Junk - why I am proud to be a Womble?

Junk has to be my word of the day today as I unpacked my belongings after Christmas and looked around my flat. No, I’m not referring to my Christmas presents, I am merely commenting on the amount of stuff I have seem to have in my flat, which some would probably label as Junk. What is it they say about Junk to one person is another person’s treasure? Okay, I have to admit there are a number of items in my flat that perhaps should be given a new home (i.e. The inside of a black plastic bag), but it is knowing where to start which is the problem.  Hence, why after I’ve identified what I should be doing, I have sat down to write this. I am also listening to the Wings’ song Junk. If you don’t know the song, I would suggest you look it up, it is very lovely song.  

So back to my junk, where to start? I think one of the major problems for me and I am happy to admit this, I am a hoarder, a trait I have inherited from my parents and I am proud of it.  I would also call a hoarder a resourceful person, a bit like a Womble, as you never know what is going to come in handy.  There is nothing more annoying than needing something that you knew you once had and it is gone, but you can take this too far! Where am I on the scale? I am at the stage that I know that some of my junk needs to go and I need to clear some of the junk to move forward. The trouble with being a hoarder is that it is also an emotionally state and I think sometimes we hold on to things because they remind us of a certain time and events in our lives which provoke a mixture of memories that can be hard to let go. It takes courage because, in life, it is all about moving forward and find the next new adventure, but all we have is our past to work with and it is our past that shape how we move forward and sometimes it is bloody painful to let go of the past.

Oh boy, I’ve got a bit deep today, but it is good deepness, because for me, I know that I am ready to let more go and more forward - I think for the last well while I have been happy to stand relatively still, because for a time I found myself on very shaky ground with myself and I lost a confidence in myself and I am happy to say it is back and it is back with abundance. It is time to let go of some of the junk and make space for the future. It is time to stop hiding away and look for the wonders in my world.

My message to everyone for next year is just to believe in yourself and the people that you love and care about. We cannot control what will happen to us or the world around us, but to have people in you life who you love and trust, is worth so much more than having 500 days of summer. I leave you with this quote: “Wake up this new year with a smile and go after life knowing you’re amazing.”

It's Christmas and the novel remains unfinished

So, it is christmas once more - this year has gone very quick. In fact everything goes quickly apart from my writing. I am still no nearer from getting the novel finish, however, I am happy with the rate of writing. Ther are some works of art that cannot be rushed.

In November (I know it has been three months since I last blogged, but I've been busy working on a new website for work and enjoying the challenges of putting a website together), I did sit down and start a new novel for November write a novel in a month competition, but unfortunately it wasn't finished in time for the competition. However, although it may have created another piece of work that is unfinished, the sheer buzz of being about to sit down and write something total fresh always gives me a buzz, because I always worry that no matter how many different names I give a character, I am actually just writing about the same characters all the time, and just really giving them different character features.

I suppose though that some would argue in the literary world that story, plots and characters are repeated all the time and that there are only a limited number of characters and storylines in the world and authors are really just putting their take on the idea that had been done before. Philip Pullman once described authors as magpies, always looking for something shinny and if they like what they see, they will find a way of using it in their stories. I am not saying that authors shoud pinch ideas and steal story, but we do have the licence to adapt scene and scenerios from works of ficton into our own writing.  I think that why it is so important for authors to read the books all around them - to find inspiration and to feel someone else's talent for wordsmithing.

It is a bit like Christmas writing, Christmas is a time of tradition and time old customs that through the generations we change and adapt to fit our standard of living. No two households will celebrate Christmas in the same way, but there will be common threads coming through in each household.  Writing is a tradition that authors are inspired to do because of their reading and understanding of the literaty word and what had come before them, and we aim to create work that will become a classic in its own rights. Hundreds will try and only a few will break through to become real classics, but to be a writer, you keep this belief that you can create a classic to stand out from the rest, so even though the novel remains unfinish, I will set a goal again next year, because I know I have a classic in me.