International Zine Month 2013: Days 8 - 15

I have a bit of a slacker this week. Most of my time was spent in a blissful Internet Black Hole in the Lake District. Temperatures reached 26 C which is a bit hot for my Scottish internal barometer. I battled through it by wearing a wide brimmed hat, drinking water (and the little beer here and there), lazing around in the sun, reading books like a contented cat. It was the first time in my adult life that I've come back from a holiday thinking "I really needed that time off."

So I'm ashamed to say that I had a week off from zine related activities. Sadly the little towns I visited in the area had no obvious zine links. However I did stumble upon this great little shop in Ambleside called detail that has such a lovely range of quirky stationery, cards, bags and other knick knacks. With a nod to the only IMZ2013 task I completed this week (see below), I bought a letter writing set with cute little stickers. I do miss Chronicle Books, whom I fell in love with on my visit to San Francisco last year.

Extra credit: I did complete task 9 which was to Write a letter to a zine maker that you don't know. I wrote to the brilliantly funny and perceptive Donna, creator of Tragic Boffin, which caught my eye many months ago at Vampire Sushi distro.

This week I am hoping to continue working towards creating my own zine *gulps*. To give myself a shove, I have been making enquiries about self-service photocopying in the Glasgow area. Now all I need to do is get the work done!

International Zine Month 2013: Days 3-7

International Zine Month is a yearly celebration of the wonderful world of zines. There is a list of daily challenges that people can join in with. You can find out more by reading my post here.

This has been a fabulous week. I have developed a compulsion to check the #IZM2013 feed on Twitter to find out what everyone else is up to. As a wannabe zine maker, I've enjoyed seeing how zine makers develop their ideas. Here's what I've been up this week:

Day Three: Zine Distro Appreciation Day! Order from a zine distro 

I ordered new zines from Marching Stars distro which you can see below:

MarziNam #1
Cherry Bomb #1
How I Quit School #1
Ella Funt (which has a beautiful fabric cover!) #1


I am a sucker for any UK-based distros that specialise in feminist per-zines so let me know if there are any others out there. Vampire Sushi have an excellent catalogue to choose from, including my personal favourites Buy Her Candy, Here. In My Head and Tragic Boffin. You can also buy a sticker of what looks like Riannah making a very rude sign with her middle fingers.

Day Four: Reread your favourite zines 


A bit of a cheat but I dug out my well thumbed copies of Stolen Sharpie Revolution and Whatcha Mean, What is a Zine? to help inspire me to create my own zine project.

Day Five: Learn a new zine skill 

Inspired by a guide in What's a Zine? I had a go at creating a one page zine. This is a zine that is made entirely from one piece of A4 people. No stapling or collating required! I thought this would be a good first zine to attempt but I'm finding it really hard to fit what I want to say in a small space. As you can tell from my template, I need to practise measuring out pages. And yes, I was using a ruler!

I also completed an extra credit assignment by reading Agua Nora, a zine written by a British paramedic who spent a month working on the American/Mexican border. It's a very dark read with dashes of light relief, such as including music playlists the crew sang along to whilst looking for border crosses needing assistance.

Day Six: Add your zine or update your lists on ZineWiki.org

*ahem* You have to actually make a zine before you can complete this challenge so I skipped this one.

My package from Marching Stars arrived in the post so I had a happy afternoon in the sun, reading my new zines.

Day Seven: Make some envelopes or postcards to get ready for the week 

This afternoon was spent hosting a family visit. Whilst Him Indoors is catching up on the tennis, I'm parked outside writing up this blog post. Weather dependent, I might retreat indoors to make some lovely postcards. Or finish reading some of the zines that were delivered yesterday.

There's also a 24 hour zine challenge. This challenge is exactly what it says - you have to create a zine, from start to finish, in 24 hours. It sounds quite easy but something that many zine creators find difficult. There are a wealth of 24 hour challenge zines available from distros and many of them open with a statement talking about how hard it is! Unfortunately most of my weekends in July are booked up so losing a night of sleep is not an option. However, I might twist the rules and spend up to 24 hours working on a zine during July. At least it might give me a post to get one down and send it out into the big wide world.

International Zine Month 2013

Over the past year I have become mildly obsessed with the zines and comics culture. I'm surprised it's taken me this long. From a young age, I loved reading girls' magazines like Mandy and Judy, Girl Talk and even the good old Bunty. Magazines and comics were just more items to add to my reading pile. Bonus points: they were easier to read when I was having my lunch. Magazines dispensed information, made me laugh and sometimes made me think a little bit. 

So it's a wonder why it took me so long to get into zines. One of my roles at my job is to look after a fairly extensive zine collection. An outreach project involved a lot of work with this collection and I got a taste of how to produce a zine. I have to admit: I rather enjoyed it. The sheer beauty of zines is that they can be about anything you want to write about. Many zines do have their roots in alternative culture that is not featured in mainstream culture. However, I'm sure if someone wanted to write a fanzine about X-Factor then they could. Let me know if someone has. 

Zines are great to stick in your bag and read on the bus home from work. They can range from having a professional finish (which is becoming more common) to being a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. My personal favourite has to be the per-zine genre, where people write zines about their everyday lives. It's very intimate peeking into someone else's thoughts and zine provide that personal connection that you don't get with blogs. Someone has gone to the effort of arranging the page layouts, writing the articles and standing over a photocopier until their back spasms, to create the very zine you are holding in your hands. 

