The Rights & Wrongs of Writing

September 29, 2017

Loneliness or being alone

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Loneliness or being alone.

I guess it is easy, being alone at home, to feel lonely.

Even so, most us us know, there is no guarantee that, even with a houseful of people, we won’t feel lonely; which is not a good feeling.

Miranda, The Tempest, by John W Waterhouse

 

I love sitting peacefully listening to silence. And when I sit quietly, that is when answers come and I feel less alone. It is part of a greater realisation that I am actually never alone. If I can only remember, on the days I feel hassled, to listen out for that awareness. Hard to put into writing, but true, even so.

How many of us say we are lonely? Yet, do we make enough good quality time to rest peacefully? Even when doing something relatively calming, like reading a book or listening to music, we fret about all the things we should be doing.

The long school holidays were an interesting time for me. Seldom alone, I decided to abandon all ideas of working, and in doing so, the stress melted away – so I really enjoyed the time off, though as time passed, I felt myself yearning for opportunities just to be alone. Even an hour was rare. There have been plenty of challenges, but staying with them made them easier to resolve easily.

I need a connection with silence, which, however it works, seems to offer lots of answers far more easily than if I decide I have to push and shove. How lovely when we can find answers by doing ‘nothing’ and discern a way forward; when we discover that all the things we create while resting are valuable and on point.

Why should work be a stress, or rest, a snatched, hurried interlude? That doesn’t seem to be a good way to live.

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September 26, 2017

Writing Update – works in progress

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Writing Update – Works in Progress

Okay, so perhaps three weeks ago, I completed what I thought was the ‘second full edit’ of my first novel, Lisa Somerville, and set it aside with a great sigh.

Then something rather strange happened. Quite apart from editing, I really itched to write again. And I discovered that I write best in silence. I have been listening and writing in the silence and what I have discovered quite surprises me. Perhaps you can recognise some of this.

I love, love, love!! to write. I really do enjoy giving voice to my characters, and in silence I can do this enthusiastically and with real joy.

Each character in every story has her or his own life and motivations. They each need to fully inhabit their own space. That’s to say, Susan, Sheila and Richard deserve to fully inhabit one novel; and Lisa, Simon and Chrissie to inhabit another. I humbly apologise for my failure to appreciate this sooner and beg their collective humble pardons for this oversight.

I now have to rewrite Lisa Somerville again, because when I read it afresh, I am itching to make changes and bring it to life in new ways. But before I can do that, I need a clean, clear outline for the second book of the series, Susan Scott. Because what happens in book 2 affects what happens in book 1, I must avoid repeating scenes where the lives of the characters intersect.

By writing the second book before I complete the first, I am hoping to clinch that illusive requirement, internal consistency. (I used to complain about writing backwards, but honestly, I’d rather know this has to be done, than wait around wondering why my writing is stalled.)

Though I enjoy writing, and write better with a sense of urgency, there is no especial hurry. I can enjoy writing in my own time. But while I have the enthusiasm, I must write. No dawdling please. Keep going slow and steady.

It’s all about timing. Instead of worrying that I have to do a thing by next week, I’m beginning to notice that all things happen in perfect timing, and that there is no reason in the world of what we do, to make our doing of anything any more painful, stressful or worrisome than it already is. If we are not enjoying what we are doing, why are we doing it? What might seem like a hard knock, or a tall order, simply becomes fun again.

Happy writing!

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September 25, 2017

I work best in silence

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I work best in silence

A strange discovery, hardly worthy of a blog post, you might think.

But despite the joys of free music on the internet, and despite our obsession with free, instant, brilliant music available 24/7; despite knowing that some of my best musical discoveries – Take That, Bruckner’s seventh symphony, Frank Field – have been made while I was writing, I have also re-discovered that I work best in silence.

Yes, you might think, that was fairly obvious for the close-focus line-by-line editing. But it stands true also for the creative leaps that come out of no-where, the shape shifting uplifting ideas that simply pop up one day and refuse to lie down.

So I then have to re-write the whole book, again? Introducing a whole new theme bang in the middle, with a looming deadline? No problem. I best get on and do that, then. At least I know how to start again, whereas two weeks ago – hey, even last week – I would probably have panicked. I could panic, but what would that achieve? We have to accept the ideas when they arrive, and welcome them.

I listen for ideas, and I suspect that music and noise simply drown them out or drive them away. It might make my office space a bit too quiet, sometimes, but still, is such an enormous relief to get back to some kind of system that will allow me to work consistently, and produce work that begins to approximate to what I think is good. We are such harsh critics of our own writing, but I do know when my work is not at my best, and when my enthusiasm has fled. Lately – until I rediscovered the creative power of silence – my work felt lacklustre and my enthusiasm like a wilted summer lettuce.

Now I begin, at last, to discern a solution to that, in going back to good old fashioned silence.

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September 20, 2017

To do a thing badly or not at all

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Is it better to do a thing badly or not at all?

To answer the question, Is it better to do a thing badly or not at all? I take refuge with something I say a lot these days.

