More than Writers

Image from Wikimedia Commons Have you ever indulged in a bit of aspirational recipe-clipping while eating your porridge? I have, and I’ve got two folders stuffed full of scraps of paper to prove it, some of which go back a few decades.  What behaviours do you indulge in that go nowhere but give you a warm, fuzzy feeling? During the pandemic, I started a few writing habits. One was adapting AA Milne’s poetry with a lockdown slant. I was rather proud of one of them, and a family member shared it in her U3A writing group.  I also started writing 1,000 random words a couple of times a week with the intention of getting my thoughts on the page and garnering ideas for articles. I write with a potential reader in mind, and sometimes use this material as the basis for an article or blog post, such as this one.   What do we do with the wealth of information we hold in the form of clippings, cuttings and random notes on our computers? How can we collate them, or do we sometimes hav...

  I’ve been thinking a lot about waiting recently. This morning, I was in a queue of over 30 to get a call back from the doctor’s surgery. Just to arrange a phone consultation. That’s three times now I’ve rung to make an appointment to discuss test results. This kind of waiting is dispiriting. But at least with the wonderful (mostly) technology of mobile phones I was able to carry on with my morning dog walk. And I’d like to say my walk was filled with productive writerly thoughts. Sadly the reply came that there were no appointments left and I needed to try again the next day. I suppose I got a bit of a blog theme out of my following grumpiness so not all bad…   So, my random thoughts on waiting took me back to the '70s and good old R.I.E (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to the uninitiated). When a ward was on call for emergencies it was ‘waiting’. If things got too challenging another ward would take over the mantle. When waiting is difficult for us as solitary writers can we...

Are you analytical? Do you want to know why some things work and why others don’t? Do you analyse your KDP keywords, description and categories? In January, many people analyse and take stock of things, such as career choice, where you live, weight, how many books you read last year, how many you will read this year, etc. I have spent the last six months populating, growing and analysing my YouTube channel, and every day I learn more about analytics and algorithms. This led me to look at the analytics for blogger.com and More Than Writers, in particular, the 42 monthly blogs that I have contributed. There aren’t any in-built tools as such, although there is some data for views and comments that can be extracted. I love spreadsheets, so why not use one for this purpose? The ratio of views to comments is interesting. I have received a total of 19,036 views and 357 comments. When you consider that half of those comments are me responding to people, the number is significantly low. ...

 Is January really only 31 days long? Was Christmas really only one month ago? It feels ages... and not simply because the weather has been horrid, but because I hit a roadblock in the Work-in-Progress, aided and abetted by days-off that derailed my routine. I enjoy routine. I've managed to write the last six or so books on a routine of one hour every morning, five days a week. But what with Christmas and New Year (I'm a Scot, so Hogmanay and New Year are significant festivals for me!), my routine slid. And like an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, one little slip was the beginning of a hurtling descent into nothingness. No hour at the desk. And no hour at the desk means no writing. And for me, no writing means no joy.  I grumbled at the snow. I muttered even more balefully at the days of endless rain (when the water butt overflowed onto my patio requiring venturings out in wellies to deal with it - and buckets...) And then inevitably the larder was bare and I had to leave my burro...

Degas: Little Girl Practicing at the Bar free public domain image Sometimes the most powerful and affecting art is the simplest: a Picasso line drawing, a preparatory sketch by Degas or da Vinci. A simple line can suggest so much, and the space around it allows the observer to use their imagination and fill in the gaps. I have a print of an unfinished painting by Albrecht Durer above my desk. There’s something about the emptiness in the painting that intrigues. What did Durer plan to put in that space? What would I put there? So much to reflect on, more than if the landscape had been completed. Albrecht Dürer - Der Weiher im Walde (ca. 1497) - PICRYL - Public Domain Media If I drew a few lines on a page, they wouldn’t be powerful or evocative. An unfinished picture of mine would look abandoned, not intriguing. It’s not the simplicity that makes a piece of art powerful. It’s simple lines drawn by someone who knows what they’re doing. Who has placed those lines precis...

  Please hold the line by Sheelagh Aston You need to pray to God/Jesus. You start to say the opening of your prayer (Dear God/Heaven Father etc. ) for a voice to say: Hello, you’re through to Heaven. Please note that our conversations are recorded for training the Angels and monitoring purposes. Did you know you can access information about our history, services, and membership via our guidebook The Bible (available in paperback, Kindle, and audio). If you still wish to speak to a member of the Holy Trinity Team, please choose from the following prayer options. Press 1 – for prayers of Thanksgiving. Press 2 – for support to avoid temptation and sin. Press 3 – for your community, the church, and the world. Press 4 – for prayers on behalf of the sick, suffering and dying. Press 5 – for prayers of repentance and seeking God’s forgiveness. For all other prayer requests or enquires please hold the line. (Those of you who have a writer’s funny bone will no doubt be able...