To my delight, July marks International Zine Month. IZM is the brainchild of Alex Wrekk, a leading voice in the world of zines. Each July zinesters (those who make zines) and zine fans join together in the celebrations that take place. You can have a look at the daily challenges handed out below: 

So I suppose I should attempt today's challenge Top 10 reasons why you love zines:

1) Every time I read a zine, I learn something new. Whether it's a new way of looking at the world or a great recipe, I pick up a little tid bit of information. 

2) Each zine is unique. It reflects the personality and character of its creator(s) which you certainly don't get with mainstream publications. 

3) Making a zine is a labour of love. Many zine makers lose money when they produce zines. Yet they still keep making 'em. 

4) Zine culture is inclusive by default. You want to write a zine about your partner's dog's friend's weird desire for eating stale cookies? Then go right ahead! 

5) People that make zines like to talk to each other. There's even a special social network designed for people who make zines that like to talk about zines called We Make Zines. 

6) Zines forced me to realise that I missed being creative and that I should make more of an effort in this area of my life. 

7) Zines are so great that they even have their own libraries. Have a look at the Salford Zine Library or even this blog post about the collection I work with. Yay! 

8) Zine makers love mail art. I like to imagine it's the work of zines that keeps the post service operating - hey a girl can dream! 

9) Zines can make me laugh so hard one minute and make me cry the next.

10) Zines are that amazing you get an entire month to celebrate them. Go forth and be zine-tastic!

Halfway there

2013 has turned out to be a rather spritely year. A late start to spring makes it feel like time is whizzing past, leaving little time for reflection. Of course being a naval gazer means it does not take long before I'm back, pontificating again.

This week I looked back over my goals for 2013  and laughed a little bit. It may come as no surprises to those who read this blog but most of my goals have fallen by the wayside. I am proud that I completed the Women's 10K in May. It was a hard slog and I didn't do enough training but by golly it was worth it.

There are some blog posts a-brewing in my head and I'm hoping to get some posted up here in the coming weeks. Hopefully these will contain the right dashes of pondering and self-deprication.

Tube wisdom

Tube wisdom from Archway station. 

© Laura Stevens 2013 

Last weekend I visited London for the first time. Before the trip I had some doubts about using the Tube. The noise, being packed together in large tin boxes, hurtling down into the bowels of London, tempers and temperatures rising. Glasgow's famous circular Clockword Orange has nothing on the sprawling organism that makes up the beloved London Underground.

To my surprised, I fell in love with the efficiency and the heartbeat that keeps this vast city going. Regular tannoy announcements reminded me of Orwell's 1984 - along with the rats I spotted scuttling across the tracks. Throughout the disruption, people kept moving, swarming ahead with purpose in their every step. Now and then, a lone individual would interrupt the flow. A lost tourist consulting a guidebook written in dots and lines. A stranger unfamiliar with the 'Keep to the right!' rule. One time I found myself tutting at someone who was not walking fast enough for my liking.

My heart skipped a beat as I realised I was just like the lost tourist. Frantically searching my guidebook for answers, even just one answer would do. To my horror I found nothing to help my cause.

The famous Drowning, not Waving poem by Stevie Smith keeps haunting my thoughts. In this excellent recording, she gives an introduction to her poem and the motivation behind writing it. She comments how, in life, people tend to state they're feeling fine when they're not. This year I feel like I've been drowning, not waving.



The Underground is made up of several lines with names ranging from Northern (guess which side of the city that takes you) to Jubilee, Victoria, Piccadilly, Bakerloo - the list goes on. Most of my travel could be achieved by using a wonderful app to figure out which stops to get off and on at. This gave me some element of control. To get to Camden, all I needed to do was get to a stop that connected with the Northern line. Easy, achievable and my reward was getting an amazing vegan burger at Camden Lock Market.

If only life was as simple as the Tube.

Writing Wednesdays: Clarkston Beanscene

Recently my blogging compadre, Mark Shields, gave me a reminder about a series of blog posts I started writing a couple of years ago. In an attempt to become more productive (and actually do some bloody writing) I gave myself the 'hard' task of sussing out writing friendly zones on Glasgow's South Side. Since I let those blog posts dwindle away, I have moved house and become vegan which might impact on my venue choices. I have settled into a nice writing routine that does involved visiting some cafes near my new home in the suburbs to get the pen moving across the page. Without further ado, here is the next in the series of my cafe reviews.

Clarkston Beanscene

1-3 Helena Place

Clarkston Toll

South Side

Feed me for a fiver

Beanscene is what it is when it comes to food. It emulates other coffee house chains, like Starbucks, and has a range of pre-packed sandwiches that can be toasted on demand. They can also whip up some nachos or a pizza if you're in the mood for something more filling. The menu does contain the vegan staple of hummus that comes with veggies to graze on. Prices for sandwiches start at roughly £3.95 and go right up to £7.95 for a pizza. My plate of hummus and veggies came in under budget at £4.95 and did tide me over until I got home.

One bonus for this Beanscene is that it comes with an alcohol license. If you feel like drowning your writing sorrows, you can buy a glass of wine from the counter or bring your own for a corkage charge. Might not be a good idea at lunchtime though.

Good coffee

Again, Beanscene coffee is nothing to write home about (excuse the bad pun...). It's hot, slightly too bitter and comes in oversized cups which can be great for giving the brain cells a good prod. They charge extra for soya milk (30p) which can be frustrating for those who avoid cow's milk. I usually order their medium size when I'm settling in for a writing session which comes to a purse happy price of £1.80.

Table space

This Beanscene is unusual because it's spread over two levels. The ground floor is usually busy, regardless of what time of day you visit. There are a number of large sofas that groups tend to take over, with more spacious seating at the back behind the counter area.

