Learning to flow and grow

It all got very real this week with family celebrations, football training and a parent evening in my schedule. Added to that is the small complication of the wee bureau being in the same space as our spin bike and treadmill. My husband has been home all week (a rare occurrence) and seemingly believes he is also entitled to have time to accommodate his hobbies and to share the space. I don’t know if any of you have attempted to write poetry whilst your significant other is taking part in a 90s themed spin class but I don’t recommend it. So a schedule must be produced and solutions found. Our offspring, we decided, could be prevailed upon to help us out and we opened negotiations via the family WhatsApp group. In a spirited exchange my husband demanded, I wheedled and the children sulked ending in a rather predictable stalemate. Eventually I decamped to the bureau and invoked the age old and immutable law of ‘I was here first so I’m not moving’.

Then came the second hurdle of the week. I have been in a lovely state of focus and motivation for a few weeks with short stories and lots of little sparks of potential. Now I felt irritated that I wasn’t finding the time to write this week and frustrated that life was interfering with my creative flow. I’m not a real writer I decided. Who do I think I am fooling? Writers have huge libraries, a picturesque view for inspiration and perhaps a chesterfield sofa to retire to when it all gets a bit much don’t they? This was not how I pictured it as a child. Having to book a slot and snatch 20 minutes with a timer on my phone so I don’t burn the dinner. Well the reality is that this is exactly what real writers do. This is real life. My life.

Having given myself a talking to I remembered that this is supposed to be fun. I tend to write my first draft of a poem very quickly and so this week that has become my focus. I now have another two pieces in my collection. I took another small step forwards and met with a publisher to explore what my options might be if I decide to send my writing out into the world. It was a really interesting and exciting discussion and has given me a lot to think about. At the moment my goal is to improve my writing and grow into my craft but it is wonderful to know that I have options.

Despite my best efforts to self sabotage and let the imposter programming run riot my mind it has been a very productive week. Really all it took to shift it was a little change of the lens.

The tale of mice on a roller coaster…

This week I experimented with writing flash fiction. Thankfully dear readers this has nothing to do with the more, erm, niche subgenres of adult fiction. Instead I had stumbled across a writing lecture by Mary Robinette Cowal on Brandon Sanderson's YouTube channel. The participants were invited to explore narrative structure in a teeny tiny micro story. Mary explained that the art of writing short stories lies in the MICE quotient. This is the degree to which the writer selects and deploys elements of Miliue, Inquiry, Character and Event in their structure. She gave her students a 250 word limit and a starter of a character (jockey), genre (science fiction) and place (a coaster). I was hooked and picked up my pen to write along.

Over the next 40 minutes I wrote the tale of Billy (a time jockey) who was all that stood between earth and the fabric of time being turned into quantum spaghetti. In the course of 22 sentences and 278 words (to be precise!). Billy rode the coaster along the same section over and over in a frantic struggle to realign the clocks and keep the time stream flowing. He battled valiantly. He failed dismally. Then, in a moment of sheer frustration he thumped the flipping thing and saved the day. Phew!

Having only played with the character and event elements of MICE I wanted to try my hand at flash fiction with a different quotient. This time I penned the uncanny tale of a little girl with an imaginary friend called Rose. The story focused on the unsettling events taking place one summer through the eyes of our 6 year old (and somewhat unreliable) narrator. Writing with the voice and from the point of view of such a young protagonist was a real challenge but the tropes of the genre and miliue were a return to my comfort zone. This piece has provided the spark for another story in the series I am working on and I'm excited to write it.

At the moment my focus is on developing my style, craft and voice. Part of that is trying new things and exploring different ways of telling stories so flash fiction has been a perfect vehicle. I intend to do more of this because it is such a fun way to experiment with different genres, forms and structures.

To compliment my writing I am reading as many short stories as I can. The ghostly tales of Edgar Allan Poe, May Sinclair and Stephen King are absolutely perfect for spooky season as long as I read in daylight and sleep with one eye open. This process is bringing me a great deal of joy which, at the end of the day, is what really matters.

I do believe it is time for a new adventure…

A blank page is a scary thing. All that space, infinite possibilities and the chance to start a new story. I’m told that if doesn't scare you just a little then it doesn't help you grow. So onwards to adventure.

As 2022 drew to a close I felt flat. Listless and unmotivated. My children getting older and, other than requiring my services as a housekeeper and chauffeur, becoming more independent meaning I finally had time for myself. After the frenetic pace of the pandemic years I knew I now needed to slow down. I needed a project, something creative to feed my soul and energise me. Having briefly considered learning to paint or play guitar (and realising they were not among my talents) I settled on an activity which has appeared on many of my lesson plans over the years. A daily 5 minute writing session. Writing, after all, was a childhood passion encouraged by a love of reading and access to a multiverse of stories. Now it was time to find out if that passion still existed and let the words flow. It was exciting and daunting in equal measure.

So on the 1st of January 2023 I sat at the kitchen table armed with my new fountain pen and leather bound journal (which by happy coincidence had provided an opportunity to indulge my enthusiasm for shopping) and set my timer.

Unscrewing the lid from her aqua pen she paused, hand hovering over the page for a moment before she made the first stroke. Not halting and hesitant but definite and certain. Yes, she thought, it is indeed time for a new adventure.

I discovered that I clearly still enjoyed a little drama! Over the days and months since then my daily entries have covered many topics. Pouring my interests, musings and emotions out onto the page has offered a space to think and reflect. Fragments of plot points and outlines of characters began to emerge and with them a little voice that insisted these stories be told. Slowly my focus has shifted and evolved to a desire to reimagine my childhood dream of being a storyteller and becoming a writer. This blog will be my attempt to capture the experience as it unfolds. I hope you will stick around and see how this chapter ends.