Inky Little Sunbeams

Just a thought...

Love. Hope. Dream...

Just a thought...

 

Summer is around the corner and all the midnight adventures it holds...

I wrote this because it's true...

Very apt for this moment in time.

And of course as Rev. Run once wisely said - whilst ensconced in his bath of bubbles - 'Don't hate, congratulate.'

True. That. Peeps.

 

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

Autumn's here - bonfires, auburn leaves and star gazing on chilled evenings...

True words.

It's hard being creative by yourself sometimes; you have no one to pick you up when you're low and keep you inspired. Surrounding yourself with people that believe in what you do will always help push you to achieving your personal goals when you're low. Remember: Positive acts breed more positive acts...

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

Act on your dreams - Guinness style.

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

Love. Muse. Hearts. Sun. Moon. Stars. World.

One person can encapsulate all of these...

Take me to the beach...

I shot this in May during an impromptu visit to St Ives. This little boy trekked all over the beach scouring every grain of sand, leaving no stone unturned. There was no method to his madness. His eye would fixate on something and he would duly run to it, bending down in pure concentration before questioning his find to his father who would come running up ten seconds behind him. I think his father was eventually as enthralled as his son and they were out there for hours. It made me want to explore too...

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

I've often said that poetry is, in my opinion, the highest form of writing. To be able to embrace and conquer it, it must first drive you near to insanity. Then when you do finally find the right flow of vocabulary and punctuation for it all to come together, another reader may view it in a completely different light to what you have envisaged in your mind. It's a very intimate form of writing to me and that's why I've always kept any verses that I've written completely private. Maybe when I'm 60 I'll have finished enough to share it. Until then...

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

Never be too busy to start creating an idea that has come to you - it can happen at any moment. I'm fortunate to live in such an area of natural beauty that inspiration can hit at any time which is good as my clients are so completely different and I need stimuli from many different angles in order to get their writing done. Being creative is a gift - don't ignore it...

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

No one ever has the right to make you feel down in life. Rid yourself of the stress and surround yourself with lovely people instead and watch how much happier your life becomes...

WARNING: Beware of Minstrels my chocolate loving, hayfever suffering friends...

We all do odd quirky acts when we’re concentrating - some doodle, some play with their hair. I nibble. Depending on how desperate the deadline, and what I can find in my larder, the food stuffs range from sensible sunflower seeds to calorific chocolate chunks.

Well let me warn you of a chocolate Minstrel hazard that, until now, went unforeseen in my world and henceforth shall be known as: Minstrel shrapnel. Hayfever sufferers in particular should pay heed to the following lesson learnt by myself...

I was sitting at my desk writing and researching for a client. Whilst numbly reading and quite happily flicking through pages and taking in the results of someone else’s hard researching skills, I was peacefully placing Minstrel after Minstrel into my mouth, and then somewhere in the back of my mind a little ‘personal desk challenge’ grew into existence. How many Minstrels can I can cram into my mouth from this oversized bag? I’m all by myself, no-one can see and my curiosity was piqued. I’ve eaten these gems for years and never tried this... a new game, brilliant! 

Still reading I finished my mouthful and started on my mini Minstrel quest. At Minstrel #7 I felt a tickle in my nose which I ignored thinking that my hayfever tablet would do its job and disperse. By Minstrel #8 this tickle turned into enough of a niggle to remind me to look up from my work and locate the lone tissue placed on my desk in case of an emergency. Minstrel #9 found the tickle in my nose increasing and the will to sneeze unbearable, I clenched my jaw to fight the urge to relieve my nose of the pressure building inside it, yet having started my mini experiment of no social worth, I was too eager to finish it and I duly crammed a tenth Minstrel into my mouth. The very second I did this, I had to quickly grit my teeth together once again to fight the now insatiable urge to sneeze. Trying to hold my breath worked for about two seconds, then against all of my pained efforts, I let out three explosive sneezes in quick succession. 

Miraculously the Minstrels stayed inside my mouth, however, once the roar of sneezes had rendered my cat to shy away from me in utter disgust, I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of pain in my nose. Yes people, the worst had indeed happened - the force of my sneeze had smashed the shell covered chocolate bites to smithereens, which had then travelled, in the explosion, up my nasal passage and chocolate shell shrapnel from the blast was now lodged in my nose.