Upstairs is where I usually hide out during the day. It's a common sight to see people working, studying or eejits like me writing away upstairs. There are bar stools under the huge windows which look out over Clarkston Toll. It's an excellent spot for people watching and dreaming up characters.

As for the table space, I find the tables for two quite restrictive. You have enough room for a laptop and a small bucket of coffee. During the day it is possible to grab a four seater table, spread out your writing tools and not worry about taking up too much space.

Power outlets and Wi Fi access

On my first visit to Beanscene there was a good level of access to power points but none, that I could see, close to the sofas I prefer to lounge on. The Wi Fi can be very weak if you choose to sit upstairs or non-existent as it was on my visit. You can ask a member of staff at the counter for the password and, if I remember correctly, you do not need to register for an account. That time I decided to give up on the Wi Fi and catch up on web related tasks when I got home.

Friendliness of staff

The staff here are pleasant enough for a chain coffeeshop. They do seem to be kept extremely busy either serving customers, making up food in the kitchen or clearing tables so it's understandable they don't have time to chat. I would say they are very professional and polite but lacking the friendliness I've experienced in, say, Gusto and Relish.

General atmosphere

This Beanscene has been around for some time. I remember coming here to visit friends years ago and its still standing. On my more recent visits, it has been reasonably busy. It is a good meeting hub for the people that live nearby and don't want to trek into town. In the evenings, this place can be absolutely mobbed. I remember coming to meet a friend for coffee on a Tuesday evening and being gobsmacked that every table was taken. During the day, it's a different type of busy and more laid back than the caffeine fuelled evenings.

You can catch a train to Clarkston from Glasgow Central (there's two every hour) or the 44, 44A and 66 buses stop seconds from Beanscene's front door.

On my last visit to Beanscene, I started working on a story which ended up on Write in for Writing's Sake. Pop over and have a little read if you wish. 

January 2013: Check In

Last year I failed to keep track of what I had been up to, especially in relation to my goals for 2012. I am determined not to let this slide this year and, so far, I have been keeping this promise. Each week I have been writing a quick update in my progress journal. This technique is working for me as it's keeping my thoughts on goals, even if there are some I have not actively started working towards.

Treat writing as a second job - A
I am slowly chipping away at making more time to write. The Artist in the Office has been a great inspiration for this. One tip Summer Pierre suggests is making a weekly appointment to work towards your creative goals (of course this could be applied to any goal, not just creative ones). Make it fixed: write it down or set up a reminder on your phone. I decided upon making Wednesday evenings my creative appointment and wrote this down in my paper diary. It seems to be working. In January I used the time to research markets to submit my work to, attended Weegie Wednesday and prepared two pieces of writing to be submitted to various publications. 

Another great resource for me this month has been this book: Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It NOW by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen. You can read my thoughts about this book here. So far, I have only applied the techniques I've learned to my day job but I'm slowly working them into my 'second job' too. 

Complete the Artists Way program - B1
This goal is on hold for the moment. You can find out my reasons in this post here. In February I plan to have a good think about my current approach to the Artists' Way and whether it's right for me at this time in the year. 

Make and distribute a zine - B2
The problem with this goal is I have so many ideas I want to tackle! It's been hard pinning down what I want to do. Instead I have been putting thoughts into my Notebook and reading other zines to get inspiration. I have also been listening to the back catalogue of the excellent Nobody Cares About Your Stupid Zine podcast on my morning commutes. Nothing is more inspiring than hearing other people talk about subjects they're passionate about. Alex and Derek have been doing a great job of cheering me up on the train to work, as well as providing potential fodder for my zine. 

Work on my writing portfolio - B3
Last week I sent out two pieces of my work. One submission was for an upcoming anthology and I sent off some of my poetry. The second submission was for a spoken word event being held in Glasgow next month. Thanks to Writing World, I have a nifty new spreadsheet to record writing submissions in. I'm so pleased that I have already filled out two slots for 2013. 

Health 

Enter and complete a 10k - A
This goal has taken a rather interesting twist. I finally hit the boredom wall of running on a treadmill at the gym. The weather has not been great this month and that has stopped me from going out, pounding the pavements. A couple of weeks ago, Him Indoors suggested that we go swimming and it turned out to be reasonably enjoyable. Since then, I have been trying to go to two fitness classes and/or swimming at the local gym. I have regained an enjoyment of Zumba and seem to be a bit better at it than the last time I went (almost a year ago!). 

So, the running has been put on hold for January - at least, until the weather improves. However, I'm still getting more exercise so surely it's better than nothing? 

Self Improvement 

Update my 2013 Progress Journal on a daily basis - A
This is the one goal I appear to be acceding at. Marceline, the brains behind Asking for Trouble, has created a beautiful five year diary that is easy to update. There's also a space at the front that you can fill out for each year including your hopes and goals for that particular year. I keep the diary on my bedside table and it only takes five minutes to fill out what I've been up to that day. 

Have one Internet free day a week - B
Strictly speaking, I have not been sticking to Internet free days. It might have been to become an appointment based tasks, as per my creative hour mentioned above. My laptop is now kept in the spare room/office and not on my footstool in the living room. This simple move has seen a big improvement in my time management at home. Instead of wasting away hours on the Wild Web, I have been more productive at Getting Things Done. 

Next month, I'd like to plan my Internet free days a bit better and be more strict at cutting down my activity. A big impact has been an increase in my reading time. This month I managed to read seven books which is a change from months I'd hardly read. At all. It has been intimidating to see how much of my time was sucked up by mindless Web surfing, but it's made me more determined to change it. 

