Eden and the literary masterpieces of 10 year olds

We decided to take advantage of an offer for locals and visited the Eden Project on Saturday. Eden offers £5 entry fee that then gets you free entry for a year if you are a local resident. Children were a two pound donation each and so for the princely sum of £14 we have free access to the Eden Project for a year. Definitely worth it as we live about 15 minutes from it! This time of year they have a covered ice rink for a couple of months, so we can pay to skate at Eden.

We had a great time and if any blogger buddies out there are ever in Cornwall I would put it on your visit list. I am going back for the Christmas shopping next week as they had some decorations there!! Hollie, my four year old, is excited beyond belief about ice skating for the first time, whilst I have a little trepidation as I have not skated since my teens.

I have been so excited this past week or so with the Bodmin Bookworm. Kat is working so hard on it and it looks great. We went into two larger Bodmin schools last week to promote the Bookworm and since then Kat has been inundated by the most amazing piece of writing from a number of year sixes. Not only are they writing in with their work but also commenting on each other's work, and those comments are across schools, not just on friend's work. It is really beginning to take off and I know my boss hopes it will be going national in the near future. If you get a chance have a look at the Bookworm and particularly check out Berrycoombe, St Petrocs and Robartes Junior School. At Robartes there is one young man named Brandon who is sending in epic work that is fab to read. It is so encouraging to read these pieces of work as they are coming from 10 and 11 year olds who could have promising writing careers.

Busy busy busy at the moment. Christmas lights are going on in Bodmin on Friday and I have four puppet assemblies to rehearse for as well as a Carol Service. Hopefully there will be blog posts popping up in between the madness that are the weeks before Christmas.

Inspiration, Emotion and Editing

It was my mum's birthday this week and every time there is a birthday in the family I am tempted to go back through old photos. Memories are so powerful and pictures, like smells and sounds, evoke very emotional responses in me. Every time I see the photo above of my son aged 24 hours old, I remember the joy of his arrival and the pain of knowing he faced surgery just 10 days later for his cleft repair. Now aged seven, every time I look at this photo and then look at him now, I have a catalogue of emotional responses ranging from pain, fear and worry to pride, joy and hope. I have tried to harness them in my writing as I believe every experience we have has purpose and can be used positively in a number of ways.

I went back over my chapters on Wednesday and I have to own up to editing them all slightly, though I was not too ruthless. I just felt I could not go on writing the story till I had modified the dialogue in chapter two, it was like a barrier I had hit and had to hurdle before I could go on. I have made a solemn promise to myself now that I will not edit anything else in this book until I have finished it. This will keep me motivated and stop me languishing in chapter three!!!

Speaking of photos, I was trawling through my Cornwall shots and came across this clearing, taken at Lanhydrock (NT place near Bodmin). It has provided me with a very visual setting for next chapter of my book and so I am planning to get going with this over the weekend. I do not want to stall again but I have a busy November ahead so the words are discipline and organisation (Boy, am I in trouble).

Travelling Tales

I have been away 'up country' as we say in Cornwall visiting relatives for half term and feel I have done a lot of travelling. Andy' s parents are in West Sussex, so we were based there, visiting old friends in Chessington (former home town) and have a fab day out at Legoland as well as a trip to the south coast. Feel well travelled around the south east but I am happy to be home again.

I have also been travelling in my reading experiences too. I have read all the Michelle Paver's 'Chronicles of Ancient Darkness' books to date and was hungry for a new series, so one of the twelve year olds at church loaned me ' Ingo, ' by Helen Dunmore. It is set down here in Cornwall and is proving to be a great read, though it has taken me a while to get into it properly. The picture gives away a little about what the book might be about, but I think I may be hooked for this series too. I am really enjoying reading the 9-12 ' tween ' fiction however I do find it hard to read ' grown up ' books sometimes!!

It was hard to get any prose written whilst away, however I had a twenty minute window of time alone when I was able to write pages of descriptive notes about the time travelling device in my novel. Really pleased as it has given me pegs to hang prose on now!!

Back to school tomorrow plus Mum's birthday, plus important church meeting, plus Kat's little boy's birthday...so busy day ahead. Might need to escape to Ingo again later on.

My First Ever Blog Award

Thank you to dearest Kat for my award, my first ever. Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? Alternate Universe

2. Where is your significant other? Tea-Making

3. Your hair color? Multi-tonal(!)

4. Your mother? Good friend

5. Your father? One of a kind

6. Your favourite thing? My family

7. Your dream last night? Forgotten

8. Your dream/goal? Published

9. The room you're in? Home Office

10. Your hobby? Crafts/Swimming

11. Your fear? Lonliness

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Writing for a living

13. Where were you last night? Celebrating daughter's 4th birthday

14. What you're not? Organised

15. One of your wish-list items? DIY Finished

16. Where you grew up? Chessington, Surrey

17. The last thing you did? Ironing

18. What are you wearing? Hubby's fleece

19. Your TV? On

20. Your pets? 4 Chickens

21. Your computer? On

22. Your mood? Up and down

23. Missing someone? Old friends

24. Your car? Noisy!

25. Something you're not wearing? Makeup

26. Favorite store? Bookshops

27. Your summer? Soggy

28. Love someone? Completely

29. Your favourite color? Purple

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Last week

Enjoyed that, but it seems it is impossible for me to be monosyballic! I have had a busy but enjoyable day today catching up with some special friends near and far. I need to pass this on to five people, but most of you have had this from someone else, so I will pass it on to Jon for his chicken support; Frankie as a Cornish import like myself and Jan for her wonderful post about Michael Morpurgo.

My sister is expecting her second baby after waiting for six years, and I saw the scan picture yesterday. I am so pleased for her but I am really looking forward to being an auntie without having a trace of broodiness...my nappy days are done!!

