Real life...stranger than fiction.

Totals...Twitter 5 Tweets (even got a re-tweet!)... Facebook...two status updates...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... 1500 words after uni...Emails/text messages from mad cousin...none today (not sure she could keep up the pace!!)
Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...0  (unless a raspberry muffin counts?!)
Music mostly on spotify today ...Aqualung, Tyrone Wells, U2.

To be honest it has taken me so long to actually get into my blog this evening due to computer gremlins I have kind of lost the plot! So lets start with some pretty pictures!!

One day a week at the moment I get to have away from my day job for the purpose of attending university, due to stupidness earlier in the year I have only attended twice before and both times it was grey and miserable and cold. Today however it was lovely and not raining and actually nice and warm (yes I was shocked too!). It made a nice change to be able to get out an about in the sunshine, even if we did have to sit in a classroom and learn about research for a bit! If this continues I think I may like being a student for a while.
The added bonus being that today when I got home, feeling inspired by the happy weather - instead of sitting in a quiet corner trying to digest the latest lesson I was actually able to spend a couple of hours writing book 3. It was also nice to sit down for a while having walked about 9 miles today!

It was from events that have happened recently that I decided on my title for today's blog. I like most of the world I can only imagine, have been gripped by events happening around the globe. Obviously the 

tragic events that have recently happened in Boston, as well as the all that is happening in Syria seem to be dominating the news. I have to admit I was pretty much glued to the news watching the events unfold in Boston and I suppose not having any direct connection it felt like watching a movie or TV programme, obviously I know it is real. It's just sad to think that there are people out there that think actions such as these are justified. It's not just events far away that have an unbelievable quality to them.                                                                 

A friend currently having a tough time informed me today about a situation they have found themselves in, they find it so incomprehensible (I hope they don't mind me quoting) that they stated "this could be a storyline from one of your books." Once they had finished I had to agree, not that I would use it - that would be mean but still sometimes things happening on our own doorstep can often be much more scary, upsetting or unbelievable than anything we can write in a book. Perhaps that is why there are so many genre's available, everyone needs to escape sometime and although there is a need for the serious literary works - the humorous or mystical can sometimes provide the light relief or escapism that we all need?

 

Providing my light relief today that I can actually put in print is my disastrous performance in the World Book Night quiz! I really need to hang my head in shame, especially at the James Bond round. The fact that I was practically dragged up on James Bond films (thanks Dad!) seems to mean that I have blocked any learnt James Bond trivia completely from my brain. I guess I was traumatised having to watch the films over and over, the funny thing is that I actually choose to watch the most recent ones and to my surprise really enjoy them. Perhaps this has more to do with Daniel Craig? It's certainly possible. In my team of two (apart from one other team of two who did come last, all the other teams had at least four and in some cases seven people in them) I am proud we came...um...second to last by 2 points and that we only scored 2 points on the James Bond round - I even attempted to text my Dad (yes I am aware this is cheating) but he didn't answer so it wasn't much use to me tonight.

So I guess I have a year to expand my team, and I suppose my knowledge! The highlight of the evening was the book stash (see above) I came away with, I had to limit myself I couldn't carry anymore. But they may keep me going for a while and I even have my very own first James Bond book and I promise I will read it and um...post a full book report!!

Goodnight.

Push the button...

Totals...Twitter 1 Tweets (shocking!)... Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel... nothing today but 1500 words at the weekend! Did write 2000 word essay today does that count? Emails/text messages from mad cousin...1
Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...0 (but I had some birthday cake see below...not my birthday but I made the cake)

Music mostly on spotify today ...James Morrison tonight.

So I guess I should start tonight with an apology to mad cousin that featured in previous blog. It seams she was a little perturbed at the picture of her stating 'it was a very flattering picture of me, NOT!' In my defence I am also in the picture and look just as good...NOT. It was cold and snowing and a few minutes after it was taken we couldn't actually see much more than a metre in front of us. I have also been reliably informed that unless I blog regularly I will receive regular emails nagging me until I do. I'm not entirely sure that my life is interesting enough to blog every day so I will have to wait and see if the emails arrive - incidentally I did receive one today. I'm not convinced she can keep it up.

So yesterday I did something very brave after I thought I'd done something very stupid...so I guess I will start with the stupid.
Looking for book two to tweak a few more bits before I was as happy as I could be HUGE panic when I opened the file and the page was blank...Now I have done this before so I now save my writing in a few different places just in case, however on this occasion I had been editing said book and had not re-saved it in my usual places. Not good, I thought it was probably karma - the book is about a girl who is a little accident prone and to whom ridiculous things happening to her is a daily occurrence. Perhaps she was seeking revenge? I have to admit apart from tweeting about my stupidity (because obviously it seemed important at that moment in time to share my pain!) I did remain pretty calm. I even went and made a cup of tea!
The good news for whatever reason I did a few things with the computer - pretending I actually knew what I was doing...I didn't. But regardless I found it - my only conclusion that my computer had in fact eaten it just to mess with my head.
On finding it you could say I was a little happy, I have also now re-saved it in all of the various locations. I am sure that I have learnt my lesson now...until the next time.

