Tag Archives: Writing

Climbing back on the wagon

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I can’t believe it’s been four months since I last sat and wrote a post. The time just slips away when you’re not looking.

I’ve also been keeping a paper journal more rigorously, which reduces the need to blurt out my thoughts and feelings online. Which is a good thing for everyone really. Plus I’ve been away. Plus I’ve been ill. Stack it all up and I’ve had many excuses for being away from the blog space for awhile. Today, however, marks the return to climbing back on the wagon in almost every area of my life.

I’m lucky enough to have recently spent nearly two weeks in Mexico, with nothing to do but lie on the beach, read, eat nice food and have cocktails brought to me on whim. Not a bad way to live. But in all seriousness, it was a much needed break. As I wrote in my last post, I’d become overwhelmed and lost in my side projects, whilst maintaining a full time job and doing a gruelling weekly commute.

Then there’s Brexit. Don’t even get me started on this act of self-sabotage and insanity that Britain seems to thing is a good idea. It’s utter madness, but it has had the curious effect of solidifying a few things for me as I attempt to get back into a more productive routine:

  • Post holiday, it’s definitely time to get back on the sugar-free lifestyle. I feel rubbish off it, and there won’t be any money for the NHS to look after me and my sugar-related illnesses twenty years down the line the way things are going
  • Writing should be something I love, not a chore. If I don’t enjoy it, then I shouldn’t do it
  • I should possibly become less dependent on European travel. Which is fine, because Cornwall is lovely, assuming someone does something about the weather. (Also, it’s not fine really. Less freedom of movement and a spiralling pound suck)
  • Side projects can spiral out of control and suddenly become the cause of burnout. It’s not too late to think about doing less for 2016, whilst still being productive and having fun. This was an aha! moment I had whilst listening to one of my new favourite podcasts, Cortex.
  • Comfortable is easy. But at a time when the risks are at their highest, the rewards are also at their greatest. Somebody out there has to get them and it won’t be me if I flop at the end of the workday into three hours of mindless TV. Something I’ve never done until this year, I might add.

Independent of me, the remainder of 2016 will be a year of change. That genie is not going back in his bottle. So I might as well do what I can to influence the outcome I want, rather than just sit back and let stuff happen to me.

I think that’s all quite spirited and positive for the end of a Monday, even if I do say so myself.

Burnout comes in many forms

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For most of this week, I have been off work sick. This is an unusual occurrence for me. Given that I work from home a lot and have done for years, being sick doesn’t necessarily mean not working. I can’t even remember the last time I took a sick day.

But this week I got hit by something that wiped me out. Over the years, I’ve got pretty good at spotting and managing signs of work stress. I have tools and techniques in place to make sure I spot burnout before it arrives. My ‘no work phone on vacation’ has been a rule for a decade. I stopped checking emails after 7pm or at weekends years ago. All of these things stop me from arriving at a place I swore to myself long ago that I would never get to. I’ve watched too many friends crumble because of stress. I know that the journey back is a long and painful one. If you ever properly make it back at all, that is.

But as I lay in bed this week, my brain was chattering to me. Why wasn’t I reading? Why wasn’t I using the time to write? Why wasn’t I using my sick time effectively?

Wait? What? That was the warning sign I had failed to see. My life is busy, but no more so than anyone else’s right? Perhaps not, but clearly the pressure I put on myself to try to get everything done had taken it’s toll. For an introvert like me, even going out with people socially, no matter how much fun I have, is exhausting. Combine that with a three hour plus commute a couple of days a week and my body clearly had enough.

This week has been ECGs and blood tests and more blood tests. At some point I shut my brain up and allowed myself to just lie there while my joints ached like they belonged to a ninety year old. Even typing this now, I hurt.

Burnout comes in many forms. But my body has sent me a clear signal that I can’t keep juggling everything. For once, I am going to listen to it. That doesn’t mean giving up on goals and dreams. I’m going to just have to get better at taking time for mental and physical relaxation. I’m going to have to cut the busywork from my life where it doesn’t have significant benefits. I need to be intentional. When I feel better, it will be time to hide away somewhere and really think how this will all play out for the rest of the year.

Now though, I am going to rest again and not feel guilty about it. I’m sick and tired of feeling guilty all the time. No more.

Writing race

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You know me, I’m all for a bit of equality and diversity.

