The Bottom Line

The recession is a bit like a flood, its effect is long reaching, but only drop by drop do we realise how far it has permeated our day to day lives.

To me, this latest recession seems to have been going on forever and I wonder where it will end. My husband runs his own business in the construction industry and a few years ago things were very much touch and go. Fortunately he survived and bit by bit the business seems to be clawing its way back.

But as one area of industry turns a corner, another reaches its low point. I currently work in the tertiary education sector and due to finances and falling student numbers the course I run will be running its final academic year from September.

I’m one of the lucky ones. I have another full year’s employment but some of my colleagues aren’t so fortunate. Post graduate education is expensive and some of the people who have been hit hardest by this recession are the very people who would normally pay for their children to receive that education.

Times have changed and the college has to be a ruthless business if it is going to survive. So needs must and a lot of heads are gong to roll by the look of it.

I’ve been here before a long time ago and last time I survived. That time I had just bought a new house and was about to have my second child so the situation was far more scary. So this time it doesn’t fill me with quite so much dread and on the plus side, I have plenty of time to prepare myself anyway.

But what I do need to do is to change my lack of job into an opportunity to finally do what I want to do with my life; a chance to follow my dreams. Perhaps not an ideal time to be wanting to break out on my own but it may be the only chance I get.

I’ve got a year to prepare myself, which in itself is a gift. Now I just need to make the most of it.

Wish me luck!

PS - Sally, thanks for dropping by on my blog - I did try to reply to you but blogger isn't allowing me to leave any comments on my own blog at the moment - very strange!  Any clues anyone?I’ve enjoyed my time in my job and have always considered myself to be a loyal and conscientious employee. Sadly though when it comes to the bottom line, I and many of my colleagues are just a payroll number - a liability which needs to be slashed.

Apologies For Absence

Two reasons for being a bad blogger:

1. Half term holiday in Majorca
2. I've being trying (trying being the operative word) to edit my novel so that I can send it in to the RNA before the deadline for the New Writers Scheme expires - OK so August sounds a long way away but I would like to get it in before then.

After our wonderful family holiday in February we decided to spend a week in the sun at half term.  In the past we have visited Majorca at this time of year and had fantastic holidays, so we decided to go back.  Alas, perhaps this year was a mistake.

Rain at the airport was the first sign that this was not going to be a sun filled event. 

The next five days of intermittent rain and constant overcast skies tested the patience of all involved somewhat, along with the noise, too many people in one venue, greed and rudeness of fellow holiday makers. I'm not exaggerating honest - but this holiday made the sit com Benidorm seem positively sophisticated.

Still, I'm trying to remember my New Year's resolution to be a glass half full kinda girl and at least it was a break, I wasn't at work, cleaning, cooking, washing or ironing (but I've done all that since I've been back) and it gave me plenty of time to think.

The most important thing I want to do this year is to complete the edit on my book so that I can send it off. 

So I came home with renewed vigour and focus and promptly rewrote the first five chapters of the novel.  Quite extensively in some cases.  So, now I'm happy with the opening chapters but I've changed so much that its had a knock on effect on the rest of the plot.  I know it needed it but to be honest, my head is now in tatters and I can't work out the rest of the plot. 

I will get there in the end, I know I will but at the moment I can't see the wood for the trees!

Hope your writing week is going better than mine.

Writing And Marriage

Sometimes I think that writing is a bit like marriage; or at least a long term relationship.

At first there is the all consuming buzz. Your new novel is the only thing you can think about, its all consuming and you struggle to pretend to be a fully paid up member of society as you think about your characters, environment and (if you’re writing romance) that all consuming first love scene. It’s a bit like having an affair but without actually committing infidelity.

After a while the first flush of passion wanes a little. It still feels a bit like a guilty secret - especially if you’re doing it on the side of work, family and life etc, but the dazzle is less.

Half way through the first draft and you’re beginning to wonder if its all worth it but you continue anyway - because you believe in the happy ever after.

And then you get to the end of first draft and its like you’re celebrating the engagement party - yes the happy ever after is in the bag.

After a bit of time out you realise that you’ve got to put the hard work in if there is ever going to be a wedding and so in the run up to the wedding (second draft) you’re carving out the bits that work and don’t work to result in the perfect day.

And so at the end of the second draft you think you’re there. Only to realise when you get back from honeymoon that there is still some serious work to be done on your relationship (novel).

Right now I’m likening the next draft to wedding plus children and about ten years. You’ve struggled, you’ve accepted massive change and in effect you should be near to perfection. But there’ll always be things you like, things you don’t like, things you want to change and things you think that if you do change you wonder if you’ll suffer for.

