Melanie's Creative Space

OF FORESTRY & FAEDS

2011-10-07T12:07:00.003+01:00

On Saturday I took Shadow for a dawn walk through a forest nearby.  It's always empty apart from roe deer and rabbits.  My favourite part is the oldest bit, where the moss and lichens are thick and undisturbed and the silence is noticeable.  I was sad to see the Forestry Commission had put a sign up informing people of logging operations.  I wandered back down the road, which is so overgrown there are baby Christmas trees in the middle of it and got a real shock when a very tall man, walking softly and carrying a huge rifle with a telescopic sight, appeared round the corner.  I felt frightened when I realised I don't get a phone signal up in the woods.  After I'd stopped Shadow from jumping on the hunter we walked on quickly.  I was secretly pleased that he smelled of dog now and that we'd made a noise.  Hopefully he wouldn't get the chance to kill anything.  On our way home I saw a female roe deer trotting down the road in front of my car.  I can't help feeling the spell of the woods has been broken now though as I know I'm not alone up there anymore.

I had an afternoon and evening of culture after my outdoor adventure. My husband, daughter and I were invited to attend the opening of a centennial exhibition of works by the artist James Faed Sr, held in the Mill on the Fleet. I have a fondness for all things Victorian, and enjoyed the exhibition very much. In the evening I went to the Wigtown Book Festival with my sister-in-law, mum and dad. We went to hear the Scottish historian Tom Devine speaking. I found his talk very informative and couldn't resist purchasing his latest book - To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, which he kindly signed. I also bought a copy of Scotland's Empire: 1600-1815.

OF TIREDNESS & TIDINESS

2011-09-29T23:27:00.000+01:00

I've been incredibly tired lately. Since the start of the year I've been really burned out. Creative writing has taken the form of updating my Facebook and Twitter feed on my HTC phone. I have had a relapse of ME/CFS and am in the process of trying to recover.

I planned to update my blog tonight but instead I tidied it up. I spent hours mucking around with fonts, removing links which no longer function etc. Not the least bit creative but essential to my peace of mind!

OF BARRIERS & BREAKTHROUGHS

2011-02-09T22:21:00.000Z

When I took Shadow for a walk yesterday there were obstacles on every path. The road to the railway was blocked by a poor lady whose car had sunk into the muddy verge. Reversing back through the viaduct, I parked the car and we walked down past the river towards the fields. A large, ivy covered tree lay across the path. The tree had been dead for a while and the wind had blown it down. We clambered over the tree and had a great time together.

I realised that some writing can be like that dead tree. I find it hard to be honest and remove the bits which don't work. There are always barriers to writing. Other things often have to take priority. My breakthough moment came when I realised that my writing is important, even if only to me, and that it is worth my time. I am going to try and schedule in some definite times for writing instead of just hoping I will have half an hour somewhere in the day.

OF ALLITERATION & AMBITION

2011-02-09T22:01:00.000Z

A friend commented that my titles are always alliterative. It has always been my favourite device. I know sometimes it is good not be restricted, but forcing yourself to use a certain device or form can produce surprising results. I have been considering ambition lately and can honestly say I only have one personal ambition. I want to be a published writer. There are things I desire for others, things I hope for, things I would be enjoy doing or know I must do, but only one true ambition.

When I was a little girl my parents got me a blue plastic typewriter for Christmas one year. It was one of my most loved presents. I never pretended to be a secretary, journalist or anything else. I wrote stories. I used my imagination. I knew then what I wanted and I have always known. Sometimes we sacrifice our ambitions or allow them to be sidelined, but they are always there and to deny them is to be disatisfied.

OF PISTES & PASHMINAS

2011-01-02T17:00:00.002Z

This morning Shadow and I went for a trek through the local woods and took a previously unexplored path.  We became lost and hacked our way through the undergrowth only to find ourselves under the old railway in a deep gully.  Shadow pulled me up the steep embankment.  Going off piste allowed me to see the area differently.  Sometimes trying something new in my writing can be refreshing too.

