All Change

I haven't blogged here recently because life has been more than a little hectic.  

First of all I handed my notice in at the horrible job. I've been wanting to leave for ages but didn't want to leave until I had another job to go to. In the end the atmosphere had become so toxic that I felt physically sick each day before I had to go in and near to tears most of the time that I was there.  Eventually I decided that life was just too short.

It saddens me that an organisation whose aim is to empower women made me feel so belittled and diminished.  From the moment I handed in my notice until the day I left the trustees didn't even have the courtesy to speak to me or even respond to work related emails. After nearly two years of dedicated hard work I found their attitude positively insulting.  I can only take heart that their behaviour reflects badly only on them.  I know I behaved with professionalism and dignity until the end.  I am just so pleased that I don't have to have anything to do with them any more.

Because I didn't have another job to go to (although I didn't tell them that), I spent my notice period applying for jobs and trying to make more freelance contacts.

I left work the day that half term started and was hoping to have a quiet week spending some quality time with my boys.  But it wasn't to be as two lots of last minute work came in which kept me tied to my keyboard for most of the week.

The following week I was offered a job, working three days a week.  Its with another charity - this time working with the elderly, but because of my recent experience I was a first hesitant to take another job in the voluntary sector.

As the expense of Christmas is around the corner though, I took the plunge.  I completed my first three days this week and thankfully they seem like a really friendly bunch and it has felt good to be in an environment where the staff are respected.

There is just so much to take in though that each day my head has been near to explosion point by the time I get home.

Its going to be a challenge fitting my increased freelance work, home and family around all this and over the last few weeks my writing has definitely taken a back seat.

I'm sure things will settle down soon but in the meantime I'm setting myself small writing takes each day so that at least I'll feel as though I'm achieving something, rather than having so little time and head space that larger projects seem too daunting.

There is one thing I'm grateful for though, and that is that I didn't sign up to NaNoWriMo this month.  I think that might just have sent me over the edge.

I'm Back - Even Though I Haven't Been Anywhere

I can’t believe it’s over a month since my last blog post.  How can that be? And how can it already be the middle of October when it seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the New Year?

I had hoped that after the disruption of the summer holidays I would be able to get back into some kind of writing routine but alas life, as ever, has conspired against me.

I want to be able to get into a good writing routine but a number of life events, work and family commitments have seemed to get in the way.

Since January I have been working three days a week for a local charity fitting my freelance work, which is unpredictable, around it.  Paid work obviously has to come before my writing desires and so my “hobby” gets shoved to the bottom of the list.

September and October have also been challenging with family commitments several birthdays, sleepovers, appointments and the inevitable football.  My youngest had trials for a county team which added to the grey hairs but sadly he didn’t get in – maybe next time.

And finally there has been a house move – not mine, thankfully, but my parents.  They’ve lived in their old house for a very long time (they moved in when I was six weeks old) and as they are both in their 70’s it was all hands on deck.

So time for writing has been a bit sketchy. It’s so frustrating as I constantly feel as though I’m battling against what I have to do against what I want to do.

I’m amazed sometimes when I hear / read interviews with other authors how they hold down full time jobs, homes and families and yet they also find the time to write prolifically.  It can be done, I know it can, I just need to be more disciplined!

On Monday I found out that my part-time job is being reduced from three days to two.  I’ve worked really hard for the organisation, often putting in extra unpaid hour because I want to do a good job.  I know money is an issue but as my Manager (who is lovely) has requested to reduce her hours by the same amount, I thought I might have a chance of holding on to mine.  A letter slapped on my desk informing me that from January my hours will be reduced felt as though my commitment is simply not appreciated.

I’m a big believer that every negative has a positive and so I have decided from now on I will work set hours, I will go into the office, do what I can and then leave.  I won’t be working flexible hours to suit them and I certainly won’t be doing any unpaid work.  So the positive is that I don’t feel as though I owe them anything.  The other plus is that I have a few months’ notice. Obviously I will try to build up my freelance work to make up the shortfall but more importantly I want to concentrate on trying to do what I want to do most of all – and that is to make some money from writing.

We are going on holiday to Gran Canaria a week tomorrow, so I’m going to make sure I concentrate my mind, and fill my notebook while I’m away. And then when I get back, despite the fact that preparation for the dastardly C word will undoubtedly take up a lot of my time, I’m determined that  the next two months of this year will be my most production ever.

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

For the last eight years I've been working more or less full time but as I mentioned in my last blog, my job finishes at the end of this month.

For a long time now, I feel as though I've been stuck in a rut, but have been unable to change anything because I didn't want to jeopardise a potential redundancy package.

The truth is, I've become comfortable, my life is familiar and on a day to day basis, nothing really challenges me (apart from the moods of my family but that's another story). Part of me is really excited by new challenges but as the time grows closer when I will lose my safety net, part of me is just a little bit scared too.