I am frustrated with writing again. I am really busy with work, governors meetings, church stuff and general family life that writing seems to be being pushed out again. Having written three chapters and gained a momentum, it was then lost to demands from other corners. We are heading up country on Friday for a few days to visit friends, family and take the kids to Legoland. Mostly I am looking forward to a break from routine and time away from my mobile phone!!! Discipline is a necessary thing for me, but I genuinely find it hard to carve some time out in the week. Need to review my time management strategy I think!

Cornish Autumnal Inspiration

I really love autumn. It is without doubt my favourite time of the year. I love the colours, the weather, the smells and sounds. It is often sunny with a crispness to the air and every time I go out my door I enjoy the smell of woodsmoke as people begin to light their woodburners for the colder days and nights. I was married and had both my children in the autumn and it is always one of my most inspirational times. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go out with my, 'almost four year old,' daughter, Hollie, for a walk at Respryn, on the edge of the Lanhydrock Estate. (Featured on Antiques Roadshow last night I noticed). Daddy and big brother had gone to watch the banger car racing at St Eval, so we decided to go out exploring and taking photos.

Respryn is a beautiful place to enjoy a walk. There are lots of woodland areas with pathways running through the woods and alongside the River Fowey. There are hundreds of different trees and wild plants as well as lots of old logs, housing various bugs and fungi. There are little copses with fallen logs and a number of wooden bridges to cross little streams that feed into the river. Hollie decided she wanted to make an 'autumn collection,' which involved filling a plastic basket with autumnal artefacts including various shapes and colours of leaves, acorns, wild flowers, tree moss and even the odd small blackberry. We also agreed that Hollie could take pictures with my digital camera of our walk to show the boys later. I demonstrated how to use it and all the pictures that are on display in this post are taken by her, with little or no help from me. I have to say I was impressed!

We had a lovely walk, making up stories about the old gnarly oak tree we found; discussing the animals that might live in the woods and stopping occasionally to describe the different sounds the river made. It seems I am so busy nowadays that time like this is far too rare, so to take a couple of hours to slow down and enjoy this time was not only enjoyable but absolutely necessary for me. The sun was shining, it was not cold, it was a truly idyllic autumnal Sunday afternoon. The treasures of nature and joy of spending time with a bright and enthusiastic little lady have inspired me and encouraged me, and so I have included some of Hollie's pictures in this post so that they may inspire you too.

Birthdays, beaches and Blimey I'm writing again!!

Wow its been nearly a month since I posted anything, time has passed me by and lots has been going on. Connor had his seventh birthday last weekend, which involved bowling, McDonalds and a birthday tea. Hollie's birthday is in ten days time so we are preparing for my little lady to turn four. The picture above is of the two of them as The Doctor and his assistant at a fancy dress party they went to recently. Connor generally does not do dressing up, but he made a cool timelord so we may see this outfit again for the Light party on the 31st (Don't do Halloween!). We have made the most of the better weather and Andy has been teaching Connor to body board in the surf at Polzeath. It was good to finally spend some time on the beach as a family this year.

Had real highs and lows for the past few weeks. have been having some really down times and not really knowing the actual why and wherefore of it all. Think it is an accumulation of many things but don't like feeling blue too often.

On the positive side I have been reading and writing much more. I am reading a children's book called The Summerhouse at present which is great, although I am pressing on to finish it as I have INGO by Helen Dunmore to read next and I am anticiapting it being really good.

Writing has been much better this week. After a gentle kickstart by my dear friend last week, I have managed to make some progress on my novel. It is very raw and will need lots of editing, but I am resisting editing too much as I write. I finished the prologue and have completed chapters one and two, making a word count to date of over 5000. I read it to my little timelord tonight, at his request, (although the book is aimed at an older market) and he lifted my heart more than anything or anyone else could when he said, "That was the best story ever Mummy and I am not just saying that because I am your boy!! Can you write the next chapter tonight?" It was a moment to shelve in my heart for any more down times to come. He is writing a story about his chickens at the moment and has asked to read the update to me tomorrow, I wait in anticipation and with great pleasure. I may have influenced my son a bit, but to have a seven year old boy choosing to read and write for pleasure is a joy to my heart.

The picture below is a cornish copper mine and the inspiration for the setting of the two chapters I have written this week. Hope to post more regularly again now.

Bookworming!!!!!

Dear Kat has done a fantastic job building the Bodmin Bookworm blog over the past few weeks. I had an idea in May that became a concept that I discussed with Kat, that became a proposal I put to my boss and then the heads in Bodmin and now that idea has become a reality. The Bookworm is launched officially with the schools on 22nd September, but the blog has gone live for constructive comment and ideas. Do go over and have a visit at www.bodminbookworm.blogspot.com and please do tell Kat how fab she is!!!!!

I have lots of ideas and some of them actually get to happen, but only because my boss was willing to let me fund it through my job and because I have a gifted friend who can build a blog into a thing of beauty!! I am very excited and for both of us hopefully our writing CV just got a little more substantial.

Once the site is being posted on after the 22nd please go in and comment on the kids work as it is such a boost to them to know someone outside of mum and dad and gran are reading what they have written.

Bodmin has some of the most socially deprived areas in the county and this is a real chance for every child to shine by posting even one line of creativity. The strapline came to me in a brainstorming session with Kat and I think it sums up the heart of the project.

Hope you enjoy your visit to Bodmin's new big creative idea!!

Broody Hen and Bookworms

Finally Matilda (or Tildy as she is affectionately known) has quit being broody. It has taken the poor dear nearly six weeks to realise that the eggs she keeps sitting on will a) keep mysteriously disappearing every day and b) will never hatch as she has no man in her life! She remains a bit skittish compared to our other three but hopefully will be back laying again soon.

