Busy, Busy, Busy

The paid work

It has been a while since I last posted a blog but I have a genuine excuse. Before Christmas I punted a couple of ideas round some learning establishments in Glasgow. I had outlines for two courses I thought would be perfect to deliver into the community; A Guide to Successful Living and How to Survive the Credit Crunch. I figured I would have a couple of months’ breathing space to develop the course before anyone organised themselves and booked me. Wrong! A college in North Glasgow booked me to deliver the Credit Crunch course to three separate groups of women. I am now into the fourth week of a ten week course and am just beginning pull the last pieces of the development work together.

The course looks at budgets, debt, money saving tips, smart shopping and even some microwave cooking. It has been a fantastic learning experience for me and I have turned into a fanatic light switcher-offer and standby plug puller.

The novel

If all this teaching isn’t enough to keep me away from my blog I am delighted to report that I still find at least one half day a week to work on my second novel. It can be frustrating to commit to paid work (the course) and to find it is the perfect catalyst for shifting writers block and leaving you yearning to complete the non paid work (the novel). I now miss my main character Ellie when I don’t spend quality time with her in the week. I am halfway through the first draft of the story and want to finish that by July.

The seeds, the seeds

It is seed time again. My carbon footprint project is also ongoing and even though I haven’t spent a huge amount of time on it I do live the ethos daily. One of my main objectives is to step up the food production in the garden. I planted the first of my seeds yesterday and will gradually increase that as the spring arrives.

A new trial for me is using the inside tubes of toilet rolls to make seed pods. I have been collecting them for ages and I am relieved to get them out the way and in use.



You can see the snow in the barrels outside. I hope my November planted garlic will be OK.

Wonderful Women

This photo was taken one lunchtime in colourful Kuala Lumpur

International Women’s Day
8th March 2008

I have just had a look at this site for International Women’s Day and I am staggered by how much women have achieved in the last decade without compromising their femininity. The women featured in the clips are spokespersons for their sponsorship companies and hail from all over the world. They are pretty inspiring

I will be spending International Woman's Day with a bunch of writers at the Scottish Association of Writers Conference in Erskine and I suspect the majority of them are women.

As a gesture for this auspicious day I have included on this blog a link to The Breast Cancer Site which I click on daily. The more daily clicks the site receives the more money the sponsor gives towards free mammograms. I am oblivious to the adverts on the site and have the click button as a recurring appointment on my calendar. Every little helps and it only takes a minute.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2

The UK site doesn't host such a gimmick but it is still worth bookmarking and keeping up with their fundraising events throughout the UK.

Writing and Reading

My writing regime is sinking in another peat bog. Every day my morning pages are filled with good intentions, but there is always something else needed attended to.

The problem is many of my characters are only half formed and the fully formed ones are taking me into areas of unknown. This means I am required to research, which of course is a wonderful distraction.

One of the books I have just read in a desperate attempt to pull me out of the bog is Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons sub titled The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls.

The book chronicles the author’s finding after a year long series of interviews with young girls and women on the subject of female bullying. This study was sparked by her casual question on the Internet, ‘how many women were bullied at school.’ The response she received was phenomenal; she was bombarded with cases, all with a similar story, that of, what she calls ‘Alternative aggression’ - non violent bullying.

Unlike boys who bully through violence and conflict, girls are taught from an early age to avoid conflict. The result of this lesson is a form of bullying that includes, rumour spreading, exclusion, silent treatment, and narrow eyed staring. I was surprised at how many of these devices I recognised from my youth and shocked at how many are still present in my adulthood.

Although this is a book of sociological study, the poetic style of writing made it a very enjoyable read. Simmons uses colourful and memorable metaphors to make her points. The book’s one flaw is that a number of issues are laboured and repeated.

Another book I have just completed as part of my research is the fascinating Grasping Africa by Stephen Chan.

I am red faced to admit that most of my knowledge of Africa comes from Wilbur Smith novels and Paul Theroux’s Dark Star Safari. Shocking I know! I am making amends now.
Grasping Africa begins at the Gleneagles G8 summit and rewinds to cover various aspects of African’s cultural and political history.

For such a modest book (171 pages) Grasping Africa does what it says on the cover. By skimming the surface of most of Africa’s nations, Chan has gifted me a taster of this vast continent. By also providing and discussing a number of novels and studies on the subject he’s provided me with enough food and distraction to keep me for my novel for the next six months.

The rain has stopped, stop building that ark

Michael Marra, one of Scotland's best

Fifty First Timer No.5

The Cremation of Sam McGee - Tolbooth, Stirling Saturday 9th February 2008

This performance qualifies as a fifty first on two counts. Firstly I have always wanted to see Michael Marra live. I almost achieved this last year then he appeared in collaboration with Scotland's poet laureate, Liz Lochhead but by the time I got around to buying the tickets the event was sold out.

