Like Bees to Honey by Caroline Smailes: The Launch Night

Lat night I attended a very important night for author, Caroline Smailes, the launch of her new novel Like Bees to Honey . It was a wonderful night and included beautiful readings from the book. It was fantastic to meet the very friendly Caroline (and get my book signed) and have a cake (or two) and a chat.

I wish I could get started on this beautiful book sooner but as you will see from my blog, I am still tangled up in the last of my uni work for the year. From the glance through I allowed myself after getting back last night, I can see that it features Caroline's usual ingenuity with the page layout and fonts making it extremely visually inviting, as does the gorgeous cover designed by Becky Adams. I can't wait to get stuck in. Expect a full review when I've finished it.

The Last Hurdle

Okay, so I'm nearly there. So far this year I have submitted over 37,000 words to the OU purely through my TMA's. I have 4000 to go and they have to be in at 12 noon next Thursday. Have I started writing them? Erm, no. The next week is going to be fairly intense. But I will get there... I will.

After that I have to wait until August for the results that will determine my degree classification. Even then it isn't quite over: I have another 15 credit points to gain to be awarded honours, so I won't actually graduate until April 2011. But the end is in sight.

So for everyone else packing up ECA's and attending exams over the next couple of weeks, before that painful 2 - 3 month wait until results day: Good Luck!

A Useful Little Site

I've just been having my usual morning stroll around the internet an have come across a useful little site called 'Creative Writing Prompts'.. Its full of those little one sentence suggestions that can fire creativity and make you think, 'Why didn't I think of doing that?'

Okay. So the site mainly appears to be an advert for various e books, but that aside, there are 346 completely free prompts and starting points available. Definitely worth a look.

A Little Bit of Light Relief

I should make it clear that the following is not mine: for more like this click here


There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.

When asked to define great, he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"

He now works for Microsoft writing error messages.

Reading is the key to writing

So I am halfway through the uni year now and have just completed my most challenging assignment yet: a 1000 word critique of another student's work. Still very much thinking of myself as needing the guidance of other writers around me (and I don't think this will ever change), I felt incredibly under-qualified for this task. But now it's done and I realize that the things that stand out to me about other's writing are the things that I can take control of in my own. Reading is truly the key to better writing

This brings me on to one of my current projects: reading my way through the 1001 must reads before you die. Click here for a downloadable spreadsheet including everything you need to know. You can track where you are on the list and mark the books you already own. It even estimates how long you have to read the books and how many you need to read each year to succeed. The most important thing for me is not completing the list, but that it is encouraging me to read more widely and step out of my comfort zone. So far, I haven't been disappointed with a book. Take a look and see what you think.

Quick Update

It's been a bit of a break for the blog I'm afraid, and it's been a very busy time. Jake has gone of to school in his new uniform for the first time and is going to be the star in the nativity play, yes thats right, literally the star. That's going to be a bit of a costume challenge. I'm thinking sequins and cardboard. He spent a month of the first half of term off sick with Swine Flu but at least its over with now.

As for writing, I have started my Advanced Creative Writing course with the OU along side their new Children's Literature Course. I'm biting my fingernails waiting for the first creative writing grade of the year. It should be in sometime today. Eek. I'm completely deleting the opening chapters of my novel and am seriously considering writing it backwards as I have a climax I'm thrilled with and feel confident about the ending. Has anyone else done it this way?

September saw me complete the HACK for the NSPCC 24 miles turned into 27 as I got lost on the last mountain. We had fantastic weather which resulted in severe sunburn and I couldn't move for two days after. It was all worth it though. The photo below was after an hour of walking and I allowed myself a moment to watch the sunrise.

Anyway, I promise to blog more often and also have to catch up on my visiting.

Playing with Words

Today, two long awaited packages arrived from Amazon (always the best kind of delivery). Inside were the remainder of my set books for the OU course in Children's Literature starting in October. I have been devouring these books, rereading everything from Harry Potter to Little Women. To be honest, I have enjoyed them much more this time around. Of course, there is also new literature to be enjoyed, much of which arrived this morning.

One of the books in my parcel was 100 Best Poems for Children, put together by Puffin, 2001, 2002. Inside I found lots of old favourites and back came memories of school recitals and certain musicals about cats. One poem struck out at me, as I am the sort of person who likes playing with lists of words, especially when I am finding writing tough.. I write lists of words I love or hate or share sounds: I could go on. Anyway, I share it with you below.

The Word Party

Loving words clutch crimson roses,

Rude words sniff and pick their noses,

Sly words come dressed up as foxes,

Short words stand on cardboard boxes,

Common words tell jokes and gabble,

Complicated words play scrabble,

Swear words stamp around and shout,

Hard words stare each other out,

Foreign words look lost and shrug,

Careless words trip on the rug,

Long words slouch with stooping shoulders,

Code words carry secret folders,

Silly words flick rubber bands,

Hyphenated words hold hands,

Strong words show off, bending metal,

Sweet words call each other 'petal',

Small words yawn and suck their thumbs,

Till at last the morning comes,

Kind words give out farewell posies...

