This is my contribution to the anthology in aid of the mental health charity Mind.
If the links don’t display here, please see my author page on Facebook for the JustGiving page – any donation will be gratefully received by Mind. Many thanks One & All.
Sarah Michelle Lynch asked over 30 writers to join her in raising awareness and money for the mental health charity Mind, a great cause which the upcoming Leeds Author Event is supporting on March 5th.
Each author was asked to donate words. They were given free rein except to include the phrase “They Say I’m Doing Well” within the body of the work.
Join me, a contributing author, throughout this month-long event. Read inspiring, evocative and emotional stories, many of which are written from first-hand experience. Read poems, short stories and accounts of discovering and coping with a mental health problem.
Read all the blogs as they appear here: http://sarahmichellelynch.net/they-say-im-doing-well-blog-tour/
Donate to our campaign and your money goes straight to the charity: https://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Lynch16
Find out more about Mind: http://www.mind.org.uk/
Join the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1021595494560782/
Yes readers, I occasionally fall asleep whilst writing – the greatest procrastination of all!
Thinking about this subject, I realise that I have a massive list of what not to do whilst sitting down to write, so it’s probably easier to start there.
A first must in my mind is to steer clear of the internet and social media, as both can drain time and attention away from writing. I originally kept my laptop for writing, and my iPad for internet use. However, gradually the internet encroached on my laptop, giving me easy access to tools for procrastination – Twitter, Facebook, emails, researching on the web, and shopping.
But let’s face it, sometimes it’s hard to actually stay sitting at the computer. When working from home there are always other distractions, however tedious they may be, to lure you away. The washing machine needs emptying, the floor could do with a hoover, the casserole could be made in readiness for the evening meal, and the bed could do with being changed. The list is endless, as are the dull and boring chores.
Then there are the pleasant procrastination distractions. Having coffee or lunch with a friend, taking the dog for a walk, reading a novel, shopping, or catching up on recorded TV programmes. My husband took early retirement, so he is often a distraction. Point in case, I’m writing this and he’s just come over to me to show me a video clip of a dog smiling for the camera. All very sweet and cute, but I’m working. I long to have my own writing room, or for the clement weather to arrive so he’ll go fishing, even night fishing, so I can write until 2am if I so desire.
These hurdles affect us all in one way or another, and I doubt even the great writers of our time are immune to such adversities. I find having something to chew whilst writing aides my concentration. My choices range from dried mango, jelly babies and jelly beans, to cashew nuts and marshmallows. I know there is a scientific reason for this, something about the blood flow and oxygen to the brain, but I’m not going onto the internet to research that now, otherwise I might – no, will – get side-tracked.
I also surround myself with a freshly made coffee or tea – depending on the time of day – notepad and pens, snacks, and wip notelets, to minimise my need to leave the chair. If the environment is full of distractions, I put my iPod on and either listen to music, or just keep the headphones on to block out the noises, or remind others around me that I’m working. It doesn’t always work, mind you!
I think it’s best to acknowledge that procrastination and distraction will follow us to our seat, urging us to do anything other than write, and it’s our job to bat it to one side, fend it off with beguiling words and plotlines that entice us to stay rooted to our seat, long enough to write a few thousand words.
So harness your strength and determination, and just write, my friend, just write.
Happy Word Flow One & All
As another end of year rapidly approaches, I find myself reflecting on what has been, good and bad, and what I hope is to come in the New Year.
As a child, I would religiously write New Year Resolutions, ranging from grow my hair, to study hard, to lose weight – the usual I suppose. I continued this up until a few years ago. After having a break from giving myself goals I can berate myself with if I fail, I’ve decided to start again.
But this time, it’s different. This time I’m going to be realistic, have fewer resolutions, and I won’t damn myself if I don’t manage to achieve everything; I’m only human, a mere mortal.
Although I’m a writer, and some resolutions will undoubtedly revolve around the writing arena, I also have a life and a family. I have hopes and aspirations for all the areas of my life.
