Yay – I got the getting published part of the site up.  And the designer is working hard as I improve this blog day by day.

Check out the getting published section!  And look forward to more writing updates…

Being really sick makes you stop for a moment.  Sure, it’s not the way I’d recommend getting your imagination working, but it did get me thinking as I lay there the last couple of days with flu.  See, I had my phone off, I didn’t check email, and I wasn’t watching TV.  I think sometimes it’s a good idea to just let your imagination have some time to itself – maybe give yourself an hour without phone/internet/TV/anything that distracts you.  Lie around.  Listen to music.  Stare at the ceiling.  Whatever.  Just let yourself be and see what travels through your mind.  Reacquaint yourself with your imagination.  I had to get sick to remind myself to slow down and take time off.  But, wow, did I get a great new idea for a book out of it…

I’m enjoying writing this blog so much that I’ve decided to get a web designer to help me put it all together so it works really well.  I want to have a section on how to get published, another quickstart set of tips, links to more writers and more thoughts about writing.  Plus, I’d like to do author interviews and photo prompts, alongside all the writer tips for you.

Today, I’m staying in a hotel in the centre of London.  London is my home town, so it’s the first time I’ve ever done this – looked at the city as a tourist might.  It’s been making me think about looking at stories from a new angle.  London is filled with tiny quirky streets, cobbled corners, busy cafes, packed galleries, and loads of pigeons.  As a tourist here, I’m noticing the details – details I often just take for granted as I rush about visiting one friend or the other, or trying to get work done.

How can you look at what you’re writing from a whole new angle?  You don’t have to stay in a fancy hotel in Soho (although, I admit, it’s pretty nice!) but perhaps you can try your story from a different character’s perspective.  Today, I’m looking at London as a tourist, perhaps I could look at London in my imagination through the eyes of one of those gallery goers, or even through the eyes of a pigeon! 

So, take one of you characters and rewrite a scene through their eyes.  What do you learn???

I’ll keep you posted on the new web design.