There’s no doubt about it, at this stage the real work is required, and I’m not just talking about the novel!

Talking of Footie and Birthdays

Well what a weekend that was.

It started off early on Saturday morning as my eldest son who is nine was playing in the final of his football league.  All the matches were played at Chester football ground so this was a major event and incredibly nerve wracking, both for us watching and him playing.  The kick off was a nine am and by nine forty five I was physically drained.   I must admit the team played well and had many chances to score but unfortunately it was not to be.  However, the other team didn’t score either so no one lost.  Being only nine they don’t do extra time or penalties so both teams will share the Shield for six months each.   It was rather nice that there were no losers on the day and both teams should be proud of themselves for playing some very good football.

I’m not what you call a football fanatic, but living with three of them in the house, you do tend to get involved and it was a lovely atmosphere at the stadium with mums and dads shouting for their boys alike.  Talk about proud – I was positively puffed up.

More football followed in the afternoon with the FA cup final but the boys went to watch it elsewhere, leaving me in peace for a few hours.   And I used my time wisely by playing with my new toy – a Kindle.

I have been debating the merits of e-readers versus books for a long time but have finally decided to take the plunge.  My kindle will never replace the good old fashioned book as there is nothing like the feel or smell of a book so I don’t see it as the demise of the hard copy.   We live in such of an age of technology these days though that it doesn’t make any sense to ignore it.  Rather, I think you should use it the best way to benefit yourself.

Anyway, the Kindle was a birthday present (for yesterday) and it had arrived in the week.  Of course I had to take it out of its box in advance, just to make sure that it had arrived in one piece and on Saturday afternoon I decided that it would be prudent to charge it up so that it was ready and waiting for me on Sunday morning.  Well of course then I had to connect it to Wi-Fi, and register it, and it made sense to download some samples of books too didn’t it?  I did resist the urge to start reading then – because that wouldn’t be right now would it?

No, I put it away and went to get ready to go out.  The boys were spending the night at their cousins so we went out for a lovely Italian meal with some friends.

It was weird waking up on my birthday with no children, but it was very chilled out an relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable – although I did get to the stage when I insisted on picking them up because I was missing them.

In the morning I did have a chance to play with my new toy properly and so far I’m really pleased. I love the fact that you can download sample chapters of books for free so that you can see if you want to buy them.  I picked quite a few of my wish list and am now compiling a must have list.  I found the Kindle easy to use and to read and I’m looking forward to saving my baggage allowance when I go on holiday at the end of the month.  So far I’m really chuffed with it but I’ll let you know how I get on.  As far as I’m concerned it will never replace the paperback, but as I’m desperately trying to declutter my house, it will come in very handy.

In the afternoon we went swimming, went out for tea and then spent the evening with friends enjoying wine and cake.  I got some lovely kindle vouchers too, so I can spend freely on my first books.  Can’t wait.

All in all a fantastic weekend. Now I just need to recover.

A Royal Wedding and The Middletons

I must say I'm not an obssesive Royalist, but I do believe that the monarchy plays a part in what puts the Great in Britain.  People complain that they are a financial drain on society but when you look at the amount of tourism they bring into the country they also put an awful lot back.  Watching the wedding on Friday I thought it amazing how it brought so many people together. 

What was especially lovely was to see a Royal couple who have taken the time to get to know each other and are genuinely affectionate together.  I wish them joy in their marraige and hope it is a long and happy one.  I think William and Kate will bring new depths to the monarchy and are just what are needed to bring a modernity to the institution.

What is strange for me is the fact that the name Middleton is banded around constantly in the press because that's my  name too.  Unfortunately the name is the only thing we have in common (wouldn't say no to some of their dosh or connections).  My husband's name is Mike and what is really weird is that we chose Catherine as a name for a girl if we had one.  We ended up having two boys instead so there is no current Catherine Middleton in our family (although my husband's grandmother was Catherine Middleton).  But doesn't life play strange tricks on you at times?

I must say though, I'm proud to share their name.  I think they showed an enormous degree of grace and style on Friday befitting of any Royal Wedding.

More Book Reviews

I just thought I would give you a quick run down on the rest of the books I read whilst on holiday and some more since. This is me guilt tripping myself because I have been meaning to do this for ages and as I've just booked my holiday for the May half term I thought I needed to stop putting this off!

 

The first one is Calling Romeo by Alexandra Potter.

 

The first book of hers I read was Be Careful What You Wish For. A romantic comedy whereby a girl buys some lucky heather and then things that she always dreamed of starting coming true. But things didn’t always work out quite as she’d hoped which leads us neatly back to the title of the book. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read – nothing too strenuous but certainly high on the feel good factor. So when I saw this next book I just couldn’t resist buying it.