I was cold yesterday and wrapped myself up in a pashmina.  I imagined I looked a bit bohemian.  Peeling potatoes for dinner was not easy in a lilac wrap, and roasting them while the dangly end bits got in the way was totally impractical.  I’m much more comfortable in a pair of combats and a top. I don't need to adopt a certain look to be a writer.  I simply need to write.  

OF MORNINGS & MOURNING

2010-10-24T12:42:00.010+01:00

I am shocked by how long it is since I last updated my blog.  I have just typed up an idea I had while out walking Shadow in the frost with the full moon still out.  When I studied A215 I encountered an idea called ‘morning pages’.  I preferred free-writing.  However I have noticed that during the day I am often too distracted.  If I note down an idea and come back to it sometimes my enthusiasm seems to have faded.  I make notes in my phone when I don’t have a pen.  Going through them I one which read ‘man dancin’!  That was it!  So now I am left mourning potentially good ideas. 

‘Morning pages’ work because your mind is free from daily clutter and still in that semi-dreamlike state where your imagination and memory has been in control of your thought process.  Some of my favourite stories have come directly as a result of a vivid dream, and when I walk the dog first thing in the morning ideas seem to appear easily, almost fully constructed.  At the other end of the day it seems too much effort sometimes to begin something new leaving me feeling like a failure for always being too tired.  Today I powered up my laptop this morning as soon as I came home, didn’t switch on the internet and wrote for an hour.  Admittedly it’s just a synopsis and a blog update, but it’s better than two ideas lost forever.

OF ASDA & ARTISANS

2009-10-25T22:36:00.002Z

This morning I made fresh coffee. The whole house smells delicious after I've steamed up the kitchen, on a cold morning. My favourite is Cuban coffee from Asda. I bought two packets to try, being seduced by the lovely packaging that showed one of those old American automobiles they still drive around the crumbling but gorgeous streets of Havana. I imagined artisans producing their coffee in an exotic location. The truth is probably closer to a huge big Communist factory on the edge of the jungle. Still, I reasoned, at least the people of Cuba would benefit from a little trade. It was the creamiest, richest coffee ever. Sadly they no longer stock it.

I wonder if the taste was affected by my expectations due to the packaging etc, or my romantic notion of Cuba which always seemed like a fascinating place where people managed somehow to survive on little and be happy - surely a misconception. Today, as I woke myself up with a highly frothed and caffeinated cappuccino I wondered just how in control I was. If the supermarkets stock Cuban coffee then I have the option to buy it and if not I still have a choice of coffee from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Java and Kenya, but I spent the morning wondering about the fate of the poor Cuban people. Why is their wonderful produce no longer for sale? They have so much to offer in their culture, country and food and it is a shame this is not better utilised.

OF FRUGALITY & FOOD

2009-10-15T16:47:00.004+01:00

I have had special pleasure this year in making things with the produce from our garden. Being able to pick a bowl of your own raspberries is such a treat. My husband dug a veg patch, not an easy task in a garden which is boulder clay on a steep slope. Gardening suddenly seems very fashionable. My friend gave us seeds and potatoes. The peas were so tasty I ate most of them raw in the garden. Eating seasonally was a rediscovery, and having a big harvest of things like courgettes makes you creative. Our favourite way to have them was chopped up in a Thai curry or made into courgette and bacon quiche (a Good Food recipe).

I have a copy of Delia Smith's Frugal Food, which I thought may help with credit crunch shopping. Last week I pulled it down from the shelf in my kitchen, all ready to go back to the 70's. She has updated the book, and there is a great variety of recipes. Quite a few of them feature things like kidneys that I would not eat. Also there isn't a single recipe that all three of us would be happy to eat. Perhaps that is an indictment on me as a cook. Perhaps as a nation we have been too spoiled for too long.

OF POSTAGE & PUBLICATION

2009-10-15T16:24:00.004+01:00

I have News 24 on almost constantly but I still browse through newspapers for interesting little snippets which could be adapted into stories.  I read the Independent, especially the Arts and Book review on a Friday.  I have also started reading some international newspapers online such as The New York Times and China Daily.  While reading a copy of The Daily Mail last week I noticed a letter, criticising the service from the Royal Mail.

