The Magic of Autumn

Autumn is my favourite season. I've only recently become concretely aware of this (duh!), having had a vague memory of writing about Autumn last year. I double checked to find I haven't blogged about other seasons. Clear favouritism!

More honest than Summer (which promises much and rarely delivers), Autumn has its own particular beauty. I also value and welcome its inwardness, as we hunker down for the darker evenings and refocus. I always feel my creativity pick up after the summer - although I'm also always full of good intentions for the summer holidays... But we'll ignore that :)

I wonder how much of this is linked to the academic year, which has been a factor in so much of my life. Or maybe it's just that the academic year, based as it is on the agricultural year and its nature-dependency, works with natural rhythms that would exist anyway.

What do you think? Those of you whose working life doesn't revolve around the school year, do you feel this sense of renewal in the autumn?

Family Friday: top tips for walking with kids

We've taken our kids walking for several years now. The youngest was probably three when we started regularly walking as a family (she'll be eight in a fortnight). We're not enormous distance hikers - five miles is a long walk to us, and we probably more regularly do around three.

One of these has been helpful but you absolutely can enjoy family walks without one! (She's only been with us for a year, and is out first family dog.)

So, here are my top things that encourage kids to enjoy the great outdoors:

1. Checklists of things to spot. This has easily been the most helpful single thing to get the kids involved. We have a book of family walks which helpfully includes checklists tailored to each route, but we also make out own for other walks. It's important for the list to be a mixture of easily-spottable things (depends on the route and sometimes the time of year, of course, but cows, acorns, swans are good standbys for us), specific features of particular walks (a windmill, a standing stone) and sometimes number-based challenges (how many herons can you see etc). 
2. Snacks - ideally hidden ready to be produced at a 'flagging' moment. As well as the obvious boiled sweets, dried fruit is good. Water is, of course, essential.
3. Stiles, brooks and livestock (ideally separated from you by a fence!). I could never have predicted the amount that stiles increase the fun of a walk by :) and paddling in or crossing a brook is also a joy. Spotting livestock is popular as well, but some kids are made nervous by walking through a cow or sheep field.

Do you have any to add?

Tuesday Tidings: I'm back!

This is (like) me speeding through the term

So, the college year is over and I can breathe again. And, as promised, I've been thinking about my poor little ol' blog. I'll be posting more often (Mon - Fri) and will 'theme' my days. I'd read that as a blogging tip and thought it might be really restrictive, but then I remembered how much successful the A-Z in April was, and how actually having the 'limitation' of the letter each day gave me more to work with, rather than less.

I should have known that really, since it's a trick I use in teaching pretty regularly: restrictions and limitations are oddly freeing in writing. Duh. So much easier to help others learn than to do it for myself...

So Tuesday will henceforth be news day: Tuesday Tidings. And today's news is that I'm back and will recommence regular blogging. I'll be doing more book reviews, but will also be sneaking in other stuff that I'm interested in. Here's how my blogging week will go:

Magical Monday might be a review of a magical/mythical book; a folklore post, or some other magical topic.

Tuesday Tidings will feature short news pieces, comments on current affairs (I'll try to keep the education-policy-themed posts to a respectable level :) ), or just what's coming up on the blog.

Words on Wednesday will centre on language and writing. This will give me an excuse to comment on language topics, to review writing craft books, to link to some of the excellent craft blogs I follow, or just to share an interesting word-based story.

Thrilling Thursday could well include some reviews of thrillers, crime novels and the 'edgy' realistic teen stuff, along with anything else 'thrilling' that grabs me...

Family Friday will occasionally feature stuff about my family, or comments on family and parenting related stuff.  Oh, and book reviews of kids' (rather than teen) books, and maybe the odd parenting tome.

See you tomorrow for Words on Wednesday!

Six months on: my blog's half-birthday

It was six months ago that I blogged for the first time. I am quite pleased with how things are going here at the hearthfire. In six months I have:

• published 61 posts (this is number 62!)
• gained followers and made some blogging friends
• posted on 26 tagged topics
• completed the April A-Z Challenge
• participated in the Bookette's fine British Books Challenge (8 reviews posted so far)
• reviewed 9 books here, representing my preferred genres of fantasy, kids, YA and crime
• found loads of other blogs to follow (my google reader has 101 subscribed blogs at this point)
• learned that I enjoy writing on a range of topics and don't want a one-topic-blog
• gained confidence in sharing my views and things I've learned
• increased my writing rate generally

Given that I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted out of blogging when I started, I'm very pleased! It's definitely helped me to prioritise writing more, and to explore different areas. I've posted on topics that I might not have poked my toe into otherwise, and have particularly enjoyed having an outlet for discussing folklore and myth. I enjoy blogging as an end in itself, but it also has clear benefits for my writing more widely.

What are your favourite things about blogging? Does it support other goals that you have, or is it more simply an enjoyable pastime?

April A-Z: Unfinished Projects

All writers have unfinished work knocking around; it's an occupational hazard. Maybe something bigger or flashier whispered itself in the twilight, or maybe a project was deemed a 'no-go-er' by an agent, an editor, a crit partner. Or perhaps those unfinished pieces are more accurately unstarted pieces: fragments of ideas, brief jottings that haven't (yet) had their turn.

