Fourteen Years on from PND

Fourteen Years on from PND

My son was fourteen last week.

Let's pause for a minute there.

Four-teen years old.

One minute I was worrying about him starting school, shedding a few tears as I walked away from the school gates, and the next, he's a strapping teenager about to start year 10 and gearing up to GCSEs.

Setting aside the fact I can still remember taking my own GCSEs I'm a bit shocked that I'm a mum to a six-foot boy, a young man who can rest his chin on the top of my head.

If only I'd known he would be a strong, independent, healthy, intelligent young man twelve to fourteen years ago. During those two years I suffered from depression after suffering from PTSD related to birth trauma. A bittersweet time (mainly bitter) that shrouded me in guilt for a long time during and after. Thinking I'd scarred him for life.

How to make a blackberry & apple crumble

How to make a blackberry & apple crumble

We have swiftly arrived at one of my favourite times of year. Harvest time. The tractors and combines are out in the fields all around us, rumbling past our house at all times of the day. Gradually they're changing the colour of the landscape as they cut the barley or the wheat and fill tractors with their precious bounty. Then the ploughs come out and turn the stubble back into the earth and the fields become brown once more.

,

Sharing stories & being brave

,
Sharing stories & being brave

I've always enjoyed telling my chicken and nature stories on my blog but I got distracted by 'niching' and 'writing for an audience' instead of simply telling the tales I wanted to tell.

Whilst I was on my holiday last week I had that time away from my laptop and thought about how I wanted to spend my online time. And I knew it was by sharing stories about my chickens, ducks, writing, reading, baking - so that's what I'm going to concentrate on.

Share the blog love

Share the blog love

I'm winding down for a few weeks of summer rest and recuperation. I think this is so important. Not only for your own creativity, allowing your mind to switch off, wander, allowing sparks of imagination to come out of nowhere, but also mentally. It's not possible to just keep going all of the time. And I've learnt that the hard way.

But before I take some time away I wanted to talk about blogging. It's following on from my last two posts, really, where I spoke about writing what you want to write, not worrying about 'niching down' and ignoring the experts who are telling you to do one thing with your blog when your heart is telling you to go another way.

,

No More Niching: The Feedback

,
No More Niching: The Feedback

When I wrote the post: Why I'm No Longer Niching My Blog about why I thought I'd made a mistake in my business because I'd followed all the online advice to 'niche' my blog, I was apprehensive.

Firstly, because I was admitting I'd made a mistake and I was worried how my clients/future clients would feel about this.

And secondly because what I was thinking went against the advice of so many other people online.

But despite my concerns I posted it anyway. As I've been sharing my business (and writing) story, I thought it only fair to say when I'd taken a wrong turn.

,

Is social media stifling creativity?

,
Is social media stifling creativity?

Facebook rather (over)excitedly told me yesterday that it was our ten year anniversary. I had been on Facebook for ten years. Which means I've been blogging for slightly longer, and tweeting for slightly less.

In this decade of social media I've seen many creative endeavors evolve and grow.

There was the rise of the blog becoming a book deal. The film Julie and Julia (one of my favourites) came about because of Julie Powell's blog. Or we have the Belle de Jour blog which became a book and, later, a TV series with Billie Piper. 

Back then social media was used to chat. 'Water cooler' chatting. Writers, working on their own all day, would come together to compare word counts and commiserate or celebrate accordingly.

Blogs were like diaries. A place to share writing. A place to be anonymous or to share projects.

The Story of a Hen and her Ducklings

The Story of a Hen and her Ducklings

Wincey the chicken was broody. She had been making quiet cluckling sounds for a few days and I'd been crossing my fingers that this meant she was thinking about becoming a mother again. But now she was refusing to come out of the nesting box. 

This was good news. We'd recently lost some of our ducks and only had one left. DuckFace had the company of the chickens but would love someone to go swimming with again. I knew, before Wincey became broody that we'd try for some ducks. Specifically Indian Runner Ducks. The comical and beautiful ducks that don't fly but walk upright, like penguins.

How I'm outlining my novel

How I'm outlining my novel

I've successfully managed to not write my novel for many months. In fact, I think late 2016 was the last time I went near it.

As I say in this week's video (below) this is because I've been busy with my coaching business and new websites and my head cannot take on too many projects at once.

My fiction writing is always the first thing I drop when my head is full. I wish it wasn't but, by dropping it, I don't have to the voices in my head constantly telling me what a rubbish writer I am. Who wouldn't want to get that out of their head?

But I've been encouraged to give it another go.