New Year, New Attitude

I know that I'm not on my own at the moment when I look back over the past year and weigh things up. Was it a good year? What could I have done better? What do I want for next year? Inevitably, the passage of time from one year to the next is bound to lead to some reflection and a longing to do better in this next brand new year. It has the feeling of something as yet untouched and with it, the wish to keep it looking as good as possible. But how long, I wonder before the first row or raised voice, bad mood or laziness?

2013 was for me a good year, when things started to come together and we actually started different activities without worrying whether it was going to be too much for me. It is reassuring to find that providing my chronic fatigue symptoms are managed and we plan our activities, much more can be done.

It was also the year when I became involved with the parish magazine for our church. As compiler, I get to set out the items that are going to be in an issue and work with one of the church warden on the editing. I have learned how to use a desktop program this year because of this and have found that my mind relishes having new things to do. It is not without its challenges and it does suck up time, but it has been hugely enjoyable.

We have also been camping, with the strong probability that we will do more next year. That has been great fun and with our new bell tent, we are both hoping for great adventures. And I have a new folding bike, which has allowed me to go off and practise more cycling.

When I think about what I could have done better, my thoughts turn to organising my time. At the moment, I know I'm not perfect in this area. I would like to write more, but can never find the time to do it. And I think I should really appreciate that just buying books about a subject doesn't make me an expert! You have to write to get better about it, a fact that I really appreciated when I did the NaNoWriMo challenge.

Next year will be a good year when what has been started this year in my writing and in various other activities will be built on. More than anything I want to enjoy my life and the experiences that I encounter.

I wish you all a Magnificent 2014 - make it a year to remember.

Christmas Past and Present

As the days roll past that take us to Christmas Day, it seems this year that my mind has been on past Christmas's, and how they were spent. As a child, Christmas was all excitement, where the thoughts of presents and what they might be outweighed everything else.

One year, when I was three, I can remember my twin and myself getting up very, very early on Christmas Day. It was very dark and we managed to switch on the light so we could open the presents which we had found at the bottom of the bed. Suddenly, the bedroom door bursts open and there in the doorway is our father and he is not looking very happy. We were sent back to bed with stinging legs and told not to get up until it was light. And yet, although we both had a cry, I can't remember it spoiling Christmas. I think we knew we shouldn't be up but at three what can you do when there are all those delicious parcels waiting for you?

Another year, when my younger brother was still a toddler, he had been given a blow up snowman with a weighted bottom as a present (like a punch bag). Not a brave toddler, he cried ferociously when it was moved around prompting his naughty sisters to move it around even more.

As we grew older, Christmas presents seemed to be more about things that were needed - a best frock, a guitar (we joined a guitar group at 12), shoes and slippers, hankies together with the inevitable selection boxes(which seemed larger then than they do now).

Going into my teens, what I remember most is the food. There was masses of it. A huge turkey with all the trimmings, bacon rolls chipolata sausages, stuffing roast parsnips, and potatoes, sprout, cabbage, peas and carrots - the list appeared to be endless. And for after, my Nan's Christmas pudding. It was paler than the usual Christmas puddings and was the only one I used to eat and enjoy, especially as there were glacé cherries inside. It did seem that we no sooner finished dinner than it was time for tea - fruit salad and Christmas cake. Then later in the evening, bubble and squeak with cold meat. The following was cold meat again but with chips and all kinds of pickles.

I think Christmas's really changed for me when I left my first husband. The first one was pretty miserable, spent with my Mum in the residential home she ran, with her saying if I became upset, 'You've made your bed - now lie in it.' I think it was a time of realising that Christmas wasn't just about presents, food and watching television but about friendship and families and what you put into that special day.

Now, married to a wonderful man, who doesn't like Christmas, having been a butcher for most of his adult life and had to work so hard right up to Christmas Eve, Christmas is more about companionship, knowing that if I see something I like during the year, then I can buy it (so it's Christmas all year round!). It's also about seeing family that we don't see as often as we would like, but making the most of it anyway.