But when I write my characters, they come to me to tell a story, not to put a tick in a box. In the story I’m currently writing, the main character’s husband is black and their daughter is therefore mixed race. The story itself has no theme of race, it is simply that they are what they are.

Which got me thinking a couple of things. Firstly, as a white woman in England, is it easy for me to say things like ‘it’s not about race’ because race never factors into my daily decisions and life? Secondly, am I in a position to understand that element of a person’s life within my characters in an authentic fashion?

It’s certainly easy to overthink things. It’s a thorny topic and in some ways I’m reticent to even write a blogpost about it. I want to be true to the story I want to tell, but I also want to be true to the characters as they would perceive the world. I don’t want to offend anyone by a series of assumptions and presumptions based on my own limited view of the world.

In that sense, as a writer coming from a place of my own experience, it would be easier simply to make them all white. Write what you know, isn’t that what they say? But there are people of all races, religions, abilities and sexualities in my life and although I may never walk a day in their shoes, it doesn’t mean I should exclude them my stories just because that would be easier for me. That’s how no one grows and inequality prospers.

So, I may get it wrong. I may overthink or underthink things. I may accidentally offend, but I promise never to intentionally offend. Above all, I’ll try to tell an authentic story, no matter how difficult or challenging that may be.

Everyday carry for a writer

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Over the past year, I’ve become endlessly fascinated by people photographing and describing their everyday carry. Of course, because I don’t live in America, I still find it odd to see so many knives and guns as part of that. The knives I can understand from a practical sense, but the prospect of having a gun as an integral part of your everyday life still baffles me.

Anywho, I am a person who has a few items with them 99% of the time. I might not have them with me when I go out for a special occasion requiring a little black handbag, but that’s about it. So below is my everyday carry:

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I adore my nockco holder. Whenever I have an idea I just pull the whole thing out, rather than having to ferret around in the bottom of my bag to find a fluffy pen and an old receipt to scribble on. I have three notebooks with me most of the time: my current notebook, the Shelterwood Field Notes which contain details of a series I’ve been working on for a decade and the black nockco dot dash contains all the notes for the manuscript I’m currently submitting. For the writing utensils, a mechanical pencil, a retro 51, my sheaffer, pilot metropolitan and a lamy safari. I love to have a reliable selection of varying nib sizes and colours.

I also carry a set of worry dolls down around that were made for me by my sister a looooooooong time ago. They’ve travelled quite literally around the world with me and have huge sentimental value. No matter where I am or what is going on, I always have my family with me that way, all tied up in a little bag. Wait, that sounds sinister. Never mind…

The other things are purely practical: Swiss army card (has got me out of a few scrapes over the years for sure), a wallet ninja, lip balm, ear plugs (a sign I travel so much) and a USB stick, because you never know when you might have to grab documents on the go.

So, no guns or knives, but still the tools of my trade!

Writing YA in Lake Garda

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So, I’m in that flush stage of starting a new WIP and as so often happens with anything I write, it has a slightly warmer location than miserable old England. Which, of course, is making me think about holidays, which made me start going through my old photos. Jumping back to the top of places to visit: Lake Garda, Italy. I might try and squeeze in a trip later this year…

Lake Garda Italy

moleskine

Down to the last page!

There is something so wonderful and relaxing about sitting at the edge of the Lakes. Even though I have been there a couple of times, usually at the height of the tourist season, there is still a sense of peace there. I also completely conceived the plot of the YA novel I am currently submitting there. I remember vividly coming to the end of the Moleskine I was using at the time (pre Field Notes!), my writing getting smaller and smaller in the hope I would be able to get it all down before I got to the last page. I did – just about – but was willing to write on the cover if necessary.

It’s been nearly fifteen years since travel and writing somehow became inextricably intertwined for me. It’s a beautiful combination that I hope I always get to enjoy and continue to be inspired and motivated by. Plus, pasta, pizza and good wine. What’s not to love?

Life hacking my year

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I set myself some pretty big goals in 2015 and intend to make 2016 my most successful year ever. Of course, we’re still in January, so making bold statements like that before the grudging reality of the daily grind kicks in is still possible. Even so, I picked up a few life hacks last year that I’m going to carry over into this year. They apply to daily life, so they cover off all my goal types: writing, financial, spiritual, physical etc.

Top tip number 1 – the standing desk.