Review: Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It NOW by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen

You can find out more about this book by going to its Amazon page.

I mentioned this book in my post but it started to spawn a life of its own. When I hit paragraph three, I realised that perhaps it deserved a post of its own. 

The book is split into two sections: the first section discusses factors and behaviours behind procrastination, whilst the second section offers practical tasks aimed at breaking the procrastination cycle. For many years I have been rather snotty about self-help books, seeing them as a sign of weakness rather than a useful tool (and, as I discovered, this attitude is one of the factors that contributes to my procrastination). When my procrastination began to seriously impact on my day job, I swallowed my pride and looked around for some advice. On my travels, I stumbled across this book. 

Thank you so much to Jane and Lenora for writing this book. As I read through the pages I kept thinking "That's me! Oh so that's why I behave like that." I wish that I had read this book when I was at university - it might have helped me get a better mark for my degree. Working through the exercises in the book I realised that I have a small problem with time mangement, a common trait amongst procrastinators. For some reason I find it hard to judge how long a task will take or how much time has passed. In other words, my relationship between objective time (fixed by a clock, calendar etc.) and subjective time (your own sense of time passing) is a little out of step. At the moment I'm trying to keep track of how long tasks take me at work to help improve this relationship. It's getting there, slowly but surely, and I feel like I am improving. 

Another method that has been helping me is the "15 minute approach" recommended in the book. I find myself putting off tasks because I think I don't have enough time. My current means that I assume I need a block of two hours to write that report. Researching a certain topic will take me all day. To be honest, that is time I am never going to have and I need to get out of that mindset. When I look at a task, I say to myself "I will work on this for 15 minutes and see how far I get." It has been really surprising how far I have been getting on with work using this method. Bit by bit, I am getting things DONE.

I cannot emphasis how much this book has changed my life. Over my extended Christmas break, I devoured its pages and felt so inspired to change my approach to work. At times I seriously considering handing in my notice because I didn't feel good enough to do my job (again, another trait of the procrastinator as highlighted in this book). This book helped me to realise that I am good at my job, I can work well and that it was easy to change my behaviour.

Fellow procrastinators, the best thing you can do is read this book. You will not regret it.

The Artist's Way: A Dilemma

Last week saw the return of going to my Paid Job which requires getting up early to brave public transport. Going back to work was one of my concerns when it came to following my New Year resolutions. It's all very well having good intentions when you've got plenty of free time on your hands.  Rising at nine o'clock to do morning pages at a leisurely pace is a very different experience to waking up when it's still dark, with a morning commute ahead.

As a result I completely forgot to do my morning pages ¹ on my work days this week. The last time I tackled The Artist's Way (TAW), it was in the middle of summer and light when I got up in the mornings. Also, my desk was in my bedroom and within eyesight of my bed so it was easy to remember to do the morning pages. So I decided to move my morning pages notebook to my bedside table where it jostles for space with my Five Year Diary and Random Sleep Thoughts notebooks.  Problem solved.

Alas, the next problem is a bit more pressing. I settled down to start working my way through Week One of the programme. On my last attempt, I gave up around Week Six - halfway through the twelve week schedule. It was hard to work on the Week One exercises without referring back to my previous attempts. One task includes writing a letter to a previous critic of your work and the same individual I wrote to last time kept swimming around in my thoughts (don't worry, I didn't post the letter). And that's what I'm worried about. Will I learn anything if I keep repeating the same information? Is it a cop out if I re-start the course at Week Six? Should I re-start the course from Week One and to hell with it if the same responses keep coming up?

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1 Morning pages are an important feature of doing The Artist's Way. Julia Cameron instructs students to get up each morning and write three pages before they do anything else (although I'm sure you'd be allowed to pop to the toilet). The thinking behind this task is that this 'free' writing allows you to clear your head and let your creativity come more naturally.^↩

List of 2013 Goals

Here is a full list of my goals for 2013, grouped together by category and in order of priority. I used the system outlined in Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracey, where tasks are assigned to an ABC category depending on their importance. A tasks are deemed the most important and goes down to D which means a task can be delegated. For obvious reasons, I've only adopted the ABC method for my goals.

Creative 

Treat writing as a second job - A
Complete the Artists Way program - B1
Make and distribute a zine - B2
Work on my writing portfolio - B3

Health 

Enter and complete a 10k - A
Commit to running three times a week - B


Self Improvement 

Update my 2013 Progress Journal on a daily basis - A
Have one Internet free day a week - B

You can read more about the reasons behind my goals by visiting this post: Baby steps in 2013.

Baby steps in 2013

In my last post, I discussed my strengths and weaknesses when tackling my goals in 2012. Here I'm going to chat a little bit about the goals I'm focusing on in 2013.

For the past week I have kept a little notepad beside me and I have been jotting down thoughts as they've come to me. One of my goals popped up whilst I was drying my hair whilst others appeared when I was doing a mundane task, like washing the dishes. Today I sat down and wrote all my goals out on a piece of paper to see if there were any themes appearing. Conveniently, the ten goals could be grouped into three categories that I have named:

• Creative
• Health
• Self-Improvement 

However those three categories are not very helpful. 'I want to be more creative in 2013' is a lovely statement to make but it's rather vague. As I learned from last year, being vague does not work for me. I need deadlines, I need a timetable, I need a concrete goal to work towards. It explains why I achieved my running goal by entering the Race for Life. Friends and family sponsored me and that gave me the pressure to keep up with my training. 