We have a post office in our village.  If it closed I would have to travel 10 miles to post a letter.  Our postman greets you cheerily at the door even when the wind is howling and the rain is running down his face.  I have ordered things from Amazon one afternoon for them to be delivered the very next morning.  I have never had mail go missing.  I wrote to The Daily Mail and they printed my letter on Tuesday.  So now I have been published.  I still haven't submitted any stories or poetry for publication.  I tell myself I am too busy.  I have a story I wrote about a future voyage on a recreation of Darwin's ship, The Beagle, which is one of my favourites.  Perhaps I will edit the story and then send it off on a voyage of its own.

OF SAMOA & TSUNAMIS

2009-10-05T15:18:00.009+01:00

I picked up a book for a pound in Asda recently.  I wasn't expecting much having never heard of the author, and rather stupidly assuming that if it was selling for so little it couldn't be all that good.  It's called Extinction by Ray Hammond, who is also a futurologist.  I don't want to spoil the plot, but it's set in 2055 in a time of increasing geological instability on Earth, resulting in a lot of environmental refugees.

It is particularly poignant to note that while I read about a fictional earthquake and volcanic eruption caused by our meddling with the environment, a similar thing has happened this week.  The recent earthquake in Sumatra and the tsunami in Samoa are a terrible disaster for the people who have lost their lives there, and also for the people who have survived and have to rebuild what remains.  These events which are happening today, and not in 2055, are a warning to us all and a reminder that we have an obligation to help our fellow companions on Earth, the only home we have.

OF CHEKHOV & CHICKENS

2009-10-03T23:44:00.005+01:00

My next Open University course started officially today. I'm doing AZX300 - 20th Century Literature: Texts and Debates. I have registered late and have not been assigned to a tutor group yet. My course texts have not arrived but I am able to access the PDF versions on the website. The first text we are studying is Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard so I am off to bed in a moment to begin reading.

We were having a family gathering today. My youngest brother is off to the States soon, and we had a buffet and a lovely evening together. The highlight for me, apart from seeing all my family, was succesfully completing a tea towel chicken. It was a bit scrawny but it was definitely a chicken. Will probably have forgotten how to do it by morning.

OF CLUBS & KIDS

2009-09-08T11:41:00.007+01:00

I have started a creative writing club at the school. I had a good response from the kids, including my daughter who loves to write. It starts this evening, and we will cover Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. The experience will benefit me, as I plan to go into teaching when I complete my degree but I hope it will also benefit each one of the children.I want to see them develop good writing skills and to grow in confidence. I am not going to be judging their efforts, only encouraging. Peer feedback is something we will use too.

Recently the daughter of a friend borrowed one of my books, and returned it in a bit of a worn state. I didn't criticise her though, as she had worked her way through all 434 pages of Twilight and previous to that she had not been a great reader. I was really proud of her and I know her Mum was too. It maybe helped that the book featured Edward Cullen but I'm just pleased she read it.I am about to go and make a lesson outline now, and write some Haiku of my own as an examplar for them.

OF BRAINS & BALANCE

2009-08-30T09:29:00.007+01:00

Yesterday on Facebook, I discovered something about myself. I am right handed, although can do many tasks with my left hand. I do not think I am truly ambidextrous and put it down to three operations on my right hand.Here's the science bit - the brain is divided into two sides. They are not identical. Anyway, I took the brain dominance test, curious to see the result. I expected the left side of my brain to be dominant, because, as far as I know, with my limited knowledge of biology, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa.

I was susprised to find that my brain was completely balanced, especially surprised considering I sometimes feels distinctly unbalanced. Both sides of my brain are equally dominant. The quiz, which is not a rigourous scientific test, went on to tell me that I am adaptable and flexible, could accomplish most tasks successfully, using either side of my brain, but that this could sometimes lead to a paralysing indecision as both sides compete to provide me with alternative, but equally good solutions. It also stated I would have trouble choosing careers etc as there would be so many areas I could excel in. Knowing I also have a pretty high IQ I felt pretty smug until I realised that all my knowledge and intelligence meant nothing if I couldn't decide what to do with it.

