Lets Get Going...Again!

Ok, so it’s been over a month since Christmas, and a lot of people still haven’t got back into their original writing routines. I know it’s difficult trying to maintain a routine over the holidays, so we let it lapse. Or, at least, I let it lapse. That’s right, you heard me correctly, I fell prey to the horrible beast known as procrastination. I’m usually really good at keeping up a working method, but recently I’ve only been working in drips and drabs, so please allow me to formally apologize to all my readers for my lack of motivation and lack of blog updates.

So here we are, back on track and ready to work. It’s the new year, but late in the month which means that most people have already given up their New Year’s resolutions, (they were too ambitious anyway). Promising to write 5000 words per day proving too difficult? Trying to write everyday only to be bombarded with chores? Well don’t panic, it happens to all of us, but now we must get going again. Get back into the work ethic that we recently lost, but how do we do that? It’s a tricky question, but one I’m sure a lot of people will have their own answer for.

Personally, I’m just gonna have to sit down and force myself to write something, anything, and get back into the literary flow. That’s the only way forward for the likes of me. Push through the hard bit and I will prevail. I will write my average word-count everyday, as I used to. 3 times a week I will end my day by posting my blog for you guys to read. I will edit my previous novel and send it to be published. These things I will do, because my motivation is that I want to. If you are losing the motivation to get started again, remember that you want to do it. For whatever reason, whether it’s because you like writing, or like having the goal of completing a novel, you want to write. So write.

Tell me what you think. What are your motivations for writing?

Read, follow, comment and enjoy. M x

First Favourites

One thing I think we all remember is our favourite childhood author. When we are first stepping out into the weird and wonderful world of magical text and discovering the potential of our own imaginations, we remember what books first grabbed our attentions enough to teach us to read. For me, it was Roald Dahl. His books have captured Children’s imaginations for decades, indeed even my niece and nephew have begun enjoying his works.

Something about his caricature characters appeals to almost all ages, from the nasty ‘Twits’ to the kind hearted ‘James’ with his giant peach. Somehow he keeps the stories light hearted and wholesome while indulging in the slightly darker side of most children’s imaginations. As I write this, I can think of two examples immediately:

‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ and ‘Revolting Rhymes’

Who else could get away with writing a children’s story about a boy trying to poison his grandmother; or a book of poetry where the heroine skins the big bad wolf to wear as a coat, turns the three little pigs into luggage and keeps a handgun in her undies? This is the work of a very talented mind and it is such that grabbed my attention. Whoever our childhood favourite, we always remember them for whatever reason, and it’s that which we must cherish. I still curl up some nights with a cup of hot chocolate and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. We should make an effort to engage our children in a similar way, get them interested in reading the same way we were, with a good author, one who understood the mind of a child. I admit, if I were a few years younger, (quite a few) my favourite author may well have been J.K.Rowling, and that would have been fine, but I’m glad I got to spend so much time reading Mr Dahl’s books, and enjoyed the worlds he created.

What was your favourite author as a child? Do you think children engage in reading as often as they used to? Tell me what you think. Read, follow, comment and enjoy. M x

Help Yourself

So it’s the New Year and everyone has made their resolutions, well, except me. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore because I can never stick to them. Some people may say that’s the point, that its tradition to make and break resolutions. But I’m getting slightly off topic here; fact is, this time of year, fiction sales figures take a hit. Yes some people will go out and buy that novel they’ve been promising themselves as part of their resolution, but most people will buy self-help books.

Now, before anyone starts thinking I’m having a go at self-help books, I’m not. I can give credit to two books that have helped me when I needed it. But fact is fiction isn’t as sort after. People everywhere want to change something about them-selves and it’s normally to do with their health. Quit smoking and lose weight are the top of the list, so books on these subjects walk out of the door and the money directly into the pockets of those cashing in. I will mention one book here, simply because I know it works from personal experience, and that is ‘Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking’. No, that’s not Allen Carr the comedian and the only reason I mention this book is because it is the exception and not the rule.

Why do we drain our finances dry at Christmas only to do so again for one off fads like ‘Get thin by eating dust’ or ‘Lose weight by vomiting’ (these are just made up, obviously), when the book usually gets half-read, then chucked to the bottom of the book case, where during spring it gets taken to the local charity shop? It’s a complete waste of money. Why not instead, get a book that you know you’ll enjoy, a bestselling novel, that wonderful romance, or chilling thriller. The one you know you’ll finish because you won’t be able to put it down? Isn’t that a better use of your cash? That way the novel industry wouldn’t dwindle during the cold months and everyone would feel happier than if they’ve failed the latest dieting fashion.

Maybe I’m, just being pessimistic, it may work for a lot of people, but if it does, it’s doesn’t for any people I know. Let me know what you think. Read, follow, comment and enjoy. M x