Kat and I have been working on the Bodmin Bookworm yesterday and today. She has done a fantastic job and once the site is live I highly recommend a visit. I have been doing my bit emailing headteachers to get assembly dates and getting them to send logos etc. Her sister has done a cracking job on the logo as seen above. Excited about this as we have a chance to encourage creative writing from age 4-18 that is not classroom based. (The little worm below was supposed to be animated but he seems a little static.)

As well as spending a great day working with Kat we also mused over the possibility of either of us being David Tennants new companion now Catherine Tate has left, or whether we would have had a shot at dating him if we had not married our respective husbands....mmm remote and unlikely but always worth a little fantasy muse I guess.

Also managed to begin the write up of some of the material I did while away on holiday for my novel so I was pleased to begin to make a dent on that too. I do need to revisit the chapter planning again before I go too much further, but I am happy to be writing again.

Rollercoaster return to Blogland

I am sorry for not blogging for a long time (most of August actually) but it is amazing how little time I have had despite a desperately wet summer holiday. This past week or so has been roller coasting a bit for me for a number of reasons.
I have managed to develop a new strand of plotline for my novel which is exciting and adds a little more sci-fi to an historical novel. The picture shown was one of those I have used for visualising the first chapter of the book. (It is Wheal Coates engine house at St Agnes for anyone interested). I have made some progress and hope to get going on it this week. However I need to make more time to develop it all so I am planning a time management strategy...sad but true.

I then have a had a strange email conversation with an editor at a Christian Publishing house about the activity club material I wrote on Daniel. I had sent my synopsis in early July and had had no more, assumed it was a non-starter, then got an email on Friday asking to see the full material for day one. really excited so sent that off by email as requested, then this morning got what sounded like a rejection letter, saying the material did not fit their current list etc. Quite deflated but picked myself up and went to help our new pastor and his family move into their home. Four hours and fish and chips later I come back to my PC to fina another email saying that our emails must have been at crossed purposes and that the company are appointing a new CEO and he/she may decide to review the mediums they publish. So I think it means they may not be finished with my stuff yet. Left feeling a little bemused but cautious about being too hopeful.

Also Kat and I begin a new venture this month called the Bodmin Bookworm, aiming to encourage creative writing through schools and linking them together as a 'virtual' after school club at school, home and the local library. Kat's sister has designed the logo and I am now on the case to get publicity on the go. Kat is going to be the editorial manager for the blog so once it is up and running and I am sure we will both be signposting you all to look at it.

I guess we keep writing and exploring. I have been inspired and encouraged to hear how Debs and Karen have got stories accepted for magazines and clever Cal has got an agent, there is hope for me yet too. Well done ladies, great job

Black Boxes, Puppets and Iced Coffee

In between various showers we managed to get some photos taken for the Black Boxes Competition on Caroline Smailes blog. My two kids are puppet crazy so it seemed fitting to start with these!

Clyde!

Connor with Dec

Dec

Family photo!

We have a puppet ministry at our church and Connor has just started performing with the team, so we are constantly surrounded by puppets!

Had a great day today, went pottery painting with the kids and had a lovely time - followed by an iced coffee in a fav local cafe. The iced coffee is a special favourite of mine as it contains cream and ice cream...totally GI friendly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keen to try and write up some of the work I did on holiday and formulate it into chapters as it was one long piece of narrative that needs structuring.

Also now got to cook hubby food and evict broody chicken from the nest again to make sure she eats...such a shame we have no cockerel so the eggs she is sitting on will never hatch...we know this but clearly she remains unconvinced, even when we remove them each day. Hopefully better weather awaits tomorrow for a trip out, otherwise I might just have to go and see Mamma Mia again, just for the scenery and the sunshine!!

Camping, Rain and Landlubbers Ahoy!!

Apologies for lack of posting but I have been under canvas for the past week, allegedly on holiday!! I really like our tent and enjoy camping and for the first two days of our week in Looe it was hot and sunny, we went to the beach and jumped waves and rockpooled, then it rained and rained and rained and...rained some more. then it got windy, and more windy and more windy! On Tuesday night A and I lay there wondering if we would even have a tent over our heads in the morning it was blowing such a hooley!! We were camping only 20 miles from home as every August we are involved with our church's annual bible week and I have been involved with kid's work for the past five years. This year it was pirate themed so every morning I left our campsite dutifully decked out in skull and crossbones bandana, sash, red and black stripy socks with skull and crossbones motif on and face painted beard in place...what the other campers thought I have no idea!

Despite the truly lousy weather we had a great time with the kids, ending in a cannon fight with water bombs in pouring rain...a quality youth camp is really only measured by how wet you get and how little sleep you get too! On both accounts we did well I think.

One great evening, A had to lead an evening service so once C and H were asleep I was able to write till I could no longer see by the camping light, I wrote at least one chapter and a bit in an hour and a half. It is such a good feeling when I get an opportunity and can write on a roll. I read it to my kids who turned out not to be asleep and were restless. I was edified that they wanted me to write more and asked me every night for the rest of the holiday if I had written any more of the story about the girls in the mine.

Nice to be home and appreciate the every day wonders of soft seats, sprung mattresses and dry towels! Still it was worth it and will look forward to next year...Avast me hearties! Arrrrhhh!!