So onto the brave...I am a relatively new writer so I am still very precious about letting my work go. It's very hard giving it over to someone to be judged, of course I am aware that this is a ridiculous notion when I am actually wanting to publish, have lots of people read my writing and can't wait for the day when I hold an actual published book with my name on the cover in my hand.
So why is it so hard to send it on its merry little way to try and raise some interest from a publisher?

I have no idea (answers on a postcard?) but I did it and pushed the send button then felt sick, excited, a bit more sick, nervous and a bit more excited.
The important thing is that I have done it and alongside I am sure hundreds if not thousands of others it awaits its fate, so I guess it is now a waiting game. I am sure I am not the only person to feel this way - its just hard to describe to people who have never done it!

I am sure that's enough rambling for tonight so I am going to leave you with something that made me laugh this evening.


I would just like to think that if my computer was a cat (just go with me on this for a moment) that this is how guilty it would look for causing me to panic about my lost book.


Bye for now!

Zen like calm...

Totals...Twitter 6 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm (still) editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening;  very sore subject...but Rebecca Ferguson, Marcus Foster.

Am feeling a little guilty not having posted anything since April. it's not that I've not had anything to say - I've probably had too much but life has just got in the way a little.

So I will start by saying that life has been a little stressful recently, it was not helped any by itunes yesterday. When I sat at my computer ready to edit - and as usual I need music to work with - my house is too noisy most of the time not to have something in the background to drown it out. But as I logged in my play list was nowhere to be found!
Now obviously I am aware in the grand scheme of things that this is a very trivial matter - but to me this was a disaster, the list was not that bad (honest) and I had been cultivating it for months. It sported a very eclectic mix of everything I liked at the moment and found motivational while I wrote. Needless to say I was not happy. I still have no idea where it went, I also spent a considerable amount of time looking for it when I could have been editing - so to say I was unhappy was a bit of an understatement! I have now started the process of compiling another play list - but it's just not the same and is going to take time to love it...I'm just wondering if by the time I come to love it the same thing will happen? Perhaps or maybe that is just paranoia?!

Due to the fact it has been a while since I last blogged I should at least prove that I have used my time wisely in order to harness my creativity...

Painting! I had a huge space on the wall which has been home to my story board for almost six months and it finally got taken down and was replaced with this! I had great fun with paints and mosaic mirror stars. It was a bit of a stress reliever too!

I also made some crab cakes for a friend who is a little bit obsessed with crabs! They were great fun to make but a little time consuming, but I think they were well worth it.

In terms of writing progress I had some great feedback from my editor, which I was very pleased about and having now had the first half of my first novel back I have to say that I love what he's done with it. It's still me ( I was worried - having never had anything edited before) but it's tidier and flows better. It's true to say that I probably walked around with a cheesy grin fixed to my face for close to a week. He is currently working on the next part and I can't wait for it to be finished.

In the meantime I have now finished the second draft of my second novel which is so completely different to my first, and the first time I have attempted to write "funny" I'm hoping it pays off as it was fun to write. I am hoping for this to be edited when first is done, and now I can pick up the next which I am about a third of the way through. If that wasn't enough alongside a full time job I am also studying and my assignments are really starting to pile up. I am trying not to let my writing take a back seat but I have a feeling something is going to have to give...if for nothing other than my sanity!

I am open to suggestions of how to juggle my time effectively, until that happens I guess I will just have to keep smiling and carry on! While on this I have to say that my gym membership has been wasted too, this is something I will be rectifying on Monday! I am going to drag my reluctant butt to start my running schedule (this is going to be hilarious!) along with a very lovely yoga class...

What the ****?

Totals...Twitter 5 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm (still) editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (Replaced with a muffin today!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Emeli Sande, Maroon 5

As I talked about on previous posts I'm currently having a little break from writing. I'm not sure how other people do this but, having finished the first draft of my second novel I feel it is only right to devote some time to reading and editing as much as I am able to before handing it over to the editor I have been working with.
My writing process is perhaps a little more drawn out than it needs to be, owing to the fact I hand write initially before transferring onto the computer so I have already "tweaked" things here and there. This doesn't stop me from hanging my head in shame when I read through some of the things I have written, my initial reaction is what the **** have I written, my next thought is - I am hoping that a passing alien has in fact hijacked my brain for a few hours, taken it for a spin and decided to have a bit of fun with my project, either that or I  really am in trouble!

Or is this normal?
Are the feelings I am having of blind irrational panic that it's not good enough part of the creative process? I may need some help on this.
I am alternating between loathing and loving my novel in quick succession it's very odd - it's also a very different feeling from the feeling I had after I'd finished my first.
When I finished my first novel I was so proud that after all these years of saying I wanted to write a book, I actually sat down and wrote one. Yes there were flaws (major ones) but it didn't diminish how proud and probably smug I felt. The novel I have just completed is in a totally different genre the character just popped into my head and I sort of went with it to try and have a bit of fun, so why am I finding it so hard to like it?
I'm hopeful that after another few days, I will change my mind again...until then I may have to lock up the shredder!

