Tag Archives: Reading

Welcome 2016!

01 Friday Jan 2016

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So, I went out last night with some beautiful people and had a bloody fabulous time, but now I’m feeling a little bit delicate around the eyeballs*.

You might know that I don’t drink alcohol, but it turns out staying up late, jumping up and down, and then sleeping fitfully coz it’s really hot feel quite similar to a hangover (I assume, I haven’t really ever had one).

Anyway, welcome to 2016. It feels weird to be writing that as the date. It feels a bit like we’re in the future already and that feels pretty strange.

As I promised yesterday I’m doing my goals for the new year. I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions because I believe we should all be striving to live our best lives all the time. Also because most people don’t keep them.

In 2016, I’ve grouped my goals into three categories: Writing Projects, Concrete Goals, Vaguely Defined Aspirations.

Writing Projects include:

  • Winning NaNoWriMo in 2016
  • Edit the Choose Your Own Adventure book from 2015
  • Redraft You Brought this on Yourself (2014 manuscript)
  • Finalise and pitch Adventures in Mediocrity script

I’m going to keep going to my two writing groups, I’m going to try to get into a routine of setting time aside to work on my longer stuff during the week. Of course I’ll probably still be frantically coming up with something for the writing groups about three hours before I have to be there! Maybe this year I’ll even be a bit more organised about that, but I do seem to thrive with a looming deadline, so I probably won’t.

My concrete goals are:

  • Plan or take a new trip
  • Perform with the band

The band seems to be coming on steadily, so I’m confident that this one will happen. I’ve been writing a bunch of lyrics, along with Charlie, the singer, and we’re finding our creative grooves both individually and collectively.

I want to go on another trip. I think travel is important for both sanity and growth. I haven’t been to South America, or Africa, or Asia, so one of those places might be the go this time, although having people to visit in Europe makes it very tempting to go back. I haven’t put ‘go on a trip’ on the list because I might not have the money to do it in 2016, but I will definitely be going sometime soon.

Finally my vaguely defined aspirations are:

  • Get a job
  • Learn new stuff/expand
  • Talk to strangers/meet new people
  • Exercise
  • Read
  • Explore
  • Eat well

Taking care of my body and my mind are top priorities for this year, so these items are designed to help me do that. I give myself permission to do nice things for myself, like going for walks, doing short courses, spending money on nice food, and meeting people.

I think it’s a pretty good looking list. I’ve covered all the bases of stuff I want to work on and continue to improve in the new year. If I think of any more concrete goals I’ll just add them onto the master list that I have on a Sticky Note on my computer desktop (so high-tech).

Thank-you to everyone who made 2015 amazing! I’ve learned so many things, like how to Blasphememe, and met new amazing people like Tay, Joe, and Charlie (my band, ❤ you guys). I’ve been pushing the boundaries of my mind, I’ve joined a new writing group, I’ve had a bunch of jobs, I nearly melted my brain with art, and I hope this year will be just as full of fabulousness (or possibly even more full)! I love you all. xo

 

*this has been greatly improved by consumption of coffee, I’m feeling pretty human now.

6 things I wish I’d known earlier

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by in My Journey, Writing

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This is what all the kids are writing these days right? Completely useless lists with click-baity titles? Look at me, I’m BuzzFeed! Anyway I thought I’d gave a go at it:

1. You can be in the middle of reading more than one book at once

books

I’m a bit of a late comer to this particular one, but my attempts at doing the reading for my literature subjects recently have taught me that you can, pretty reliably, keep several books in mind at once. There are also some books which require some digestion between readings, in particular collections of essay or short stories, which can’t really be read all at once like a novel. So if you’re a bit stuck, maybe put the book down for a while and try another one, you can always go back.

Related: “You don’t have to finish the book if it’s really awful/boring” (but if it’s a ‘classic’ give it a bit more time), and “Staring off into space while reading is totally valid”.

2. Literally everyone is making it up as they go along

adult

I know you can have more experience or more training at something and that helps and everything, but seriously, everyone is just doing the best they can at any given moment and if you asked most people if they knew what they were doing they would say ‘sort of’. This is completely acceptable. Also men are taught to be much more comfortable with pantsing (flying by the seat of your pants) than women, as evidenced by the tendency for women to wait until they feel 100% ready to apply for a better job.

Related: “No-one feels like an adult, until you watch teenagers and feel old”, and “Training and experience allow you to be more convincing at making it up on the spot”.

3. Everybody needs a night in

blanket burrito

Some people are more comfortable in the presence of people and groups of people than others. You can call it introversion and extroversion if you like, but whatever personality type you have, a night in, some quiet time, having a nap and a cup of tea, taking yourself on a date, whatever you like to do is valuable. It doesn’t make you weak.

Related: “Nobody really cares if you don’t go to the party” thanks Courtney Barnett.

4. You have to push yourself to do things you don’t really wanna do

potato thing

Alright, I know just about everyone says this one and it takes a while to sink in but I’m just gonna put this here. One day you’ll be sitting at home trying to work out if you want to do the scary thing, and you’ll be scared of messing it up, or having a bad time of whatever but just do the thing! No real growth can be achieved without leaving the comfort zone.

Related: “Just because it wasn’t fun doesn’t mean you didn’t learn something”, and “Comfort zone, learning zone, panic zone“.

5. Everybody hurts sometimes

sad human

Being sad is okay sometimes. I think, as a culture, we’re a little bit obsessed with achieving happiness all the time, usually by buying some product or other, but happiness is only one emotion. There are others and we need to be able to feel them, be present in them, deal with them, and know that all things pass, including sadness, and happiness, and anger and joy and that’s what life is.

Related: I should really watch that film about the emotions, “Feeling sad isn’t the same as being depressed” and “Happiness means nothing unless we have something to compare it to”.