OF NEEDS & GOOD DEEDS

2009-08-27T15:11:00.016+01:00

Recently I found a product which got me thinking. It's a spring water from Wales called One. I had been looking for Isklar glacier water from Norway to try, although I worried that our demand for exotic H2O's would mean damage to the environment. 100% of the profits from One water fund water pumps in Africa. I decided after looking at the picture of happy children playing on a roundabout which pumps the water from deep underground into a storage tank, that it seemed like a good idea. I popped a bottle into my basket and, feeling virtuous, made for the checkout.

My good mood evaporated when I passed an elderly man, who shuffled along with a basket containing a few meagre provisions. He was dirty and smelly. I felt confused by the time I paid for my bottled water, and New Scientist, magazine when I can get clean water out of a tap. Helping everyone have access to clean drinking water is a great thing to do, especially as it says on the One website that over 1 billion people do not have access to fresh water, a truly disgraceful figure. However, I still felt extravagant when I saw what that man was trying to live on. I then began to worry that I was damaging the environment as facilities do not exist in my area for recycling of plastic bottles.

OF NUROFEN & NAUSEA

2009-08-24T10:36:00.007+01:00

Yesterday my head was so sore I felt sick. This morning I took some nurofen and feel remarkably better. I'm off to get my notebook out while I feel up to it and see if I can produce anything. I have ideas floating about in my brain so hopefully something will manifest itself on paper. I thnk the sunshine is helping too. I'm sitting in the study and the sun is streaming in through the glass. The sky is blue and expansive, much better than the torrential downpour of yesterday.

OF CREATIVENESS & CONCENTRATION

2009-08-23T12:38:00.006+01:00

My creative burst came to a sharp and painful end when a series of migraines took up residence in my head this week. Headaches make it hard to focus and concentrate. I feel grumpy and tired. I have decided to keep off the PC today and to leave my notebooks shut. I'm reading the latest Tess Gerritsen novel at the moment so I'll lie on the sofa and look at that for a while. I have promised myself a treat when I am better. I am going down to Wigtown for a day browsing the bookshops and writing in a quiet corner of a cafe.

OF SIGNALS & SPACE

2009-08-18T10:46:00.016+01:00

I shop on this terrific website called Hawkins Bazaar. It;s like an emporium of unusual stuff. Emporium is just about my favourite word ever. I want to own a Victorian Emporium one day and be called Evangeline or Andromeda. Last Christmas Santa brought (with the help of the elves at Hawkins) a crystal radio set. I remember my brother having one. We had fun building it but can't hear anything. We have had engineers (from husband's place of work) run diagnostics but nothing can be heard. I worry that we may never get a signal as so much radio is digital now.

It should still pick up some sort of analogue signal. Or what about cosmic background radiation? The crackle noise between stations and the snow on your tv. Would it hear that? Although I love technology and gadgets (and even used to work at a satellite tracking station) I miss analogue. I liked the afterglow of the big bang - you don't get it on digital. I liked the proof it represented. Maybe there is a poem in there.

OF EDINBURGH & EXCITEMENT

2009-08-14T22:56:00.007+01:00

On the way there I attempted to write an Ode to Edinburgh. I completed three verses but got stuck when I tried to find something interesting to rhyme with Calton Hill. Rhymes for knickers were not obvious either, but I really wanted to fit the phrase 'all fur coat and no knickers' into my poem as it is used to describe the inhabitants of Edinburgh sometimes. So far my poem is knickerless.

It was wonderfully relaxing to stroll through the Botanic Gardens in the morning. Later, walking up the Royal Mile was exciting with the architecture to photograph and the chance to join in the Fringe. It was colourful and lively. Capturing the day in words is not easy but I do have good memories to work on.

OF POETRY & PUKKA PADS

2009-08-10T09:49:00.007+01:00

Last night I put the TV off and went to bed with a copy of Writing Magazine, a Pukka Pad and a pen. I haven't written a thing since the summer holidays began, unless you count tweets and Facebook updates.I like Pukka Pads as they make it easy to organise your writing with the section tabs and pockets.

I wrote a poem called Bogota Boy. It was inspired by a picture I saw on the cover of Anmesty International magazine a long time ago.The poem doesn't do the image justice. Sometimes I think I would be better to take up photography but I want to be able to express things well in words too. The poem needs work. However I am pleased I wrote something.

