25 random things

It’s been way too long since I updated this blog.

In my opinion it’s not how many times you fall over that matters but how many times you get up and start over again. So here I am, picking myself up and starting over again.

I am a facebooker (allow me the poetic licence to coin the term). I enjoy reading friends’ statuses (the plural of  ’status’ looks and sounds really strange but trust me, it’s correct).

Open letter to Mr Peter Tatchell

Don’t call me homophobic!

Open letter to Peter Tatchell

 

Dear Mr Tatchell,

 

You accuse me of being homophobic because I do not approve of your gay lifestyle. You call me prejudiced because I believe homosexuality is wrong. You claim that homosexuals are a marginalised group, compared to ethnic minorities, who are constantly criticised. You go as far as predicting that I would act out my views by being abusive and even violent to gay people.

 

If I took a leaf out of your book and called you a paedophile simply because you think the age of homosexuality consent should be lowered to 14, how would that make you feel? If I accused you of being lewd because you feel the laws against pornography be relaxed, would I be justified?

Writing again

 

 

I’ve been ill with morning sickness. I have been totally incapacitated and barely able to sit up much less do any writing.

 

I despaired that I would never write again as I had no clue how long the sickness would go on for. Also the very fact that the end of result of the pregnancy is a baby means finding the time to write will prove something of a major challenge.

 

Thankfully, even though not 100%, I feel much better now and more prepared to take up the challenge of writing again.

 

Does this mean the writing will come easier to me? I wish!

Has anyone seen my muse?

 

I haven’t managed to do any writing in months. I’m now in a better position to do so but seem to have lost my muse. That elusive, hard-to-grasp concept also known as ‘inspiration’ seems to have escaped me.

 

Waiting to get my muse back is a cop-out really as I realise writing is about the hard graft not just the flighty ‘inspiration’.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not downplaying the role of inspiration in writing but I am saying it is a combination of this and hard work. I believe that to produce great writing, one cannot depend on inspiration alone.

 

There are times when there is no inspiration yet one must carry on plying one’s art in the hope that somewhere along the way, the great inspiration will make its appearance.

How well do I write?

I see pictures in my mind. I can see events unfolding quite clearly, like a movie. All of my senses are engaged in the goings-on in my mind.

 

But I can’t articulate them in words. I am unable to transfer the images I see in my mind onto paper. I have extreme difficulty in giving others the opportunity to experience that which I have.

 

It’s like there’s a breakdown in communication between my brain and my fingers.

Role models

I’m signing up to a writing workshop taking place on the 29^th of September in Church. It is being run by a lady called Abidemi Sanusi. She’s written and published three books. I haven’t read any of them but remember being quite interested in the title of the first one,  ‘Kemi’s journal’.

She also runs a website called Christianwriter.co.uk. I spent most of the evening read through its contents and I’m very encouraged. 

I’m back

I’m back, after a looooooooooooong hiatus. I have a genuine excuse, or at least I like to think so. I was expecting a baby and looking after a very active toddler. The baby’s been born now and I guess I can’t keep on using pregnancy as an excuse.

 

Truth be told, there is never a convenient time to write. There’s always something else to do but if I am to make any headway, I must get back into it straightaway.

 

I can’t say I have any brilliant ideas to commit to paper but it feels good to do something I love so much.

Where’s the time?

“Show, don’t tell.” “Set a writing schedule when you can write uninterrupted.” These and many more are the tips that roll off the lips of writing instructors. Good advice too. But where do I find the time?

‘Publish or Perish’

Just as I switched off my laptop the other night, the phrase ‘Publish or perish’ came to mind and gave me pause for thought. My mother is a PhD and I remember her and her learned colleagues tossing this phrase around as they referred to the pressure to publish their work in order to further their academic career. 

Punctuation

People need to understand the very important role that punctuation marks play in any piece of text. They are like traffic lights guiding you through the treacherous roads of words, phrases and sentences.