Back to reality...

Totals...Twitter 7 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...0 (Replaced with carrot cake today!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Marcus Foster, Chopin (Yes really!)

I have to admit I've been fairly lax with the blog updates over the past few days. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly it has been my birthday. They don't seem to bother me now, I had a really issue on my 29th birthday right up until a month before my 30th and now I don't care! (I was 35 this birthday in case you were wondering!) I had a great time, got thoroughly spoilt, spent a considerable amount of time in my local Waterstone's in Norwich spending my birthday voucher (making my inner bookworm very happy!) and then went out for a celebratory waffle with friends in the evening. So my day in pictures went a bit like this...

My birthday (cake) provided by my Auntie who I met for breakfast at 0800hrs not realising that I could have actually had a lie in but never mind we sat and yawned together and it was nice to see her!

These were actually cookies in the shape of cupcakes (major sugar overload) and were a gift from one of my housemates who said he'd cheated and bought them as his cooking is rubbish! Never the less they were lovely and provided much needed substance later in the day when returning from dinner after much wine was consumed.

Completely spoilt!! Lots of prezzies and lots of books to keep me busy for a little while while I edit, and have a breather before I start writing again.

Birthday waffle, mushroom and cheese sauce, very nice!!

Birthday dessert waffle, chocolate mousse with cream and banana and chocolate sprinkles. Well it would have been rude not too!

Finally after all the trauma with the printer, here it is. The first draft of my second novel I would give you the title but I'm not sure I'm feeling the love for it yet so may change it still. However that being said I am now starting to work my way through tweaking things a little before it gets sent on its merry way to be edited professionally! It was a weird feeling and actually kind of emotional seeing it all printed in front of me, not sure I will ever get used to that, not that I think I'd ever want to feel less excited at the achievement!

Sadly now my holiday is almost over, I go back to the day job on Sunday and it will be nice to see everyone but I know I will be itching to get home again each day to get through with this first draft as soon as it's now going to have to take a bit of a back seat now that I am returning to the job that pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head!

It will also be a bit of a relief to have the cakes and chocolate and everything else gone and get stuck into the healthy eating again and get myself back to the gym which I have to say I have neglected for a little while and I am starting to feel guilty so it must be time to go back! The idea for the plot and the main character for the book pictured above came to me while I was actually at the gym swimming (very slowly, I can swim for ages but I'm not very fast and I'm a boring swimmer I use the same stroke). It was probably because of the repetitive motion I was able to just switch off and after about forty-five minutes had to get out and grab my notebook. I scribbled furiously until I'd written as much of the plot and character information I could remember before it drowned in the abyss of my brain never to be thought of again. If it's successfully published I suppose I will have the gym to thank but until then I will probably continue to return begrudgingly.  

Hype...

Totals...Twitter 12 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...nothing I'm editing! Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Snow Patrol, James Morrison.

I suppose it had to happen eventually and all this talk about Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James had to get the better of my curiosity. There has been so much hype over this book, trending on twitter, Facebook followers and countless articles on the Internet and in print it's been difficult to avoid.  The fact that it originated as fan fiction in homage to The Twilight Saga brought to life by Stephanie Meyer is probably what drew me to it, it would be interesting to know her thoughts on this - though I can say having read all four books in The Twilight Saga and all three books in the E.L James trilogy I fail to see the link. Obviously changes have been made since the early days of it being more geared to being fan fiction but I would be concerned if the target audience of The Twilight Saga seek out Fifty Shades of Grey.
In my honest opinion (for what it counts for!) Fifty Shades of Grey is not the usual type of book I would read but I succumbed to the hype and decided to make my own mind up! It's not the worst book I've read but it certainly isn't the best book either, there are lines in there that are (and again in my own opinion I do not wish to offend) that are so overused they are uncomfortable to read, and to say that the main character has issues is a vast understatement!
However the success story for this self published story is something to be very impressed with and just goes to show the power that social networking sites for example have on our reading habits these days it's certainly impressive, all that and the talk of turning this now into a film is nothing to be sneezed at! So while I am dubious about whether or not the story content is my thing I have to admire and applaud the success it's received and only hope that if this is the route I end up choosing for my writing that I can write something equally as captivating to such a wide audience.

Any way enough of that! Moving on from that some welcome relief in the form of a picture taken by my brother who currently lives in France, something so cute I felt the need to share...

This is Colin (don't ask!) he is a french dormouse and is a protected species and was very nearly eaten by my brother's two cats, he has informed me (my brother not Colin) that he has spoken to the cats and explained that they are not to eat Colin. I'm not entirely sure they are going to listen to him but I sincerely hope for Colin's sake that they do!

bump back down to earth...

Totals...Twitter 9 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...2500 words and finished 1st draft, Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Westlife, Ed Sheeran, Christina Perri.

Today has been a bit of a roller coaster, it's the first day of my holiday from the day job and I've planned nothing except a birthday dinner but that's not until next week so I thought it would give me ample time to sit and focus on meeting my self imposed deadline to finish the first draft of the novel I am currently writing.
Then today this happened...