Next Wave at Looe

Had a fantastic day today. We did an assembly at the school where our church meets, using our puppets and doing a Christian parody of, 'Dancing Queen.' Tonight I went down to Looe to meet with nineteen children and four teachers (including the head) as we had arranged for them, throught the church, to have an overnight stay on board The Next Wave ship in Looe bay. The Next Wave is a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) ship that is based in Liverpool but sails all over the world. They agreed to take some children from the school helping to cement links between the school and the church, but also as a trip of a lifetime for some of these kids, who although they live twenty miles from some of the best beaches in the UK have rarely, if ever, been to the sea. The church paid for them all to have fish and chips and they all came dressed as pirates (even the staff). The ship's crew were all dressed as pirates too and they had bought a Jolly Roger to fly from the mast (hope the Navy do not get too interested!!!). It was fantastic to be involved and enjoy a meal with the kids before playing with them on the beach and then waving them off into the bay on the boat.
Some days go past unremarkably but today is a day that will remain special to me for a long time. The look on the faces of the children and the opportunity we have been able to afford them is a rare privilege. The photo is of The Next Wave as it took our happy band of pirates out to sea tonight. I confess to feeling very emotional waving off these kids on the ship as they were calling, "Bye Michelle", particularly as some of them only know me as the lady who comes in with the puppets!!! A good day!

A milestone...am I a real writer now?

Although this is a picture of a milestone on the Camel Trail near where I live, it is an illustration of how I have been feeling this past couple of days, (no not made of stone and static!)

Last post I was fretting about whether I had done the right thing, well I rang the first publisher and the next day received a letter and my manuscript back. I have my first rejection letter...does that make me a real writer? It was a really nice rejection letter, which helps from a Christian publisher, and they gave me some good feedback but they had no room on their list for a holiday club programme till 2011!!! Oh well, I will keep some irons in the fire with it and maybe repackage it a bit before I send it anywhere else. I was kind of expecting the letter but it was a little disappointing all the same. Just a decision about whether I file or frame it as a milestone in my embryonic writing career. I guess if I file it, it is an excuse to buy a nice scrapbook!!

I have had a manic weekend that involved a school fair, a preschool fair and my baptism of fire into the world of face painting under pressure. I hope I still have some friends on Monday rather than comments like, "What did you do to my kid?" or "I still cannot get the blue face paint of the dolphin/peacock/butterfly out of her hair you know!!" However I did have the joy of finishing the prologue for my novel which has started the momentum of writing for me again. Hopefully I will start on Chapter One this week and try to do some more planning. My new memory stick now has a neck strap on it, so hopefully I will not lose this one (they do not make them with a homing device installed yet!!)

Memory Stick, Email and CV

Well I have had a very wet day, as I am sure all of you out there in Blogger land have too!! I had had a great night last night writing a prologue for my children's book. I had thought about taking a slightly different approach and off I went scribbling away while listening to Magic on Sky (radio station). I have had to wait to put it on to the PC however as my memory stick is still stuck in the parallel universe, but joy of joys my new memory stick arrived from ebay this morning. It has a huge memory (4GB) and only cost me £8 HOWEVER it is about half the physical size of the one that has gone missing...how am I going to manage to not lose this one!! Answers on a posting please!

I am still waiting for a publisher to come back to me about a manuscript I wrote for a Children's holiday programme, it has been six weeks since I sent it and I am getting a little anxious now as to whether I should make a polite phone call to ascertain what the defined waiting period for a response is from this publisher. Impatience rules and I sent a couple of prospective fishing emails to the editorial sections of a couple of other similar publishers, attaching the synopsis of the manuscript to one. Tonight...fall off the chair moment, one of these publishers has come back to me agreeing to read the synopsis and asking me for my CV...wait wait, back up...a what? I have never written my own CV. I used to teach people how to write theirs but had never done my own, so here I am at 11.45pm blogging after just finishing proof reading and emailing my CV to this publisher.

Now I am worrying I have done it all wrong by not waiting for the response of the first publisher before sending it elsewhere, what if the first publisher wants it...what if the second one wants it and the first one has not replied yet...what if neither wants it...what if both want it....no that's not likely. What if the CV is rubbish? What if they fall off their chairs laughing? OK cannot change it now, wait and see Mick, stop panicking and going off on one.

Who's well that ends well

All is well with the world for me tonight!!! (Spoiler alert for anyone who cares and has not watched tonights final episode of Dr Who). DT remains as the Doctor, so I can enjoy his presence on my TV for while longer yet. I know I am a grown woman of 35 (and a half) but maybe it is the testimony to the great writing on this series that I am totally addicted. Sci-Fi is not always my thing, but I enjoy clever plots, intelligent and funny dialogue and a reality to the characters that for the most part Dr Who gives. It can never be totally happy ever after as we saw tonight but it is enough to give closure for children (and for me!!).

Planning to do some writing tonight, maybe another 30 minute piece, if I have time after tiding up as may have visitors from up-country tomorrow. Also my sister has given me a recipe for a pastry free quiche, so may give that a go too.

The memory stick has gone with Rose back to the parallel universe so I am facing the fact I am going to have to start to rewrite the chapter summaries...bother!...well at least I hadn' gone too far with it.
Have a great weekend every one.

Tagged by Tam

Tam has tagged me for a different MeMe, so here it goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?

I was working for a carers charity in Surrey, enjoying my first year of marriage and having lie ins on a Saturday morning beyond 7am!

Five things on my to do list for today

1. Put my ironing away(only fair as hubby did it all last night)
2. Collect the eggs from the chickens
3. Make a quiche (ate the one in the fridge from the previous Meme)
4. Hoover my car (floor looks like a woodland forest)
5. Google for directions to a conference tomorrow

What are three of your bad habits?

1. Putting myself down
2. Not being able to say No
3. Not getting enough sleep

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

I would buy a small holding with chcikens, ducks, horses and sheep. It would need a big barn that could be converted to a bookshop/rural cafe for budding writers to come and be inspired and to write with lattes. It would have extensive country views and be near the sea....oh and I would also get a cleaner!

What are some snacks you enjoy?

1. Crackers and mature cheese with red onion chutney
2. Galaxy chocolate
3. Almonds
4. Cherries
5. Raspberries
6. Scones with jam and clotted cream (well I do live in Cornwall!!!)

What were the last five books you read?