OF DR WHO & SEE WOO

2009-08-09T00:02:00.010+01:00

Had a wonderful day with my brother and my daughter today in Glasgow. We went to the Dr. Who exhibition in the Kelvingrove. Quite surreal to see David Tennant's baseball boots, sonic screwdriver and watch encased in acrylic, although the watch isn't real. I think a Timelord should have a working watch.

After some fun on the roads with the sat nav, we picked up friends and went to the Chinese supermarket See Woo. It is a terrific place, full of tanks containing lives eels, lobster, crabs and even a small shark as well as shelves full of exotic teas and spice pastes. Some things I bought because the packaging was so attractive, but I have no idea what to cook with them.Tonight my mind is full of new ideas. I think it's useful for a writer to seek new experiences. I hope I will be able to incorporate some of the things I saw today into my writing.

OF DIPLOMAS & DEBATES

2009-08-06T23:53:00.008+01:00

Got my results for A363 today. I got a grade 2 pass. I'm pleased as it now means I have a diploma in Literature and Creative Writing. The next course I am taking will be 20th Century Literature: Texts and Debates. I've bought my books from Amazon already and have started to read them as there are eight novels to study as well as poetry.

OF FLOWERS & FRIENDS

2009-03-22T19:31:00.008Z

I'm so happy. I've had a lovely Mother's Day. My daughter made me breakfast in bed and gave me a cross-stitch magazine and a bunch of irises, my favourite flowers. We went to visit my Mum and spend time with her too. Now to top off what has been a fantastic day our best friend Dominique has arrived for a few days. We haven't seen each other for about four years so there will be a lot of catching up over bottles of wine to be done.

OF YOU-TUBE & YOUNGSTERS

2008-10-07T16:33:00.008+01:00

I'm really enjoying the course, and I am managing to write something every day.  Last night I had a lovely time with my daughter. We were having a look at old Beatles songs on You-Tube, looking through their back catalogue and all the videos which she found very funny, especially I am the Walrus and Yellow Submarine.

It always amazes her that I just had a record player and no CD player or ipod as a child. When I tell her that I had no PC, dvd player, mobile phone or any other modern gadgets she can hardly believe me. Things have changed so much in less than three decades. The 70's and 80's seem so long ago. I look back on my childhood and it is a different world. She ended up getting to bed too late for school really, but it was worth it to get some time together.

OF OUTPUT & OPENINGS

2008-10-01T11:19:00.009+01:00

I've got my laptop now and it has made such a difference to my writing already. The company I ordered it from is called Big Pockets.  My daughter loves using it and has started writing her own story. I will still use notebooks but I prefer to type.

Last night I sat in the living room with my husband while I composed two poems and two short pieces of fiction. That is my biggest daily output for weeks. I'm hoping that this new system helps while studying A363, which starts in three days. My tutor has been in touch and the online group has opened up.

OF LAPTOPS & LONGHAND

2008-09-21T10:20:00.009+01:00

I've tried the first exercise for A363 already. I spent yesterday catching up with postings on the critiquing group I'm part of, and looking for a suitable laptop.  Getting a laptop seems a bit extravagant. During the day when everyone is out I can sit up here in the study and use the desktop, but doing that in the evening makes me isolated. 

I have so many writers notebooks stuffed full of bits of paper, but I do most of my writing directly onto the my Dell PC now. Especially for TMA's and stories. I find I can type faster than I can write.  When I first started writing, I bought decorative notebooks and copied all my writing out perfectly in my neatest handwriting using a fancy pen. I still have the expensive notebooks but now I'm not afraid to scribble in them or to stick in newspaper articles or photos that interest me.

OF OU & OBSIDIAN

2008-08-29T17:44:00.012+01:00

Today I received my course materials for A363, Advanced Creative Writing that I'll be studying with the Open University. I did A215 (Creative Writing) last year. I can hardly wait to start the course on Oct 4th. I have also signed up for Nanowrimo too so, hopefully, by the end of November I will have a novel written. I have had the idea for it in my head since 1997. The novel will be called Obsidian, and the main character is called Anthony.  I feel nervous, but excited, about trying to bring the story to paper after it has rattled about inside of me for so long.