Snap! The dictionary closes.

Richard Edwards

Results Day

The results for my OU Creative writing course came in yesterday after days of compulsively refreshing the student homepage. This is a bad habit I am obviously not alone in as collectively we managed to crash the OU's online Student services for a day (delaying our results?). I was extremely relieved to see I had achieved a Grade 2 Pass, which, assuming I can maintain the standard next year, puts me on track for a 2:1 degree.

Things have been very busy for the last few weeks. I have moved house unexpectedly (half of my belongings are still in limbo). This resulted in some very forced 'bad' writing for a couple of weeks but I am happy to say I have managed to write something everyday. I finally came out of my funk last week when a whole short story poured out of a free write. Who knew Chicken Soup could be so inspiring.

So Quiet

Apologies for this being my first post in almost a month. I've been using the time since my course has finished to catch up on my reading and start work on editing some of my short stories and poems ready for submission. I think it's finally time to start 'getting out there' a bit. I'm mentally preparing myself for lots of slim rejection letters, but you never know and they won't get anywhere languishing on my Hard Drive.

Reading at the moment is extremely fun as I am working my way through the set books for the OU's Children's Literature course, (Any excuse to re-read Harry Potter). It has suprised me that children's books today deal with so many painful subjects such as child abuse, slavery and drugs. Having spoken to the local bookshop owner, it appears that at the other end of the spectrum, she is no longer able to stock Charlotte's Webb or many other farm yard tales due to the threat of death of animals causing complaints from parents. I'm sure this is the kind of debate the course will address.

Anyway, here's to filling some more blank pages.

Powerful Places

I've had a bit of a weird writing/reading coincidence recently. As I mentioned in my last blogpost, I visited Jamaica Inn a couple of times on holiday and bought the book of the same name. I didn't let myself begin to read it until I had completed my last assignment and also I have not read a Daphne Du Maurier before. However, when I started reading the book, I realised how similar the mood and themes were in her book and the short story I had just written. I have to wonder, do some places have specific moods and influences?

It would be easy to say that as it was the same place we were searching for inspiration, that's the reason for the similarities, but the inn has changed so much that it is now completely commercial complete with a gift shop (yes I did get a mug as well). Also, the weather was beautiful on both occasions. It would certainly have been much more rugged when Du Maurier stayed there.

I'm also having a quick panic that whoever marks my writing is going to think it is very old fashioned and (heaven forbid) cliched. Thank God I didn't mention smugglers (or moors come to think of it).

By the way, I absolutely loved the novel and didn't see the twist ending even though I now see it was hinted at from half way through. It was one of those books you read until your eyes have to be held open by your finger tips in bed. I will definately be reading more by her. Any suggestions for another good one?

It's all Over

The last assignment has been entrusted to the Royal Mail (I won't hold my breath for it making the deadline but I have Proof of Posting). It is the story that I feel most attachment to out of everything I have written this year, but I am also aware that it is quite dark and may not be to everyone's tastes. I will have to wait and see until August to find out how it was received.

It feels very strange that the OU Creative Writing course is over. I now have a huge gap until October to fill. Then I wil be starting Advanced Creative Writing and also Children's Literature. I have a whole stack of children's book to re-read before the course starts ranging from Harry Potter to Swallows and Amazons. I am very much looking forward to it as you can imagine.

For the moment I am reading Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier. I ate at the pub twice whilst on holiday and couldn't think of a better souvenier to buy than a copy of the book (and a bookmark). I don't normally read classics. I don't dislike them, I just seem to stay on the more modern side of literature, (and sometimes on the Chicklit side of that). I am, however making a real effort to read much more widely. So far I have just got through 3 chapters of Jamaica Inn but I am gripped. I will update you when I have finished the story.

So now it's on to three month of unashamed reading and writing. Maybe I might even try to sell some of the stories I have written during the course.

On Cornwall and Other things

I've actually been back home for a week, but due to various distractions have not updated the Blog. Cornwall was fantastic and I am more and more convinced that I eventually want to move there (In my dream world where I am writing all day). We found a lovely village called Boscastle which is just about the most idylic place I have ever seen. There are two streets littered with little shops and museums on either side of a stream leading down to the harbour. It looks like it has never changed although it flooded dramatically fairly recently so it must have been substantially rebuilt.

The weather was great and we sat outside for all the traditional cream teas, icecream and Scrumpy. I had promised myself I would get loads of writing done but I was so exhausted at the end of each day I only managed a few freewrites. The walking was fantastic too. Loads of coastal paths to explore and canals to stroll along. On the last day we finally managed to relax on the beach and watch the surfers.

This week I have my examinable piece of work to complete for the OU. It's going to be a fairly intensive week of short story writing before 3 months of being under my own steam. I'm wondoring how many projects I will actually complete in this time as I love starting things but often jump around project wise.

Otherwise, I am loving the sunshine and enjoying the new picnic bench I have built this week. Perfect for writing outside on the laptop.