Several personal development pros I follow have recommended this, but the biggest influencers for me were Jeff Sanders and Michael Hyatt’s blogpost and podcasts on the topic:

7 Amazing Benefits of a Standing Desk

4 Reasons you should buy a standup desk – right now

Previously I would spend 6-8am sitting writing, 9-6 sitting for my job, then often 7-9 sitting doing more writing. That is a lot of sitting. Now I still do the writing stints sitting down, but the day is spent standing, unless I physically need to be at head office. That persistent twinge in my left shoulder has gone, along with general back pain. I’ve recently added a balance plate to keep myself moving too, rather than just standing still.

Top tip number 2 – a really good morning routine.

I’ve had a morning writing routine for at least 5 years now. Time flies, so I can’t really be sure. Over 2015 I really upped my game on this. My morning routine now includes more than just knocking out 1000 words on my latest writing project each day. It includes affirmations and journalling (my form of meditative practice). It all felt very American at first, but once I got over being all British and reserved, it’s had huge benefits. It’s a real mental health compliment to the physical health tip above. For an idea of how to start setting it up, Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning is a great place to start (he has a pretty full on personal story to check out too).

Top tip number 3 – carry a notebook and pen EVERYWHERE

The more I did the above top tips, the more my brain seemed to become able to throw out ideas and see potential everywhere. As I wrote in my last post, I made a habit of capturing them straight away, rather than lose them or have to waste a ton of mental energy trying to remember them for later. It could be that sudden strategic insight that you needed to get a result on that big project, or it could be that you need to add cheese to the weekly shopping list – it doesn’t matter. Getting it down on paper means that your brain can then carry on being the awesome beast that it was designed to be. Field Notes have become my pocket notebook of choice, but it’s all personal preference.

Top tip number 4 – track it

Digital or analogue, tracking what you’re doing is the easiest way of making sure you’re doing what you need to do. I use coach.me and have a few habits that I’ve done so many days in a row that I will now go out of my way to complete them so that I don’t break my streak. I’ve done 10 pushups (upgraded to 20 nearly a year ago) each morning now for over 500 consecutive days. There is no way I’d do that without the app.

These all work for me, but if anyone else has any suggestions then feel free to comment. I’m always looking for ways to up my game…

Capturing ideas wherever, whenever

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Intuitively I felt like I was capturing so many more thoughts and ideas as I moved through 2015. So at the end of the year I collected together all the notebooks I had completed into one place to confirm the theory. Yep, I had indeed had a lot of thoughts:

2015 notebook stack

Because I’m a bit of a GTD fan, I was in the habit of capturing things to do the moment I thought of them, but story ideas and general everyday thoughts and feelings, not so much. I made much more of an effort to do that and it shows. I have a whole treasure chest of ideas for stories I can now return to, as well as all the highs and lows of the year that I’ve recorded for posterity.

Broken down into three notebook types:

  1. The filofax was my daily log book for 2015. For 2016 I’ll be moving over to a Hobonichi which is already proving to be an amazing experience.
  2. The large, hardback notebooks were for novel plotting and extended meditative journalling, including daily gratitudes to set my days up right.
  3. Pocket notebooks (especially Field Notes) were always in my jeans or handbag for keeping track of what I had to do each day, but also for those random confluences of inspiration that happen when I’m out and about. Now I can capture them immediately (I’m guaranteed to forget them if I put it off until I get home).

2015 Notebook collection

I made leaps forward in my writing processes and achievements in 2015 and I fully intend to keep building on the momentum in 2016. More than ever I believe the best way to succeed at anything is to just write it down!

The white sandy beaches of Fraser Island

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Last night I had a dreams with three apparently memorable components. One was about bunking off work to go to a sixth form reunion, another was something very messy involving mashed potatoes and gravy and the last one was being back on Fraser Island.

I suspect it is in part a hankering for the sunshine as the autumn begins to encroach. I don’t feel like we had a particularly amazing summer weather-wise and as much as I find the changing of the leaves a beautiful sight, I don’t like that damp chill in the air when I get up to write at 6am. I want blue skies and warm sunshine and white sand. And peace. So it’s no wonder really that in my dreams I would go back to a place like this:

Lake Mackenzie Fraser Island

Now forgive the picture quality, because this was taken with my first ever digital camera, given to me as a parting gift from a dear friend before I set off to adventure around the world. This was back when 2megapixels didn’t mean anything to anyone but it was about the best you could get for under five hundred quid. Now you can get a burner phone with better. How quickly the world has changed in a decade.

