Yeah! Sent a story

Wrote my story, changed and added things goodness knows how many times, consulted my neighbour who writes and in the end just left it to stew ... However I dug up another story which I changed and expanded and sent that off instead. Originally it had been a draft of about 600 words for the Liverpool mini-series on the them of Longing, but I had reduced it to about 60-70 words - yes really! - but kept the original. It was rejected anyway at Liverpool.

Creator and critic is the subject of another blog I've just come across - recommended in MsLexia - and it's certainly pertinent to what I wrote last Saturday. You'll find it at www.drwicked.com and Dr Wicked's view is my own: you need to write regularly, even set yourself so many words a day without the 'inner critic' interfering. Later you can edit and select what you want from those words. He even has a special place on the site for you to do that, which I must explore.

For now flu has intervened so rest is the order of the day ...

It's hard, writing

Of course I've known that for a long time but when you haven't written every day it's easy to forget just what a struggle it can be. Other times I get really fired up with an idea that I just can't ignore and the writing flows. The last few days I've started to write for the MsLexia Short Story competition and there's no set theme to use as a framework though there are five starters on their website, one of which I have used. But as I write I have to keep digging deeper for the jewels ...

I've decided in the last month to use competitions as deadlines for writing, to keep me fastened to the kitchen table - that's where I write - putting pen to paper. I do word-process as well, it depends how the mood takes me. It would be nice to get a laptop when the money allows.

And this is the cat that always sits on the table whenever I read or write (or eat come to that).