a medium-sized town?
- What sort of landscape do I envisage for the story? Is it lush? Tropical? Arid desert? Heavily built-up and industrialised?
- Is a sense of tradition going to be important for my characters? If so, what sort of place would have the traditions that will affect them?
- What sort of character traits will my main character(s) have? Are they traits that are particularly associated with certain nationalities?
If you still feel stuck, you could try the old trick of opening the atlas at a suitable country or continent and sticking a pin in it.
Sometimes there is something in your character's description that leads you to give them a certain home town. In a play I was writing with my partner, Kimm, we had a character who wasn't interesting enough, a young woman who had fallen into prostitution in London. Kimm wanted her to come from a middle-class family and to make peace with her parents at the end, but I was against this.
It seemed we had come to an impasse, but the solution came very unexpectedly when I was at a writers' workshop one evening. The task we were given was to list some items a character would have in his or her bag or pockets and then work out what that told us about their character.
A couple of items gave us a new insight into our character and led us to give her a completely new identity, name, and place of origin, and also added a totally new dimension to the drama. The items were a brightly coloured embroidered belt and a pair of sandals (even though the play was set on a snowy Christmas Day in London).
From those two clues, our character became an educated girl from an Eastern European country who found herself working as a prostitute in London because she had been tricked into going there to find a new life by some human traffickers.
To find a town and a name for the girl we did some research on the internet into the phenomenon of human trafficking, found out where lots of girls in that position came from, then researched to find a country which was in the European Community as we wanted her to have the chance to make a new life in Britain once the play was resolved.
So if you're feeling stuck in a rut with your characters, try doing some little exercises or playing some games to discover more about them, then do some research to give them an appropriate identity. If all else fails, try conversing with them. Ask them who they are and what their life is like where they come from. You'll be surprised at what you might discover!
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Write Your Future Life Story
I was de-cluttering my study this afternoon and came across some papers from more than a decade ago. They were from some discussions and tests I'd had with a university careers counsellor about what would be a good career for me when I went back to work after spending time with my baby son.
The careers service did the usual sort of thing - analyse your strengths your preferences and your qualifications, and then come up with some suggestions to suit you. It was very interesting looking back to see whether I had changed, whether my hopes and ambitions had altered, and whether I still wanted the same thing now as I did then.
To cut a long story short, I didn't end up in the career that was suggested as the best fit for me, which was a citizens' advice adviser, but I did end up with two careers that were also a highly scoring fit - FE teaching and writing - both of which I'd been involved in before.
The really intriguing thing is that lots of people believe that the way to make things happen is to write them down. If you want to create or manifest something for the future, what you do is write about it as if you have it or are doing it, and imagine very strongly the emotions that you will feel.
It's an appealing thought and possibly worth a try. Whether or not you actually manage to bring this future into existence by doing this, it will surely clarify your preferences and your intentions, which can be no bad thing.
So instead of writing the life story of your past, try writing about your future. Imagine what you'd like your life to be like in ten years' time and write about it, feeling the associated emotions as strongly as you can. Don't worry about whether your future life is feasible or try to figure out how you could possibly bring it about. Just imagine it and feel the emotions you would have if you were living that life.
Then put your life story away somewhere safe. Don't forget to look at it when the ten years are up and see if your life has turned out the way you imagined it would.
The careers service did the usual sort of thing - analyse your strengths your preferences and your qualifications, and then come up with some suggestions to suit you. It was very interesting looking back to see whether I had changed, whether my hopes and ambitions had altered, and whether I still wanted the same thing now as I did then.
To cut a long story short, I didn't end up in the career that was suggested as the best fit for me, which was a citizens' advice adviser, but I did end up with two careers that were also a highly scoring fit - FE teaching and writing - both of which I'd been involved in before.
The really intriguing thing is that lots of people believe that the way to make things happen is to write them down. If you want to create or manifest something for the future, what you do is write about it as if you have it or are doing it, and imagine very strongly the emotions that you will feel.
It's an appealing thought and possibly worth a try. Whether or not you actually manage to bring this future into existence by doing this, it will surely clarify your preferences and your intentions, which can be no bad thing.
So instead of writing the life story of your past, try writing about your future. Imagine what you'd like your life to be like in ten years' time and write about it, feeling the associated emotions as strongly as you can. Don't worry about whether your future life is feasible or try to figure out how you could possibly bring it about. Just imagine it and feel the emotions you would have if you were living that life.
Then put your life story away somewhere safe. Don't forget to look at it when the ten years are up and see if your life has turned out the way you imagined it would.
Friday, 1 August 2008
Writers Just Want to Have Fun!
We writers have been partying! Our severely disabled, but seriously fun-loving class member is 40 today, and we arranged a surprise class party for her last night at the house of one of her fellow students.
She arrived with her carer, who had told her they were going out for a drink at the pub, to find several of us already gathered and the house festooned with banners and balloons. There were sausage rolls, quiches and pizzas heating in the oven, biscuits and traybakes on plates, wine uncorked, and a birthday cake secreted in the kitchen - it had been specially designed for the occasion by another class member who is very talented at cake-making.
Our guest of honour was delighted and we all settled down to eat, drink, chat and laugh uproariously. There were enough funny real-life stories trotted out to fill a dozen magazines, about everything from cats and dogs to how we met our partners and encounters people have had with the college ghost!
We distributed presents and cards, toasted the birthday girl with bubbly, and chatted about class. A good time was had by all.
We await with eager anticipation our next opportunity for a class knees-up! Meanwhile, everyone has gone home with copies of the college prospectus so they can sign up for next term's class. If you live or work in West Yorkshire and would like to come to one of my classes, you can download the adult education prospectus online from www.huddcoll.ac.uk.
You'll be very welcome at any of the three courses I'm teaching next term, especially if you've a big birthday coming up! In between writing fantastic pieces, winning awards, and having work published, writers just want to have fun!
She arrived with her carer, who had told her they were going out for a drink at the pub, to find several of us already gathered and the house festooned with banners and balloons. There were sausage rolls, quiches and pizzas heating in the oven, biscuits and traybakes on plates, wine uncorked, and a birthday cake secreted in the kitchen - it had been specially designed for the occasion by another class member who is very talented at cake-making.
Our guest of honour was delighted and we all settled down to eat, drink, chat and laugh uproariously. There were enough funny real-life stories trotted out to fill a dozen magazines, about everything from cats and dogs to how we met our partners and encounters people have had with the college ghost!
We distributed presents and cards, toasted the birthday girl with bubbly, and chatted about class. A good time was had by all.
We await with eager anticipation our next opportunity for a class knees-up! Meanwhile, everyone has gone home with copies of the college prospectus so they can sign up for next term's class. If you live or work in West Yorkshire and would like to come to one of my classes, you can download the adult education prospectus online from www.huddcoll.ac.uk.
You'll be very welcome at any of the three courses I'm teaching next term, especially if you've a big birthday coming up! In between writing fantastic pieces, winning awards, and having work published, writers just want to have fun!
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