Well, it happened in as much as I went to the counter and purchased them. I am sure you will agree it is a fine looking breakfast? I then sat and wrote like a woman possessed and something happened. Amazingly I finished my first draft a week early and ended up with cramp in my hand for my efforts but it was well worth it. I then walked around in the sunshine with a cheesy grin on my face feeling very pleased with myself. Not only does it mean I get to crack on with my edits now but I get my wall back...

Admittedly its not a great picture but what you are looking at is my storyboard of sorts. I got tangled in time lines for this novel so the easiest way around it for me was to map it out with the different characters and plot lines to make it more simple to manage and it worked too. Now I have a big empty wall and need to find something to put in it's place.

If this wasn't exciting enough I am getting to grips with Twitter (I think!) and last night joined in with a chat to Deborah Harkness who wrote my favourite book of the moment, A Discovery of Witches http://deborahharkness.com/ I will willingly admit I have read it more than once and also gave it to my mum for mother's day and she read it in three days and had the same reaction as me that she was gutted she had finished it and we're not able to read the next instalment until it's release on 10th July this year. I was very excited that I got responses to my questions, hopefully one day someone will have the same reaction to something I have written? I can live in hope!

Then this evening while celebrating my achievements...





Red wine. Of course!
Mid first glass I look at my phone and have received a text from my mum. She tells me her auntie had sadly passed away this morning. Right off I have to admit I have not spent much time with the relative on my mums side of the family as many of them live near the top of Scotland and I have only ever been as far as Gretna Green for a friends wedding. But of course I was saddened to hear the news and just makes you realise that no matter what is happening to you in your life good or bad there are always others worse off. From the nice things that my mum has said about her auntie she sounded like a lovely lady who had endured a difficult life at times but treated those she knew and met with immense kindness. So tonight and through this difficult time my thoughts are with those left behind. A somber note to leave it on this evening but I feel it's only right to stop here.

Small world...

Totals...Twitter 3 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...600 words, Cups of coffee...1 (then substituted with peppermint tea) Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Matt Cardle, Snow Patrol.

There is plenty of random ramblings to follow, but I thought to start with I should talk about my reasons for today's title. Through the brief amount of time that I have been blogging, tweeting and various other things to try and make connections with fellow writers nothing has surprised me more than how small the world now seems. Already I have made connections with people in America, Canada, Ireland and too many places to mention here that far exceed the amount of places I have physically visited in my time on the planet. Believe me I would love to get to all of these places, I am a frustrated traveller - a little too nervous to travel alone so live vicariously most of the time through books and blogs.
Don't get me wrong I don't think this is a bad thing at all and it has truly opened my eyes reading about others experiences and perhaps learning and taking on board some advice. I think sometimes it is hard to make family and friends and colleagues (those of us still with day jobs) understand about the sometimes weird, wonderful and frustrating world of writing because although I may be excited about the fact that I wrote 1000 words today, it's not necessarily going to be a feeling shared but people in my life who don't write.
So for now and for as long as I am able to I am going to embrace ways to make connections, ask questions and interact with like minded individuals that understand that sometimes it would be great to have someone say 1000 words wow you must be really pleased, because yes I am!

OK as for the rest of my day it went a little like this, walking in the sunshine, drinking coffee, writing and another trip to the movies this time Bel Ami.

I have to say the reviews for this film weren't great so my expectations were not overly high, even thought I generally don't pay much attention to critics and prefer to make my own mind up about a film. I still enjoyed the film, for those very much in love with Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series it's a very different role and I thought he did it well. It was certainly a brave choice of film and to be honest he's a bit of a sleazy womaniser who can't keep it in his pants for much of the film nothing much sparkling here. It was also great to see Christina Ricci on form, I think she's very talented and sadly under-rated. So all in all my movie going experiences this week have been successful which is good as its rubbish to get built up to go to the cinema only to walk away disappointed.

On my walk home I decided that I wanted some flowers and the only way I was going to get them was if I bought them myself so I did...

They will brighten up my desk and hopefully smell lovely.

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful but I am pleased to say now that the reason I was so happy and sworn to secrecy at the weekend was due to one of my best friends being proposed to. I couldn't be more happy for her she has met a really nice guy and I hope if she reads this she won't mind me saying but I have never seen her happier than this and wish them both a lifetime of happiness together.

On that note it is me pretty much done for today, a day at my desk tomorrow but for studying purposes rather than writing, although if I am productive I am sure I will manage to squeeze some writing in later in the day.

Goodnight.

Artistic licence?

Totals...Twitter 4 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...1000 words, Cups of coffee...0 (substituted with tea today!)  Cupcakes ...1
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Christina Perri

Amazingly today being the first of my two days off I woke up to find the sun shining. It being the first day of spring I wanted to make the most of my time off unfortunately I'd woken a bit later than I wanted to mainly due to turning off the alarm several times. I made up for it after breakfast and making the builder (working on the conservatory that will soon be finished only 12 months after it was promised but in time for the sunshine never the less!) a cup of coffee, then getting dressed in bright colours instead of the usual black and walked into the city.
This was the view from my seat at the coffee shop I sat in to write today...

