Find me online
Miss Write
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My Writing
  • About
  • WIP

Today I Told Her: Flash Fiction

30/12/2015

0 Comments

 
​Today I Told Her

Today I told her. 
 
This evening I told my wife a secret.
A year of marital bliss fell from my lips and crashed into foetal positioned dreams around our feet.
 
“How about Annie for a girl?”
 
I could hold back no longer.
I had to speak.
 
She shook off a long blinked. I could feel our hearts sinking together, yet I was convinced.
 
“What do you mean?”
 
I repeated the loaded phrase, more than words.
 
“How… what...? When did you decide this?”
 
Eight months into our marriage I found myself wishing for nothing more.
 
“Are you sick?”
 
No. I wanted no children – she was enough, my love entirely hers.

Lou x
Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

A Christmas Poem

22/12/2015

0 Comments

 
When the world is eating, singing, celebrating
Tuning into the news can be grating.
Refugees and war are not on theme
But such stories continue to be seen.
 
Christmas is a time of giving
These conflicting images conflicting,
Dominating the current issues
Causing some to reach for tissues.
 
Christmas comes and soon it goes
Resolutions and sometimes snows
Normal life resumes at speed
Drifting away from those in need.
 
Little keeps stark images in your mind
Lasting past the fleeting appeals of kind.
Yet Christmas is a time for thinking of others
From neighbours to global sisters and brothers
 
Remembering the much less fortunates
While we gorge on roasted chestnuts.
Carry these thoughts of injustice and pain
Through January and into the main
 
And spare more than a thought in Christmas cheer
For those children, people, who wish to be here.
Pick out the easy wins, that’s a good start
A tin in the charity box from your shopping cart.
 
Contact your MP for changes in acts
Facebook and Twitter are tools of attacks
Check local press for news of the worthy
Helping those lives topsy-turvy.
 
Monthly donations to your chosen cause
And doing it all for no applause.
So when you pause to think of the many
Who have no food, no home or penny
 
Take it forward from Christmastime
And prove there’s a reason for my rhyme.

Picture
Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

How can road congestion be reduced?

18/12/2015

3 Comments

 
Picture

 Christmas shoppers are back at Cribbs Causeway, two minutes from where I work . The schools are starting to go on holiday so the kids are flooding in to see Star Wars at the nearby cinema. Work 'do's are filling restaurants around the retail parks. 

The other evening it took me 25 mins to get to the M5 junction on my way home, when it normally takes 5 mins. 

Congestion is Bristol is getting to a limit I am not enjoying, so what do I suggest? I am no transport planner, but I do drive and I live in Bristol, so here's my two penny's worth. 

​
Work with local businesses

Congestion is worst at either end of the working day. Creating safe cycle storage and changing facilities at offices helps to reduce congestion – as does allowing for home working and staggered start and finish times. In Nottingham a workplace levy for businesses with lots of parking spaces has generated much-needed cash to fund alternatives and will help reduce traffic.

Introduce a congestion charge

London's congestion charge was implemented in 2003 and has been a success, reducing traffic volumes by just over 10%. 

Sort out the buses

The routes, certainly in Bristol, can be fragmented and illogical. Established hubs are not used as well as they could be, and there may be a case for large scale re-routing to make rides more efficient and cover more areas. One friend of mine takes 90 mins to get to work (on a good day), and he lives in Bristol. I used to commute from Swindon and it only took me 55 mins. That's not right!!

Open up old train lines

I would LOVE to go to work on the train - extra napping/reading/writing...working time, and no angry drivers. So many areas in Bristol are way off the train lines which currently exist, with many others closed and forgotten. I'd certainly use the Henbury station if it reopened! And surely Cribbs Causeway could do with something train-like, closer than Patchway...?

Give away free helmets and bike locks

One of the things that might put people off cycling and therefore remain driving is the cost of a helmet and a lock to secure their bike. The two together could cost upwards of £45 and can be quite an investment. However, both items are essential for riding, so funding free helmets and locks may act as a good incentive. 

Promote bus apps more

There are some great techy options to help you plan your route on public transport, but many people don't know about them. For Bristol buses I recommend the app 'Travel West Bus Checker' You can put your postcode in for your starting point and destination and it does the rest. 

