I had a lovely afternoon last Sunday. I went down to Bookmarks Festival, the small Northants village of Helmdon's very own offering to the world of writing and book events. It's in its second year and I can see there will be outcry if this small, friendly, and well-meaning festival doesn't come back for 2014. 

There are two reasons why I love Bookmarks Festival. 

1. The focus of the festival is on local writers. The speakers this year were Adrian Magsun, Alison McQueen and Garry O'Connor, all who hail from Northamptonshire. Engaging, friendly, and very different from each other, they made for a good panel. 

2. Bookmarks raises money for a global charity. It's a different charity each year, and 2013 is the year of Hand in Hand for Syria. Very commendable, in my eyes, and the choice of charity could not be more pertinent given the news from Syria in the last week or two.

I want to show you the fantastic fun I had at Bookmarks Festival, but like the pro I am, I managed to take photos with no SD card in the camera.

However, as you can judge from this blog post title, there is a down side to going to all these wonderful, creativity-filled, welcoming, interesting literature festivals. Yes, while I'm there mingling with other readers and writers, I'm having a great time. Events like this often encourage cake eating, and armed with a slice and a cuppa, I make new friends and acquaintances of bloggers, novelists, journalists and wannabes. However, long-term, literature festivals are indeed detrimental to my social life.

Why?!

Because I've come away with yet more books to add to my 'To Read' list. 

Once again I'll revert to my teenage bookworm state and become completely absorbed into the wonderful world of reading. I'll escape any trials and stresses of the day and enrich my writer's palette. 

I plan to be unapologetically unsociable.

I didn't really need these new volumes to add to the growing collection of books I want to devour, but look at them - how could you resist?! And they were all at the bargain price of £1 per novel. I already have piles of unread beauties at my pad just waiting to be opened, but being the slow reader that I am, I doubt I'll get onto many of them this decade. This means I will spend a good portion of my weekend curled up, sprawled out, perched on a chair with a book. I'm currently reading the beast that is Tom Jones ~ Henry Fielding as part of my 30 Before 30 Challenge, and I really want to get it finished. Then I can start on these fab looking titles.

If you need me, you know where to find me. 

Lou x

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Swanwick Summer Writing School has been running over 60 years. Based in Derbyshire for just one week in August, 200 published and unpublished writers meet together every year to learn, network, and grow in their craft. With a programme of eye-catching workshops and 'A class' speakers, who can blame them?!

Rae Argent, a writer friend of mine, went this year. She's an avid 'Swanwicker' and shares her experiences of this year's event on my blog this week. Take it away, Rae!


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What's to say. Swanwick was fantastic.

One of my favourite parts was our guest speaker James Moran (script writer for Dr Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Tower Block etc.) who ran a workshop.  That was a brilliant insight into what goes on behind the scenes and how to break into scriptwriting.

One of the courses I participated in was 'Literary Novels' - quite different from what I had expected but well worth going to.  It encouraged us to use imagery, not to curb our imaginations, and to introduce very well rounded characters.

'Fiction from Fact', a workshop by Syd Moore, was brilliant too. She encouraged us to write a short piece from a short sentence and let our imaginations do the work.  We were also tasked with writing a list of everyday questions we might ask our characters - that was fun! 

Our last evening speaker was Deborah Moggach, writer of "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", among others.  She told us how it felt to watch her novel being turned into a film and where some of her ideas came from. 

Also, there was a workshop on short story competitions from Linda Lewis full of useful hints and how to make our stories stand out from the rest.

There were umpteen other courses/workshops. It was just FAB.

Rae Argent

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Thanks Rae - I bet you'll be heading off to Swanwick again as soon as you can! Keep an eye on the Swanwick website to see when 2014 tickets are available. 

Why not follow Rae on Twitter?

Keep writing!

Lou x

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I’m grabbing 45 spare minutes to work on my novel. I’m just over 22,800 words through the first draft of my second novel, and it’s been slow-going over the last few weeks. Life’s been busy and I’ve been grabbing a quiet morning with both hands and working on my WIP.

What’s my tactic for maximising the impact my precious free 45 minutes can have?

1.     I put my mobile phone out of reach. Even if it doesn’t ring, I will undoubtedly pick it up and fiddle with it. It’s a distraction I don’t need.

2.     If I have something is going to cut short my writing time (e.g. work, Spanish class, meeting a friend), I set a timer. This ensures I don’t get carried away and write for hours, and I don’t sit clock watching. Every glance at my watch is a few seconds of distraction. I use the timer on my phone, so point one about putting said phone out of reach needs a caveat: my phone needs to be within listening distance.

3.     I close down my internet browser – after announcing to the world on Twitter that I #amwriting, of course!

4.     There’s always a cup of tea sitting beside me. Keeping hydrated is key to producing any content - good, bad or ugly. Nothing at all will appear on my blank pages if I’ve not had enough to drink that day.

5.     Having a spare half hour or so doesn’t always mean I’m using it to crack on with writing. Case in point: I very rarely write before I go to bed. If I’ve had a busy day, I won’t spend the last hour I’m awake slogging at my first draft. It’s just not productive. I remember saying in my student days that “my brain shuts down in time for Eastenders.” I don’t watch that show anymore (two years clean!), but my brain is still in the habit of closing down around the 7pm mark.