1. Stardust Neil Gaiman
2. Wolf Brother Michelle Paver
3. Spirit Walker Michelle Paver
4. Soul Eater Michelle Paver
5. Outcast Michelle Paver

I guess you can see I have got a little hooked on this series!!! Planning to re read the Chronicles of Narnia now.

What five jobs have you had?

1. Shop assistant at Chessington World of Adventures (really not as exciting as it sounds)
2. Teacher/Instructor at Day Centre for adults with learning Disabilities (Great fun - loved it)
3. Carers Support Worker (Humbling experience)
4. Customer Service Assistant at huge branch of M & S in Kingston (got to serve my then headmistress who was returning unwanted Christmas pressies)
5. Support aid to Michael Aspel's disabled son (then 13 years old). Nice man, Mr Aspel, bump started my knackered metro over speed humps when the battery died after I left my lights on.

Name five places I have lived

1. Chessington (Surrey)
2. Reading (at Uni)
3. Polperro (rented for 1 year)
4. Lanivet (near Bodmin)

Have not lived anywhere else but spent 1 month in the Falkland Islands when I was three visiting my dad's relatives with my parents, where I had the dubious pleasure of falling down a penguin burrow!!!

So that is a bit more about me, hope the piccy gets some of you salivating suitably!

Its MeMe from Kat

Kat at Wrightstory has tagged any readers to do her MeMe so I thought I might have a go. It has been a cleaning day today, clearing the debris from the weekend. Yesterday the chickens had a spring clean and sweep out, today it was the turn of the playroom/junk room/Room 101!!

Here it goes with the MeMe:

What is by your bedside?

A table lamp I got as a wedding present, Outcast by Michelle Paver, 3 notebooks and 3 pens (nothing left to chance for those 3 am moments!, Kylie Minogue's pefume 'Darling' , Children's Writers and Illustrators Handbook 2008, handmade bookmark and absolutely no space whatsoever!

Name ten things in your fridge.

Large tub of grated cheese, homemade quiche (have an abundance of eggs, thanks to our chickens), homemade salsa, cherry tomatoes, multiple cartons of fruit juice, leeks (must use these), raspberry jam, strawberries, lemon and lime marmalade (mmmmmm) and milk (for the gallons of tea my hubby drinks).

Name five things in my handbag

Mobile phone, 4 pens (I kid you not), notebook, small travel perfume 'Urban Flowers', work ID

Name three web addresses that come up with the first letter

Amazon, Ebay, The Book People

What is in the unassigned junk drawer where all the clutter is put?

Plug covers, sewing kit, mini screwdriver set, pens, mobile phone charger, pencil sharpener, Indian takeaway menu, mini torch, tubigrip and a fish shaped scoobie. An eclectic mix!

Describe five picture that are on the walls of your house:

A gorgeous photo of Connor aged 2, the photo above of my kids at Minions on Bodmin Moor, a crosstitch of a dragon wrapped around a medieval castle I did when I was at Uni, oil painting of a stile by the ocean (done by a Cornish artist), three picture frames that have pressed autumn maple leaves in it (did it myself when I was pregnant with Connor)

Enjoyed that! Anyone reading this who wants to have a go, it would be great to do this with a character in your book!

Unique!

Kat and I had an hour or so together tonight writing. We both chose to do different things but we both did a thirty minute writing exercise to stimulate our creative brain cells. Have a look at Thirty Somethings for my efforts tonight and in addition Kat wrote over 300 words for her piece. We shared our work with each other, which is always an encouragement, because hearing your own voice sometimes does not encourage you that your writing is any good. Kat was not very positive about her piece, but it was excellent - had me hooked and wanting to know more. It reminded me that as writers, either published or wanna be's like Kat and myself, we have a unique voice. The spin you choose on a topic, the vocabulory, sentence structure, choice and communication of characters makes any original piece of writing a unique creation, personal to the style and preferences of the creator. It is never helpful to compare in such a way as to put your own work down (something I am good at), although aspiring to be better is no bad thing. I admire some authors work and feel I can learn a lot from them, especially on technical isues such as plotting and progression, however the stories we write and the voice we write in, is unique and should be treasured. I chose this picture to illustrate this point as Connor, Hollie, Andy and I did a piece of beach art together a couple of months back at Porthpean beach. We drew a castle and added details as they dictated, hence the seaweed haired princess and the fearsome dragon. The picture, (like my kids) was unique and special to us who each had a part in creating it...so it is with the written creations we nurture, they are unique and special and we should be proud of them, even if others do not see them the same way.

Bodmin Bookworm and Mission of Mercy

Kat and I had a great day discussing our local schools project called 'The Bodmin Bookworm.' The idea is to create a blog that will be aimed to encourage creative writing in children, encouraging them to email material they have written for the blog.

We are doing it in partnership with the local library and the twelve schools in the Bodmin area. Each school will have a 'sub-blog' on which the work of their children will be posted. The aim is to encourgae schools to make their IT facilities available after school and in lunchtimes for kids to be able to send their work. In addition kids can do it at home or at the library.

The idea is that it creates a 'virtual after school club' which all children can get involved in as they do not have to be great writers to submit work. It aims to have all aspects of writing on it including jokes, TV reviews, film reviews, character creations as well as stories, poems, articles etc. Kat is hopefully going to manage it and I am funding the idea through my work...so look out for the launch post in September.

Having worked for a while discussing the above project,I was then called on a mercy mission as my sister was very poorly with what the doctor called an 'Imigrain hangover,' which meant that she had taken too much of her medication to combat a fierce migraine and ended up having nasty side effects. So we whizzed into Port Isaac and admired an amazing view across the bay before going into the surgery! We did joke about how funny it would be if she was seeing a Dr. Elliott (Doc Martin is filmed in Port Isaac) however no grumpy Martin Clunes character in sight!

