Category Archives: #am writing (and all things writing related)
B is for… (#atozchallenge)
B is for…
Books
One of my earliest favourite books was Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ about a little girl who loved to read and learn and who developed supernatural powers. I identified strongly with her, though I’m still waiting for my telekinesis to kick in (guess I’m being challenged enough on a daily basis).
I love books. Books with hard covers, soft covers, spiral bound, perfect bound and even saddle stitch. They don’t even have to have words in them to start with (don’t get me started on stationery). One of the best books I was ever given was ‘A Hobbit’s Journal’ with blank pages with small character sketches. (Cover picture below, you’ll see some of the inside pages on D day). I write my poems in this book (which reminds me I’m a little behind with that)(Ps. thanks Sara). Following the Tolkein theme my parents bought me the illustrated edition of The Lord of the Rings for doing well in my GCSEs. I remember (whenever I say this think ‘vague recollection’) sitting in the school library and reading it in the three individual volumes.
I remember book vouchers with fondness, nowadays Amazon vouchers would do the same trick (hint to future boyfriend(s)).
Freebies
One of the perks of being a lecturer is receiving inspection copies of books, mind you I couldn’t possibly afford to buy all the books I need to prepare my lectures and sessions without this service. I still manage to spend a small fortune on books too. I plan to start adding some book reviews (fiction and non-fiction) to my blog shortly. I’ve also joined Goodreads (as of yesterday) so need to explore that service too. I gave away some books (Seamus Heaney’s poems) for free on World Book Night, hope to continue tracking them (reminder – need to add my reviews).
Stories that whiff
On the whole I like the smell of new books but there are some that are a bit rank, I don’t know if it’s the type of glue, and I really don’t like second hand smoke smelly ones. I recently bought a kindle which doesn’t really smell (gadget obsession alert) and I love this too. So really is it the reading and writing aspect that I love rather than the actual books themselves? I’m not sure but I know I won’t be selling/chucking any of my books anytime soon.
Turn to the textbooks
Even as a pro technology and internet person I would still like to encourage students to learn to use books more. I was chatting with a friend last night and talking about the over reliance on Internet sources (Yes even I use wikipedia as a resource).
But students, next time you need to find something out check out the textbooks on your bookshelf (whether it is virtual or real or the libraries’ shelves). The first thing you need to do is work out what it is you need to know and think about what are all the words that could be used to describe that topic within your area. Write yourself out a number of questions you want to be able to answer.
Firstly I would go to either the chapter list and/or the index at the back. Get used to skim reading to find the relevant sections. Be active with your books, write all over them (unless they are library books) and each time you write out a quote write out how this is relevant to your question. Read with a purpose, you should find it means more to you.
What’s waiting on my fiction bookshelf?
I have been loaned a whole host of Terry Pratchett and a Joe Hill, I’ve still got my Slingink Secret Santa book, The Secret Scripture to read and I got a few random books out of the library. I also have some books I’ve been sent for review. Then there’s the rows of Stephen King, The True Blood series, the Final Vampire Diaries and many more YA series. I’m impatiently waiting for Book 10 of the Night World series. I could go on but I won’t bore you. Think I will save the HP discussion for the H day! Bet Paul H will be looking forward to that post.
Questions to my readers
What is your favourite book: to read, to look at, to smell, to write in, to keep near you?
When researching do you turn to books or the Internet? Ultimately which do you find most helpful, in what situations?
What is next to read on your bookshelf?
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Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2011
Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2011
Another challenge to get me writing – seem to be accepting a lot of them recently (ScriptFrenzy also in April and May – You Write Your Novel and The Whittaker at The Write Idea too)!
The Blogging from A-Z Challenge is self-explanatory really – 26 blog posts (avoiding Sundays) each on one letter of the alphabet.