Secondly ever since I first heard a Robert Service poem during a performance at Oran Mor, Glasgow, I made a mental note to find out more about his work.

This staggering show at the Tolbooth was the creation of cellist Christine Hanson. She managed to cajole the finest musicians in Scotland to join her in this performance of multi media magic.

In The Cremation of Sam McGee, Hanson took the rascally poem of Robert Service and composed a series of intricate traditional pieces to blend through the story. As if that wasn't enough, her compositions were accompanied, not only by the fine musicians but by the bright, inspiring images of artist Ted Harrison, one of Canada's foremost painters.

Micheal Marra narrated the poem and for anyone one who has never heard Marra speak or sing, to say his voice is gravely is not only a cliché, it is an understatement. His voice is crushed concrete, fag ash and whiskey mash churned together and matured in the corner of a smoky bar room, it is perfect for this narration.

The Line up

Michael Marra

Christine Hanson

Rick Taylor (Peatbog Faeries)

Kevin Murray (The Cutting Edge)

Bruce MacGregor (Blazin Fiddles)

Gordon Gunn

Anna Massie (The Anna Massie Band)

Kevin Maguire

Brian McAlpine (Session A9)

James Mackintosh (Shooglenifty)

Spring is almost here

Today I heard a woodpecker rapping in the trees. Later my bird feeder was visited by a woodpecker, maybe the same one. His comic grin and red backside never fail to make me gasp in delight. Unfortunately he was too speedy for my camera.

Yesterday was spent in the garden, pruning and chopping. I hauled a rusty old bin out of the corner of the big compost heap and started off another household waste compost bin with it. With any luck the resident black bin that happily plays host to hundreds of clever little worms and beasties that break down the waste, if left alone, will mulch away to fine compost by this time next year.

Result

After weeks of picking up, from the door mat, brown envelopes addressed to me in my own hand containing rejection slips, I received one this morning informing me that a short story had been short listed in a competition. The publication wanted to place my story in a forthcoming issue. Result!

man's inhumanity to animals

Roe Deer

Living in the countryside is idyllic, (most of the time), but it sometime divulges its grim side. Yesterday I witnessed a sickening act. I was out in the garden protecting some plants from the anticipated frost when I heard horrendous screaming, Colin grabbed a stick and rushed into the field next to the house and what he found was a pitiful sight. One of the harmless little roe deer, that normally spends it days bounding through the long grass and darting in and out of the forest with its mate, was lying mangled on blood soak grass. By the time I had grabbed my coat and followed I was just in time to catch sight of a lurcher dog skulking off in the opposite field, scattering sheep in its wake.

At first we thought it was a stray, but as I called the police, Colin caught sight of a man on the skyline waiting for the dog. This was a poacher, he had brought his dog into the countryside to hunt and kill animals. Hunting with dogs is illegal in Scotland and I now know why. This was a barbaric act towards an innocent lovely creature. Thankfully one of our neighbours very quickly put the poor beast out of its misery with a bullet to the head, but the cruelty of the act lingers with me still.

An Interesting Discovery

While editing letters for my new magazine role I have noticed that Microsoft's spell check does not recognise the word 'renewables' (and neither, it appears does Blogger). Isn't that interesting?


Writer's workshop

I attended a writers' workshop last week led by talented Scottish writer Laura Marney. Building a character was the task for the afternoon, and although some of the exercises were similar to other I've completed, one exercise Laura dished up to the group was a meditation. She explained that she uses this method to clear her mind before she begins writing. The practice helps to rid the mind of all those niggly wee things that stop the flow.

I have been trying it this week and it works!


Great new blog

This is a rather unfortunate piece of synchronicity, considering the story I told at the start of this post, but I found this website and blog last week and always intended to feature it.

Velvet Antlers is the creation of Clare and Dave MacLeod. Dave is the world class mad man who climbs death threatening climbing routes and Clare is the crazy women who belays his climbs (for the uninitiated in the art of climbing this means holding the rope attached to her man and praying he doesn't fall off the rock). Clare starred in this supporting role in Dave's recent TV climb 'To Hell and Back' and my nails still haven't grown back from the chewing fest the climb induced.

Velvet Antlers website sells exquisite Scottish produce similar to the stuff I have been blabbing about for the past couple of months. The blog also features Clare's foray into the world of filming and mountain festivals. I am adding this site to my favorites list. Check out Dave's blog too.

Incidentally, I voted 'To Hell and Back' as the top TV programme in www.laurahird.com 'Best of 2007' section. I will post the link for the winter issue when she has announced its release.

