Wink & a Nudge
Posted on July 31, 2006
Good news for the older gal is that I’ve discovered that, having somehow passed through the age of invisibility, I’ve reached an age when men are winking at me again. Quite caught me on the hop, given that these days I see men as being useful rather than cute (apart from Johnny Depp obviously).
There is a Scarlett O’Hara in me that expects a man to materialise when I have something heavy to lift, a small parking space to negotiate or some sort of IT crisis and, to be fair, they have never let me down, helpful creatures that they are.
It’s a very long time since I’ve warranted a whistle from a building site and some time ago entered the age when, if a man’s eye wanders in my direction, I’m clearly in the way of the lovely young creature that is the object of his true attention. I don’t miss it to be honest. But now, and perhaps I’m starting to look doddery or fraglie, but I’ve been getting the ’ere you go love’ and a wink from young men - really sweet.
In fact, talking of winks, I was having coffee with a friend the other day and my gaze wandered to another table where a woman sitting alone gave me a long slow wink. I felt as flustered as a teenager - good grief, I think I’m a bit set in my ways to consider jumping the fence at this late stage!
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Paper Wars
Posted on July 28, 2006
I have declared war on two big black filing cabinets. They have been too full to use for the last couple of years but I’ve been fearful of getting started on their contents.
It’s a job that requires tremendous self-discipline not get stuck reading all those articles once important enough to be culled from newspapers - obviously suggested a story of some sort, long since forgotten.
It’s torture reading all the crap I’ve written over the years and for some unknown reason never destroyed. It’s not that I imagine these words are precious, more that, at some point, the piece will magically redeem itself or I’ll find the skills to redeem it. Actually, it’s mostly unsaveable, blushingly so. Instead of languishing in the bottom drawer, it’s now langushing in the recycling bin.
What was kinda good was to see was all the things I’d saved over the years on how to write, how to get an agent, how to get published - it’s a relief to see it was all leading somewhere. I’ll tell you what, I’d be feeling v.pissed off with myself right now if I’d got to this stage of life and it had still led nowhere. Small mercies.
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Moonlight & Magic
Posted on July 27, 2006
Reading an interesting book at the moment called ‘Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith’ by Gina B. Nahai who is a rather interesting person; born in Iran, educated in Switzerland and US. She’s a lecturer on Iranian Jewish history so I think we’re on very solid ground with the background history of the book.
It’s an extraordinary novel in so many ways. I’m cautious around the magical realism genre, it needs a very delicate touch or it’s just weird. But this story just rolls on through one personal history after another, in fact, each character introduced into the narrative then warrants five pages of complex interwoven background - it’s riveting.
Beautifully written and highly recommended.
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One Book Wonder
Posted on July 26, 2006
Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I am a very organised person. That’s not so say my cutlery drawer’s not full of crumbs or that the children go to school in ironed shirts - it’s more an ‘ambitious project’ organisational thing. It’s partly genetic, I think, and partly spending 20 years producing corporate events that has given me a taste for it.
I love to have an ambitious project on the go, apart from writing a book and thinking about the next one, the other two big projects at the moment are a family trip to the UK and USA in 12 months time - all on Frequent Flyer points (a project in itself!) and I’m also involved in organising a big event next year for the His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Mega!
Anyway, the key to keeping track of everything is the ‘One Book System’ it’s the most obvious and simple process imaginable and that’s why it works. I just have one thick A4 exercise book (I’ve got a little more sophisticated in later years using the high-tech variety with half a dozen index tabs) and essentially I make all notes, ideas, scraps of dialogue or ideas for my writing, to do lists, contacts, phone numbers, deadlines, meeting notes, things that were agreed to etc. One friend I introduced to the system called hers ‘The Book of No Lies’. Ain’t that the truth.
It’s essential that it all goes in regardless of how important or unimportant it seems at the time because one thing I have learned is that you never know.
When it’s full you just archive it - if you’re really efficent you’ll put the dates on the front - and it will continue to serve you for years to come.
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Small World Afterall
Posted on July 25, 2006
The internet is an amazing manifestation in so many ways I can’t begin to describe my awe of it. For the writer it saves thousands of hours of difficult library research when you just need to clarify some small point of reference or make sure that the historical timing character’s background is accurate - couplakeystrokes and it’s sorted!
And that’s just what we take for granted. Add to that all the other fabulous things we can do to connect with each other and find out what’s going on around the world - it’s unstoppable.
Point in case is this blog, which, although not unstoppable, it’s really about nothing in particular - simply the manifestation of a meandering mind. Now six months old, it gets around 2000 hits a week and check out the countries the hits come from (in order of number of hits) :
UNITED STATES AUSTRALIA GERMANY CHINA UNITED KINGDOM FRANCE JAPAN NEW ZEALAND NETHERLANDS CANADA BELGIUM SLOVENIA ITALY SINGAPORE NORWAY CZECH REPUBLIC SWEDEN ALGERIA TAIWAN ISRAEL RUSSIAN FEDERATION SAUDI ARABIA DENMARK EUROPEAN UNION KOREA, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND TURKEY THAILAND
AMAZING! Imagine if it was actually interesting!
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