Sunday, Sunday, here again...

Hellooooo - can't believe it's the end of August already, where has this year gone?
I've made absolutely zero progress on the novel since August 19, but will amend that accordingly over the next fortnight by writing character profiles for my six main protagonists. These will follow the format I was taught in Creative Writing at uni, ending up like CVs of the characters, featuring their physical and emotional attributes. Clarifying the kind of people they are in this way establishes how they would react to certain situations as the story unfolds, therefore allowing them to steer events rather than vice versa.
Once these are ready, I'm going to skectch out a rough plotline in a flow chart, then begin drafting the first chapter. I've decided to do the stables story, as that's the one that's clearest in my mind so I wouldn't be starting completely from scratch. By Christmas my aim is to have three chapters drafted. I figure once it's down on paper, I have forever to play around with it.

In other news, it was brilliant having Robin to stay last weekend - we did the Exeter Underground Passages
tour, had a lovely meal at Cafe Rouge, watched Coco Before Chanel at the Picturehouse (awesome film, totally gripping) and spent a very chilled out afternoon sat in the sunshine outside the Prospect Inn on the Quay. Perfect.
Scout training session on Friday night involved a trip to Bideford. It was Module 19 International and really interesting. Turned into quite an adventure as instead of going with my instincts for the journey home, I relied on the SatNav....
Theme Park Camp is looming for next weekend - excited yet apprehensive. Just want it out of the way now to be honest.
It's dad's birthday on Wednesday and I have no idea what to get him, so gonna tootle into town later and see what I can find. Phone call to mum necessary first though, methinks.
Last night was fun - having seen Jen in the morning and spent the afternoon at Gran's gardening with mum and dad, I joined Carrie and Anna for a night of drink and dancing in town. It was a giggle, I discovered Savanna cider and got Chesney Hawkes' 'The One and Only' played in the club on request - yey!
Having eased myself into a hungover Sunday gently watching Peep Show over breakfast, it's time to head shower-wards - Carrie and I have called off the rope swing adventure for the time being so the day is free.

Inspiration strikes!

Since the weekend my head's been buzzing with potential ideas for what I should write. My top three so far have been the adventures of a crime-fighting hedgehog (major potential for serialisation, which is cool); some kind of zombie-led shenanigans (thanks Robin :-) ) and a tale about a riding stables. This last idea is based on the play script I wrote when I was eight and directed in front of my primary school peers - totally stressful thing to do but kinda fun. Anyhoo, the basic premise is that the stables gets into financial difficulties because of some really nasty characters the reckless owner knows, and faces closure, but by overcoming several sticky situations the heroic staff eventually save the day (and two of them fall in love in the process - gotta have a romance angle, right? :-)

Meantime, I'm busy organising a camp for Taw Explorer Scouts to Thorpe Park at the beginning of September, watching far too many films for my eyes to cope with (Harry Potter 6, Revolutionary Road, Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Atonement since Sunday - not bad going, eh?) and looking forward to the weekend as Robin's coming to visit.

For the record Harry Potter and Atonement were awesome, but wasn't so sure about the other two.

And Facebook may be taking over my life....

And so it begins

Woke up this morning without a hangover for the first time in a few Saturdays. Feeling smug, yet strangley melancholy, I started thinking about what I could put on this page. Creating anything new at this stage seemed rather too adventurous so I thought I'd post a couple of pieces I wrote for the creative writing module that was part of my English Lit degree at Cardiff Uni. They cover quite a wide range of emotions that my 20/21-year-old self was experiencing and represent quite an important period in my life.


Keeping Up Appearances

Eat. Go on.

You know you want to.
It will make you feel better.
Anything you want.
Secure in the sensation that calories create confidence.

You feel warm,
You feel content.
You’re bloated,
You’re disgusting.

One flush takes the pain away ‘til the next time
Nothing stays down.
That’s against the rules.

I’m everything you love to hate;
Vanity, insecurity, low self-esteem.
I’m your best friend.
I’m your only friend.

You have a target.
You are in control.

So, eat. Go on.

(Self-confidence has always been an issue for me, and this poem sums up my struggle with body image.)

For You

I used to think of myself as a rational, sensible young woman, but since I’ve been with you, all that has changed. You whisper gently in my ear that you love me and all reason is lost. It’s like a plot from one of those trashy novels, where the heroine falls head-over-heels in love with the boy-next-door.

Unfortunately, we go through all the complications they don’t tell you about in those stories. We seem to experience everything they leave out, the arguments, the tears, the resentment. I ask myself time and time again if it is worth it. We seem to bicker over the most insignificant things, and I can’t help feeling that it’s my fault. But then I tell myself the time has come to stop looking back, and focus on the future. I could make you no end of promises and resolutions, but in the end it is up to you to decide whether you really want to share your life with me.

Ninety-nine percent of the time we are so close nobody can see the join, and it is then I know why we are together. We have an intimacy that is hard to find. Yet still both of us strive for reassurance that we won’t get hurt, that our investment won’t be wasted. But isn’t that just human nature? People naturally want to avoid rejection.

By writing this letter, I hope to put to rest any doubts or fears you may have. I know I have been stupid, but that was a long time ago, and the only thing I want now is to be with you. I promise to do everything I can to make you happy. After all, we make a good team. Your eyes light up when you smile, and you laugh at my corny jokes.

Now I really am starting to sound like a Mills and Boon heroine. But maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Clichés have worked effectively for every romance writer I can think of. All I am trying to do is lay down in black and white, as honestly as possible, how I feel about you. So if you think this letter is sentimental, good, because I am a sentimental person, and that will never change. Neither will the fact that I love you. There, I’ve said it. It’s out in the open. Many people see those three words as a point of no return. On the contrary, I see them as a new beginning. Our new beginning.

(This was dedicated to the man I was with for seven years, from sixth form, through uni to first job/first house. I like reading this as it captures everything that was good and bad about our relationship.)

Greetings

Hey hey! So this is my first foray into the wonderful world of blogging, so please be gentle :-) My main aim is to actually get my backside into gear and write a book... then another... and hopefully another. As such I will be using this blog as a way of tracking my progress and focus my rather too easily distracted mind. And seeking assistance along the way from you lovely lovely people. So buckle up and hold on tight cause this is where it begins........