Reads and Rants

Another troublesome bear - Rupert

Gillian Gibbons
Thank goodness sense has prevailed and the Sudanese Government have released the British schoolteacher jailed there last week for insulting Islam. This charge has been recognised as an over reaction and the Government have granted Mrs Gibbons a full pardon. How easy small mistakes can be exploded into life threatening situation.


Is voluntary work a luxury for the well off? £££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

I have recently agreed to become the sub editor of a mountaineering magazine based in Scotland. The post is voluntary but because I have been associated with the magazine’s governing body for fifteen years I felt that I should give something back to them. But my main motivation for offering my services is that I felt I would learn about publishing and the position would, somehow, legitimise my decision to give up the day job and be a full time writer.

A friend of mine told me that some media organisations in London pay young graduates meagre salaries to work their way up in their particular field of interest. The graduates can do this underpaid work because they are supported by family money, trust funds and annuities. This practice limits the number of jobs for hard workers, struggling to carve a career in the same area. She argued this practice is creating an unfair advantage for people with higher incomes than others?

I don’t personally agree with that argument. I have not always been able to afford to take on such a large chunk of voluntary work, but I always tried to help organisations I've been involved in, even contributing a small amount of help.

One philosophy I have stuck to all my life is that if an opportunity comes my way, no matter how large or how small I grab it.

The world is full of people with more money than me, but the world is also full of people more talented than me, funnier them me, prettier than me. This list could end up quite large so I’ll end it now - you get the message. But there are also a ton of people who have not seized the opportunities presented to them because they are too busy moaning about not having choices.
The world is full of unfairness, but many people in the western world sit back and allow rich opportunities, even some large ones, pass by them everyday.

‘seize the moment try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it’ Eminem

Just Read

The Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson

This book was recommended to me by a Canadian lady and at the time when I search for it in Amazon I found it was only available from http:www.amazon.com . I ordered the book and then realised that ordering most books from the US was cheaper than buying through http:www.amazon.co.uk – not a good deal for the environment is it?

The novel tells the story of fifteen year old living on a farm near a Native American reservation. The area is terrorised by a daemon who invades bodies and turns the weak willed into evil beings. I believe that this theme is a metaphor for the girl to rationalise the abuse she suffers at that hands of her disturbed father and to help her deal with the ill treatment dished out to herself and her family by the community.

The focus for the action is a wood, a setting the author skilfully uses to create the menacing mood that percolates through the whole story. The characters were neither good nor evil but have extreme elements of both. The author show great sensitivity and compassion when dealing with the girl’s confusion over her awakening sexuality.

My one criticism of the novel is the use of repetition for certain pieces of information. Whether this is intended or not I found it distracting.

Writing, reading and music

The Black Cab Sessions

Check out the website. One singer, one song, one black cab, that's the theme. BCS are currently presenting twenty chapters on the website. It's an unusual way to listen to music and see some sights around London on the way. The cabbies seem to enjoy themselves too.

The featured clip is by Emmy the Great. Her myspace has more mellow tunes to sample.


Artist's Waywardness

I have fallen off the Artist's Way. Oh, I try to read through the weekly chapters and I do try to work most of the exercises, but I find it is distracting me from my other writings. I will persevere and finish the exercises for the end of this year, but the course is receiving low priority from me these day.

Top Priority

The Scottish Association Of Writers is holding its annual conference in March 2008. I have registered to attend for the first time ever. They have a full programme of events, but the attraction for me is the many competitions the conference holds. Entries must be submitted in January, but I have been assured by previous conference attendees, that even though you may be unsuccessful in the prizes, each entry receives a full crit. I intend to make the most of this opportunity.

Just Read

Yesterday I underwent day surgery. after receiving a full anesthetic in the morning I wasn't up to much in the afternoon, I did my Elizabeth Barrett Browning impersonation, wrapped myself in a duvet and played invalid. I also read The White Bird Passes by Jessie Kesson from cover to cover. This book, set in the 1920s and written in 1958, tell the story of Janie MacVean, a small girl of eight growing up in poverty in The Lane, a backstreet of a city in North East Scotland. The story is semi autobiographical, but unlike the reams of hard luck fiction that fills the supermarket shelves these days, this novel contains some of the best prose writing I have read in a while. her characterisations are alive, the language is filled with poetic imagery and stunning metaphors. But it is the third person narrative of Janie that makes this book a classic. It is heartbreaking and funny without being sentimental.

I now own three Jessie Kesson novels, reprinted by B & W Publishing. These small volumes are a treasure. The front covers are emotive paintings by Dorothy Johnstone , a contemporary of Mrs Kesson. Two of these books I picked up from my favorite book seller, Oxfam Bookstore in Byres Road.