Now I’m no beauty queen, but I do wish the world would settle down into a more peaceful, cohesive place to live in, especially as I wish to visit more countries, now my daughters have left home for university. One could say that I shouldn’t let fear rule my choices, but I’m quite a nervous traveller, so any whiff of danger, and I’m off – or rooted to the spot.
My garden is in dire need of some TLC, but I always finding writing more appealing than chores. Gardening shouldn’t be seen as a chore, but you haven’t seen the pruning required *sigh*
Social media is also time consuming, but generally fun. I mainly use FB for enjoyment, connecting with friends, and my author page. But it’s Twitter where I seem to connect with my readers, and I love it. I feel FB hogs most of my media time, but one of my resolutions is to focus more on Twitter. Let’s see how that goes, shall we?
I’m rather lapse with my blog, and would like to add that to my resolution list, but I feel I may regret that move very quickly.
Whatever happens, I’ll try and move forward as a writer, and as a human being, with all that entails.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say that all my novels are only £1.99, my latest novel – Garlic & Gauloises is £2.01, for the month of December, on Amazon.
May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a joyous, peaceful, fun, healthy, and successful New Year.
Happy 2016 Word Flow One & All
A Page Turning Protagonist
Kathryn Mattingly’s earliest memories are of reading. As a young girl she found Steinbeck’s The Red Pony to be a pivotal moment in her childhood. It affected her so deeply that to this day she remembers her reaction to the book. Thanks to Steinbeck’s genius, The Red Pony became something she could sink more than just her imagination into. It gave new meaning to literature. It gave it teeth.
According to Kathryn, it also sparked something in her that would begin the journey of a lifetime both reading and writing about the darker side of life, albeit flooded with light at strategic moments with highroad risk taking, ravenous do-gooding and genuine soaring of the human spirit, despite the wicked hand of fate interfering wherever possible.
Afterall, she says, isn’t that a fair assessment of everyone’s journey here on this earth? Tons of mundane days (left out of storytelling for obvious reasons) occasionally punctuated by life-altering moments (both good and bad) upon which we base the summary of our character and purpose?
Kathryn’s second novel Journey is no exception to her obsession with trying to understand human behavior, which she says is often affected as much by circumstance as self-direction, and ultimately defines us as individuals.
I asked Kathryn a few questions about her second, and even more controversial book than Benjamin (her very well received debut novel).
What do you have to say in defense of your complex protagonist in Journey (and Benjamin for that matter), who does not always take the high road or do the desirable thing?
My somewhat controversial protagonists are not unlike any of us. Tell me that you have never made bad decisions based on selfish desire and I will tell you to go back and reexamine your life- objectively. The difference between my protagonists and the typical main character of a book is my willingness to not just expose their human weaknesses, but to make them instrumental in the plot. Fighting our passions and desires for whatever it is that conflicts with doing the right thing is something we all struggle with.
What do you suppose makes this work with the reader, because your reviews have clearly established both novels to be quite the page-turners.
Look at Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. Loving to hate a self-serving person is not new to fiction. We see courage and spunk beneath the self-involved tendencies of these characters, and we are rooting for them to bring the more desirable traits forward. Isn’t this what we want for ourselves and for those whom we care about? Aren’t we constantly inspiring one another to hang in there and do the right thing even when it’s difficult? We’d all rather take that low easy road with the tempting payoff in full view rather than tackling the higher, more difficult road with no obvious carrot dangling from the end of it.
If we were honest with ourselves, more often that not we head down the easy road first, and then rein ourselves in and change course. Why? Because in the end if we are fortunate enough to have a conscience, it will coax us toward the only path that allows peace of mind from doing what we perceive to be the right thing. The character-building road leads to greater and more lasting joy than the road that slowly crumbles both our perceived and real self-worth.
Does this pattern of flawed behavior on the part of your protagonists continue into the next couple of novels, which I know you have already written?
The flawed heroine is my signature theme, and so far has made for a page-turning protagonist. I find good people doing inappropriate things far more interesting than any other scenario, mainly because it is the reality we don’t want to face. It is the truth. Heroes without a dark side are quite one-dimensional, not to mention unbelievable, because lets face it- all the real life heroes have a dark side. Being human means we are flawed. Really flawed. Overcoming our human weaknesses is something we all deal with daily. And when we do, that is when we feel rich and powerful within, where it matters.