Install more bike rails for securing your bike 

When I biked into town for dinner a month or two ago, I struggled to find a spot to safely park my bike. I ended up going several streets over from the restaurant I was meeting El Husbandio in - hardly ideal. It would also help with businesses - business relations and residents who live in popular areas: fewer 'eyesore' bikes attached to railings on the shop/house fronts. 

A single transportation body across the city

Coordinated and well-planned, well-timed projects for transport improvement should be run by one independent body, in my view. This will make development easier, possibly making it cost less, and would pool resources into one key place. 

More enforcement against banned drivers and uninsured drivers 

This would get a good percentage of drivers off the road!

Rewards for walking the short journeys

Reward schemes are big business nowadays - could log local journeys when you would have used a car but walked/biked and receive vouchers.

Cut train ticket and bus ticket prices

Nuff said. 

Raise the driving age to 18

Now school is compulsory to age 18, there is not a need for young people to drive so much. Argument was they might need it for work after 16, but that's no argument now. I would have hated this suggestion when I was 17 and driving, but it would knock down the number of drivers, and potentially make the roads safer too. 

What do you think?

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

3 Comments

280 Bakes: Bristol's home baked cakes

17/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
This weekend sees the opening of a dream of mine... my own (mini) bakery!!!

Every 3rd Sunday of the month I will be selling home baked cakes from my kitchen. The baking starts this weekend and I can't wait!

I've got a full Christmas themed menu (check out #bakemenu on Twitter) from iced Christmas cake to Brownie Santa Hats, so if you're in the Bristol area this weekend, be sure to stop by! The first 25 customers will receive a gift, and of course, there will be tasters!

280 Bakes
280 Broadlands Drive
Bristol
BS11 0PW


Join me 4-5pm every third Sunday (opens 20th December) and find what you want for tea!

280 Bakes is on Facebook and Twitter, so get in touch!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

Christmas Arrives At Gibney Towers

16/12/2015

0 Comments

 
We've worked hard to make our house Christmas-y, El Husbandio and I. He is missing home (Costa Rica) and I'm missing home too (Swindon). Equally fun Christmases! Here's what we've created, hung and decorated this year.

I'm especially proud of the wreath (a gift for a friend) and the Rudolph cake. My very own show stopper for my fancy baker sister

Enjoy!

​Lou x
Picture
0 Comments

In Search of an Ugly Sunset

16/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Ugly sunsets - there are no such things. 

And I've Googled it.

​There's a photo saying 'I give up finding an ugly sunset'.

There's a song.
And there's an Adobe colour scheme. 
Picture
There's no actual sunsets which are ugly. 

And that's pretty un-ugly in itself. 
Picture
Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

12 Tips for Successful Editing

9/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I'm looking forward to the editing phase of my novel. I'm still only 40,000 words in, so it's a way off yet, but it doesn't stop me procrastinating and planning how I'll edit!

Here are my top 12 tips for when you reach the editing stage. 

--------------

​
  • If it’s fiction, are the characters plausible? Do they sound real?
  • Are the themes working? What is the one big message of your book? How do the sub-themes relate to it?
  • Is it tightly written, where every word carries meaning and builds the picture? Or is it full of waffle that needs to be pared down? Make every word count. 
  • Double check your spelling. 'Form' and 'From' are both words spellcheck will recognise but they might be incorrect in that sentence. 
  • Are there any excessively long sentences you can cut in two?
  • If it’s how-to, are the instructions clear for the level of skill you're writing for? i.e. for beginners, intermediate... Do the steps come in the right order? Do you have a contents page? Does the manual have illustrations or photos? Is it inspiring and encouraging as well as informative?
  • Is there enough description to create vivid images in a reader’s mind? Is it groaning under the weight of too much description? Show, don't tell, but make sure it's balanced - like Barbara Kingsolver. 
  • Is your formatting standard all the way through? If not, make sure there's a reason for this which enhances the readers' experience. 
  • Cut 'in order to'. You never need it. If you’re going to the kitchen in order to make a sandwich… Your sentence could be tighter. Because you’re really going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
  • Same goes for the word 'currently'. Cut it. If someone is working as a sous-chef, they are there currently and it doesn't need to be highlighted twice. 
  • Are there holes in the plot, or anything you’ve hinted at early and then forgotten to tie up?
  • If it’s memoir, is it engaging? Will anyone care what you did, and why? Check out this great blog on writing a memoir people actually want to read from Stand Out Books. 

Don't give up. Editing can seem daunting and tiresome, but it'll make your book so much better if you get a few things a little tighter. Refine it and make it better, step by step. 