Creative 

This year I really beat myself up in relation to my creative life. I have done enough wailing about it so I won't go over it again here. Many things have helped give me a kick up the backside, namely the help and support from writing friends (you know who you are) and some choice reading material. One of my growing passions this year has been exploring zine culture and the place the perzines¹ still have in the age of the blog. I loved getting a parcel of zines through the post and reading about other people's lives - the ultimate treat for a nosey sod like me. One zine, Mythologising Me, talked about a great book called The Artist in the Office by Summer Pierre. The Artist in the Office is a lovely read in which Summer shares her own experiences chasing creative dreams and strategies for including your creative self in your paid job. I felt so inspired after I had finished reading this book; it was certainly a big help when I was thinking about my goals for 2013. 

My main creative goal for 2013 is to treat my writing as a second job. It's rather simple: I get time to write, I enjoy it, I feel better about myself and the world feels like a nicer place. I have lots of mini goals relating to this to help me on my way (more about them later). 

Health

As eluded to in my previous post, a family member had a big health scare this year. They're getting better but it made realise how much I take my health for granted. This serves as a perfect excuse to get back into running again. 

My main health goal for 2013 is to enter and complete a 10k. 

Self Improvement 

Now this goal popped up out of nowhere. As a student I was used to getting feedback through essay and exam marks. In the working world, it's a lot harder to get this feedback. In other words, you have to take responsibility for pushing and progressing yourself forwards. It's rather shameful to be waking up to this at the age of 27 but it's still not too late. 

On New Year's Eve, I spent time filling in a journal that is going to record my thoughts and feelings as I march towards my goals. It will be a space for me to honestly reflect on how well I'm doing and what I need to improve on. 

My main self improvement goal for 2013 is to completely my journal on a daily basis. 

You can read my full list of 2013 goals here where they are grouped together by category. This list will probably be added to as I work through them and other goals pop up announced. 

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1 Perzines is the definition giving to zines that focus on the creator's personal life and experiences, rather than a specific topic such as cycling and vegan cooking.^↩

Bibliography


Greaves, Suzy Make your dreams happen in 2013, Psychologies, pp.42 - 47 (February 2013) You can also follow Suzy's goals for 2013 by visiting her blog here.

Ingrid, Mythologising Me (2011)

Pierre, Summer, The Artist in the Office (Penguin Group, 2010)

Top 10 strategies for making your New Years Resolutions Stick, Lifehacker, http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick - last accessed 31st December 2012

2012 is dead. Long live 2013!

This year has been a wonderful, traumatic and steep learning curve. 2012 got off to a good start when I went to America for the first time, hitting Los Angelos and San Francisco. It's a country I've read so much about and I wondered if it would live up to my expectations. The people I met were lovely, the sun shone most of the time and I become quite addicted to Trader Joe's vegan chocolate chip cookies. Yet I found it hard to ignore the large homeless population I encountered in both cities and the slight obsession with ethnic backgrounds. I'd go back to San Francisco in a heartbeat: it reminds me so much of Glasgow with its vibrant arts scene and the temperamental weather. 

My good self posing on the Golden Gate Bridge on Martin Luther King Day

What else happened in 2012? My career became extremely important. For the first time I was doing a job that I was qualified to do and that I wanted to do well in. Previously, all my jobs were stepping stones towards a Career and were there merely to pay the bills. I have been in my current job since 2011 as a temporary post which became more permanent in June this year. 

June is the month that can sum up 2012. I completed my only goal of 2012 (more about that later) by running the Race for Life 5k; I bought a house; a family member became seriously ill and I thought I might lose someone I love very much; I applied for my current job and was kept on, much to my relief. Yes, 2012 was a very bumpy year. 

Let's have a quick look back to January 2012 - how frightening that was almost a year ago. 

1. To start running again and enrol in a 10k event - HALF COMPLETED 

Halfway through the year I re-assessed my goals and decided a 5k was more within my reach. I enrolled in the Race for Life 5k and began following their training program. I cannot begin to describe the elation I felt as I crossed the finish line at 45 minutes. Unfortunately I did let my running slip after June but all is not lost. In December I re-joined the gym and I have been pounding the treadmills in preparation for the return of spring. Then we can talk about that 10k. 

Unfortunately, my remaining four goals did not work out as well. They were:

2. To continue doing morning pages every day 
3. To stick to my weekly schedules 
4. To avoid getting into music ruts 
5. To keep track of the books I read and participate in the Sunday Salon once a month 

I learnt some harsh lessons this year, including that I am an extremely bad procrastinator and that I find it hard planning in advance. This has impacted on my Career so it needs to be worked on, otherwise it affects my productivity in work. I have been pondering on this whilst working on my 2013 goals and my planning should help. When I planned my 2012 goals, I thought "Oh well, they'll just happen." Sadly they won't unless I do something about it. 

Therefore, I will be spending the last day of 2012 making plans for 2013 and making some vegan Irish Cream. Start small and work your way up - a little drink helps as well. 

NaNoWirMo: Report Card Two

It was all going so well. As you can tell by my first report card, I was soaring through my first week of NaNo. Heck, I was even steaming ahead with my word count.

Then Week Two hit.

The excuses for writing built up: the Mothership's birthday meant a whole evening out of NaNo time whilst a bad day at work meant I lost the will to do anything beyond stare at the television in a grump. Add to that a planned night out plus an unexpected shift at work and I was am behind in NaNo. Way behind - over half the suggested word count. That is one of the main disadvantages of NaNo (and one of the reasons it works) is that more than two days off means you're lagging behind.