You have equally gained a reputation for creating settings that transport us there – first in Portland and then in Rome with your debut novel Benjamin and in Hawaii between the Big Island and Maui with Journey. Where will your next two novels take place?
I only use settings where I have lived or traveled. Olivia’s Ghost begins in Seattle and ends up in Cairns, Australia. The Tutor begins in San Francisco and ends up on the island of Roatan just off the coast of Honduras. All wonderful, fascinating places to have either lived or traveled, in my humble opinion.
Have you started a new novel, aside from the ones already written and waiting for publication?
I see my job right now as perfecting the novels already penned. They are like children I am slowly raising to be shining stars when finally set free upon the world. Once that is accomplished I will begin writing the novel that has been conceived (staying with the analogy) but is not yet born. More and more frequently its restlessness in my womb causes sleeplessness to the point of doing what all authors try to avoid and cannot- frantically spewing words on paper in the dead of night with only dark corner spiders and coyotes out the window for company.
What are you doing these days besides writing? I know you’ve moved a lot recently. Have you embraced and enjoyed these new adventures, or have they taken a toll on your sanity?
Besides writing I have created and teach a few noncredit courses for a local college a couple evenings a week. The courses are Novel Writing: Fiction & Memoir, Editing Your Novel, and The Art of the Short Story. As for the frequent moving I feel very blessed to have lived in some of the most prime locations this country has to offer- starting with the plush Willamette Valley which houses the University of Oregon, my alma mater. Next we lived on the misty and mysterious Oregon coast. We have also lived in Portland – a very endearing city that still seduces all my senses every time I visit. Recently we spent a decade merely a stones throw from San Francisco and Napa Valley. Currently we live an hour from Rocky Mountain National Park for a day trip and then there is Vail for a weekend getaway or Denver for a generous dose of mile high city events.
I am a survivalist and much like my protagonists, I find my main goal in life is to find an acceptable balance between choosing the high road and ohmygod what were you thinking?
Kathryn’s books are available on Amazon and through all major booksellers. You can read more about Kathryn and her books on her website, kathrynmattingly.com.
Personal blog and website: http://kathrynmattingly.com
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00EILN6YE
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynmattinglyauthor
WGP page: http://wintergoosepublishing.com/authors/kathryn-mattingly/
All Winter Goose Publishing ebooks are currently only £1.99 on Amazon, for the month of December. It’s a great chance to discover a new author.
Three desserts are better than one.
Is there ever a time this phrase makes sense? Personally, too much sunshine and heat, too much sleep, and too much alcohol would ring true with me. It might make sense for you to know that I wrote some of this post whilst in Turkey, it was 30 degrees centigrade in October, and it was all-inclusive.
But this phrase doesn’t count for reading or writing; although I would say you could become saturated reading the same genre. Widening genres helps expand vocabulary and opens you to a range of authors, each with their own styles, voices, and rule breaking.
I write two genres – crime and contemporary fiction – to keep my mind fresh, and my writing alive, even though both my genres tend to involve mental health, as that is a great interest of mine, due to my nursing background. I find my mind goes stale if I write the same genre over and over. This doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for you, but personally I crave the change to pique my interest.
The more I write the more I learn; even highlighting my inadequacies and areas requiring improvement. But there are days when the words won’t flow. For example, yesterday, I spent from 8.30am until past midnight, with only two one hour breaks, editing a novel with my editor from the publisher. This is an example of ‘too much of a good thing’. I say good as I enjoy editing, but the pressure of getting it back to an editor, makes me spend too many hours in one day working on the manuscript. Hence today, as much as I’d like to, I just can’t write, so here I am on my blog.
Instead, I’m going to read. I’m currently enjoying ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls, which is a change from all the crime novels I read. I’m refreshing my mind and exploring new authors.
I hope you have the opportunity to occasionally indulge in too much of something that takes your fancy, without over-spilling into the realm of nauseousness, like I did having three desserts instead of one.
Happy Word Flow One & All
Hemmie Martin 