Walks of inspiration 1 : Southwold

Southwold

I have often spoken on here of how I find going for a walk a wonderful source of inspiration so I thought I would share a few of those walks. I am going to start with one of my favourite local places to visit, Southwold.  If you have never been to this lovely little town then it is definitely worth
putting on your list of 'places to see'.  It is situated on the Suffolk coast and for me it is only about an hours drive away from home.  I love it here!  It is a quintessentially English seaside town that has not lost it's charm to the brassy commercialism that has taken over so many other coastal towns.
The lighthouse, the beach huts and the pier are probably the most photographed and recognisable parts of the town and there are a range of lovely little shops, art galleries and places to eat.
However, if you are looking for a nice quiet walk to get the creative juices flowing then there are plenty around the town.  The beach, of course is a great place for this.  Who can not be inspired by the ocean?  Or, you can head out of the town, which is what I did on this particular walk, towards the harbour and enjoyed a walk along the river.

It was quite a grey day, but warm and, after all the rain we have been having lately it stayed dry, if a little damp under foot in places!  Also, because of the lovely typically English, wet summer that we have had some of the paths were a little over grown and I ended up with soggy trousers - although I was wearing the right foot wear so feet stayed dry!

The Clockhouse is my favourite place to end a walk in Southwold; it's a little coffee shop on the pier and this is where I like to sit, by the window with a coffee (and maybe a piece of cake!) and a notepad and bring together all the ideas that have popped into my head during my walk.  This is where I sat and mapped out the second volume of the Prudence trilogy and now I have done the same for the third volume.  I hope they never close this place down!

So if you are ever out this way pay a little visit to Southwold and let it work it's magic on you!

Keep inspired,

Kim

Let Music Be the Food of...........Creativity?

This is really just an update to the recent post about my writing corner.  I have, this morning made a vital addition to my writing area: Music.  I can't stress enough how important music is to my creative process; without it I'm not sure where the inspiration would come from.  If I'm feeling a bit low or I've come to a bit of a brick wall with the narrative I usually go for a nice long walk with my headphones and come back suitably inspired and ready to go again.
So what do I listen to?  Well that depends a lot on what I'm writing.  My writing playlist at the moment consists of a lot of classical music and movie soundtracks.  For the Prudence series which is of course a fantasy story this kind of music seems to inspire the right mood.  One of my favourites at the moment is Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to the movie 'King Arthur'.  There are some very stirring pieces on there and I have found them particularly inspiring when writing the battle scenes in the Prudence books.
With the ghost story, 'What It Takes', the music was a little more contemporary.  One particular track has come to represent the book for me more than any other; at one point in the story Sean Hanlon attempts to show his friend what inspired him to buy a broken down old house in the wilds of Cumbria when his life and work all centred around London.  Whilst I was writing this part of the book, with my o.s. map of the Lake District on the floor in front of me, a particular track came on that has now become synonymous with the book for me.  It was a song by Bob Seger called 'Roll me Away' and now every time I hear it I'm back with Sean and Brin hiking through Langdale!  If you've read the book listen to the track and you'll know what I mean!  Also on the same c.d. was a track called 'We've got tonight' which for me has definitely become Sean's and Karen's song.
 Even the title of this book came from a song;  Aerosmith's 'What it Takes'  There are a couple of lines in that song that go,

'Tell me what it takes to let you go
Tell me how the pain's supposed to go

And, that seemed to sum up the character of Tom Harper to a t.

With my second ghost story which is still a work in progress and as yet untitled I also already have a piece of music that brings me back to the story each time I hear it; 'The Longships' by Enya.  You'll have to wait until the book is finished though to see the connection there!

I could ramble on about this subject for ages, but it's Sunday, I'm not at work and I really should be getting back to Prudence!  Just in case you're wondering, as I write this I am listening to the soundtracks to the Lord of the Rings movies - if that doesn't take me back to Ealdhun I don't know what will!