From my faith point of view, it is a reminder that God came to earth in the form of a vulnerable baby, who would grow up to do amazing things, then die and live again, so that we may have this wonderful connection with Him.

Wishing all of you a Joyful Christmas and a peaceful 2014.

Eight Things I've Learnt About Working on the NaNoWriMo Challenge

I feel I must start with my apologies as I commence this post. It has been some weeks since I have written, largely due to the subject I want to deal with today, namely National Novel in a Month 2013. My time has been taken up in the preparation for this challenge and then in the work on it.

This challenge first started in the United States 13 years ago, (which is where the word in the title National comes in) the object being for each contestant to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days, those 30 days being the month of November.

I have tried for the past 2 years to reach this magic total and failed miserably. Both years failures were for a perfectly good reason - as someone with chronic fatigue syndrome, there are times when it is not a good idea to push yourself. Nevertheless, it left me with this urge to succeed one day in this challenge.

This year, I succeeded, much to my joy. The whole process was a novel experience and I learnt lots. Please see my little list below for more detail. Recently I have read articles showing scepticism that typing so intensively over 30 days can produce anything useful. To them I say I now have something I can edit and decide for myself it's usefulness, whether to send it to a publisher or not. But that wasn't the reason it was done. Like climbing Everest, I did it because it was there.

1.  I can Write!
This first thing was a biggie for me. As the days went on, to actually realise that I can sit down on a day to day basis and type something, whether it was 400 words or 2,000. It gave me great confidence, which still buzzes on today, a week after finishing the challenge.

2.  It is possible to write most days, if not every day.
Even though I did have other things to do, as we all have, I discovered that wanting to do this challenge made me look for the times in my day when I could type. Even 15 minutes was enough to write a few words. I didn't have to sit there for hours each day (although the last few days did become a bit frantic).

3.  I can be disciplined.
Again, this was a realisation that I can plan things into my day, if I really want to do it.

4.  It feels good to write.
I did not find the experience tiring, but incredibly enjoyable. The sheer effort of putting pen to paper allowed me to focus and to concentrate for however long I had and to just write.

5.  You can only learn about what you need to concentrate on like descriptions of characters and places, by having something written to look over in the first place.
What I am trying to say is you can't edit anything unless you have written something first. Additionally, you can only appreciate what you need to do to your characters and the various description only if there is something on paper or screen for you to peruse first. Before this I had spent a long time about thinking what I would like to write, but not putting fingers to the keyboard. It is quite a good feeling to find you now have something to work on.

6.  It is possible to get yourself inch by inch to a goal.
This was mentioned a little in point 2, but really you can only appreciate what writing 50,000 words feels like, when you actually do it. 50,000 words amounts to 1,667 words approximately every day. So every day you needed to pace yourself to ensure you were on track. As you get closer to your goal, you begin to realise that this can be done in any avenue of your life and is very thought provoking.

7.  Preparation is so important.
This is where I came unstuck in the two past years. This year I had some idea as to what I wanted to write about. As a new writer of fiction, I didn't completely appreciate what kind of planning I needed to do. I soon realised as the days went on where my planning had been faulty. But I had planned something, even if it was a bit loose. And it did keep me going and next time, I will be better prepared.

8.  You need your buddies.
What I also hadn't had before was support, mainly because I had thought that telling people would make them think I was totally mad. This year, I had the support of my husband and the creative writing support group on Facebook, who also have a special month long NaNoWriMo group. It was brilliant to have that much support. My husband was fantastic, making sure I didn't overdo things, but also being very encouraging. I think he could see it was important for me to do this.
The support group were amazing. I did have one occasion where I deleted a whole chapter and a bit from my work and people were very sympathetic. But they kept you going and were supportive every step of the way. They also rejoiced with you when you completed the task. As I have said, amazing.

What next? The recommendation is that you leave it for a month and then start the editing process. That is what I intend to do. What I also want to do is to look at the other projects that I have started over the past year or so and see if I can bring those to fruition. Ultimately, what this challenge has done is made me keen to write more and better. You can't have a better outcome than that.