I’m so lucky to have travelled to so many places and god willing I hope to travel to many, many more. For these are the places that are the source of my inspiration and the memories that I can keep returning to on the mundane, cold days to remind me of just how privileged I really am.

So this is a Throwback Thursday to sunshine, but a present day moment of gratitude.

Putting the wheels back on the wagon

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This isn’t my first blog about Getting Things Done (GTD for short) and it probably won’t be the last. Also, I always want to spell waggon with those two gs, but apparently that’s been classed as archaic now for a century. Clearly I really might be as old as I feel some days.

Anyway, I’ve had my GTD system set up for so long now that I’ve forgotten how to live without it. Or, at least, I thought I had. Then it became abundantly clear that I’ve been slowly sliding towards chaos in both work and personal areas. Luckily for me, my version of chaos is most people’s version of normal, so nothing slipped or became a problem. The only problem as such was in the way I felt. Like I was always on the edge of forgetting something important. It was horrible.

So on Friday I completely got things sorted on the work front: projects identified, next actions defined, emails and tasks list all up to date. It gave me a wonderful sense of freedom. One which was also, unfortunately, a false sense of security in how easy it was.

On Sunday, I then spent my day working through this:

GTD+workflow+diagram

By the end of the day, you know where I was at?

Step 1: Stuff to in (or collect, for those of you who prefer the term).

All of those things that had been lying around, pieces of paperwork, random receipts, half held thoughts in my head, were actually at least captured all in one place. For most people who pick up Getting Things Done, I think they fall at this hurdle. Don’t get me wrong, it is massively overwhelming. I burst into tears at one point and I am not a person prone to random crying. Well, not at this stuff anyway.

So why keep going? Because I do know what it feels like at the other end. To be able to be mysteriously more productive and still have time for creative thinking. Having this system will essentially allow me to have two jobs: employee and writer. The bills still need paying and without a system, the one I love the most would be the one I have to sacrifice.

That’s how you put the wheels back on. You remember that the two days of 100% overwhelm will be followed by many more days when you know exactly what has to be done and how you are going to do it. I’d rather do that than run through every day at 25% stress and go to bed each night kicking myself for making progress on everything other than the things that matter to me most.

Making Notes: Emerald of Chivor

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It’s no secret that I find any creative project starts out best when I put good old fashioned pen to paper. The majority of my first drafts are then created in Scrivener, but I’ve never found that plotting and discovering characters really comes alive if they’re not discovered on paper first.

Most people have creative slumps. I know authors, actual real life get paid to write books for a living people, who have found themselves with writer’s block. There are so many ways of getting out of it, but one of the things that works best for me is to find a really engaging tool that makes me want to write something – anything – down. That can be pen, paper or ink. As long as it’s decidedly analogue, I’ll give in to the temptation to try it.

So without further ado, my latest inspirational find: J Herbin Emerald of Chivor:

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This ink has taken the pen world by storm and from the moment I saw the samples coming out, I could see why. That sheen! That colour! The hints of red were more intriguing than the flecks of gold. All better than I can capture on an iPhone, but I refuse to buy a better camera for the sake of doing blogposts. Anywho, I needed to go back to an old project and work out some knots that were bogging the whole thing down. So, with a trusty NockCo DotDash black pocket book (I’ll definitely be telling you more about those at some point in the future) and a TWSBI Eco 1.1 Stub (again, a pen worth knowing about), I started to tease apart the strands of my story to work out where it was going so spectacularly wrong:

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This is where having such a fascinating tool to play with comes into play. I was so distracted by wanting to put words down, to try and create the different flow using the stub nib, that I worked out what was annoying me the most without even thinking about it. I was too busy thinking about how there were differences when you shook the pen up a little first, how the red wasn’t as strong in my sample as I’d seen in some others and not about the fact that it was a point of view issue I was having.

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So, for me, it’s a big thumbs up for Emerald of Chivor. I want to use this so much, I’ve already decided that tomorrow it will be part of my morning pages routine. I think that J Herbin have got this one right (being the fourth in the series of inks using this gold flecking), and so far I haven’t had any issues with it clogging my pens. That being said, I think it definitely needs to be used with at least a broad nib if you want to get full enjoyment out of it.

Feel like kicking your creativity old school? Then this might not be the cheapest place to start, but it gets a huge thumbs up from me.

Emeraldofchivor