It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update on what I’ve been up to creatively for the previous 7 days. But as it’s a new year and with all the best intentions of continuing to be a writer, I am once again picking this up.
I’m not going to beat myself up that I haven’t made much progress since my writing journey began back in July 2018. I’m not perfect and every time I fall of this writing wagon I’m just going to get right back on it again. And this is one of those time – here we go again.
This week is the start of 2021, always a time of good intentions. But I’ve decided not to list any goals or projects around writing (or reading for that matter), just yet. First comes the writing. No word counts, no specific amount of blog posts to get published, and I’m not even going to mention the N-word!
At the moment it’s back to basics. I just need to get my bum in a seat and a pen (or keyboard) in my hand and write! So, as long as I get that done for a while then I’ll be exceedingly happy. And that’s what I’ve done some of this week. I’m pleased that I’ve kept up my journal writing and I’ve written a couple of blog posts which as far as I’m concerned is a good start.
Building up the habit of writing, and even before that – making writing a priority, without getting distracted by other things is where my focus is this week.
What am I currently reading?
Like a lot of people, reading was a struggle in 2020. I tried book after book and just couldn’t keep my attention on them. I managed about 6 books last year which has got to be my worst reading record ever! In 2021 I’m going to try something a bit different in the hopes I can get my attention back into books. Again, like everything, it’s about making reading a priority so instead of spending so much time scrolling through social media, watching the news and generally feeling on edge all the time I’m going to read. In 10 minute chunks if necessary (it’s not been necessary so far but 10mins is better than nothing). Secondly, I’ve decided to stop getting more books. I’m going back to my bookcases and intend to read novels that I haven’t picked up in a good number of years, or haven’t read at all. And to begin with, I intend to go back to the novels and authors that inspired me – whether they are “literary masterpieces” or not. I’m going back to my writing roots!
- Firestarter by Stephen King
- Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
I haven’t read Firestarter since about 2000. It wasn’t the first King novel I’d read at that point – in fact by the year 2000 I’d read most of them. I wanted to re-read his novels again, and this is the earliest works I have in my collection. Right from the getgo, it’s like being in a thrilling scene. The pace of the writing is immense and I’m really enjoying experiencing King’s older novels again.
Until last night I hadn’t realised that Sword in the Stone had been purchased (second hand of course), in Nov 2019! It was part of a collection of books I bought in anticipation for a big read in 2020. Needless to say, I never got around to reading it. I’m slightly worried that the story will be hard to read – kings, myths and legends were never my strong point as a child, so it never crossed my reading list but hey, I’ll give it a good go!
Until next week – thank you for reading.
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