I started to lose interest in my plot and my characters. I tentatively finished off sections of text I was not entirely happy with. On the plus side, I did manage to draft this month's submission to Write in for Writing's Sake when I was taking time off from NaNo. Although I was not sitting down and writing, I was still thinking about my plot and which direction to take it in.

So I've decided to let my characters wander. Using Scrivener means I can write scenes and move them around when I wish. Today I have been writing about my MC's first day at their new job. Tomorrow I might switch back to their 'flashback' scene that takes place seven years earlier. It makes the story feel more exciting especially if I'm dashing about and gaining a different perspective.

I have a week off work and I am determined to be back on track by Thursday. Instead of doing twenty minute writing sprints, I have been setting the timer for thirty to forty-five minutes. It's a trick I picked up from Unfuck your Habitat and it makes the task ahead feel much easier. As I write this blog post, my word count is sitting on 18603. Cross your fingers and wish for me to hit the thirties by Thursday evening. Bring on the pretzels!

NaNoWriMo: Report Card One

When left to my own devices, I find it very easy to procrastinate. This very lunchtime I switched on the very *ahem* informative programme Don't Tell the Bride to have on in the background during my break. An hour later, my wraps eaten, I found myself still watching this programme. It's hard to kick those habits but I'm getting better at it. For instance, I switched off the programme instead of telling myself to watch the last twenty minutes.

Now if I had a method of holding myself accountable, I doubt I would have wasted an hour on a stupid television programme (especially as I slept in this morning). That's the danger I can see arising with NaNoWriMo. This morning I was over 3000 words behind the official target. After some writing sprints (more about those later), I had clocked up 2000 words and I'm only 1200 words behind today's official target. A quick note about targets: in order to complete NaNo on time, ideally you need to be hitting 1666 words a day at the absolute minimum. I took yesterday off NaNo to spend time with my family which was lovely. My story has taken an unforeseen dark turn and I did not want to burst my happy bubble returning to it last night.

How is my story going? Not the way I planned at all. As part of my NaNo prep, I made a list of what makes a 'bad' novel. Please note, this is what makes me put down a novel. My list of what makes a 'good' novel will not appeal to everyone, just as my 'bad' list might leave some people outraged. So here goes:

What makes a 'bad' novel according to Laura Stevens:

1. Boring and poorly developed characters
2. Long passages of inner monologue that are dull and don't move the plot along
3. Confusing narratives that jump around
4. Overly complicated language or jargon
5. Repeated scenes of sexual abuse that do not add to the plot
6. Cruelty to animals
7. Overuse of exclamation points!

In No Plot? No Problem! Chris Baty encourages us to make this list so we can avoid these elements creeping into our novels. Alas, he also warns that it is very easy to fall into these traps especially when writing to a deadline. I am ashamed to admit that points nos 1, 2 and 3 are alive and well in my NaNo story. However, I'm willing to let them slide. Why? Purely because, excluding yesterday, I have been writing every single day this week. That was not happened in years, quite possibly the first time since I have left school. Instead of finding excuses, I'm working my way around them. Can't take my laptop on my work commute? Then use a nice A5 pad and a pretty pen instead. Not sure what to write? Doesn't matter, sit down and let the words come. This morning, I broke through the 10000 word barrier and I gave myself a little cheer. The last piece of work I finished clocked in at 3000 words with the re-writing process taking the finished story up to 3500 words. I should also add that 3000 story took me a month to complete, even with a submission deadline looming. So 10000 words in a week is not to be sniffed at. 

This has left me extremely happy with my NaNo progress so far. Yesterday I did have my first plot crisis due to Sunday's writing session. Out of nowhere, my second main character was killed off page  but it has thrown up some interesting routes for my main character. I now have a much more interesting plot lining up for them than my original idea that I am much more excited about.

There are three things I am attributing to my current NaNo cheer:

1. Reading the daily blogs from Vikki at The View Outside. I've known Vikki through Bookcrossing for a number of years, although I have not bookcrossed for a very long time, I still keep in touch with people through the wonders of social media. Her updates on Twitter and Facebook are a good way of giving me a gentle prod to get my writing bottom in gear. 
1. 1 Ali at 12 Books 12 Months is an old hand at this NaNo business - she loved it so much that she did NanNo every month in 2011. That means she's written over 12 books thanks to NaNo. Her blog is a great pit stop in between writing sprints. 
2. Writing sprints. I've been setting my timer for 20 minutes and writing furiously without stopping to think. Then I give myself 10 minutes as a reward for doing what I want like filling up my coffee mug or other essential tasks, like peeing. NaNo does host official sprints on Twitter if you like the idea of competing against other novelists. They also suggest prompts if you're struggling to think of where to take your novel during the sprinting. 
3. Rewards of pretzels, humous and salsa. Mmmmmm…..

NaNoWriMo: Third Time Lucky?

It's sad to see 2012 almost slipping away. The nights are drawing in and everyone is talking in hushed tones about this winter being a bad 'un (read: lots of snow and panic). Still, all is not lost. November is an exciting month for the wannabe writer. I love this time of year when the trees start to change colour and the leaves crunch under your feet as you walk the streets. My birthday is in February which might factor into my enjoyment of winter i.e. lots of presents are starting to come my way!

First things first, I have November to get through. This time I have decided to have a third attempt at NaNoWriMo (or NaNo for short). For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is a scheme designed to help you write a 50, 000 novel in a month. It started with humble beginings in San Francisco with a gent called Chris Baty and his group of friends. Now, thousands of people across the world take part in the wonderful task of making up stories whilst sticking to a deadline. It's a lovely thought that other people are hunched over their notepads, writing furiously to hit the end of month target. I took part in NaNoWriMo in 2010 and 2011 and gave up both times. This year I feel more prepared.