It depends.

We need both motivation and caution, bravery and guile. A tag team of two players works well if one has the courage, another focuses on detail.

As I get older and bolder, personally I tend to the view that it is better to do a thing than sit and think about it, or wish I had done it. I hate regrets. I hate saying, ‘If only I’d had the courage to get on with that ….’ and knowing I could have done something to help life turn out differently.

I would rather have a go at something, perhaps starting small until I gain the confidence to attempt something bigger. There is only one way we learn, after all, and that is by making mistakes; by realising that mistakes are only stepping stones, questions to answers we haven’t found yet.

Who would object to us getting a thing wrong? Authors and writers are not in the habit of creative catastrophe, are we? We’re unlikely to burst the dam, to send someone to their death or to motivate someone to evil… That being so, we really have to decide to go ahead one day, to live without having all our ducks in a row, before we know the answers, before we can be sure.

Unlike in real time, where we build a path, then walk along it, in creative attempts, our path – our luck, our outcomes  – are the result of a decision, a choice we make, to do something; at which point, the path comes to meet us as we walk along it. There are no guarantees with that process, except that there is a lot we can learn.

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September 18, 2017

Advantages to working from home

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Advantages to working from home

Harold Harvey, ‘The Letter’ 1937

Yes, there are advantages to working from home. I can work at six in the morning and eleven at night – though not in the same 24 hours. I can hang up wet washing and bring it in if it rains, as it has been doing all summer. TIP: during a long, wet Summer, we need only one clear hour to flap off the worst of the moisture from our clothes.

Working from home, we can also be available for Monday bank holidays when the schools are shut, without having to take a cut in pay, or ask the boss for yet another flexi day. We can make appointments with opticians, dentists and the like, and take delivery of parcels, packets, kitchen cabinets, beds and chairs from Ikea at strange hours. Instead of regretting the 7am – 7pm delivery window, now I just see that as an excuse to write non-stop all day at home. YAY!

We can start and stop when we like, and can do all sorts of things in between, to liven up the day. We can eat when we are hungry, rest when we are tired and take exercise… If I’m sounding a bit biblical, it’s because that’s how it sometimes feels. We can take holidays when we want, and decide to do nothing. Actually, doing nothing is one of the best ways to discover what to do next, and to clarify that we are still on track with our plans.

Would I go back to an office job? I could, probably, if I didn’t have so much to do here. But I’ve always relished my independence, so I prefer working this way.

Thanks for reading!

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September 15, 2017

Disadvantages to working from home

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Disadvantages to working from home

Okay, so we are here working at the computer, and the phone rings. Again. It is someone speaking indistinctly on the line from Delhi or Manila and asking for someone whose name we don’t recognise. Oh, that’s us, is it? Well, no, sorry, not this time.

There’s a knock at the door – would I mind taking this parcel for the bloke upstairs, whom I know is running a small garage on our communal parking lot? Actually, yes, I would mind. He leaves oily footprints on the carpet and there is the remains of an engine abandoned at the back of the downstairs cupboard. So, just occasionally, I send the delivery man on his way. He scowls, I scowl, and we are quits.

“That’s the phone for you, Mum…” Yes, and it’s the twelfth time in as many hours that I have been interrupted – Mum tends to be the first port of call for phones, for doorbells, for deliveries, even if she has something teasing in her head that she would love to write down before she forgets.

“Have you seen my socks? My phone? My charger?” Take the easy way out and ask Mum, she knows! Heavens, yes, I may well do, but does that mean I have to be interrupted? Again?

***

This is a tongue-in-cheek glance at the some of the challenges of working from home. But there is a serious point in it, too. Because, at the end of the day, when the chips hit the fan – that’s not quite the expression, but it will do for now  – only I can decide to put my foot down and say, “You do it / you get it / you phone, you sort it, tidy it, find it.”

And, amazingly, I do that quite often nowadays, when I need to. It’s a very liberating habit to cultivate. And hubby is pleased that I no longer take resort in my martyred dog expression.

What a relief.

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September 11, 2017

Keeping our eye on the main chance

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When we work from home, it is vital not only that we work hard – everyone does that – but that we keep our focus on the tasks we are hoping or needing to achieve. Maybe I can illustrate this by taking a look at how I used to work.

“Ho hum, it was nice to see so-and-so, and great to chat. Oh, dear, I’m awfully late, and I’ve SUCH a lot to do before hubby gets home. Better get a move on….”

“Better see what we need in the way of shopping – I can always pop into the supermarket on my way home, I drive past it…”

“I always give daughter a lift, it doesn’t take long, and anyway, I’m awfully bored doing this today. Don’t feel like it.”

Okay, so we all do this sort of thing. But I had also developed the habit of chatting amiably to all and sundry, and actually, they neither wanted nor expected it. Partly that comes from an ancient habit of being ingratiating, but also it comes from not valuing my time well, and from not actually realising that THIS is what I want to do, and by golly, I’m going to do it.