Norwich is a pretty city and it was nice view and there were a lot of people walking around and lots of children too who looked as though they were on a school trip.
Throughout the day I was engaged in a text conversation with a friend who also has an interest in writing, he's having a difficult time lately but was also saying he was frustrated about not having a computer so felt unable to write. I text him this picture...

This is how I normally write, I'm too accident prone to carry a laptop around with me, not disciplined enough to stay away from Facebook and twitter and I like to see the words on the page. I know it can sometimes be a chore to type it up afterwards but for me its the first stage in my own editing process. I'm sure everyone has their own preferences and that's fine but realistically and at the most basic level all you need to write is some paper and something to write with! I am hoping I have encouraged him enough with a little push enough to get him to put pen to paper.

Feeling pretty happy with the amount of writing I got done today, I'm almost done with the final two chapters in this book, then the first draft will be complete. I decided it was only right to reward myself with a trip to the cinema.
I chose to watch a film called We Bought a Zoo with Matt Damon for two reasons; firstly I'm sure I've mentioned it but I have a bit of a thing for Matt Damon, secondly the film in question is based on a true story of a journalist called Benjamin Mee. A certain amount of artistic licence has been used the location of the zoo, the film is set in America but the zoo that the film is based on is called Dartmoor Zoological Park and is not far from where I grew up (Plymouth, England). I have been there on a number of occasions when it was called Sparkwell, but have not been recently but I really hoped that the film would capture the story well.

I have to say in all honesty I loved it but it made me cry, lots! Of course it goes without saying that Matt Damon was great but the children in the film are brilliant too, as are everyone in the film. I have to say it is a film I would watch again and recommend to others (which is why I put the trailer on here for you to see) but next time I'll make sure I have a supply of tissues. I understand why stories are changed sometimes to make the film appeal to a wider audience and I'm glad they did but I can't help feeling a little sad that it had to be Americanised!
To finish off the day a helping of sparkly vampires care of Breaking Dawn (I'm not ashamed to admit I love the Twilight saga!) with housemate was called for and now I think it's time for bed. I'm hoping tomorrow will be just as productive.

Happy happy happy!

Totals...Twitter 8 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0 words, Cups of coffee...3 Cupcakes ...1

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Florence and the machine

This weekend has passed by too quickly mainly due to working shifts in the day job yesterday morning and an epic thirteen hour shift today. Sadly my highlight up until a couple hours ago was the delivery of my new desk (I thought it was exciting, my colleagues however just thought I was sad and need perhaps to get out a bit more - not really sure I can disagree with them on that count!) regardless I thought I would share a picture of said desk below!

I am aware that it is only me that is excited, but it is a very welcome relief from sitting on my bed or the floor with laptop on lap or sitting behind very small computer desk I now have space! In celebration I sat down at my newly polished desk at 1730hrs and didn't look at the clock until 2130hrs...I now have my eye on (thanks to my very lovely American friend with a severe Ikea addiction) a very lovely chair that will soon be joining my lovely desk - I then have visions of never leaving my room, haven't quite figured out how I explain that to my boss but I am sure I can come up with something creative!

This evening I returned home from work feeling a little tired only to be greeted by an amazing message on my phone, I have been sworn to secrecy at the moment and I have to say the message doesn't even directly affect me but it made me very happy and as soon as I've had the embargo lifted I intend to share so watch this space... 

As I sit here this evening I have opted on listening to music through headphones, they are serving two purposes to limit the outside distractions from housemate who is currently speaking very loudly while on skype and at the same time coughing (it is possible he has man flu, although from brief interactions in the kitchen earlier it is more likely to have resulted from the excessive consumption of alcohol while at the pub watching the rugby yesterday). The second reason to drown out the song that has hijacked my brain for most of the day. The song in question is currently being used in the new o2 advert and I've put a link here for you to use and see if you can resist the urge to sing along!



If you do, you are stronger than me, I have a feeling it's going to be there for a while - perhaps I just need to find something else to replace it with? Suggestions gratefully received.

Goodnight.



Sunshine, a welcome distraction?

Totals...Twitter 6 Tweets ... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...500 words, Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...1

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Paramore, Elbow

My writing today was mainly confined to early this morning before spending the day with my parents and nephew who are visiting from down south and my aunt and uncle who live locally. Finally the sun came out and today has been lovely.
I'm back at the day job tomorrow so I'm not too bothered if it rains! It was a distraction from my normal day off which normally revolves around how much writing I can get done, but it was a special occasion and the last day I get to spend with my parents until they go home so I'm not feeling guilty in the least.
After a quick trip to Sherringham we went on the Blickling Hall which was beautiful.

 ...the rear view of the house from the lake!

 ...surprisingly the front of Blickling Hall!

It was a lovely day for a walk and the grounds were so pretty I think I'd like to go back but perhaps next time I will take my notebook and see if I can draw some inspiration from the house and surrounding area, who knows what I could find there?!! I've decided I need to find some more interesting places to write so this is an option!