Hoping to do another timed exercise tomorrow on a picture from my archives or maybe one from the supplement I mentioned in an earlier post.

Still no memory stick...probably stuck in a parallel universe somewhere along with odd socks and teaspoons.

Missing Memory Stick, A New Blog and Sports Day

Gorgeous day today - really warm and lots of bright sunshine. Hollie is improving today, but spent much of the day curled up on the sofa watching various Disney princess movies. Connor had his sports day today (that's him in red on the right of the picture). So I was there cheering him on, keeping my own competitive streak in check...I think!! Even took part in the Mum's race which was particularly funny as it was egg and spoon, and I am known for my clumsiness...need I say more?

I have decided as I am unlikely to want to publish my writing exercises that I am doing to help me while I search for my missing memory stick containing the synopsis and chapter headings for my book (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), that I would create a second blog to house some of the work I do. If you are interested to read any of my thirty minute pieces they cane be found at http://www.michellethirtysomethings.blogspot.com/.

Please feel free to comment but be gentle with me!! In the mean time I am also on the hunt for my missing memory stick...they are neat being so small, but a nightmare when they go missing!! I am keeping relatively calm as I know it is here somewhere..BUT WHERE?????

Answers on a postcard or a post comment please!

I have also got a cool little slideshow at the side from my Red Bubble page. Kat told me about this site where you can upload your own artwork/writing/photos for free and then you can have the option to sell them as cards/prints etc, with red bubble taking their fee and then the remainder goes into a paypal account. Had a few viewings but no sales yet. My name there is Kernowpics, so have a look at the slideshow and have a look at red bubble (www.redbubble.com)

A Camel and a Cave

Today has been frantic but has ended well. Hollie is still harbouring a nasty sickness bug, so has been asleep most of the day. Connor and Andy went for a boys bike ride on the Camel Trail and Andy was good enough to take a lovely picture of the River Camel for my blog! I have been feeling guilty all day as Hollie has been periodically weeping telling me how hungry she is and I have been trying to explain that food is making her sick, so she really can only drink. Explaining the benefits of fasting to overcome sickness to a three year old is a non-starter really.

I have managed to start my writing challenge today based on the picture from yesterday's post. The picture is of a sea cave on Perranporth beach that I took last summer when we were returning from our camping trip near St. Ives. I was amazed at the images and the story that it evoked for me. My 30 minutes became 45 so I could put an end to the piece I was writing. The thing that surprised me most was the empathy and almost physical pain I shared with my character as she grieved for a lost brother. Maybe because it was written 'under pressure' but I really felt able to communicate her pain by actually feeling it myself to a point. Hope this happens often as it is going to help me with my character for my book, who is a young carer.

So despite a stressful and sickness filled day, the end of the day has brought a really positive time of writing which can only be useful longer term. Off to continue with Soul Eater now.

Inspiration and a promise to myself

Our local weekly paper had a supplement in it this week which was about 25 full page pictures of the Cornish coastline from the air. There were some truly stunning photos of what is, I have to say it, an inspirational coastline. I have a few favourites, the pictures of Tintagel, Bedruthan Steps, Crown Mines at Botallack and Kyance are awesome. They got me thinking as I have had an emotional and frustrating couple of days around my writing. I have decided to use these pictures and some of my own and set myself a 30 minute writing challenge every day based on one of these pictures. I will aim to write for thirty minutes using one image a day. The aim is to get me back into writing and believing that that I can write something meaningful each day. thirty minutes is achievable, and the rare days when I have more time I will dedicate to my book. The picture above is one I took last year at Perranporth beach and I think I will start with this one tomorrow and then begin with the supplement pictures on Monday. Decided to log each day's progress here to help me post regularly too.

Had a big inside day today, Hollie is unwell and it has rained and rained and rained. Our four chickens were more liked drowned muddy rats than beautiful soft feathered birds when I went down to see them this evening. All four looked singularly unimpressed with the weather but perked up when I brought gifts of sweetcorn and bread and milk mash. Chickens may not be the brightest birds but they are very attentive if your hands contain something edible!!

Creative Writing and Time with David...

I was able to get a little further with my chapter planning today, although I needed to make sure that I did not get lost in my plot today. My tendancy for impatience is showing through already in a number of ways, I am keen to get through the planning asap so I can get on with writing the story; try as I might not to, I am watching the letterbox for a reply from Scripture Union about the manuscript I submitted a few of weeks ago and I am already thinking about how the next novel could look.

Kat and I did the Creative Writing After School Club today(called the Krazy Blue Kreators) - uniform is royal blue if that helps explain the name - and we had a bit of fun with a poem called "A Spider Bought a Bicycle". They had to compose a story or poem with two bizarre juxtaposed objects, so we had a snake on roller skates, a dinosaur with a trumpet and a cow with a giant's boot to name but a few. Great fun and lots of loud hilarity and fantastic ideas. Kat and I had our 6 year olds with us today and I think they were really buzzed by it too. Connor wrote a story about his trip to the Banger Racing with his dad a week or so back and I was thrilled to see how much his spelling and vocabulary is constantly improving and extending. Part of the joy of loving writing is inspiring and seeing the inspiration in others - especially the young.

Why David Tennant?...many would say Why Not? Doctor Who is my escapism on a Saturday evening and for when I am feeling low or needing some down time. Probably not the most literary route for relaxation, although I have to say that the script writers are fab, but it is a chance to unwind and watch the Doctor save the human race again and again and maybe see if Catherine Tate will say at any point when facing the destruction of the Universe..."Am I bovverred?"

Chapters and Titles

I manged to get my chapter plan done yesterday helping me with my plotting. I had a great time working out the plan and some of the titles, although for some of them even I am not sure yet what they mean! What started as a Children's historical novel is evolving by the day into history mixed with time travel, magic and adventure. It is exciting to experience the evolution of characters and plot line and I do not want to lose this momentum.