This book is about Juliet – a thirty something, living with a man who she once hoped would become her husband. But the romance seems to have disappeared and Juliet is left thinking that there must be more to life than this. Cue the sexy rival colleague who seems intent on whisking her off her feet and suddenly life is all about romance. But is it real? Juliet needs to work out what matters to her most.

Again this was an enjoyable feed good read. Perhaps not quite as absorbing as Be Careful What You Wish For but satisfying all the same.

The next is Sister by Rosamund Lupton

This is a debut novel which was selected by the Richard and Judy book club.

It is the story of Beatrice and her younger sister Tess. Although at the beginning of the story Tess is missing, the story is very much about her life while Beatrice desperately tries to uncover the mystery behind her disappearence.

In uncovering her sister's past, Beatrice also learns things about herself, things which she has previvously chosen to ignore and therefore travels on her own journey throughout the book.

Initially I found this story a little difficult to follow as it constantly flipped between the present and the recent past. Once into the main story thhough, this tense thriller had me totally gripped and the pages just kept on turning.

There were many twists and turns throughout the novel and without revealing too much, one in particular left me feeling particularly disappointed. The author, however, did have one further twist up her sleeve which redeemed the story somewhat. Despite that though, I did find the book an enjoyable read.

The final two books I would just like to mention are both by Maureen Lee.

This author was born in Bootle during the second world war. She now writes family sagas through the ages, based on the area she knows so well.

The first book I ever read by Maureen Lee is called Dancing In The Dark. The story is about Millie who is a character in the present day. She is asked to sort through the belongings of her Aunt Flo who has recently died. Gradually Milliee gets drawn into discovering her aunt's past and through her explorations we are taken back to the 1930's and slowly lead back to the present. Maureen Lee weaved the two stories so beautifully toghether and really brought to life the connections between all the characaters. Her storytelling is so vivid that Liverpool almost becomes a character in itself.

If you enjoy historical family sagas then anything by Maureen Lee is a must read.

I knew instantly that her books would be a hit with my Mum and so I introduced them to her. The two books I erad on holiday were actually passed on to me by her.

The first was Lime Street Blues

Street Blues is set in sixties Liverpool and is about three different families all bound by music. Whilst they are all successful, this comes at a price and the book expertly exmaines the resulting relationships.

.And finally, Nothing Lasts Forever

This is the story of Brodie Logan who has recently sepearted from her husband. Living alone in a big house she decides to let out the spare rooms. The novel is about the women who come to live with her.

What can I say? Maureen Lee never fails to disappoint.

And here endeth my book reviews for the time being. I've read quite a few other books since what now seems a distant holiday, some of which I will tell you about in the future, as this blogpost is already long enough!

 

Second Draft Dilemmas

I have been a bad blogger this month - I keep meaning to blog but never quite find the time - slap on wrists.

My only saving grace is that I have been writing - or should I say editing. 

My 80,000 word novel wot I wrote in November and December last year has come under scrutiny because I want to send it to  to the New Writer's Scheme at the RNA this year.

In January the months until August stretched languidly ahead of me but as the first draft is only a very very rough first draft I have quickly realised that I really need to put the hours in if I'm going to lick it into some kind of shape in time for submission.

So how do you redraft?

Well I've started by a quick read through to remind myself of the whole story.

I know alot of people do a a scene by scene breakdown on index cards to give them a better handle of the structure of the plot.  I've done this too but now that I have I'm not really sure what to do with this.  So for now I've put the cards to one side and am going through my script line by line and chapter by chapter.

This seems to be working well.  I'm tightening text and adding info and looking at whether I think the plot is realistic and the characters' motives believeble. I still have quite a bit of description to add - ie locations and intricate details but I'm highlighting these to deal with on the next draft and am concentrating of the flow of the story.

Once I have reached the end of this, I'm going to print this off again and then add the description and then I'm going to look at it again and see if I've got it right.  And then I'm probably going to panic because how will I know?

The answer is I won't - at least I don't think I will. Which is, I suppose the reason why I'm entering this for the New Writer's Scheme.  I just want to get it as good as I can before sending it of for  professional input.  I've part written novels before - even completed a first draft and half of a second draft but I've never got to the stage where I think it is as good as it can be. 

So that's my aim I suppose - to get it as good as I can and then see where I'm up to.  And then, when it comes back from the RNA, I'll probably have to start again.

But then I guess that's what this writing lark is all about. Learning from your mistakes until one day, one day - well maybe - who knows.

How do you edit?