Where do you do your writing?
2 Comments »19th August, 2007; Category: The Writer's Life
I receive a number of regular emailed newsletters about writing. One that came in a few days ago amused me. The editor quoted a writer who had sent in the following comment:
“I write at home in a high traffic area, because that is where the desk fit. To help my husband and children know when I am not to be disturbed, I wear a little tiara on my head. Everyone knows heads will roll if the queen is touched or interrupted. I also wear ear plugs and listen to meditative music to help drown out the ‘commoners’ and their problems while I am working.”
—L. Kae Graniel
Honolulu, Hawaii
Heads will roll.
I like that. Fortunately I don’t have little children running around the house while I’m trying to write. My wife is usually very considerate too, only interrupting me if it is really necessary.
We recently moved the office into a different part of the house. My new office is airy, light, spacious, (reasonably) uncluttered, full of useful resources on new bookshelves and with a lovely outlook over the garden (which needs some TLC very soon). Probably 90% of my writing occurs in this room, even though I could take the laptop elsewhere.
Further reading:
Last year I wrote an article with the same name as this one: Where do you do your writing? It was a reflective piece about the various places I find are suitable – or unsuitable – for writing. The comments by readers are also interesting.
A question for my readers:
Where do you do your writing?
Use the comments section below.
Poem #34 Red Rose
No Comments »18th August, 2007; Category: Poetry
Rose in our garden
Red Rose
The satin folds
Of the blood-red rose
Glow in the spring-warm
Morning light
Like a beacon
Proclaiming
The new day.
Copyright 2007 Trevor W. Hampel
All rights reserved.
Read more of my poems here.
See more photos of flowers, birds and scenery in my Photo Gallery.
The Adventures of Nancy – a dog with attitude
1 Comment »17th August, 2007; Category: Adventures of Nancy
Nancy - a portrait
Hi there.
Let my introduce myself: I’m Nancy – a dog with attitude. I may look cute but don’t you dare touch my Mum!
Trevor doesn’t know it yet, but when he wasn’t looking I crept into the office and typed this up. I’m sure he will get a surprise when he next checks his blog. He calls me the “Grand-dog” so I suppose that makes him my Grandpa.
I like him because his lap is warm and comfortable. He feeds me all kinds of things when Mum isn’t looking – things like biscuits and bits of cheese and chips. I really like sitting in front of the fire while he watches television.
I’ll write some more about my adventures in a few days – when he is not on the computer.
Writing Hint #27: Use your memories
I went to a funeral last Monday. It was in my old home town of Loxton, South Australia. I grew up on a farm and went to a one teacher school about twenty miles from Loxton.
The funeral was for an dear old lady who ran a combined store, post office and telephone exchange in the small town where I grew up. She had reached the wonderful age of 102 and was very active until a few weeks ago. Her funeral was a celebration of a full and interesting life. Her daughter and I went through school together always in the same class. She now lives only a short distance away from us.
After the funeral most of the family and friends gathered in the church hall for lunch. It was a wonderful time of renewing friendships and acquaintances from fifty years ago. A group of us started reminiscing about our school days together. I had forgotten some of the stories of what we all got up to during those carefree days. The memories came flooding back. It was a special time.
Using your memories:
Memories can be a goldmine of resource materials for writing, whether that be in articles, stories or novels. Here are just a few hints for writing activities from memories:
- Write a series of articles about your school days. Compare your school experiences with school of today.
- Describe the community you lived in as a child.
- Interview an elderly person you first met when you were very young. Write down their memories of days when you were young.
- Write an account of how one person influenced your early life. (For example, one of my primary school teachers inspired me to become a teacher.)
- Make a list of the schoolyard games you played at primary (elementary) school.
- Describe what you liked (or disliked) about school days.
- Think about the home where you grew up. Write a story imagining you lived there all of your life.
- I grew up on a farm near a small country town. Write about growing up in a small town – or visits to a farm or small town when you were young.
- Write about someone from your childhood who scared you – or made you laugh.
- Think back to when you were young. Write about a person who took a special interest in you, looked after you, took you to special places or taught you special skills.
From this list I hope you can see that the scope for using memories from earlier days and childhood are a rich source of writing ideas. They are limited only by your own memory and imagination. If your memory is failing, get together with former classmates and reminisce. You never know what gem stones they will come up with!
Related articles:
- Use your inbuilt story antenna
- Writing opportunities
- Short story Starters – links to articles listing over sixty ideas for writing short stories.
Struggling to write
I guess most people have days when they are really feeling terrible. I do. Too often it seems. If you are one of those people who don’t struggle like this then be truly thankful. You have a life that is indeed truly blessed.
Some days the words just flow almost effortlessly. Some days the ideas for writing come storming into my mind (it’s a bit like a hurricane in there at times). Some days I am filled with energy and could write non-stop forever.
Then there are days like yesterday.
Nothing.
Zilch.
And on top of that there came some bad news in the evening from my daughter which shook me to the core. She’s alright – the situation is not insurmountable. What shook me was the sudden flood of memories from twenty years ago when I experienced a similar situation.
I must admit I didn’t handle it well. I was very emotional for most of the night and slept very little. I thought I was over the incident – twenty years should heal old wounds. Wrong.
Today will be one of those days when I will attempt to push through the emotions, ignore the tiredness and focus totally on my writing. Concentrated activity is often a good cure for situations like this. What I write might not be award winning stuff but it will be far better than wallowing in a bad mood. The act of actually doing something can build its own momentum.
That’s what I will try.
Good writing.
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