Melting cats, that’s what we’ve had here today. Poor things, especially Bambino Bobble Wilson who is massively furry. He’s like a walking fur coat wearing a rug with an extra layer of fluff just in case. Perfect for Winter, of course, but at times of heat, he just flollops.
I went out today. I did check the National Days Calendar, but nothing inspired and besides, I was in a serious writing mood, not one for quick-stop blogging. I’ve dug out an old draft manuscript, you see, one which has been pestering the back of my mind for a while now. And I’ve been doing some editing and redrafting of its current 50,000 words and I am rather caught up in it again. It needs to be finished. But it was stuck. So I went for a long walk.
The walk involved circumnavigating a substantial lake beneath some shady trees so was rather pleasant despite the sometimes oppressive heat. I pootled around, enjoying the flowers and trees, the garden sculptures, the nods of good morning from fellow lakeside walkers. I saw Mr and Mrs Black Swan emerging from the lake with their brood of now gangly cygnets and, randomly, a lady duck. I concentrated on asking myself ‘what if’ questions of my characters, a good way of trying to get them ‘unstuck’ from whatever corner or dead end I’d thoughtlessly written them into during wild moments. And by the time I arrived at a nice little tea shop and was settled with a pot of tea and slice of vegan lemon cake - ‘Are you having it because it is vegan, or would you like some cream with it? said the tea shop lady - I was ready to fill several pages of my notebook with lots of new and rather surprising ideas and plot twists. (No, I wasn’t having the cake because it was vegan. And no, I didn’t want extra cream either. It just looked nice.)
It was with a smile then, and a jaunty spring in my step, that I set off for home pretty much knowing where the next 30,000 words are going. Today, I actually felt like a proper writer. I wasn’t fretting that I’m not earning an income. I was comfortable in the knowledge that I am in a time of settling and finding my new way. My self-belief even did an experimental wing flap.
I went out today. I did check the National Days Calendar, but nothing inspired and besides, I was in a serious writing mood, not one for quick-stop blogging. I’ve dug out an old draft manuscript, you see, one which has been pestering the back of my mind for a while now. And I’ve been doing some editing and redrafting of its current 50,000 words and I am rather caught up in it again. It needs to be finished. But it was stuck. So I went for a long walk.
The walk involved circumnavigating a substantial lake beneath some shady trees so was rather pleasant despite the sometimes oppressive heat. I pootled around, enjoying the flowers and trees, the garden sculptures, the nods of good morning from fellow lakeside walkers. I saw Mr and Mrs Black Swan emerging from the lake with their brood of now gangly cygnets and, randomly, a lady duck. I concentrated on asking myself ‘what if’ questions of my characters, a good way of trying to get them ‘unstuck’ from whatever corner or dead end I’d thoughtlessly written them into during wild moments. And by the time I arrived at a nice little tea shop and was settled with a pot of tea and slice of vegan lemon cake - ‘Are you having it because it is vegan, or would you like some cream with it? said the tea shop lady - I was ready to fill several pages of my notebook with lots of new and rather surprising ideas and plot twists. (No, I wasn’t having the cake because it was vegan. And no, I didn’t want extra cream either. It just looked nice.)
It was with a smile then, and a jaunty spring in my step, that I set off for home pretty much knowing where the next 30,000 words are going. Today, I actually felt like a proper writer. I wasn’t fretting that I’m not earning an income. I was comfortable in the knowledge that I am in a time of settling and finding my new way. My self-belief even did an experimental wing flap.
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