Snow Drops at Pan's House?

I have been searching for Pan's house/hall for a while now and I think this has potential. It isn't too grand and has a faded opulence about it that I like. Plus it has snowdrops - my absolute favourite flower. Anyway - I had fun taking some pics and getting the atmosphere of the place.

The Roaches

I am currently chasing inspiration for three short stories I have to produce for a story book called "Shadows". So last weekend Grace and I braved a windy and wet day to spend an hour or so at a local hilly outcrop near Leek called The Roaches. Only when I got back and was doing a little research did I realise that in fact this is the site of more than one local legend. I always wondered why there was a pub in the middle of nowhere, surrounding by miles and miles of bleak moorland called 'The Mermaid" - well now I know!

There are two local ghost stories attached to the Doxy pool on the top of the Roaches. 1) A local highwayman and his family lived nearby, his daughter had a beautiful singing voice, and she was found one day and carried off by 'strange men' never to be seen again. Local legend says that the restless spirit of the young woman still haunts the pool and the rocks nearby to this day. 2) A malevolent water spirit lives in the Doxy pool. Local folk history reports that in 1949 two young women went for a swim in the Doxy Pool and as they were about to get in they were chased off by the sight of a terrifying water demon. There are also legends of 'Jenny green teeth' (Peg Powler or Ginny green teeth or wicked peg - depends where you live) is supposed to drag unsuspecting passers by into the murky waters of the Doxy Pool to meet a watery end.

So now we are a little more aware of the local legend - guess what? Yep - we are heading back to check out the dark and bottomless water at Doxy Pool...cool! However the moral of the story is ...research first and save yourself the need for a second visit!

Re-thinking Vampires

Loving this - it's the quote for the start of my book:

…we regard it with a sort of mystic horror and superstitious loathing. It will ask another hundred years of fine writing and hard thinking to cure us of the prejudice, and make us feel towards this ill-omened tribe with something of ‘the milk of human kindness’, instead of their own shyness and venom.

William Hazlitt On the Pleasure of Hating

PS talking of Spiders and not vampires but it kind of works.

Surviving the Writing Blues

I don't believe in writers block just the terrible insecurity of the creative mind; when the initial inspiration, that caused you to begin the project, has worn off and the insecurities begin to creep in: is it good enough, why am I bothering, my writing sounds rubbish etc etc...the list is endless.

So the last couple of weeks have been, well up and down (hence no posts) but I have some top tips which are helping dig myself out of the writing woes!

1. Get yourself some writing buddies. You might think you can do this on your own but you can't because who is going to spur you on when you can't do it yourself. I don't care how motivated you are as a writer your writing blues will hit sooner or later and you will need someone to turn to. I was reading a little inspirational writing book and a top author suggested you need two critics: one person, that no matter how bad the writing, is completely and utterly positive about everything you write; and a second critic who you trust. Find these people.

2. If you are board of your writing you can guarantee the reader will be board - introduce MORE conflict. It doesn't matter how because your reader will be so grateful of it!

3. Do something different for a while (NOT TO LONG). That something different should give you time to think about your project but it should be something totally different from writing. For example, I decided to give myself the whole weekend off and have been out riding my bike and now I am itching to get back to the page with lots of great ideas!

Hope this helps some time!

Working weekends

WHAT A DRAG!

Sorry girls, no Alex, Cain or otherwise because I'm at work and mental energy is going into Maternity Project (again).

I'll try and post 'something' but I want to get to the bit where Alex turns up to the party...I have it in draft but it's the build up I'm struggling with.

Best get on with work - see yah later!

Thanks Grace

Grace has been checking out the net for worthy pictures of Alex. I think she did well...don't you?

Cheers Grace!

Jeff Buckley

I was driving to work today listening to Jeff Buckley and Hallelujah came on. It was such a perfect, beautiful moment because I was high up going over the back of Whaley Bridge and the mist was low in the valleys but the top of the hills were in sunlight. It's moments like that make you think that there is a god. Wish I had stopped to take a picture but I was late for work!

Alex is back

I know you are all loving Cain but here is a challanging photo from Alex. Okay Cain is cool but Alex is a bad boy and that's why I like him - I kind of forgot that in the short story.

Sorry - but I love the discreet v's to the camera man!

PS okay Sarah - fight Frankies corner for me!

Cain Fans

Oh dear - I was missing Alex and now you all love Cain and so I have posted an angry Cain pictures to help the imagination a little.

Day on the Bike

Yes, I had a good day today. Started off by getting the fight scene out of the way on the Morning Pages and then Mike and me had a day on the bike. I forget how much I love getting out and riding. It wasn't a spectacular day and there was a lot of ice - interesting as that could be at the bottom of a fast descent. I didn't fall off ... that was a bonus and I am now going to put my feet up and get a couple of Supernatural episodes under my belt.

New Years Writing Resolutions

I have been kind of avoiding this blog because putting on another post might knock Frank off the bottom but I can't resist the New Year and the instinct to set myself deadlines and goals. The downside is you sometimes feel like you have failed when you look back in a years time but then when you start summing up what you have achieved you start to realise just how far you have come and would you have got there had you not set any deadlines. Anyway, thinking on my feet now - what would I like to achieve this year.

1. Finish outlining on the Foundation book by January (ha, ha - I hear you all cry but 'tis planned already so you never know).

2. Finish the re-write and first Draft by March

3. Send first three chapters in May

4. Complete my Stories (probably chapters) for the Shadows book - also got to be done by May

5. Edit and produce the shadows book in good time for Halloween - and our Vampire weekend flogging them.

If I did that lot - I would be mega impressed but it sounds a tall order even if I worked as a full time writer.