Inspiration Strikes

As well as my ever towering to be read pile of books and endless notes on what I want to write next, over the Christmas period I also amassed quite a few recordings on the TV.  Well it was a bit of a cultural highlight - Jane Austen and Charles Dickens all in one season. So during these dark winter nights I have been very much entertained.

The other night I watched the TV biography of JK Rowling.  Now I don't know how close to the reality it was, but considering it  was unauthorised and was made to entertain, I suspect that a fair proportion of poetic licence may have been involved in the making.  The further I got into the programme, though, the more I enjoyed it.

For me it wasn't really about the facts; it was about one woman's determination to achieve her goal, no matter how long it took or how many rejections she received along the way.

I especially loved the bits where she had a few spare moments and she would slip out her notebook and start writing.

Perhaps it's a lesson to all us writers out there - make the most of whatever writing opportunity we have, even if it's just for a few minutes.

I'm a bit of a scatty writer myself, I'm usually working on several projects at a time and have notebooks and folders on my pc all over the place.

At the moment I'm trying to edit several short stories written in first draft and am going through my back list to see if I can breathe life into some of my ancient relics. I'm also trying to edit a novel, so I often find it difficult to have the right piece of writing with me at the right time.

But for my next project, I have decided to use a dedicated notebook, which I can carry with me whenever I go, then when I do get a few spare moments, I don't have to log on to anywhere to see where I left off at my last writing session.

Technology is a wonderful thing and I'm so glad I don't have to type on a typewriter any more but this programme has inspired me to go back to basics - the good old pen and paper. And its also made me want to concentrate on one project at a time.  I think it's time to declutter my writing life.  A bit late I know but that can't be a bad resolution can it?