I’ve just lost 15 minutes of ‘novel time’ writing this blog post, so I’ll leave it there.

How do you make the most of those treasured few minutes of writing you can grab here there and everywhere throughout the week?

Lou x

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Regular readers will know I give baking a go when the mood strikes me and share the mishaps and triumphs on this blog. Light entertainment for you, therapy for me. 

Baking is creative use of time where I don't have a pen in my hand or a laptop on my knees. And 9/10 the product tastes AMAZING - unlike my paperbacks. 

This was all that was left of my first ever triple layered cake I made at the weekend before I thought to photograph it. Butter icing and colourful goodness, contained in a vanilla sponge. Delish! 

And very patriotic, I think!

See you Friday for my weekly writing themed blog. This week I'll be talking (cakey sugar-fuelled?!) POWER WRITING!!!

Lou x

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I came Home this weekend, even though I knew no one would be there. I live in Northampton. That's where I sleep, eat, host, work and play; all my post goes there; most (not all!) of my belongings/clothes/furniture is there.  Northampton is my official address. However, 'Home' for me, is my parents' place in Swindon. 

I kinda think this place will continue to be Home until I finally buy a place of my own. Until then, I've reverted to calling the Swindon house my Home again. 

The house is normally a hive of activity. There's me, my sister, my brother (both younger) and my parents, all leading busy and full lives. Sometimes there's a gran added into the mix, and often a boyfriend. Friends drop by from all spokes of the family, and the kettle is always boiling. First and foremost, this is where people I love, and who love me, meet. Home is my family base.

My family moved here in my mid-teens while I was on holiday in Norway, and, mixed with very unsettled teenage feelings, I, (understandably, I think) took longer than the rest of my family to find our house a Home. Staying just two years before heading to University didn't help, but I've found Home since I've officially left. I love the feeling when I take the final turn up the drive and I wonder who might see me pulling up. I wonder if my mum can hear my music. Sure, it's just bricks, but Home is the building too. 

This weekend the house is quiet. The main reason I'm back for a night or two is to collect half of my wardrobe (which I left by here by accident two weeks ago and have struggled without), but also to escape. My house share in Northampton is fine, but it's not so cosy. Not half as spacious. And my sofa is weirdly made of two parts which make it hard to lounge about on it without my bum dropping through the middle. I'm also escaping the threat of not doing anything constructive with my precious weekend when I have no real plans this weekend. Home is quiet (this weekend!) and I can work. I plan to do my part in judging a short story competition for Bookmarks Festival this weekend, and I'm going to continue the forward stepping I've achieved this week on the Work In Progress. Home is peace; inner and actual. 

And when I no longer need quiet (which won't be long!), I can play music even the neighbours won't hear. I can Skype my boyfriend loudly speakers way into the night. I can play my piano badly and at volume. I'm particularly looking forward to this part - I have some new Adele sheet music and it's re-ignited my love for the ol' keys. I want to be a pianist again. Consequently, Home is quite often a noisy affair. 

I brought some perishable groceries with me on this visit, some supplies. Milk, OJ, fruit, yoghurts... My staples. I didn't have to worry too much though because Home has been synonymous with meal times for me. My mum is a fantastic and enthusiastic cook, and there was always a home-baked cake in the tin when we were growing up. I knew I'd have no problems finding something tasty in the freezer for a night in on my own. Home is good food. 

A good estimate would be that I come Home every 4-5 weeks. I always feel better for a spell (a night, maybe three) at home. It grounds me, sets me back on course in several ways, and makes me feel happier and more at peace. It's nice to be back, even though I'm dining alone. Hurry back, family!

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I totally didn't expect this blog to manifest itself. I was planning on doing something on regional accents in writing, but somehow this fell onto the screen. I've been busy working on the WIP and my magazine column this week, so it's nice to do something different. I hope it wasn't too self-indulgent. 

Now, turn off your laptop and go spend some time at home. Good night.

Lou x

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"JFDI."

This phrase is said quite a lot in my office. For anyone not as street as me *ahem*, it stands for Just F*cking Do It. And not in a 'for f*ck's sake, just do it' way. It's supposed to be more 'if you want to do it, get on with it!'. I like to use it as a great excuse for satisfying my lust for travel, but writing also has very close links with this slang. 

Writing. So many people call themselves writers but just don't. How many of us think 'oh, I'll get around to it... another day'? How many of us wish we'd started writing earlier? And for those who have yet to put pen to paper, how many of us want to write but haven't got the confidence yet? 

Perhaps you're a writer who thinks some time should be spent this weekend working on your current article, novel or poem. Perhaps you're an inexperienced wannabe who fancies penning something.

Start small. Work on something easy to get your creative juices flowing. Try something new. Write from a prompt. Write about what you see from your window. Set yourself a wordcount challenge. 




You wanna do it? JFDI!

What are you waiting for?

Lou x

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Image from Wikipedia Commons