I enjoy having a thinking place, like Pooh Bear, and this photo I took last autumn at Lanhydrock kind of encapsulates one of my ideal thinking places...by a river, lots of trees, isolated spot and lots of time to enjoy it with only a pen and notebook for company.

My office space is evolving painfully slowly, hampered by lack of funds, but I have decided to seek out a traditional writing desk, because although I am like to write on the computer, my note taking, spider diagrams and planning would need a spacious surface. Also I would need drawers for my copious amounts of notebooks and pens!!!!

Thoroughly enjoying reading Spirit Walker By Michelle Paver, Book 2 of The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. I loved Wolf Brother, but this one has really gripped me. Interesting to read in a series of books how the author put tags down throughout the first book to then develop the events of subsequent books. Good lesson to learn and practice as my novel is also evolving into a five part series.

Good to feel passionate about this sort of thing when feeling like a squashed pancake in other areas of life, the universe and everything. Also really excited as my neighbour, Kat, has finished the first draft of her first novel and I am delighted for her.

Surfer Bookworm

I have been enjoying creativity in my mind today as time and events have conspired against me to be able to put pen to paper. It is a rare privilege to create characters, their world and their life experiences. I read my friend Kat's blog today and she is going great guns with her story and I am sooooo pleased for her www.wrightstory.blogspot.com and reading her post reminded me that all the things I am creating and thinking about are unique to me, I alone have the opportunity and potential to create their world and their adventures.

I also discovered a site called www.loveyourlocalbookshop.co.uk today which is promoting the independent booksellers who often lose out to the big chains like Waterstones and Amazon. The site gives you a chance to find out where the local independent booksellers are and if there are any events going on in the first Independent Booksellers Week (1-8 July 2008). Kat and I try to frequent our local shop in Bodmin and I managed to source a fantastic local book for research for my book there, however I was excited to dicover Jill Murphy is involved with an event at Wadebridge Bookshop so I am keen to try and get along. her work is so accessible for younger readers and I would love to hear her on her subject and writing for her audience.

I have also put a link to the Pound for Poetry competition that is being run as a national fundraiser and competition in September, definitely a thought for our creative writing after school club and for the Bodmin Bookworm. Also linked to the national year of reading website as thought it could inspire for the Bookworm and give me ideas for the creative writing group.

Needing Time

Had a great day with my family and inlaws near Newquay today. Gorgeous weather, beautiful views across stunning coastline and a really wondeful time without incident or argument.

I have decided to try and time manage a bit more. Me being me, I have good intentions and then suddenly discover that the day has been filled with a thousand things. I am determind to marry imagination and memory stick and get myself writing every day. I had a new thought about how I would start the book and progress it and this is exciting and I am keen to get going. The children go back to school tomorrow after a long weekend and I will not allow the things of this world to interfere! I am desperate to get on with the book and keen to visit Morwhellam Quay soon, as it was an important port in the Victorian copper mining period and I hope to be able to pick the brains of one of their key folk up there. It has been the story of my life that I have ideas and no time or place to write them and it is up to me not to allow this to keep happening. If I want to pursue my dream of being a published children's writer, then I need to grab this by the horns. I am going to have to stop comparing myself to others and focus on the heart that drives me and what makes me tick.

Admiration and Aspiration

I have been reading Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver, partly because it is an excellent book but also to help me think through structuring my novel as it is historical like hers. I have been inspired by reading parts of her website www.michellepaver.com as she is so down to earth and yet has had the most remarkable experiences in her research and her life. Her encounter with a black bear in California and how this impacted on her creation of the bear in Wolf Brother was breathtaking. On her website she describes an encounter with a stranger on a train that helped her move from successful lawyer to successful writer. The advice she gives in her interviews is solid and attainable and has reminded me that if I am to take this writing business seriously, I need to be writing whenevre and wherever I can in this hectic life of mine. I have had a new beginning for my book come and I am planning my infamous spider diagram to help me crystalise my story and plotline.

Michelle Paver is an author I admire and aspire to be like in as much as I hope the passion I have for history is communicated as ably as she communicates her love of the Stone Age and wolves in her fantastic stories. I have no doubt that if I had read her novels as a child I would have been spellbound as I remain so as an adult who loves quality children's books. I do not want to be someone who always wanted to write and never did, I want to be someone who took Ms Paver's advice and did what I wanted with my life. I suffer with self doubt and a tendancy to self depricate so I have my own hurdles to jump before I put anything I write into an agent or publishers hands.

The Wonder of the Unexpected

This is a picture of my son aged 12 hours old (he is now 6 years old). He was born with a cleft lip which we had discovered at the 20 week scan. We spent the whole second part of my pregnancy worrying about what our baby would look like and how we would react when we saw him...what if it was too distressing? How would we cope?

Well as you can see when he arrived all our fears melted away as unexpectedly his cleft was no where near as severe as we had feared and he was in fact absolutely beautiful. This is the true wonder of the unexpected. I have had this experience throughout my life that when things do not happen the way that you fear, often something great and wonderful happens instead.

I worry constantly about things I write being not good enough or silly and often think that maybe I am kidding myself pursing the dream of being a published author. Then I share a coffee with a friend and talk about things with her, spend some time with my husband and kids, even do a few mundane things and then I suddenly realise that unexpectedly I am positive about my writing again and that I do believe that the ideas I have are worth publishing...the wonder of the unexpected!! In many ways having experiences like this help me to remember that being a writer could be a profession that excludes, whereas I realise that the treasure of others is not only my inspiration but the lifeblood that keeps me going forward.

If you are reading this by any chance and are expecting a cleft child please have a look at http://www.clapa.com as they were invaluable for me, especially the parental support forum.