Thank you

I would just like to commend and thank the staff at Gartnavel Hospital Day Surgery. I have never been in hospital before and was terrified because of all the stories I hear of the British National Health Service. My experience yesterday was unbelievable. The day surgery was run with precision timing, I was processed through a number of well rehearsed steps and made to feel safe and well. All the staff were kind, helpful and friendly. The tea and toast was fab.

Reading and Writing and Pumpkin Soup

The Writing Process

Starting is the first and worst hurdle. Novel Two (working title Witch) is whirling round in my head. It wont come out. Why? I have time, I am disciplined, I rise every morning and write my morning pages. I decide what to do for the day and then…well then I faff about doing anything and everything other than what I am suppose to do. I write my dreaded lists and I go through the motions.


I know! I will do some research, at least that's something towards the novel.


I know! I will read novels about the period I intend to write from. I will find books with a similar voice. That is all working towards the novel, isn’t it?


What about the music of the period. I'll just go and dig out some old CDs.

And then synchronicity steps in. I work on Week Nine of Julia Cameron’s Artist Way and read an insightful piece of advise. New projects are scary, she says, procrastination isn’t laziness, it's fear. What good is discipline without Enthusiasm?



Enthusiasm, I can do that. I put down another 1500 words and I wait. Ideas seep in.
I re-read some of my old note books from 2005, when I had a break neck busy life. I now count my blessings and read some Stephen King advice.



In his excellent memoir On Writing he states that he writes 2000 words every day, even on Christmas Day, not because he has to but because he wants to. That’s Enthusiasm.

Then it happens. I wake early with ideas bouncing off every brain cell active at 6.00am. I rise Enthusiastically, turn on the PC and chisel out the stuck words.

My Enthusiasm returns with a vengeance so look out.






Pumpkin Soup or Old Faithful

Today I made pumpkin soup from a featured recipe off the 101cookbook blog, well it’s that time of year isn’t it?

The colour was zen like, the taste divine,
but I made it so thick,
when I heated the gloop
Old Faithful erupted in the pan.





Just Read

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

I first heard of Barbara Kingsolver when I stumbled upon an interview with her on Radio Scotland's Book Café. There she discussed her latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and an Oprah choice The Poisonwood Bible. My local library had neither on their shelves, but offered her debut novel The Bean Trees.

This charming tale tells the story of Taylor Greer, a poor small town girl who leaves home to avoid an inevitable future of babies and maybe marriage.

When her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, an Indian lady dumps a bundle in Taylor’s car, a bundle that is a small girl previously subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Taylor, described in the blurb as ‘plucky’, embarks on a search for a home for herself and the little Indian girl and finds both amongst good people in Tucson, Arizona.

The story is a simple one of love, friendship and human compassion told in an easy page turning style. There are a number of serious issues raised and aired but Kingsolver resisted delving too deep.

Rejection

Me and my minder

researching Torque The Novel

Last week I received another encouraging rejection letter for my novel Torque. For years I've been told to expect rejection, to have fiction published is an impossible feat. And yet I am also informed tens of thousands of books are published each year. If this is the case why do I find myself searching the reviews for a decent read and resorting to novels published years ago? Where have all the good novels gone?

This rejection backs up a revelation at the recent Wigtown Book Festival when on two occasions I heard speakers state that ‘everyone’ was sick of Scottish authors.
A journalist recounted his efforts to have books reviewed in the press, only to be told ‘We’ve recently reviewed McCall Smith, Rankin and JK Rowling, can you give us a break from the Scots?’

At another session, an author, who is an Englishman resident in Scotland explained to his audience that his publisher instructed him to loose his Scots connection, it was bad for business.

But it isn't only Scots authors who suffer. My depression sank deeper when I read this article from the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The ‘wise ones’ tell me to persevere. One quality I have in abundance is determination. I recently joined a forum, The Small Press Exchange, which I hope will put me in touch with writers and readers in a similar predicament.

And today I laid down the first 1500 word of novel number two.


Just Read

Halls Of Fame published by independent publisher Graywolf Press

This mix of essay and poetry from the distinctive voice of American writer John D’Agata was an invigorating and challenging read for a curmudgeon like me. His young enquiring mind takes nosedives into areas never before explored and what a thrill that ride was. The style is engaging and the language clear, but never being one for academia, I found some of his references mystifying. At times the essays soared over my simple head, in particular The Flat Earth Map: An Essay, about the Flat Earth Society. The highlights for me were Collage History of Art by Henry Darger, which tells the tale of an obscure artist. And the chilling final essay And There Was Evening and There Was Morning about the burning lights of Las Vegas. It plunged me back into my Eco Rant.


Why do tall buildings need so many lights burning all through the night anyway?