A piece I entered into the Bristol Prize back in March.
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A collection of oddments, endments, sketches and stories.I love feedback so feel free to comment on anything you see!
Following
About
A collection of oddments, endments, sketches and stories.Following
A piece I entered into the Bristol Prize back in March.
In a previous post I stated my preference of journals for first drafts. When it comes to random ideas though, I will write on any scrap of paper I can lay my hands on. I then keep them in my short story journal; you never know when a fragment of lines might evolve into a more solid tale.
This fragment was written on a paper bag from a purchase made at Glastonbury, with the piece written while I was on site:
“It’s strange being sat on top of the world. Not literally, but close enough. Fragments of music as closely related as cheddar and stilton filter upwards creating a strange mash-up that somehow works with the tranquility of the top. The flags flutter constantly at this height, the breeze taking the edge off the summer evening. Night is slow to come and does not linger long when it does arrive.”
Every Sunday I aim to write for a couple of hours in a local coffee shop while I enjoy a waffle breakfast and some coffee or hot chocolate. I know it’s a cliché, the struggling writer cloistered in a corner of Starbucks staring intently at the laptop screen as they manically hit the keys. But I actually find that I manage to write more in a different environment from home.
A prime example of this would be my recent visit to Marburg with a close friend. We spent four days at her family’s home, and three very pleasant evenings relaxed in the living room. It proved the perfect atmosphere for my creative juices, and I spent each of those evenings sat on the sofa stroking a cat with my left hand and scribbling away with a pen in my right. In my own words; living the dream.
So while it may seem that nothing much is happening I am working on a few projects at the moment, and settling on a schedule with my writing.
A few weeks ago I showed a friend how I’ve learnt to bind my own books. We sat down together in the amazing venue drink, shop & do and I showed her how to bind a book. Somehow I managed to make coherent sense, a miracle in itself, and she asked if I would like to teach a class on bookbinding for finishing school. Finishing school is a group that was set up by my two friends, Becky and Fiona, to provide an environment where girls in London can meet socially and learn a new skill; Brownies for grown-ups. Feeling both nervious and excited at the idea I accepted, and last Thursday we set up the back room of drink,shop & do with pages of paper, card, thread and needles. Initially I was very nervous but I soon settled into the role of tutor, which was helped by the fact that between my talking sessions everyone was quite happily chatting amongst themselves. At the end of the class everyone had successfully made a working book, some including a book ribbon courtesy of a very kind member who had brought a large pile of ribbons with her. What made the night for me was that everyone was very happy with what they had made, and indeed all the books were of a better quality than the first one that I made! My next challenge is to write a set of step-by-step notes for the members to refer back to and for those that couldn’t make it to use and have a go. It was a fantastic experience that I’d be willing to do again.