6. Sometimes people are shitheads because they don’t know any better

assholes

People are shitheads sometimes. It’s not always about you. Sometimes it’s not even a little bit about you. That’s not to say that you should let them get away with it, and it’s not to say that they’re excused, but all humans out there who have had different experiences to you and those experiences have shaped who they are. If they’ve never experienced being called for being a shithead, they’re probably not going to like it, but if you can do it skillfully, quietly, firmly, and without humiliating them in front of others, they might learn something for next time.

Related: “Sometimes it’s not your job to educate people”, “Appropriate use of a disapproving eyebrow goes a long way”, This is Water.

Right so that went from the concrete to the weirdly philosophical really quickly. So on that note, I’m going to bed. I’m not completely sure what my point was with this but it seemed like a good idea when I started it and then I just kept going till I had six things.

Let’s see if this click-bait title and listicle format gets lots of hits.

I promise I will read them all…

28 Thursday May 2015

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Or at least start them all. Honest!

I’ve just finished a three week seminar series at Kew Library on Romance Writing run by Anne Gracie (see the end), and I may have accidentally bought a book (which she signed, so that’s cool right?). I have so many books in the ‘to read’ pile, added to steadily by the lists of novels set for uni, of which many are now partially read. However, I have exciting news:

I have finished my degree!!

Well, okay, not technically. I have one more essay to do, due on 12 June, and then I still have to pass all my subjects, and then I have to have the graduation ceremony in October, but I still think of this as being the end. I made it through! I’m very pleased with myself for finishing it, for sticking out full-time study again as a grown up, and for pursuing things that make me happy. And soon I’ll have the piece of paper to prove it!

I now promise myself to slowly, but surely, make my way through the ‘to read’ pile. All reading on public transport, waiting for appointments, while on lunch breaks and before falling asleep can now be for fun!

I promise to spend more time writing. It’s true that for the last 12 months while doing full-time uni I’ve been doing quite a lot of uni writing, (for example I have pumped out 5,500 words in the last two days, which I think is pretty impressive), but it isn’t the same as writing for fun. I know that it’s all very well to say I will write more, and when there’s nothing stopping you it’s easier to be disenchanted with it, but I hope to be able to set up a more productive writing routine, and finish that third manuscript! (And write more here).

For those who are interested in hearing a bit about the Romance Writing thing I mentioned at the start, it was very interesting, I got lots of great writing tips, lots of names of writers, mostly romance, for me to follow up on (even more for the ‘to read’ pile!), and a lot of new writing contacts with whom I hope to share my work for to get feedback and have fresh eyes look over it. Anne Gracie is very generous with her time and is super lovely, so if you ever have the opportunity to go to one of her sessions, and you’re a writer of any sort of genre or commercial fiction, she’s a great teacher!

Finally, here’s a gratuitous picture of me from a couple of weeks ago because I’ve been pretty quiet lately and you all deserve a photo.

GPOS - photo by Meiki

GPOS – photo by Meiki

In Defence of Reading: or how not to be a book snob.

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Focus today’s post on the contrast between two things. The twist? Write the post in the form of a dialogue.

 

‘I’m not really a big reader.’

‘Really? Why not?’ I ask.

‘Well, I dunno, it’s boring…’

‘What sort of thing are you trying to read?’

‘I tried some Dickens a while ago, but I didn’t finish it.’

‘Hmm, that might be your problem then. Dickens and other nineteenth century authors might be regarded as classics but that doesn’t make them easier to read, in fact it might mean the opposite. Sometimes books get a reputation based on being hard to finish.’

‘Really? So I’m not a moron for not being able to appreciate the fine writing or intimate place setting?’ you laugh.

‘I wouldn’t say you were a moron because you don’t like the way an author writes. Have you tried anything else? Anything simpler? Or more contemporary? You might find it more enjoyable if the places are more familiar and the language more like what you’re used to hearing.’ I suggest.

‘Not really. I always thought new stuff was supposed to be trashy and not worth the time.’

‘Like what specifically?’

‘Well, like crime or fantasy or vampires. Is it even worthwhile?’

I think for a moment before I reply. ‘Every book has been written by someone who has poured hundreds, if not thousands of hours into honing their skills. The fact that a book is “genre fiction”, like crime or sci-fi or romance, doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time. There are so many great books out there, so many interesting characters to share, that you should try out as many different sorts as you can. Never be discouraged by people in ivory towers, or academics or even friends telling you it’s not worth it. Books are popular because people have a good time reading them, lots of books will never be critically acclaimed but they’re still fun to read.

‘I would never encourage you to stick with a book if you’re bored, or the story doesn’t make sense, or the voice of the author gets on your nerves, but don’t give up on reading altogether. And even if you try out lots of genres and still don’t really like reading, there’s always graphic novels and comics to look at. Even reading this blog counts!’

‘But what about all the classics? Shouldn’t I keep trying?’ you protest.

‘Well, you can if you like, but something to keep in mind is that language is fluid. Those classics, particularly the older ones, were written when language behaved differently. Some, like Shakespeare, are so far removed from current common usage as to be almost a foreign tongue. There is a lot of value in the works, but you need to learn how to translate them to get the most out of them, and you might not want to spend your time doing that. There will always be plenty of PhD candidates in the world who spend their lives reading the classics that they won’t be forgotten because you personally haven’t read them.

‘And reading contemporary stuff might mean that some poor, starving writer in the world gets to make some money to live off what they love to do, so everybody wins.’

‘Yeah, maybe. I’ll give something else a go. But where do I start?’

‘I suggest you go to your local library and ask them what’s popular but not too hard. They know lots of good books to start with. Or you could go to a book shop and ask them, or go online for reviews, or you could borrow something from my shelf. The world of reading awaits you, just open the cover and start!’