My Writing Odyssey

This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with my writing, but the thought is a good foundation for a new blog entry.  I am determined to keep the dust from re-settling over here. I'll admit that I've been a little bit lax this week.  I've had lots of nice food and have enjoyed visits from some excellent friends.  I've taken a moment to catch up with my DeviantArt profile, and had a lot of fun reading the blogs I follow. I've been very fortunate to gain two new followers to my little blog!  A very big welcome to Chloe and my mystery follower.  Unfortunately Blogger has left you nameless, so I can't welcome you personally. Unfortunately, I have been unlucky with my health again.  The sleeplessness is slowly sorting itself out, with some credit due to my Sominex sleeping pills, but it has been replaced by the most intense stomach cramps I have ever experienced.  On Wednesday night they became so bad that I was struggling to breathe, and wound up snivellin

The Mslexia entry is finished at last - editing is completed and it was posted today - 4 days before the deadline.  I have been cutting it very fine, but I have had other factors to consider, and at last it has been completed Tuesday night, I put my foot down and started typing like a woman possessed (hence the title).  I was determined to make sure I met my first competition deadline of the year and was not about to let sleeping issues beat me.  I'm actually proud of what I wrote, although it was a violent scene that I am not accustomed to writing.  As such I doubted that I was going to do very well with it, certainly as I was feeling unwell.  But I found that I could type out the scene with relative ease.  Could it be that I have secretly been wanting to write about blood and murder?  Or that I've been reading C.J Sansom books too much (which aren't short of a grisly murder or two) and have been influenced by it?  Or maybe I just knew exactly what I wanted and didn

It's been over a week since I last posted on my blog.  I've been trying to get my short story completed, but I'm still struggling with getting my sleeping pattern back on track.  Things are now getting close... Friday is going to be my deadline for this story entry - it being the 21st.  I'm feeling optimistic about getting it completed, provided my methods of writing it continues the way it has been. At the minute I am writing the story in what can only be described as wild spasms of frantic (but constructive ) typing, spaced between periods of inactivity where I stare at the laptop screen, then the keyboard, then the screen, and so on, while pulling various facial expressions at both.  I've been very good, managing to reduce my evening usage of Facebook, Deviantart, Youtube and my Kindle (er.....better than I thought I would, actually :D) to a minimum.   Once this story is over and out of the way, I will give myself a couple of days to rest and catch up with my

Well, happily my last blog post was all about inspiration, and I can confirm that my story entry stands at 922 words!  The story is at present almost halfway finished, and my word count does not include all the words and sentences that have been moved or replaced.  I have not got as far as I would like, but considering the events of the past week, I have done rather well! Before I begin waffling on about my reasons and excuses, let me begin by welcoming Ryan to my list of followers.  I hope you enjoy the journey!  Also many thanks to Nari, for her continuing encouragement :) Since Boxing day, my sleep pattern has messed itself up tremendously.  It started where I was restless, and woke up constantly every night.  Happily, I had booked some holiday time from work, and could counter the wakefulness with some lie-ins.  I put it down as my body reacting to the end of the stressful period that is the countdown to Christmas where I work, and thought it would settle down. That was two we

After finding out that my Write Space competition entry was not due in until February, I shelved it in favour of the Mslexia entry, which is due in three weeks.  But thanks to the lack of a theme, I was stuck for ideas to enter.  Cue Writers Forum issue #111 with just the thing... That magazine has a lot to answer for - if I am ever fortunate enough to become the Next Big Thing I must make sure it is credited appropriately. Character is important in any story, and I am the type to prioritise character development over the plot.  Because of this, I am determined to not make my characters perfect and therefore make them believable.  Therefore I spend a lot of time developing them and working out who they are before I throw them into their intended plot line.  For anyone who has looked at the "Character Profiles" section of this blog, you will note that only my oldest character, Krypta Syra, is noted.  This is because I have been developing Krypta since my early teens, and

On the first day of 2011, I think it is time for a little reflection.  But first let me wish everyone who reads this a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2011! What a busy month December has been for this little blog since its revival!  The dust has been well and truly blown away with me publishing numerous posts.  December has seen my blog receive its first ever comments and now has two followers!  A special welcome to Victoria - thank you so much for following me!  This first month has been wonderfully revitalising, and may that continue well into the new year and beyond. 2010 has otherwise been a very unpleasant year for personal reasons, but it is now ended.  2011 will be a new start, full of possibilities and hope.  This year I hope to actually make something of my writing dreams... Yes, I say that every year, but this is the third time - maybe it will be lucky? This year, inspiration is my key word.  It is my goal to find inspiration in as many places as possible: v