I spend most of my writing time sat in a corner of a coffee shop, plugged into some music - the type of music normally depends on the type of scene I am trying to write and notebook in front of me and pen in hand. I like it like this rather than putting straight on to a computer. I also like the fact that I have to make an effort to get up and walk into the city with the purpose of writing as if I stay at home there are always far too many distractions - even cleaning the bathroom looks like a good idea!

In terms of writing I am getting scarily close to my self imposed deadline but I think I am still on target, I only have a week or so at work then eight days off and I am going to use them to my advantage.

My deadline is my birthday 4th April so I need to get cracking and make the final push.

So my alarm is set for an early morning wake up call so I can get some writing done before work but as I've not been successful at this on so many occasions I will wait and see it I manage it!!

Hacks and sugar rush!

Totals...Twitter 9 Tweets (actually by me apparently many more when my account was hacked)... Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0(ish) words, Cups of coffee...3 Cupcakes ...0 but photographic evidence below of lunch more than makes up for this!

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Maroon 5, Elbow, Muse

I'm feeling a little vulnerable today after realising my Twitter account got hacked, it's a little annoying and I am hoping now all is sorted - but I suppose it served a purpose to make me be more vigilant in future. I realise these people's intelligence far exceeds mine but I'm at a loss really my life isn't even that interesting!
In any case the rest of today has been great - and would only have been made better if the sun actually came out! I can guarantee it will come out tomorrow and the reason I know this is because I am back at the day job tomorrow! So as is pretty much always the way we will have sunshine and amazing temperatures I am sure!

Today's photo comes courtesy of my lunch...well it was about 1130am so it was close enough!

It was pretty good, gooey chocolate mousse, nuts and bananas topped of course with maple syrup (it would have been rude not too!) I decided that this was a worthy replacement of a cupcake today thanks to the culinary expertise of The Waffle House in Norwich. It was also great to spend the day with my parents and nephew too hopefully I will get to spend more time before they return back down south on Friday. Not sure I could handle another waffle though!

I'm starting to feel a little guilty at the lack of writing so I really need to get that sorted in the next few days or I'm going to be disappointed to miss my deadline which would be a shame when I am so close. So I need to knuckle down to it as soon as possible. I am making a commitment right here that I will write at least something tomorrow, will keep you posted on the progress as always!



Gardening

Totals...Twitter 7 Tweets ... Facebook...2 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0(ish) words, Cups of coffee...3 Cupcakes ...0 must try harder tomorrow! 

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Paramore, The Script, Will Young

Today was a struggle to get out of bed after the long shifts over the weekend and the early shift this morning, I had intended to get up early and write for a bit before work - that didn't happen! But I made it to work on time and finished the shift then drove out to see my parents and nephew who are visiting from down south and staying with my aunt and uncle. As well as being on holiday they have been willing participants in assisting the complete overhaul of my aunt and uncles garden. My nephew who is seven and is ridiculously bright (I'm aware as his auntie I am biased on this topic) was very eager to tell me that as he was helping to dig they came upon a nest of rats and he hit one on the head with a spade (sorry to all rat lovers out there who may be reading this but in fairness it was not me who committed the deed!).
With the garden well under way the last task for the evening was to wait for a delivery of 10 tonnes of topsoil to be placed on the driveway, this was pretty impressive - in fact the most impressive of all was the delivery driver's determination to get the soil from the truck. This included but was not limited to chucking the spade up to loosen soil at the top of the tipped up truck, which not only failed but left said delivery driver climbing up the side of the tipped up truck to retrieve spade and knock down the soil himself...

Almost there, spade is retrieved phew!

And the soil is gone...is now a bad time to admit to a fear of heights?

It's OK, the very nice delivery driver did made it safely down, (he didn't even get scared) and tomorrow the 10 tonnes will start to make their way on the journey into the back garden.

I would like to say I helped today, but I was at my day job and only arrived as things were winding up but I did make tea and coffee so I feel I have served a vital role in the process...or will keep telling myself that so I don't feel guilty.

Pictures to follow once the lovely garden is finished, hopefully in time for the nice weather?

Fire!!

Totals...Twitter 3 Tweets (in my defence I have worked a 13 hour shift!)  Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0(ish) words, Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...0

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Muse, Florence & the Machine, Marcus Foster

OK so there isn't an actual fire, but having finished a fairly tiring 13 hour shift, left work and cursing the headlight that decided to give up before I'd left work to drive home - I cooked a very quick stir fry (10 minutes a record for me including chopping, cooking and dishes - not eating!) then settled down to do what we do and multitask so I could fit some productive writing time into my day and realised I'd been a little eager with the chili and the only thing on hand to put out said fire was a nice bottle of red wine. Which as always went down a little too easily, so one and half glasses in (it would be rude not to finish it) now I find myself thinking about writing, making very little sense in a blog entry, feeling ever-so-slightly tipsy and wondering if I will wake up for my 0530hrs alarm call for another epic 13 hour shift!
So perhaps the writing is best left, but the thing is I had set my alarm for 0500hrs in order to put in some time before work but when it came to it I kept hitting the snooze. So I may be in need of some suggestions to make sure I get up when the alarm goes off, because once I'm up it's fine - it's just the getting up part I struggle with because I pretty much feel like this...