I spent most of October re-reading No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, as a guide designed to get you through November and across the novel writing finish line. This book helped me realise that NaNo is supposed to be fun. Who cares if a giant squid suddenly appears in quite a serious story about real life superheroes (I'm looking at you, Alan Moore) ? I realised why I had failed in my previous attempts at NaNo. The trouble was I took my stories too seriously and worried too much about how sensible some plot developments were. The aim of NaNo is quantity not quantity. Having a finished draft is the goal and you can edit that giant squid out of the narrative on the 1st January (it's recommended that you leave your manuscript alone for a month after NaNo).

Also, I've managed to persuade a friend to do NaNo with me. We met at a writing class a couple of years ago and have kept in touch. There is a possibility we might meet up to do some write ins together which should help keep me on track. A little bit of friendly competition never does you any harm. Him Indoors is embarking on a similar project in November called National Game Designer Month which will help spur me on at home. Unfortunately I don't know who is going to end up doing the hoovering (probably Him Indoors). I can see a lot of vegan chilli being consumed in this house in November. It's one of the few recipes I can chuck in the slow cooker and not worry about. Apologies for anyone that comes to visit!

Finally, I have my secret weapon: Scrivener. This is a program designed for individuals that are working on a writing project. It's primarily aimed at those writing works of fiction but it could work for non-fiction books as well. I have been using various word processing applications to write stories for almost twenty years and it is, by far, the best piece of kit I have used. Each writing project is organised into a binder that includes everything: research, notes, character cards and your actual writing. You can move pieces of text around with ease. Does that fight scene belong in Chapter Five, rather than Chapter Three? Drag and drop and hey presto! it's done. Much better than scrolling through X pages in Open Office or MS Word. You can purchase the software for £30 in the UK and I would heartily recommend it.

What are you writing about? I hear you cry. I have some plans afoot but I'm a bit wary of how events are going to play out. For the moment I'll keep quiet. However I promise to let you all know immediately when the giant squid turns up.

October Mini-Readathon

It's 1pm which means it's time for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon! This time I'm doing a mini-readathon and will be taking part 1-5pm this afternoon, instead of the full 24 hours. The kettle is boiling and I'm looking forward to my first cup of coffee of the day. The house is empty as Him Indoors is travelling back from an overnight stay in London and the animals are asleep. I'm ready to kick back and begin a good reading sprint.

Based upon my experience with the readathon in April, I have chosen some shorter reads to indulge in this afternoon. Here's a (badly photographed) glimpse of my reading pile:

Louise Welsh was my first read for the April readathon and it was sheer luck I managed to add her to this one. I have been waiting for her latest book, The Girl on the Stairs, to come into my local library. It arrived on Thursday which I was rather excited about. The other reads on my pile include:

Monkeys with Typewriters - Scarlett Thomas
Negotiating with the Dead - Margaret Atwood
On Writing - Stephen King

I'm using this afternoon as an opportunity to catch up on my 'self-study' into the craft of writing. It's a change from my last readathon books which included memoirs, feminist theory and novels influenced by the Women's Liberation Movement.

Ah, I hear you cry, what's the orange envelope? All in good time, it wouldn't be a readathon if there were no surprises along the way. Good luck everyone and happy reading!

Comments moderation has been switched off for today so please stop by and say hello!

Almost 4.5 hours into the readathon 

It has been delightful losing myself in a book this afternoon. Once again I have been reading in my shared office with Him Indoors on our lovely new futon. The view from my new house overlooks dense woodland and I can see the forest turning a golden shade of autumn. It's a perfect backdrop to the sinister tale Louise Welsh has crafted in The Girl on the Stairs.  Jane Logan has relocated to Berlin with her partner, Petra. At first you sense Jane's bewilderment of being in a different country (as most people would do) and unable to communicate in German. On her first night in a strange new apartment she hears a violent argument from the occupants next door. Before long Jane becomes mildly obsessed with Dr Mann and his teenage daughter, Anna. To add to the danger Jane is pregnant and, as the plot speeds on, I keep finding myself appalled at the situations she keeps putting herself and her unborn child in. I flinch each time she lights up a cigarette (she's determined to give up) or when she goes wandering the streets at night. I'm starting to wonder how much I should judge Jane's interpretation of events.

I decided to take a little break at 4pm to explore the contents of my orange envelope. I have recently joined a zine subscription service and my first packet arrived this week. The zines have a real mix of visual styles and they have been a good distraction from the density of text from a book.

Him Indoors will be returning home soon so I will put my reading aside. All the best for those still reading and I'll see you in April. 

October Already

As the year rumbled into October, I felt rather cheated when frost started appearing on the ground. At the train station, I watched the smoky breath from my fellow commuters that comes with the drop in temperature. Everyone has been hoping for a late summer, especially as most of this year was a washout. No such luck. On Tuesday I stepped into the cold air, wrapped in my new winter coat.

It's hard to believe that almost six months ago I was preparing for the Dewey 24 Hour Readathon. For those that don't know, the Readathon is a glorious opportunity to spend an indulgent 24 hours reading for pure and utter pleasure. April was the first readathon I participated in, after cheering on from the sidelines, and I had a wonderful time. You can read all about my experiences by clicking on this summary blog post. 

Like the unexpected frost, October's readathon has crept up on me. It was Alex in Leed's post last week that reminded me that a readathon was coming up. Unfortunately I have made plans for part of this weekend but there is a gap on Saturday afternoon. It's a nice little reading slot that I shall spent lying on the futon in the home office (the room that catches most of the afternoon sun), mug of tea beside me and a good book to keep me company. 

