A notebook challenge & Topic Tin prompts.

Firstly let me apologise for the lack of blog last Friday. I have been a wee bit poorly and ended up in hospital. That, thankfully, is over and done with now and I'm just doing what the doctors said and resting up. I'm hoping that that will mean that I can soon get back to the normal me and take hold of the reins at work, with my writing and my home.

Throughout this period of illness I had a small inkling as to how losing the ability to walk, use your hands fully and have a ‘correctly’ functioning brain and how this effects everything in your life. I am hoping that the memories of the pain, struggle and frustration that came with it will help me to use this in my character development in the future. With this in mind I've put down those feelings into one of my character notebooks and so that when I require my character to have a certain issue I can read back and remember how it made me feel, and with luck, it will help to make my characters fully rounded. This is something I would recommend every writer does. Sometimes we forget the power of the things that affect us so dramatically at the time and as the years pass those memories dwindle and it is very hard to recapture the feelings. For a writer it is important to hold all those thoughts, feelings and consequences close so that they can be used to enhance their future work.

So, if you’ve yet to start this kind of notebook, go out and buy one especially for the job. You will never regret it. I have three now, all full and often referred to.  This is your first task for this week.

For the second task you have the choice of one of the four options below from the TOPIC TIN.

1. Write a Chocolate article for a woman’s or a food magazine. Research your market and submit your article. 
2. Poetry for a Cats/Dogs magazine – research – get guidelines and submit. 
3. Why do women always want to change men? This can be an article for a men’s magazine or female magazine. Seek out your target publication and submit. 
4. Shelly say’s goodbye. Short story or poem. Select your market and submit.

Hopefully this will keep you busy for a little while. If you’ve completed one why not try a second or third or do all four if you are inspired.

So, go on, get writing.