...and I'm aware I've used this pic before but I can't help loving it!!!!!
So I'm off for a relatively early night, thinking it's time for a helping of sparkly vampires care of Twilight.
Goodnight.

numb...

Totals...Twitter 8 Tweets Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...1500(ish) words, Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; James Morrison, Christina Perri

Having had two days off from my day job (I work shifts so I guess this was my weekend!) and due to the incessant rain of yesterday I spent pretty much all day refusing to go anywhere and refusing to get dressed and had a productive writing day instead which was great. This morning the sun was shinning so I went for a walk to my local park and fed the ducks...

Yes, we have clever ducks here, they even have a special crossing!

In any case after my walk I felt inspired to write again and am amazed at my productivity even if I did occasionally get sidetracked by the lure of facebook and twitter - but 1500 words down and I have broken 100,000 words and am almost through with the intially writing phase of this novel which is very different from my last, in that its funny - well I hope it is I tested the first few pages on a friend who spat out her cup of tea (I'm hoping that was a good sign? Who knows!).

Unfortunately I got lost in my own little world and kept typing and finally got up and realised I must have the most uncomfortable chair in the world - OK maybe not world but Norwich at least because my bottom is incredibly numb...so before any further two day writing marathon's I'm seriously going to have to re-think the chair situation. I have an exercise ball which is quite comfy to sit on, unfortunately I wouldn't be able to reach the keyboard. All suggestions gratefully received and yes I know I should have had a break but I was engrossed in what I was doing and didn't want to stop.

I'm a little sad that I won't have so much time to write over the next few days as I am back at my day job (which I love by the way) but it infringes upon writing time!

As well as this a welcome distraction in the form of my parents and seven year old nephew are coming to visit I've not seen them since Christmas so I will allow myself time off the writing for that, because as it stands it looks like I'm going to meet my self imposed deadline!!!

Time to get up out of this chair, that's all for tonight!

Goodnight.

Sugar rush!

Totals...Twitter 10 Tweets  Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...500(ish) words, Cups of coffee...1 Cupcakes ...1 (and I made 10 does that count?)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Coldplay but now feeling a bit glum, may need to change it soon!

Got home today feeling exhausted more so than after working a 13 hour shift, so in order to off load baked some cupcakes cakes the result is better than therapy...

Although am feeling slightly concerned that I'd opened a nice bottle of red wine while I cooked and it went down a little too easily and now I'm not hungry...not so sure that is a good thing!

I managed to get a little writing done this morning before the day job which is just as well as I'm not sure I'm good for much now, however two days off now so I have nothing planned and am hoping to be productive and possibly even get somewhere close to finished (that's the aim anyway!) until then I think I'm going to sign off with a short entry this evening in the hope I will feel more productive in the morning!

Goodnight!

Not really feeling it!

Totals...Twitter 7 Facebook...0 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...100 words, Cups of coffee...0 Cupcakes ...0 (perhaps this is the cause of my issues will remedy this immediately with a cup of coffee!!)

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Marcus Foster - Nameless Path (am a little bit in love with his album it's on repeat at the moment!)

After the lovely sunshine and heat of the past week it was inevitable that it had to end soon, and it did last night as I drove home from work it was raining and snowing and today it has not stopped raining all day. We don't get a huge amount of rain here so I suppose it was needed but does it have to be so wet?
Feeling a bit grey and miserable I decided it was time for a spring clean and as a result re-arranged the study area, my bookcase, did some washing and cleaned the bathroom and then thought about writing. But then I had a cup of tea, read a writing magazine, read a bit of a book, had another cup of tea, checked twitter, thought about going onto facebook, had another cup of tea and then actually wrote 100 words...surfed the Internet and found my new desk chair on ikea website...dreamt about how good my new desk chair would look in room then gave up to blog!
Am hoping that the jiggle around of furniture will inspire me so will keep you posted on that, unfortunately I'm pretty certain I know why I've been lacking focus, I think life got in the way a bit. It's been a tough time at work over the past few days and that has clearly affected my mood. So I have a plan...I'm going to allow myself this evening, then tomorrow I'm going to get up and smile (even if it is still raining) and start over!
Obviously an integral part in the plan is to find a cupcake...I'm having sugar withdrawals I'm sure after being on a health kick for over a week...having had to replenish my fruit bowl twice I fear I may have to re-title the blog, how does Writing...peppermint tea and apples sound? Pants? Yes I thought so too - I shall just have to ensure consumption of said items tomorrow!
...here's some I made earlier!

Off to read in the hope I feel inspired...may be a chick lit evening...

Pets?

Totals...Twitter 5 tweets...Facebook...1 status updates ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0 words, Cups of coffee...0 Cupcakes ...0 (13 hour shift ate into my writing time...added to the fact I overslept big time!
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; nothing, watching Celebrity Juice and getting way too side-tracked.

