Into the deep end

It has been a very sad few weeks with the death of  David Bowe, he was so influential for so many of us. I have so many memories from my childhood and teenage years. Just like many out there, I can relate different songs to particular things that were going on in my life. I am even able to pinpoint songs to an exact time and place.  

I was moved by this quote and really want to apply it to my writing.  For years I have just stuck at what I feel comfortable with in writing for children but this has made me want to push a few boundaries and see what happens.

I find myself inspired by so many other genres this year and though I will continue to write my children's stories, I feel like branching out into other things.

Thanks David, even after you have gone, you continue to inspire and motivate people.

New Year, new start

It's been such a hectic time since I last posted.  My latest book 'Every White Horse' has taken me months of hard work to get right but now I am thrilled with the end result.

For months I experienced all sorts of problems.  The images were difficult to upload with text and the front cover had to be shrunk down which is a pity but I am still happy with  how it looks. 

I was very lucky to have a great illustrator - Artist Hannah Dyson who not only did the cover but illustrated the entire book too.  It's amazing how pictures can really bring a story to life and as this is intended for the younger reader 5-7, that is a vital ingredient of a good book for children.  

We had so much fun over the Summer months as she used my own pony Brodie as a model.  He didn't stand still long enough for her to sketch but we did get some photographs for her to refer to as well. 

So now the work continues. Never let it be said that self publishing is easy. There are so many things that you have to take responsibility for which you would have to do with a traditional publisher but it is great to see it through from start to finish and have the control. 

Well worth the effort if you have the time and patience!

A change in direction

Forgive me fellow bloggers it's too long since I last did an update.  

This year has flown and with the wonderful weather, I have spent nearly every lunch hour through the summer, sitting on the banks of the river Severn with my note pad. I have written lots of poems as part of my Bardic course with the British Druid Order and made endless notes for future projects.  These times have been so idyllic, only the odd dog would stop and acknowledge me as I sat in my perfect writing environment, the words seemed to flow as easily as the river itself.  It was only the church clock chiming that would remind me to get back to work.

I also started penning another children's novel for which the deadline was February 2015 if I wanted to get it looked at by a particular publisher but then just as the summer ends, so did all these projects because I had to take a change in direction.

 In early September I lost my beautiful old horse Chad, he was a massive part of my life for over 34 years.  I had started writing about him last year when I entered  NanoWrimo and managed to get 50,000 words down, but of course it didn't have an ending then and it was very rough and ready as is the norm with the madness of NanoWrimo.  

These sad circumstances gave me that change in direction and fresh motivation to write his story. This time I want to take it steady. There is no rush. I want to capture every last detail of how that special horse affected me and the other people in my life.

I have been doing a lot of research on these real life stories and I do find it a little scary that I will have to put quite a bit about myself in there too.  I find this difficult as I worry about how far to go. As with many people there are things in my life that I would rather not rake up again but our lives were inter-twined.  I can't write his story without telling a bit of mine too and really get across how much that horse changed my life.  He changed it when he came into it and he changed it when he went out of it.  He changed me from a painfully shy child lacking in confidence to someone who feels at ease when talking to people.

It will be a challenge, I have read so many creative non-fiction books to get an idea of how to go about it. 'Marley and Me' by John Grogan was amazing and the interview at the back of the book was so helpful. His advice is to tell the story fully and honestly, do not hold back on detail and believe in yourself.

With these words of advice I have to give it a go, I owe it to him.

Get Snapping

I recently attended an excellent work shop run by Simon Whaley (pictured above) about how you can make money by taking even the most basic photographs. Magazines such as TAB and That's Life pay good money for just a photograph with very few words, so it's a great market to get into as well as producing pictures to accompany a full length article.

I have had some success in this area and on some occasions have been paid more for the photograph than I have the article.  I have a decent camera, though not an expensive SLR, it does have a few features on it that can produce a decent looking photograph.  I took the photo above of Simon photographing a random otter on Aberdovey beach last November.  It was a pure chance encounter of what is usually a very elusive creature and thank goodness we both had our cameras with us.  This has made me realise that it is a good idea to always have a camera to hand even if it is a phone one as you never know when these opportunities are going to present themselves.

Simon's workshop really made me want to try even harder. I love photography but have not pushed myself to develop my skills. For years I have been using the automatic setting on my camera instead of playing around and changing the various settings to get different effects.  His book Photography for Writers is an excellent tool to get anyone started on making money from a simple snapshot.

So, now I have read it cover to cover,  I have set myself a challenge that I am going to try and send a photograph to somewhere every week and see what happens.  

Blog Chain

I would like to thank Simon Whaley , bestselling Author, Writer and Photographer for making me part of this blog chain and Tracey Fells who started this particular blog chain off.  I like the idea of us all having a link in the chain and show what we are doing at a particular time of the year. I always get inspiration from other Writers so this is a great way of sharing what we are up to.

The idea is that we all asked a set of the same questions.  So here goes!

1) What am I working on?

At the moment I am writing a series of children's stories.  I think the way to go sometimes is to show a publisher that you have more than one book in you, so that is what I am trying to do.  I am just about to send the first one off but I have ideas for several stories using the same character.