It's possible for these scraps to contribute to an evil time suck for the unwary procrastinating writer. Hours can be wasted in agonising over precisely which projects deserve the attention and nurturing which will develop them fully.

In fact, there are those who never actually finish any projects. "Oh, yeah, I was writing that book about (insert half-thought-through idea here) but it wasn't really going anywhere, so I started working on (half-thought-through idea B) instead." If this pattern continues ad infinitem, with nothing ever finished, this is not a writer. Perhaps worse (certainly for my sanity!) are those with half an idea but "no time" to write: "I'm going to write a book in the holidays/when I retire/if I win the lottery".  Trust me, if you wanted to do it, you'd find the time. Many of us who do write are really quite busy (again, I ask you to take my word for it); many published writers have a 'day job' as well. And, incidentally, it's quite rude to downplay our commitment like that, not to mention oh-so-safe to never actually take the risk and try producing a book...

Anyway, I digress. My point was intended to be this: the existence of unfinished projects (or some version of an 'ideas queue')  is pretty much a given if you are writing. The trick is not to get too bogged down in guilt for the occasional abandonment, as long as there are also finished projects in the mix. If you're never seeing anything through, ask yourself why. Are the ideas not fully developed before you start? Are you attempting to write in the wrong genre (e.g. are you aiming for novels with ideas that suit short stories more)? Are you more attracted to the idea of 'being a writer' than the actual writing?

April A-Z: Life Lessons

I think that one of the most important things we've taught our kids is how to use the technique of visualisation for calming and to help them sleep.  I didn't learn stress management techniques until I was at uni, and it does take practice to really be able to benefit from them.  Obviously, I'm not suggesting life is stressful for our kids (at least I certainly hope it isn't), but these simple techniques have helped with the normal round of things like school worries, bad dreams and so on.

We've been much more consistent about it with the little one (currently 7) than the older (currently 12), and it does show.  Littl'un is much more likely to catch herself getting worked up and steady her breath without prompting.  She's had a 'bubble' to sleep in since she was very small: imagining a bubble of light around her, protecting her and keeping her safe.  This was a part of the bedtime routine for years, and has dwindled a bit lately, although she does refer to it sometimes if she's particularly tired or has had an argument at school or something.

She always liked to tell me what colour the bubble would be.  I encouraged her not to use red (too energetic for bedtime) or black (seemed too negative), and she'd usually go for a blue or purple shade.  Interestingly, when she needed cheering up, she'd often choose yellow or orange, which does chime with some 'received wisdom' about colour meanings.  Other than suggesting that red and black aren't 'good' bubble colours, I didn't influence her choices, so her selections imply to me that these associations (blue with calming, yellow with cheering etc) do have some kind of resonance at an instinctive level.  Kind of like aspects of myth and folklore.  Amazing what kids can figure out for themselves, isn't it?

What 'life lessons' have you given your children? What do you think families should provide in the way of learning?

April A-Z: Health and Happiness

Since I'm posting from my phone (again! Virgin Media to blame), this post will be a fairly simple account of what helps me retain my health and happiness - for the most part at least.

I did hesitate about posting on this topic, since I do have a bit of a stress thing going at the moment. However, since I'm managing that largely successfully and I do (like everyone else currently in UK Education) have an increased load in terms of stress at present, maybe my experience is worth sharing.

WALKING
For me, walking the dog has been a great help. Exercise has long been known to improve health in many ways, but it can be very difficult to fit into the day when you're already feeling tired or low. Ironically, it's a key thing to improve mood and raise energy levels.

WRITING
I suppose creative work of any kind will work - you just need to find your version of this. Personally, it's been crucial for me to include fiction writing into my routine. I was already doing a considerable amount of 'teacherly' writing and had shelved my kid lit ideas 'until I have time'. This was a mistake, and I've been doing a lot better since I realised this.

SWITCHING OFF
It's hard - but essential - to step back from work regularly. Took me a loooong time to learn this and I am now much better at it. I would argue I'm more effective at work too, rather than less, since I'm not a stresshead all the time these days.

April A-Z: Attitude Adjustment

In these trying times, I thought I'd share a list of things that have lifted my spirits in the last week:

• Students - it's almost a given that when I'm fed up, I'll have a great lesson or a student (usually not the one you'd expect) will suddenly 'get it' or say something lovely that really cheers me up.
• Music - there's nothing like a rousing song or a blast from the past to perk me up on the train or bus.
• Writing - finishing a draft and a couple of editing rounds of a young kid novel was a real boost. 
• My lovely husband - encouraging me to take a day for myself and go to a couple of Cambridge Wordfest sessions.
• Reading - starting Katherine Langrish's "West of the Moon" has given me some much-needed escapism.

Sunday Writing: On Juggling

I have found a personally-viable solution to my juggling problem, so I thought I'd share.

I have too many things to do - things I have to do, things I ought to do, and things I want to do.  I realise that I am not alone in this.