Good luck to all those embarking on the full 24 hour marathon. I will be cheering you on in spirit. 

Reflective Tuesdays: Failure

(Courtsey: Creative Commons/Tasha Chawner)

Failure – it's not a nice word, is it? It's a word I've struggled with for years. As a child, failing was not an option. One vivid memory I have is hiding in the bathroom, copying out words I got wrong in a spelling test. I was too ashamed to let my parents see that I had only got one word right in the entire test. Another memory was when I received a lower grade than expected for giving a speech in my English class. Horrified at being awarded a dreaded grade 3 (with grades ranging from 1 – 8), I insisted I be allowed to give the speech again. The teacher obviously sensed my desperation and gave my pitiful performance a grade 2. I sat down and breathed a sign of relief.

The point of these anecdotes is that I always have been afraid of failing. A tango partner to fear of failing is setting high standards for one's self. When I was praised for doing well, my eye would pick out the one piece of criticism. That is what I would remember over and above everything else.

At the grand old age of 27 I am tentatively trying to learn from failure. Rather than seeing it as a reflection of my character (which I'm sure many people are guilty of doing at least once in their lives), I try to see it as a learning curve. Fear of failure has kept me from doing basic things such as speaking up in meetings or trying a new approach to an old task. My inner daemon is still good at heaping on the guilt when I have an idea shot down in a meeting or no-one signed up for an event I had spent weeks preparing for.

Again Psychologies magazine has been a great help in this area. I'm still reluctant to pick up a self help book – perhaps it's because I (still) view admitting I need help as a sign of failure. However Psychologies has interviews with admirable women, fashion tips and a problem page so my self-doubting can perceived it as entertainment rather than self-improvement. Each month I'm reading small chunks of articles that are going towards building my self-esteem. Once I've worked through some of the exercises, I'll share them here.

Having an amplified sense of failure does not help when it comes to writing. Using statistics from Duotrope, one publication I recently submitted work to has a 3% acceptance rate. That leaves a staggering 97% of submissions that are rejected for a number of reasons. Despite the vast numbers of writing publications out there, not everyone gets work published. Does that mean they are all failures? No, it simply means that their work was not suitable for that particular issue. It is rare to get any critiques back from rejection letters – the volume of submissions means editors do not have the time to provide such as service. However, it does lift my spirit when I read a small tid bit of praise within a rejection letter. That is what I need to focus on, not the rejection itself.

In my next post, I'll talk about what I've learned through embracing failure.  

Reflective Tuesdays

(Courtsey: Creative Commons/Tasha Chawner)

I'm thinking of trying something new. As I'm learning and growing to be (hopefully) a better person, I'd like the opportunity to record it somewhere. Perhaps my naval gazing thoughts might even help someone else out there.

Starting from next week, I will deliver a blog post on the theme of 'Reflective Tuesdays.' To be honest, who wants to reflect on anything on a Monday? Wednesdays might be taken up by another themed post and Thursday and Fridays are too close to the weekend. Be honest, who actually does anything on a Tuesday? It's a perfect opportunity to take stock of what's going on.

I'm looking forward to this and I hope you guys are too.

The wheels on the bus go round and round.

© Wandering Naval Gazer 

Looking back over this blog I noticed a recurring theme: I get the urge to write when I'm travelling by train. My new home means I can choose either a thirty minute train journey or a hour long bus journey to get to work. Way back at my first writing class in years (June 2009 for those interested) the tutor encouraged us to find a way to chip away at writing. One recommendation he made was to try and write whilst commuting. At the time I tried writing on the bus and all I was successful at was making my handwriting look even more messy than usual. It made me feel a little sick - the journey, not my handwriting.

Last week, I decided to throw a small notebook into my work bag. As the train clattered through the suburbs, I pulled out my pen and started to scribble down a story I had been tossing around in my head for some time. OK, the writing was not 'brilliant' but whose first draft is? Each morning last week I battled for a seat on the train, got my breath back and then opened my notebook to a new page. At the moment I'm working on a potential story to submit to this upcoming roller derby themed anthology. On Friday morning I started working on a piece for the current Write in for Writing's Sake  topic. The best time for me to write has been on the morning trek into work; strangely my brain seems to be rather awake before I've touched coffee.

On the return journey, I have been dipping my toe back into reading. Currently I am making my way through the magnificent Look At Me by Jennifer Egan on my Kindle. The equation is rather simple: if you want to write, you have to read. No wonder I could hardly pick up a pen when I was avoiding books. Last month, reading felt like too much hard work. Instead I channel hopped, filling my brain with whatever crap was being broadcast (apart from the Great British Bake Off which is allowed simply because it concerns a lot of sugar).

Some of you may remember my pancake person post . At the end of that post, I still had not decided which route I was going to take. However, I appear to unconsciously have made the choice to pursue writing. It is still one of my biggest regrets that I let my writing self slip away for ridiculous reasons (read: a boy paying me attention who turned out, in the end, not to be very nice) and my confidence took several knocks because of that. Anyway, enough of the pity party.

I am in the process of submitting my writing to various outlets using this nifty website called Duotrope. The site allows writers to search a vast database of publications that are looking for contributors. You can create an account which helps you track your submissions. In turn, Duotrope uses this data to create statistics for these publications such as submission acceptance stats and turnaround for feedback. There really seems to be a publication out there for almost every writer: the ocean is vast.

I'm rather looking forward to it :)