(This challenge is being hosted by: Arlee Bird’s Tossing It Out, Jeffrey Beesler’s World of the Scribe, Alex J. Cavanaugh Alex J. Cavanaugh, Jen Daiker’s Unedited, Candace Ganger’s The Misadventures in Candyland, Karen J Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, Talli Roland, Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Blogs)
If you are interested in joining me on any of these challenges, click on the links and sign up.
(P.S. If you have a 140 word (or less) story in you why not enter the Slingink Shorts competition which closes 30th April over at the Writing Community I administrate)
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MWIPCD – Writers Beware this terrifying affliction!
MWIPCD – Writers Beware this terrifying affliction!
As I posted on Twitter I think I have multiple writer identity personality confusion disorder after this weekend. Novels, poems, short stories, screenplays or all of the above? And what about abstracts, journal articles, powerpoint and poster presentations, essays, PhD theses?
I had an amazing weekend at the inaugural Southern Script Writing Festival at Bournemouth University. As a staff member and graduate of BU (PG Cert Health and Social Care Education) I was able to claim the early bird student rate of £15 a day. This included all of the conference sessions, a buffet lunch and drinks in the break. What the weekend more importantly gave me was a massive confidence boost but also a case of MWIPCD.
On the Saturday they held an informal pitching session where you had 2 1/2 minutes to pitch an idea in front of an audience of delegates. I decided, against my better judgement and shaking hands, to pitch my NaNoWriMo Novel Idea. I didn’t get any boos (yay) and got some claps so I was pretty happy, though my hands were still shaking and my jaw was very uncomfortable for about four hours after (from the nervous tension I suppose).
So when on Sunday they actually had spaces left to pitch to some of the conference presenters I initially said no way, but it played on my mind throughout the first presentation (Be brave and go for it, what have you got to lose, dumbass) and I went back and there were still spaces. I booked myself into the last one of the day so I had time to mentally rehearse and try and remember some of the plot of a novel idea I’d started a few years back. I left the last session early to prepare and stood outside the door feeling an anxious wreck, having to resort to using positive self talk to calm myself “You are an intelligent, articulate woman and your ideas are as good as other people’s”.
The time came to enter. I had my notebook with me full of scribbles that I probably wouldn’t be able to read (and we were told in an earlier session not to read, but to try and recall it more naturally). I wasn’t sure whether to shake hands, I didn’t in the end. In the room was three people, not just the two I was expecting. I mentioned this obvious fact (!) and asked who everyone was; I like to know who I am speaking too (and this gave me time to calm down). The panel consisted of Tim Clague, Mike Garley and Dan Pringle. I was asked if I wanted to stand or sit (ummm sit please, if I stand I will most definitely faint!). Dan asked me not to read from the book and I said this was fine (they so got that it was a comfort blanket).
So I pitched my idea and then came the feedback. Tim put his head in his hands saying he needed to think about it before launching into feedback. The others tried to reassure me this was normal (I wasn’t too concerned, blocking out sensory stimulation like light can help me concentrate too!). I have to say they were very nice, I got some great constructive criticism about what I shouldn’t have said and what I could have said and they started arguing over a couple of aspects and coming up with visuals, which they told me was good. A couple of comments Tim made I’m sure were overgenerous but I’d really like to thank him for them as it was a massive confidence boost at a time when I was having huge writing doubts. Hearing things like, if you pulled this off you could have one of the greatest modern screen villains and in response to my suggestion that I just need to find time to write this alongside the day job and PhD he quipped leave them, write this. I wish…
So why have I got MWIPCD? Most of my experience with creative writing so far has been with writing fiction and poetry, although I did write a couple of scripts on my OU courses. I am halfway through a novel and have started two others but this weekend got me so excited about script writing that I now don’t know what to focus on (I like all of them). Then there’s the day job…if only there were more hours in the day and I had more energy to make the best of using them.
But despite the MWIPCD this weekend I got to feel like a writer and that was fantastic.
I will be writing more about the festival and some of the hints and tips I learnt next week.
kirstyes 