Spider Diagrams

I am a borderline arachnophobe, so to have a spider picture on my blog is significant for me. I chose a friendly looking image as all the photos of real spiders were far too sinister!! I began to outline my book in chapters to develop the plotline and came up with some new ideas along the way, but I did it in linear form which is not good for me. In every written exam, essay or dissertation that I have done I have used the 'spider diagram' method as it has proved to be the most singularly successful method for me to write in a structured and coherent way, rather than endless waffle. I will go back to the chapters and do it in diagramatical form to help me. A couple of folk on the Wordpool suggested some Mind Mapping software, one of which is free, that enables you to do detailed spider diagrams on your PC. I am planning to look into these as they could be really useful for me in terms of chapter planning and details. I have begun to read "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver again, as she has written a quality historical fantasy adventure series, and I am taking some inspiration from her. I quickly realised that I will have to double my chapters and shorten their lengths to make them bitesize chunks of action that move the story and its reader on quickly without getting bored. It is true that you learn most about your writing and how to improve it by simply doing it.

It seems the whole world is writing childrens books at the moment. As well as my next door neighbour, I also know of a retiring head teacher, and a local lady who runs a pottery painting business who are writing or have written a children's book. I am also collating the information to market the Bodmin Blog to all my headteachers.

On a different note, my two children have been very excited today as all four of our hens laid an egg today, and although hugely variant in size, shape and colour, all four hens have joined the egg production line. There is definitely some mileage in our chickens for a smaller children's picture book, so I will muse on this for a while, probably when I have five minutes in the garden in peace and can observe them without being distracted.

Wordpool and websites

Connor enjoyed Book Day at school on Friday. The character he chose was not simple...Captain Teggs Stegosaur from the Astrosaurs series. It was a creative masterpiece but reinforced the truth that my creativity is largely with words and not fabric and cardboard!!! I have joined the Wordpool today, which is a discussion group for published and aspiring childrens authors. I am really excited about this and found the website of one of the ladies who post on the site. She is a published children's author called Paeony Lewis and her website is great and inspirational for a number of reasons. I hope she will not mind me linking to her site as I am planning to go back there for more reading. Her website is www.paeonylewis.com Sometimes it is encouraging to read the background of published authors as it reminds you that it is possible if you have the ideas, the passion and commitment. Looking forward to discussions on the site.

Also toying with the idea of writing a children's picture book for preschoolers about our four chickens. they are so funny and extremely entertaining and I think they caould make a great story...we also suspect our second chicken has started laying although which one it is remains a mystery. Bets are on for either Matilda or Rosie as the one that has joined Gypsy in the egg production business!

Poetry and Post

Enjoyed a good workshop today at Bodmin library. Run by a lady called Moira Andrews I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of writing about a person from my childhood and a day in my past that was significant. It is amazing how many new ways of approaching a piece of writing are uncovered when you take part in these workshops. Moira is a lovely lady and very good poet, she shared a number of her poems including a very moving one, written an hour or so after her husband passed away. Her website is www.moiraandrews.com and it was great to meet a local poet and take part in a useful time. it did confirm that my strength is prose and not poetry though!!! I managed to post off my manuscript to SU today www.scriptureunion.org.uk which was a strange feeling. I expected a feeling of immense satisfaction, excitement or even trepidation. It may yet come, but as I posted my work today I did feel that I had taken an important step. The work is a holiday programme written on the book of Daniel that I wrote about two years ago. (Hence the lion). I now have to sit back and wait to see what response I get, though I do need to keep writing and researching my Bal Maiden book.

Eggs, Notebooks and SAE's

Pictured is my one of my son's chickens, Gypsy, who has given us our first two eggs. Admittedly they are the size of Cadbury's cream eggs at the moment but it has been a momentous time in our household. Hopefully the others will be following suit in the near future. One thing I would love to capture in words is the expressions on my two children's faces when they discovered the egg nestled in the straw. I am blessed with very facially expressive children and the moment was like a photo you want to memorise and convey on paper. Will try to have a go I think as it is a memory of childhood I hope they will both have of owning and caring for their chickens.

I got an ebay parcel today that contained a lovely purple velvet notebook I had won. It is fab and I am considering what extra special project may grace its pages. The fact I have bought another A4 sized notebook from Woolies this week is neither here nor there. One can never have too many notebooks, or decent writing pens for that matter!

Finally I have my submission printed and ready to go to the post office tomorrow morning, proof reading got delayed by me having to count squillions of leaflets to deliver to Bodmin schools today. One thing about submitting work for consideration by a publisher is the dilemma of what postage do you put on a SAE? If you weigh your manuscript and put the postage on that would enable the publisher to return the whole thing...is that a defeatist message? On the other hand if I only put a first class stamp on the SAE and they do not like it, is it too self assured in its message? I am on the horns of a dilemma (not comfy either!!) however I guess the middle ground is that if they like it and it need revision I will at least get it back.

Feels pretty strange submitting this after talking about it for so long. I need to work on not building up my hopes and watching the letterbox every day for a reply.

I need proof!!

I have included Peppa Pig in the blog today as we have had so much rain here that welly boots and muddy puddles were the order of the day. I had the surreal but genuinely wonderful experience of watching my children let the chickens out this morning and then go on the swings wearing only their pyjamas and welly boots (prior to the rainfall I hasten to add). It reminded me of the innocence and carefree nature of childhood and how there is nothing particularly odd to a 3 and 6 year old about swinging as high as they can in wellies and pyjamas!!

Andy began to proof read my manuscript last night and got half way through before falling asleep (not a good sign I fear) but his findings reminded me of the importance of proof reading before submission. My degree training has meant that I have become a skim reader at times and need the more slow and steady reading eyes of my husband to ensure I do not submit a catalogue of errors along with my work. As a result the posting day is moved to Monday. Just a reminder that when it comes to my writing, I need proof!!