I have a job that spills out way beyond what many consider to be the working week (yes, teachers work long hours - don't make the mistake of focusing on the so-called holidays).  I have a husband, 2 daughters and a dog who all deserve my attention (in varying amounts) from time to time.  And I have writing projects.  Yes, projects.  My big problem here is that, although my writing time is severely limited, the writing I want to do is not.  I always have at least one teaching-related WiP, I have ideas for YA and 8-12 fiction, and I'd like to do some article writing and non-fiction outside of the teaching world, not to mention blogging regularly.

There was a time when, following the common (and common-sense) advice that aspiring writers must write everyday, I somehow managed to translate that into doing each kind of writing everyday.  Well, it didn't take long to realise that this approach is Not Workable in tandem with my job.  That led me to prioritise the teaching-related writing, since it was being published.  Naturally, this squeezed everything else out, leading to my current cv of published teaching material and no progress at all on any other front.

Personally, I'm a planner through and through.  This applies in all aspects of my life: I love lists, structure and outlines.  So, I now have a writing schedule where I am writing every day, but the focus is allocated for each day.  Since I like complicated schedules, it works on a fortnightly basis, giving most time to two strands: the YA novel which I decided I wanted to develop beyond a premise and the teacher writing.  Blogging and generating article/non-fiction ideas also have their slots, and I am Much Happier.  No more guilt about working on potentially unpublishable fiction when I could be (read should be) producing teaching stuff that is likely to be marketable.  No more dissatisfaction with not 'being able' to work on the range of writing that makes me happy.  No more frustration that I can't 'make it' as a 'real' writer (i.e. fiction) since I'm not producing any.

I realise of course, that not everyone is a planner or feels the need for the same degree of control that I do, so others' approaches would be good to hear also.  What Not To Do As A Writer.com treated a similar angle this week, with a post entitled: Mistake #30: Be monogamous, in which she implies that she switches between her projects according to her mood or her needs at the time.  The post (and the blog generally) is well worth a read.

Juggling is always an issue for writers, I think, especially those of us who write alongside another career.  I'm currently happy with the way I have my time organised (she says confidently...)  I've now been through the fortnightly cycle twice and have found that:

• I've been more productive with the teacher writing, even though it's been on my to-do list less often.
• I'm developing an outline that I'm happy with for the YA novel (yay!), having had just a couple of sentences of summary before.
• I've been able to stick to the schedule without guilt or undue stress, since I have a clearly defined focus for each day, rather than a vague sense of 17 things I should be doing.
• My 'Do not disturb: Mummy is working' sign DOES work, if applied to the bedroom door (a corner is my office) for just an hour a day.

So, how do you manage different types of writing, along with other demands on your time?  Or do you focus on a single project at a time?

image by Renjith Krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sunday Writing: The Old Year and the New Year

So, it's the time of year when we naturally look backwards and forwards in our lives.  In examining my writing life over the past twelve months, my initial reaction was "I haven't done any" because I haven't produced any kidlit or YA fiction.  However, this is a fairly typical example of ignoring what I have done, which is:

• found a new market for English teaching resources, which I've enjoyed doing quite a lot of work for and which I hope to continue working with in 2011
• finished a time-consuming commission of e-learning material for the new English GCSE for Nelson Thornes
• produced a teacher's guide to Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs, which is newly on the specification for English Language and Literature A Level, for ZigZag Education.  I'm pretty pleased with the finished product after their helpful editorial suggestions, and it's been receiving really good reviews
• continued to write for the fantastic emagazine (for A Level English students)
• come up with some ideas for a YA novel, including a three-act plot plan and some character sketches 
• started this blog (in December), subscribed to loads of writers' and writing blogs and found lots of cool writing types to follow on Twitter

This last point led me to sign up for Better Writing Habits, which has had great advice so far.  Yesterday in thinking about my bad writing habits, I realised that I tend to discount writing related to teaching as somehow not 'real', hence my belief that I'd achieved nothing in 2010.  I also realised that I've been scared of what I see as 'real' writing (actual stories) because it's riskier - which is plainly daft, since I'm a happier person when I'm doing it.  I had produced a few picture book stories and a kidlit novel, which are lost now (the USB stick with them on has been hidden in my house somewhere, either by evil goblins or by a helpful ghost who did it for my own good), and have a small collection of rejections (including one with a Personal Comment, yippee!), but I need to get started again.

So, my 2011 writing goals (newly made SMART, as per advice on Better Writing Habits) are:

• to work on my novel for at least 15 mins a day (I believe giving myself permission to do 'just 15 mins' will frequently lead to more time writing); outlining first, and then writing
• to complete a draft of said novel by the end of April, and to complete revisions by the end of June (the ultimate goal is to have something I can start submitting to agents in the summer)
• to continue to produce teaching-related work (since that currently sells and I do enjoy doing it once I stop procrastinating) - I will devote 3x 1 hr sessions a week to this work
• to blog twice weekly
• to continue to research and generate ideas for new non-fiction/freelance markets, with the ultimate goal of actually placing work in at least 2 new places in 2011