So, let music drive you on,

happy writing,

Kim

The Mini Library

I have recently found myself with the distinct luxury of having a 'spare' room.  My son has flown the nest and so it is time to decide what to do with the space he left behind.  After much pondering (well actually not a lot of pondering at all really) I have decided to create my own little library.  Being a writer goes hand in hand with being an avid reader also and having a house with its own library has always been a little dream of mine.
Now as I have said before my house is not big so this is not going to be anything like the grand plan I would like it to be, but it's a start!  I have been scouring the internet for ideas for this room but I think basically I'm just going to fill it with books - oh and a sofa! Whereas the writing corner was to be light and airy and inspirational I want the reading room to be warm and cosy; somewhere to snuggle with a good book!  Here are a few of the images I've found of some very creative idea's of others..............

As you can see there are some ideas here that haven't been thwarted by size, odd shaped walls or even stairs, therefore my relatively square room should be a doddle! Obviously the main ingredient is going to be books, so at the top of all birthday and Christmas lists from now on is going  to be book tokens!  I'm already looking forward to many a happy hour scouring the book shops!  I'm really excited about getting started with this project - as you've probably gathered - although it is going to be something for later in the summer.  Updates will be provided!

Happy reading everyone!

Kim

The writing Corner

For those of you who read my blog regularly you will know that I am currently in the process of redecorating my house, not a huge project when you consider the size of the place (it's tiny!), but I bought the place from an old lady in her nineties and suffice to say the place was built in 1981 and there it has stayed ever since!  This last year I have been re vamping the downstairs and am pleased to report that the task is nearly finished and hopefully no longer a distraction for my writing.

I have been without a designated writing area for about six months now, which at the start I didn't think would really be a problem, I have a laptop so surely I could park myself anywhere and carry on writing?  This unfortunately has not proven to be the case and it is only now that I have my little writing corner back that I really appreciate how much I missed it!  I have read blogs from other writers speaking of the merits of creating your own writing space and now I fully understand what they mean, although different writers seem to like different things included in their 'space'.  So, here is what is essential for me..............

Firstly although I am not really an antique kind of person both the bureau and the clock belonged to my Grandad and are here out of sentimentality more than anything else.  I'm sure Grandad would be pleased to see them both still in use.  (I can still picture him sat here, sorting out his papers - he was much more methodical than me.)

Next, no window.  Others have said how inspiring the right view can be, but for me I think having my writing area by the window would be just too much of a distraction.  Instead I have two pictures (with more to go up) that are there for inspiration purposes.  The first is of my wonderful Grandchildren Darcie and Henry.  I started to write the Prudence books when I learned that my daughter was expecting my first grandchild, Darcie and she and her little brother now are still a constant source of inspiration.  The other picture is by local photographer, Ray Mears and is called 'Woodland Walk'.  I love pictures of trees and intend to get more to go up around the house.

Next to the clock is my scentsy, which for those of you who don't know is a device for melting scented wax without having to use a naked flame - much safer to have especially when you have cats in the house.  I am currently enjoying a 'by the sea' moment - very inspiring!  Flowers are another option to create the right aromatic mood, but again when you have cats, especially the clumsy pair that I have, flowers around electrical equipment is not a good combination!

And finally the one ingredient always needed to ensure a productive writing session - a cup of tea!

So that's it, I have my writing corner and this is where I intend to stay for the rest of the day.  Let me know if you feel there are any vital things that I have missed that you would have in your writing space.

Happy writing,

Kim

Mini Menopausal Meltdown!