Thanks for reading, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

0 Comments

Rudolph Cake: Fail or Fanfare?

7/12/2015

0 Comments

 
My Christmas bake for this year was inspired by Pinterest. I am totally addicted to cake-browsing on that amazing website, and this one was a real challenge for me. This was definitely the cake I've baked which required the most skills. 
Picture
What I was aiming for...
Picture
The result!
Pretty damn chuffed with that, I have to say! I baked it for my showstopper cake baking sister, who's missing Christmas with the family this year. She was impressed, so I think that qualifies: I'm officially a showstopping baker!

The secrets to my Rudolph bake

The cake itself is a simple vanilla sponge - one big cake, although it probably should have been deeper.

To get the curly fur effect in the chocolate frosting I piped into dots (blobs with a push-and-pull-to-a-peak). It took about an hour to do and I needed another batch of frosting!

The red nose is simply a roll of icing, dyed red, and the eyes are made the same way. They're held in place with cocktail sticks. 

Finally, the best bit: the antlers. I drew a template of antlers on paper and put a sheet of grease proof paper over the top. This made it easy to remove the antlers from the paper when they had set. Melting candy melts (cooking chocolate might work?), I filled in the template with thick layer, sinking a lolly stick into the 'trunk' of the antlers. Be sure to leave about half the stick poking out the bottom so you have a good hold on the cake when you stick them in. Chilled in the fridge, they don't take long to solidify, but make sure the area around them is clear. A dropped carrot can cause havoc to poor Rudolph's antler shape. 

What can I try next? Feeling confident now!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

Meet My Showstopping Sister

7/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
My sister's a cleaver old stick. She's the showstopping baker in our family. Mum is technical (having trained in food) and I'm firmly in the signature bake, a bit more experimental. We threw my dad a surprise retirement party earlier this year and my sister baked this bang on theme treasure. Dad was a pilot. 

The cake was a tripe sponge layered delight covered in chocolate icing and shortbread plane cookies. Well done sis!

Before you ask, the marzipan man was a throwback to my wedding party in February. It's a model of dad, helping to give me away. I still have to post a picture of that cake - it was epic!

Into bakes? Feeling hungry? Check out my less show stopping but equally tasty contribution to the party's cake display, inspired by the Great British Bake Off. 

Picture
Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist
0 Comments

December Writing Competitions

1/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

Take note, writers - here are the writing competition you need to know about which close in the last few weeks before 2016!

STORGY Short Story Competition  Closes December 30th, max words 5,000, £5 entry, prize of £500
Coralle Short Story Competition  Closes December 5th, free entry, max words 2,000, prize is publication
The Growing Unease: NEW Journalism Competition  Closes December 18th, max 2,000, publication is the prize, £5 entry
Boulevard’s Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers  Closes December 31st, max words 8,000, entry is steeep at $15 but the prize is huge: $1,500
Hourglass Literary Magazine Contest  Closes December 31st, max 7,000 words, entry is $8, prize of $1,000
99 Words Monthly competition, max 99 words, entry is free and the prize is publication. 
First Story - schools get £30 if they enter!!! - Closes 4th December, no fee, prize is publication on Sunday Times Online and a writing residential course. 
Magic Oxygen Closes 31st December, entry £5, prizes up to £1000.
​Henshaw Press Closes 31st December, £5 entry, up to £100 prize.

Get writing!

​Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

0 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    I'm a writer based in South Wales, with an unhealthy obsession with stationery and baking. I mainly blog for my own sanity, but I'm also working on a novel. Still. 

    Archives

    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    August 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 1970

    Categories

    All
    April 2013 Blog Challenge
    Baking
    Being A Mum
    Blog Hop
    Books
    Campaigns / Charity
    Christmas
    Competitions
    Contemporary Fiction
    Craft
    Cycling
    Ebooks & Apps
    Environment
    Events
    #fail
    Films
    Fun Life Stuff!
    Gifted Reads
    Guest Bloggers
    Halloween
    Holiday Reads
    International Women's Day
    Lockdown
    My Wedding
    My Writing
    Out And About
    Poetry
    Random Inspiration
    Rant
    Reading
    Reviews
    Social Media
    Treasured Reader
    Wedding
    Well Being
    Well-being
    Women Writers
    Writing
    Writing Tips

    Get your own free Blogoversary button!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.