The most successful people in the world are those who get things done… because there are so many ways in which we can be distracted, pulled off course and inveigled into doing things that leave us feeling rather niggled and confused – classic signs that we should not be doing them.

Working for oneself, it really is essential to stay focussed on what we want. That is easier to do when we accept that people will bask in our certitude. They will be relieved to see us actually doing what we want, and being happier as a result.

And, it’s easy to know if I am on target – if it’s all to the good, I feel livelier, happier, and stuff happens much more easily.

Thanks for reading!

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September 8, 2017

Fran features: Federation of Writers (Scotland) – September

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Fran features: Federation of Writers (Scotland) – September

I’m delighted to be this month’s featured writer in the Federation of Writers (Scotland)  September 2017 newsletter.

The Federation is a collective of enthusiasts of the written and spoken word and welcomes writers of any complexion into its ranks: poets, writers of prose and short stories, bards and lovers of the spoken word. To quote from their header:

The Federation of Writers (Scotland) is an organisation dedicated to making the written and spoken word available to the public of Scotland, with respect for diversity and recognition of additional support needs.

The Federation is run by volunteers and membership is free. It is very easy to join the FWS by visiting the website, which is a mine of useful information and contacts. A monthly newsletter offers a comprehensive round-up of events happening around Scotland and includes a very useful digest of submissions being sought and upcoming competitions.

Each month I look forward to catching the latest news.

Anne Clarke generously gives her time to organising the monthly newsletter and sending it to our IN boxes. However, I first met her in person, when, at the invitation of the Events Convenor of the FWS, Rose Ann Fraser Ritchie (who also facilitates our writing group, Thistle Scribblers), she came to the Thistle Foundation’s Edinburgh Headquarters , to share some of her poetry with us and to hear about the writing that Thistle Scribblers enjoy each week.

I was so inspired by hearing Anne read her own poetry. No-one needs special or particular qualifications to express themselves, and poetry, that sublime form which can say so much with a few words, hints at the complexities of life in ways that few other mediums for self expression can match.

Thanks so much to Anne Clarke for featuring me this month, and for all the encouragement I have been offered by the Thistle Foundation and the Thistle Scribblers.

 

 

 

 

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September 6, 2017

Valuing my time

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Valuing my time

 

When it comes to selling my books direct to the public, I’m shy – I find it difficult to charge the full cover price without blushing. Interesting question from this reader follows – Why?

In the past, it has been because when I see the cover price and consider the outlays, I say to myself, ‘That’s enough of a mark-up….’ or more usually, ‘That’s enough for me just now…’

But hang on. What about the value of my time? That intangible quality, that gift from Heaven knows where, which, when we are young we seem to have so much of. From a vast, pale canvas, a cavern to fill with our plans and dreams, as our years pass, time seems to kaleidoscope alarmingly into something bright and precious… It shrinks imperceptibly, brightening up with the power of our focus to something so valuable.

And writing my books has literally taken years of my time. Time I will not get back, that has been and is precious to me. Investing in this desk-computer-word-count business means I have not done other things I wanted to… All that is worth part of the price too, is it not?

When considering prices, wholesale discounts and the rest, it is so tempting to say, ‘It doesn’t matter…’ and feel a bit wilted afterwards at yet another example of self-sabotage, that classic, painful opt down.

At least I know what to do about it. To counter any more erosion of my self-belief, this important principle, a mere two pounds here and there, may not seem much, but it feels good to ask, unashamed, for the full cover price. There is no storm waiting at the end of that private battle, only more confidence. Only more certainty in knowing that I’ve compromised enough, enough now, and that time is too precious to discount.

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September 4, 2017

Still writing memoir

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Still writing memoir

Unless we are employed by the media or by those who pay us to write, writing our memoir has very little to do with tangible rewards such as money or fame.

But the intangible rewards are worth a mention… These include

  • Re-evaluating the self and everything we think we know about our lives. That daunting idea begins to unfold with the very first words that hit the page, and goes on for the whole period during which we may call our work unfinished, challenging us constantly to reconsider, both the good and the bad.

  • The sheer joy in doing something we have thought of doing for years and finally get round to doing. With all the records we’ve been dying to set straight for years, now is our opportunity to finally have our say. How liberating!

 

  • The space to dump emotional garbage we have been carrying around for years. What a joy it has been, to finally discard rubbish that has lain around clogging up my heart for decades. What a joy to admit all the small and larger secrets, the things we loathe, love and can’t be arsed with. What pleasure to find and refine our authentic voice, to speak true. After all the twisting, aching pain, there is a real sense of coming home to something better and more anchored.

 

  • The rearrangement of our perspectives. An inevitable consequence of going into all our memories and back out again, is the awareness that the process itself has altered our perspectives. That process is unavoidable, as we come up close and personal. We meet all our significant others with more love, acceptance that is, of itself, worth all the agony. That knowledge, that coming to terms is not something we can gain, except by writing about it, spending the time which forces us to re-evaluate.

So, with all these good and worthy aims spinning around in our ideas box, next time we take a look at the hows of writing memoir, which is the question this series started with.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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