Write up a storm.

I have had another busy week and the writing has had to go up a gear. Which is wonderful. I'm loving the material I am currently working on and feel really positive with the way things are appearing on the page. I know I have an awfully lot more to do, and once everything is written there will be much more for me to do and learn. With that scary thought in mind I'm still glad to be preparing for the next step – however long that might be in coming. I know that all the work and the effort is what I need to do to be able to spend every day writing. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but I will keep working until I can work no more.

With the storms lurking around us all here in England, I think it will be a great time to look at using the weather in our writing. So when the storm comes, take out your note book and write down what happens. From gentleness of a single leaf floating on a light breeze to the torturous scream of a giant oak being split in two. Listen to the wind, see how it changes, rises and falls, the change when it picks things up and drops them off. At the same time write down how that makes you feel. You will use this to show emotion in your characters. Also try to think of how our irrational fear of weather can affect us, or our over confidence that nothing will happen might be proved wrong.

So, you now have the notes, you need to put those into a piece of writing. Select one of the options below and make the weather prominent in your characters’ lives.

1.       Uncle and nephew taking the dog for a walk.

2.       Two couples out on a small sail boat.

3.       Lovers in a tent.

4.       A farmer and his herd of cattle.

I hope you will find some inspiration from this week’s prompts, so go on, get writing.  

Topic Tin Tasks

I missed a week! Actually, I've almost completely lost October – how has it gone passed so quickly? In my defence for not blogging last week, I had my new laptop and I've been writing. Yes, really writing. I've been editing, writing new scenes and getting back in to the writing place in my head with my muse beside me, pushing me on. It has been great. So I hope you will forgive my lack of post last week.

This week has also be manic, work wise and on the writing side. I think the writing side is going well and pushing onward. My challenge for today is to get the house in order to make my writing space more Susan friendly which means changing things downstairs allow for the changes to writing area. I have edits to type up today and tomorrow I’ll be working on finalising plot lines.

It would be great to know where you all do your main writing. I know now with laptops many of us write on the go, which I find inspiring, but also I get distracted by what is going on around me. I do my best writing in the seclusion of my study area where no one dare disturb me. I've been known to write in the garden when the sun is shining and the rain isn't falling, but once again I can cope with the bird song, but not the lawn mowers, screaming kids and arguing neighbours, unless I need some character studies. Let’s find out where the creativity is created and written down. Please add a comment to this blog, on facebook or on twitter.

This week’s topics have come from the TOPIC TIN. Listed below are four challenges, select one that appeals, or do them all.

1.       Mother said she was sick, well she always does, but today there was something different in her behaviour that got me listening.

2.       It is autumn and the garden needs attention. Write an article for a gardening magazine. Research the magazines, target your article and submit.

3.       Write a ten minute monologue. You need to include the following words. Hiccups – Scissors – Drain – Feast – astringent – Void.

4.       Poem – Cobwebs. With the mornings being damp you can see the strands of the spider webs enhanced by the morning moisture.

So there you are. Four TOPIC TIN tasks for you to get your creative juices flowing. Go on, get writing. 

A study of behaviour...

Okay, so the good news is, I have a new shiny sleek laptop which can travel with me and I will now be able to focus on the work ahead. Write as and when I wish, however, that isn't possible just yet, the reason being the new Microsoft 365 I purchased is not loading up, product key isn't liked and therefore I have to wait until Monday, they don’t have phone help over the weekends, I think this is something that should be rectified. It is frustrating. My son has suggested that I load my work up on Google Docs and therefore will be able to continue writing; this is until Microsoft help are back. So I'm a semi happy Susan and I hope that by the time I get home from work on Monday, my son will have been in touch with the help desk and solved the issue.

I hope you had fun watching and writing about the differences light can make in your writing. You can do observations to help you give atmosphere to your writing. This week we are looking at what influence our own behaviour has on those around us. How does your mood affect others? For instance, this week has been very challenging for me and I was very aware that my frustrations were being felt by those I worked with – Yes, I was angry. Thankfully this doesn't happen often. It is interesting how this disturbance in the normal behaviour of one can manifest itself in others.

Take a look around the office, school playground, gym or any other place where people meet and interact. Notice how a simple happy greeting can change to a concerned conversation, watch the body language – what does it tell you about the situation. A telling sideways glance can tell you so much about what a person is really thinking when engaged in conversation with a person they would rather be a long bus journey away form.

Take your note book with you everywhere you go this week, make as many observations as you can. I suggest you do this for at least a day, more if you get the chance. Once you’ve completed your notes, think about how you can use these observations to show the changes in the emotions of your characters. Play with different character types and see how different situations can manipulate your characters. It is a fun thing to do and you might be surprised with the results – characters you thought you knew so well, might just surprise you.

So go on, get writing.