Notes From Underground Competition

As you may have noticed I have something new under tags (to your right ------->) and this is because I think this competition run by The Literary Lab sounds really interesting. It is completely open to any and every type of writing, if you need any more ideas check here.  The first part of the competition (where you submit your idea(s)) is open until August 15th but if you are lucky enough to get to the next stage you'll have 3 months in which to actually write your piece(s).  Now if you'll excuse me, I have some serious thinking to do.

My Favourite Childhood Books

I have always loved books and I believe that it is my love of books that has made me love writing so much.  I want to join the legions of people who inspire, change, entertain, provide an escape through their words.  Now, I have read a ridiculous number of books and I wouldn't be able to describe them all here - in fact I can't remember most of them unless I have a little reminder (be that an idea, the title or a scene).  But there are a few that stand out in my mind, ones I read when I was younger that have made an impact on me.  And the fact that I remember them inspires me to share them with you.

I read the entire Green Gables series (6 books in all though there are others based around the same characters) after seeing the film.  The first chapter, I remember I hated, it was long and boring, but once I got past that I loved every second of it.  I wanted to be Anne Shirley - in fact, the year my primary school participated in World Book Day I dressed as her only to find that no one, not even the teachers knew who she was (I was absolutely horrified as I had believed that at least the teachers would understand).  I'm also pretty certain that this is where my love of auburn hair originates from - I've always wanted auburn hair as to me it's the most beautiful colour, it's the colour Anne strives towards (to her, her hair is plain, boring red) and I've realised that I am more likely to be attracted to someone with auburn hair. Anne taught me to believe in myself and to work hard to get where I want to go.  I want to read this series again but it is with some trepidation as after rereading 'Little Women' by L. M. Alcott, I found that is wasn't half as good as I remembered it (this also happened with 'Jane Eyre' so is it a wonder I'm uncertain about rereading possibly the most influential book on my childhood.

I can't remember when I read 'The Flawed Glass' and nor do I remember much about it other than it deals with disability.  The reason I've included it here is because even all these years later I remember the feelings it brought up in me and I can clearly see the setting of the island in my mind - now if that's not visual writing I don't know what is.  I'm not sure how realistic this book is but it shows simple times when disability wasn't really understood and how one person can make a huge difference to someone's life.  I am definitey going to reread this over the summer just to find those passages of beauty and wind on my face recollections.

I absolutely loved Enid Blyton as a child.  To me, the characters lived the perfect childhood with picnics and girl's boarding schools.  For years I wanted to be in a boarding school and felt that my parents were stifling my brilliance by keeping me at home.  That was until we visited a boarding school and once I realised that they are nothing like the places of midnight feasts in the stories, my love for them dissipated.  Despite the unrealisticness of much of Blyton's writing they are something I feel should be shared with every child.  Though I am very angry at the 'politically correct' versions now being published.  How are children going to know what 'gay' originally meant if they never hear it in it's original context and have the chance to ask?  But political correctness is something for another post.  I now collect Enid Blyton books though I have no where near a full collection, I haven't been able to read all those I own yet.

In A Blue Velvet Dress is an incredibly moving and beautiful ghost story.  The main character is an avid reader and I think that that's probaby why she's stayed with me so long.  I don't really remember the aspects of the ghost story but I know it is when I realised that ghosts don't have to be scary and there is something sad about lost souls who have got stuck on Earth.  It changed my whole view on what is scary and why.  Perhaps ghosts scare us because the give the thought of being left behind or being on our own?

OK, so I didn't read this when I was a child, I read it only a few years ago but since then I have really wanted to read it again (if only there weren't so many books for me to read).  It combines two time periods and manages to weave them together almost seamlessly and the story is beautiful and artistic.  This is a book I would recommend to children and adults alike as everyone has something to learn from it.  It opened my mind to taking in everything and allowing other people, customs and ideas into my mind.









I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourite books, why don't you share yours in the comments.  Is there a writer or story that has stayed with you or has a special meaning for you?

25 Things

I was tagged by Sarah to write 25 Things about myself.  I have decided to post this on my other blog (psst over here) as that is where I share my personal life and feel it would be more fitting there.

Taking Your Time and Slowing Down

Today I baked a cake.  I used a different recipe from normal which I found here.  I followed the recipe exactly (except for using three medium eggs instead of two large eggs) and it took a lot longer than usual.  A cake usually takes me only 10 minutes to whip up before putting it in the oven but today I wanted to see what would happen if I took longer over the whole process.  It probably won't surprise you that this cake is a lot better than anything I've baked before (ok, except my chocolate butterfly cakes - they really are awesome).  I spent a little extra time and not only did I get something much better out of it, I also found that I enjoyed the experience much more.

I think in our modern hectic lifestyles we often forget how beneficial slowing down can actually be.  We think we don't have time to stop and actually enjoy that cup of tea or we shove food straight from the freezer into the oven without taking the time to enjoy the experience and sensations of cooking a dinner from scratch.  I understand that you probably don't have time to do that everyday but why not just once a week?  My M.E. has forced me to slow down and appreciate everything that I'm able to do but it is the stress and rushing about that makes me worse.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone so I'm begging you to just take a minute.  Right now.  Close your eyes for one whole minute (set a timer) and just breathe.  Nothing else.  Just breathe.