Last week I had a meeting with a consultant, to give me some advice on setting up as a freelance. This was all part of my redundancy package from my employer, which I think is a real bonus. I've been talking about working for myself for a while now, but this was one of the first real steps towards doing anything about it. At first I was just a little bit nervous, but it actually proved to be a beneficial experience and he is now working on drafting a new CV for me, which I can use as a marketing tool.

The next day was another new experience as I travelled to Southport to go to a Chapter lunch with the RNA. I'd never met any of members before, and I hadn't been to Southport for years either so I didn't even know the area. However, it was a real treat to be travelling by train and I even managed to get some work done on my journey. The lunch was a sit down affair, so it wasn't that easy to mingle, but the people I was sitting beside were lovely and made me feel right at home. To spend an entire day thinking and talking about writing was a novelty.

A novelty which was to be repeated on Friday as I went to the Woman's Weekly Live exhibition in Manchester. Now, this was an event I nearly bottled out of, not because I didn't want to go, but because it would take ages to get to by train - my preferred choice. The obvious thing to do was to drive there as it would take half the time, but I'm absolutely hopeless at driving in places I don't know, especially in cities. Of course I've been to Manchester loads of times, but usually as a passenger, and that's completely different. I have absolutely no sense of direction; it's almost as if that part of my brain is missing. Whenever I have to go to new places around home, ie taking the boys to football pitches that I've never been to before, I usually try and do a dry run first and my lovely husband is very patient with me.

But on Friday I was on my own, so I loaded myself down with directions - perhaps I need to invest in Sat Nav? - and went on my way. The first bit was easy as it was the journey I take to my mum's but the second half was the new bit. But I did it. I did get a little bit lost at one point but found my way out of it and was really pleased with myself. I even managed to get myself back too, not always easy to the do directions backwards. Well not if you're me anyway. It certainly got the adrenaline pumping but it was worth it.

The event had several fiction workshops, which was my reason for going, and was run by Gaynor Davies herself (fiction editor), Della Galton and Jane Wenham-Jones. All three of them were absolutely lovely. The event had an entry fee of £8 but that was for three days. Of the five workshops, you were only supposed to be able to do two per day. Unfortunately I could only go on one day, so I booked myself in for the two I wanted to do most. On Friday though, the workshops weren't fully booked so we were allowed to join the other workshops too which was fantastic.

It was so good to be able to meet Gaynor as she was able to give us an idea of what she is looking for in the short stories she selects. As far as market research goes, you can't get better than that. I think it really shows that Woman's Weekly is committed to giving new writers a chance and now, I just hope I can translate that into my writing and hopefully some sales.

One of the sessions was a one to one which I had with Jane. She was really helpful, and showed me how I could improve the story I had taken with me.

So thank you all ladies, it was a brilliant day and excellent value for money. If Woman's Weekly hold an event near you, I would definitely recommend going.

This week, I'm going to take things a little more quietly. Last week was about challenge, this week is about catching up. On Saturday though the family are off to Leeds. It's my eldest's birthday on Sunday, he will be 11. Where did that time go? He supports Leeds (football) so we're off to the match. Can't wait! But I get to stay the night in a hotel and I am getting used to watching football, it's one thing I get plenty of practice at these days. Wish me luck!

　　

　

New Beginnings

I've always been rather fond of the month of September - like January although with better weather.  Although I wasn't very fond of school itself, I did enjoy the academic process and being a bit of a paper addict, it was good to have fresh notebooks and a pencil case full of new pens.

 

Several years on, academia has passed me by but I still look on September as a month to assess where I am in life and a chance to set myself new targets.  (And it does help that the kids have gone back to school - yeh - and I can get back to a weekly routine - even if I'm not looking forward to the football season.)

 

This year it's even more of a challenge as I am being made redundant at the end of this month.  It's something that has been in the offing for a long time, so I'm not exactly devastated by it.  It is rather sad, as I started the job when my youngest was a baby and he will be nine in January, so it has been a big part of my life. 

 

But I'm looking on it as an opportunity to change my life.  In this financial climate I never would have left the job of my own accord, but I was getting a bit stuck in a rut and working five days a week left little time to do anything else. 

 

So, as I have no hope, as yet, of earning a decent living from my writing, I've decided to play to my strenghts and set up my own freelance administration business.  I've been an administrator / PA for more years than I care to remember now, and people have told me that I'm rather good at it, so with the advent of technology, and with smaller companies needing someone to organise them, but not having the resources to employ them, I thought I would do it solo.  I have a couple of potential clients so far, so fingers crossed I will make a success of it. I just need to find a new working routine, combine it with writing, and do it all during the hours of 9-3. 

 

No time wasting then!