So today after a couple of interesting and trying days personally and professionally it got me thinking that perhaps it's time to get a new pet but to be honest I'm a bit stumped and open to suggestions.
I had a great pet until May last year and he kept me company when I wrote;

This was Marvin, as you can see he was a bit daft and none too clever when looking for a place to sleep. Fairly often I would get an enforced break from writing when he would lay across the keyboard of my laptop and normally fart. So he was a bit of a character and I am unable to have another cat at present so I am exploring other options...

 In an ideal world I think I'd probably like a penguin, these ones are so clever they can even use a zebra crossing! Although they are a little stinky!

Another possibility is a pygmy hedgehog, very cute am already a little bit in love with this picture (its probably the ears!) but I'm not so sure about the idea of a hedgehog that lives indoors...not sure that's right. Fish are out of the question I tried that once and it got to the embarrassing stage when I almost once a week I had to go and buy replacements,  I'm still not even sure what I did wrong. But it turned out to be pretty expensive. A hamster is another option I've had lots in the past they are easy to look after and quite entertaining and then I saw this...



 Not sure it would make a pet and added to that dormice are protected so I'd more than likely get into a lot of trouble but it's probably the cutest video I've seen for a while! So back to the drawing board...

Inspired

Writing...Twitter (6 tweets so far...including re-tweets) Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...2,000 words, Cups of coffee...2 Cupcakes ...2 (see pictorial evidence below)

Music mostly on my itunes this evening; The Script - The Script & Science and Faith, Snow Patrol - Best of up to now.

At last, I'm feeling particularly pleased with myself today after having a very productive day and have only stopped writing because I need to make myself stop in the hope that I will feel as inspired tomorrow and produce similar results. To prove my statement above after sadly neglecting the amazingness of cupcakes here is where my inspiration started this morning...

This just got better from here,  the only distraction being from a lady that sat one table away who thought that the whole coffee shop wanted to be in on her conversation - had it been interesting perhaps I could have used it...unfortunately it wasn't so I turned up my music in order to drown her out and continued. My fingers actually ache so I'm taking that as a sign that its been a good day after my negativity yesterday.

I even managed to fit in a trip to the cinema in the name of...research? Or just the fact that I wanted to go and watch a film when it was quiet, just as well really as I blubbed like a baby while watching "The Vow" and I'm not really sure it's a good idea to go to the cinema alone to watch such films...think I may need a shoulder to cry on for the next one! In any case the trailer is below in case you feel like checking it out, just take some tissues!



Even after the film I came home and continued writing when I'm not normally able to write anything at home (normally due to too many distractions more than anything else) and only stopped to make dinner and to help out housemate - which consisted of driving around the city to find an address to leave her car then bring her home in my car, only problem was we lost each other and she had the sat nav and neither of us knew where we were going. Consequently even with the sat nav we couldn't find the address, so after driving around aimlessly for almost forty minutes we gave up and both drove home again. After dinner I even wrote for another thirty minutes before deciding to stop in order to have an already primed starting point for tomorrow.
Thankfully today has restored my faith that I will make my deadline and although returning to the day job on Friday at least I'm back on track!
Now all I need to do is to tell my brain it's time to switch off...any suggestions?

Hi there!

Writing...Twitter (9 tweets so far...including re-tweets) Facebook...1 status update ...blog entry...one in progress...actual productive writing of my novel...0 words (does opening my notebook count?), Cups of coffee...0 Cupcakes ...0 (but my lovely housemate gave me a panacotta dessert not sure this counts will try harder tomorrow!)
Music mostly on my itunes this evening; Maroon 5 How, Marcus Foster I was broken, Birdy Skinny love, Christina Perri Penguin, Florence and the machine No light no light.


Videos that made me laugh today...

Amazing! I have my very first comment. I am so pleased, I didn't actually think there was anyone out there so Hi if you are reading this, it's nice to know there is someone out there.
I'm trying not to be to hard on myself but it's been a pretty rubbish start to the week as far as writing is concerned but as it's only Tuesday I'm not going to feel bad about it. I now have two days off from my day job so my aim is to get up early and walk into the city and find myself a nice corner in one of my favourite coffee shops and park my bottom and write until my fingers hurt!
It seems that the closer I get to finishing this book, the harder it is to write...is that normal? I know exactly where it's going to end it's just the actual writing I seem to be struggling with! Still I have just over a month until my self imposed deadline so I'm really hoping I will make it. I already have planned what I want to work on next and the idea and characters are starting to take shape but I've promised myself I won't start until this one is completed.
I had planned on writing this evening but after a busy shift at work, almost torturing myself to the point of exhaustion at a spinning class, and being fed the most amazing chickpea and butternut squash curry by my housemate I think once I'm done here I'm going to take the night off. I'm already contemplating a Ghost Whisperer marathon (I can't help it. I love it, it's so sad it is no more, though don't get me started on the last season!!!!!!)
So at the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to take a deep breath relax and not be hard on myself knowing tomorrow is another day and without the distraction of Facebook or Twitter (I think I need help I'm sure I'm developing an addiction to Twitter!) my day will be much more productive...and perhaps then I will deserve my cupcake!!!
Goodnight.