I mean right now.

If you did that don't you feel so much more prepared to take on the day/night?  Taking 'me' time is important and should never be left to last as it is the only way to truly appreciate everything in this life and give you the ability and energy to get through your entire life.

And now, for those of you who did the exercise (if you didn't, you could do it now) here's some pictures of my fabulous cake I baked.

Pessimistic Musings

I have always thought of myself as a realist.  Even I can't call myself an optimist but I certainly wouldn't call myself a pessimist.  Just because I prepare for the worst doesn't mean I can't expect the best.  Take my writing for example.  I don't expect anyone to publish anything that I'll eventually send them.  That doesn't stop me having fantasies of being rich and famous - but I know they'll stay just that, fantasies.  And just because I don't believe I will get published doesn't mean I will send out half done work.  I might expect the worst but in this instance I'm preparing as much as I can for both outcomes - making the work as good as it can be and preparing my mind for the knowledge that I won't get accepted.  Afterall, almost every writer I've ever read about has said they have been rejected repeatedly.  Therefore I don't much care that I will get rejected.  I can see how this could be seen as pessimism but for me, not caring doesn't mean I won't try.  If I never tried then I would classify myself as a pessimist and a failure.  A failure is someone who doesn't try.  I'm going to try.  Just because I don't expect to be accepted doesn't mean I shouldn't give it a shot.  I could expect to get published but that wouldn't stop me from getting accepted so why does expecting to get rejected stop me from getting published?  Unless I didn't bother trying because of it.

So to recap this very confusing post - I am not a pessimist, nor am I a failure.  You don't have to expect the best for it to happen and I believe expecting the best can be very devasting when it doesn't happen.  But the important thing is to KEEP TRYING ANYWAY.

Ideas

I am not one of those writers who worry that they can't decide between the hundreds of ideas floating in their minds.  I am lucky if I find one idea I feel I can work with.  OK, so I currently have two or three ideas in my head, some partly written, but those ideas are the accumulation of a few years.  I have really struggled in my course, not because I can't write or don't want to write (though sometimes the lack of motivation certainly doesn't help) but because of the number of ideas I have to come up with.  Thankfully next year is only three and I'm planning on using one I already have - so that's just two I have to think about.

I have to actively look for ideas, and I think that is certainly part of why I read blogs, to see if they set my mind working.  It doesn't happen very often, and hasn't happened recently and I'm beginning to worry.  I had planned on writing some short stories over the summer but can't think of anything.  So I'm going to try a different approach - the character approach.  I am already a people watcher but I am less good at constructing stories for them, though sometimes they do come into my mind.  But I figure if I try creating some characters and putting them together it could have interesting results - of course, it could just as easily be a disaster, I guess we won't know until I try.

But what worries me about my lack of ideas is the feeling that I have no imagination.  When I was a child I could make up stories really easily and that was one of the reasons I wanted to be a writer.  I still want to be a writer but for totally different reasons - I like to write, I feel that I'm good at it and I want to share something with the world.  Whether that be an idea or just to make someone think about something in a slightly different way I don't know yet - I guess it depends on the story.  So does imagination disappear as you get older? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to construct ideas but is this due to lack of imagination or simply that I want to do something different when I should be trying to do something the same with a different approach (which appeals but also sounds really difficult).

I'm not entirely sure what point I was trying to make in this post, other than to say that not every writer is bursting with ideas.  I guess the fact that I love editing is the reason I lost out on that bid.

Information

Lately I have started paying attention to the world.  It started gradually through noticing topics that popped up often in blogs such as the iPad and the ridiculous debates on how it will effect publishing - yes it will effect it, yes it will change our reading habits in the future, no it will never fully overtake books (just read the comments and you can see that such a large portion of the consumers like reading off paper and you'll come to the same conclusion I promise).  And then I started watching the news.  I don't watch it everyday and honestly I don't really care, but for the first time I'm paying attention.  And I think I know why.

I am bored and not in the good relaxing way.  My mind is craving stimulation and my way of getting it is to pay attention and learn new things.  I spend hours every day reading blogs, I am addicted and not only because I'm nosey, but because I need to feed that hole that devours information.  I lap up any and every piece of advice given about writing about life.  I probably don't follow 90% but I still want to know what people have to offer.  I still don't really care but I'm finding that knowing what's going on in the world can be fun (even if I never see anyone to discuss said issues) and the more I feel the hunger, the bigger the hunger gets.  I need more information.  I need to know new things.  I don't actively look into many of the topics unless they are so amazing I can't help myself (hasn't happened yet).  I didn't see this coming.  I didn't expect to become this person.  I've always been happy in my own little world but now I can't avoid it, I want more and more and more (though I do have a limit of a few times a week with watching the news but I love shows like Loose Women which actually make me think). I don't ever want to lose my ability to think for myself so I'm going to keep reading and writing and learning.