I mentioned in my last post (Yes, I know this was back in January!) that 2015 had been something of a stressful time; setting myself the target of getting two books finished that year as well as having lots of other stuff going on in my life - the day job, the continued effort of trying to lick my house into shape on limited funds, and dealing with what my Gran would have called 'being at that 'funny' age'.  I think we give it the more affectionate term 'the menopause' these days.  Now I don't want to be all dark and dismal, but to be quite honest the menopause sucks!  Mood swings have been marvellous things, I've been going from being happy, buzzing with idea's and inspiration to 'what the heck am I bothering with all this for?' at the flick of a switch. I know that writing can do this to you anyway; writing highs and lows are part of the process, but throw a few raging hormones into the mix and, well, lets just say it's probably a good thing I live on my own! There are no two ways about it I have been a grumpy old mare at times!
I'm not about to now tell you all the wonderful things I've done to combat this stress because, to be quite honest I haven't.  I've done what most people do, carry on regardless, but since my last blog post in January I have hardly written a word.  In my head the third and final volume of the Prudence trilogy is formatted and finished, but every time I sit down to actually write anything I end up staring at my laptop for about half an hour and then going off to make a cup of tea and not going back!  It probably doesn't help that Prudence is in a bit of a dark place in her story as well.
My sleep pattern seems to be all over the place too, hence why I am sat here at ten to one in the morning writing this post when I know that tomorrow, at work at about three I'll be desperate for a little re-charge nap.
 Getting back into writing will be the perfect tonic for me, that much is obvious but that is the common sense side of me talking and the hormones can be very argumentative when it comes to common sense. Who needs common sense when your hormones are quite determined that now is the time for a little unnecessary meltdown?
There have been some positives, it's not all doom and gloom on the writing front, some little things  have happened to stop me from giving up completely on the whole writing process( and a little encouragement goes a long way).  Recently a friend told me how she had gone to see her granddaughter and had arrived to find her curled up and engrossed in my book.  Little things like that mean so much.  It may seem trivial, but to me this was a real little person who was enjoying spending some time with Prudence, - what more could any writer ask for?
So here I am, digging in and trying to swim against the tide of my hormones!  If anyone has any hints about surviving the menopause with your sanity intact please let me know.  I'll be the one sat in the corner staring at my laptop and talking to the cat..............


Kim

No resolutions for 2016

This time last year I wrote a post called reflections and resolutions about my plans for 2015.  I have just read it back to see how I held up to all my grand aspirations.  Mostly, I have to say, I didn't do too badly.  My main aim was to get the second volume of the Prudence books published and also to publish one of the ghost stories I had on the back burners from ages ago.  I succeeded in both of these although I did go for a different ghost story to the one I had originally intended.  (I must add though that on the 'eat less chocolate' thing I failed miserably!)

So if last years resolutions turned out okay, why the reticence on making any for this year?  To put things in perspective I think 2015 was the first year I have set my resolutions and actually stuck to them.  I usually find that whilst I am busy making bold ambitious plans to get fit, loose weight, publish my first book, Fate is usually standing right behind me, laughing and saying, "Yeh, that's what you think!"  You find yourself by the end of January back in your usual routine wondering how that happened whilst Fate just stands there chuckling
 It was challenging trying to get two books finished and published in one year and I don't think it is something that will happen again in a hurry.  Whilst I enjoyed the challenge (despite the stress, the moments of frustration and the many, many "Why am I bothering?" lows) 2016 is definitely going to be a more laid back year for me.  I am a bit of a selfish writer; I write primarily for me, because I enjoy it, and that's what I want to get back to.  It is all well and good setting yourself goals, but if those goals are just too unrealistic, no amount of optimism or self belief will combat the feeling of failure when all your ambitious plans crumble around you.  Yes, I know I'm sounding very depressing, but that's the way resolutions often work; it all sounds great at the time, but so many unexpected things can get in the way of your plans and frustration is not a good working partner.

So, 2016 I have no idea what you have in store for me, we'll just have to wait and see.  That is not to say I don't have my hopes and plans for the year, it is more that I'm not going to stress over what I should be doing rather than what I want to do.  Hmmm does that sound like a kind of resolution?  Oh dear!

 Good luck to everyone who has made resolutions for the year; I hope they work out for you whatever they may be.  And good luck to me in my efforts to be more chilled!

Kim

Merry Christmas and a ghost story!

Just a quick one to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to let you all know that the ghost story 'What it Takes' is now available on Kindle or in paperback through Amazon or direct through Createspace.  My aim was to have this ready before Christmas and hey I've done it on schedule - just! Definitely worth a celebration.  I'd love for you to take a look and tell me what you think - don't forget that you can 'borrow' all of my books for free on kindle.
Thanks everyone and once again a very Merry Christmas to you all.

Kim