I am also working on a lot of non-fiction ideas in the magazine market as I enjoy writing articles too.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I feel  that in my fiction writing, I  like to write magical stories set in real time and the real world ( though that may change one day) I like to have ordinary characters living a normal life where sometimes magical things happen to them. When I say to people I like to write children's stories I often get the answer ' So are you the next J K Rowling?' Well, as much as I would love to have her success, I know it will not happen as I do not write like her and could not even begin to try. I want to go my own way with my own work and hope that one day, my stories will reach a wider audience.

3)Why do I write what I do?

I am inspired by nature and animals, so that is always the starting point for me.  When I am in a particular place, I may see something - an animal, a landscape or perhaps a building, then I work my characters around it to develop a story.  

4) How does my writing process work?

This varies from day to day. I would love to say I have a set routine but I haven't.  I do always have a notebook to hand and have often had to pull in to a lay by while I have been driving if I have an idea that I don't want to forget. I love to scribble, even it it's one word or a sentence that makes me want to build on it and create a story or an article later on.

Most of the time I start writing notes by hand then transfer them to the computer. Yet with blogging I prefer to get stuck in straight away.

So that is where I pass this blog chain over and I would like to nominate Carrole Anne Carr, a very successful author and writer of Children's stories.  This includes 'First Wolf'  a wonderful Children's novel which has been a great success   http://caroleannecarr.blogspot.co.uk/

It's Nano time again

I wasn't going to take part in NaNoWrimo this year. Although I found the crazy challenge of writing a novel in 30 days exciting and even enjoyable last year, this time I felt that I didn't have another novel in me.

I am so glad that has changed and it was all due to me attending the Wrekin Writers workshop which was part of the Wellington literary festival.

Kate Long, bestselling author of 'The Bad Mother's Handbook', ran an excellent work shop on creating characters at speed which I found so useful but it was the warm up exercise that got me inspired and gave me the thirst to keep on writing without stopping. The exercise was simply to start with the line ' I remember' and when I started writing, my pen didn't leave the page. It was a great feeling as I scribbled down everything 'I could remember' and the words just seemed to flow out of me.

I chose a personal topic that has been a part of my life since I was a child and so I was able to write without even thinking about it, I loved the feeling of putting pen to paper and not even questioning what I was writing down - because it was real.

During the break I talked to Bryan Vaughan, a very successful Nano participant and very talented writer. His enthusiasm got to me while we were talking but again, I still didn't have the desire to enter.

But then a few days later something happened to change my mind when inspiration struck.  I love those days when something literally does pop into your head. I got that feeling the moment I woke up. An idea came to me and so I had the urge to enter NanoWrimo again and write another story.  The difference with this one is it will be a true story.  The story of 'Chad' my beatufiul horse that has been a friend to me since I was aged 14.  We have grown up together and shared a lifetime of experiences, most of them wonderful and some of them dreadful.  He has seen me go from a horse mad teenager with plaits to a horse mad middle aged woman with a bob and I have seen a true gentleman grow old while still having a passion for chocolate and polo mints.   

I have never until now thought about 'true life' stories so this is very different for me, I am not a famous person and Chad is only a part of my own familiy life, to me that doesn't matter. It may not be a best selling novel but I do know that I can certainly write 50,000 words over 30 days about it.

So here goes, roll on the 1st November, I can't wait to start.

Be Aware

I always think it's amazing when a single event can lead to a complete change of path or the way you think.

This has definitely happened for me over the last few months when I started my one year Bardic course with the British Druid Order.  You can read more about my journey if you wish on my other blog The Pagan Apprentice but this post is about how it has opened up so many opportunities that have turned into writing successes.

I mentioned the World Drum in my previous post and now my article has been published in Kindred Spirit magazine too. This article came about because of my involvement with the British Druid order who invited me to an event then allowed me to interview their founder and chief ,Greywolf on how he felt about the World drum coming to Great Britain.  It was a wonderful experience to interview and talk to someone and I gained so much inspiration from our chat.

Since I have started the course I have learnt and been encouraged to be aware of everything around me at all times.  This is so important with writing of any kind and it has helped me find inspiration every single day just because I am aware of what is around me, particular in nature and the earth. 

When I wake up I am aware of what sounds I can hear and on my drive to work I see all sorts of things that sometimes I may have let go and forgotten about.  During my day at work I listen, I see, I smell, I feel and I take it all in then scribble it down in my trusty notebook ready for a time I may need to use it.

Life is busy and it is hard to be like this all the time but I am trying to make it part of my daily routine so that when I want to write about a wind swept hill or a a forest dappled with sunshine, I can, even though I may not be near one at the time.  It is about ceasing every opportunity you are in and being aware of everything going on in it so that you can put that into your writing.

The picture in this post was taken by Elaine Gregory when we were up on the top of the snow covered Titterstone Clee hill in April.  I met the world drum and some wonderful people and I do believe that every moment I was there, I have kept in my memory as I was so inspired by it all.  This was one of my life events that has motivated me into a different path and trying out all sorts of writing outside of my comfort zone.

So, be aware. Aware of everything you do and see, try something different, a new hobby or perhaps visit a place you have never been to, you never know where it may lead.