This was an hour ago. I have no idea how long this pain will last for, or how many preservatives lie in the sugar shell coating of a Minstrel disallowing it to break down naturally and more importantly, with speed. I had to share my experience with you in an attempt to save any other desk dwellers from potential pain, born from folly. NEVER SNEEZE WHEN EATING SUGAR SHELL COATED CHOCOLATES. 

My total was ten in my mouth before they all blew up. Minstrels are extreme - I’m advising pure caution and adult supervision when you’re eating them.

 

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

It is quite a sad state of affairs in this world we live in that so many people are quick to critisise when they see wrong but are not so quick to praise when they see good... in all aspects of life. Telling someone you love that you appreciate the way that they look be it after a few hours of pampering or messing around in jeans and an old tee, should make them grin. Share this with someone that you want to make smile today...

C x

A little thought that turned into a bit of writing...

Love and rainbows were in my dreams last night - prompted me to think of this. Share it if you like it!

Have a sweet week...

Here's to a good week people...

C x

I did it.... big smiles as I hit 80,000 words

Well my target of 80,000 words was reached with a cry of elation, and the superb bottle of chilled to perfection Pouilly Fuissé was finally guzzled in honour of the occasion. 

I have a list of a few extra events that need to be written into the story and then the process of refining and chopping begins...

This will no doubt see me tearing my hair out and sleeping with my thesaurus under my pillow, but then without the frustration there would be no ultimate satisfaction so bring it on! 

Thank you to everyone that has sent me so many lovely encouraging messages over the past six weeks. It's been the most incredible experience to finally do something that I dreamt about for years. I'm sure I'll write about the whole process in more depth but for now I'm going to give my numb fingers a well-earned break and top up my glass.

57,000 words and counting...

Well I hit this today - got to do another 3,000 to be at my target of 20,000 words per week. 

Storylines and characters have evolved and I love the things they do that surprise me. It's been a mental battle some days to overcome my own emotions and ensure that the characters are talking for themselves, whilst injecting a little of the Cherry philosophy into them of course...

I've never written this much in my life. I saw this on Pinterest and re-pinned it but just in case you haven't seen it I thought I'd share it. Making your dreams a reality is all about how you approach achieving them...click on the image and it'll take you to the rest of my board entitled 'Wisdom and smiles.'

Cherry x

 

Week one milestone reached!

Well today has been a fantastic day - at 15:50 I reached my first 20,000 words. I was hoping to do this amount each week. Yesterday I couldn't get focussed and I was stressed out. Suddenly looking down and seeing that I had surpassed it today, felt amazing!

 

 

This week I've spent time developing my main characters, thinking about where they're from, their pasts and the effect that they're going to have on each other in the story. I spent a day and a half detailing this all out in a map form. I then started writing. I have a big notepad next to me at all times to write down extra bits that I need to remind myself to work into the original story.

It's funny realising more and more that you want to include - it feels like the more you write the more you have to say. It makes me smile as I am acutely aware that this is a brand new process and I'm just so happy to be doing it.

In the past when I've summed up my plot line it's only taken me thirty seconds and 100 words to cover it - to take that notion and broaden and develop it is quite a challenge. It's such an interesting concept to develop these characters and make decisions for them that I believe they would take themselves.

To celebrate my first milestone I enjoyed some scrumptious smoked salmon, cream cheese and olives in the sun on the balcony and gave myself an hour off...

For the week ahead I need to embellish on their thought processes to further develop how a potential reader would bond with them when they're placed into the situations that I'm giving them to deal with.

I saved this image in my Pinterest board ages ago and it's very true - lose any doubt and get cracking on a dream...

Till next time folks...Cherry x

Bit of news... about me!

It's time to share a decision that I made recently with you...

I've been writing since I was little girl - whether it was stories for my mum and dad or filling notepads with fairytales and fantasies.

Life dealt me a curveball, well a few of them actually, in December and last month posed the perfect time for me to escape to a warmer climate to hideaway in a beautiful villa and create an idea for a story that came to me eight years ago. 

Sometimes you just have to look at what life throws at you, turn grey blotches into silver linings and leap at opportunities whilst taking a big breath.

I don't know how it's going to turn out but after just one week of writing and figuring out plotlines and developing characters I can honestly say it's turning out to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Even if it never finds its way onto book shelves I can know that I've done it and that, in essence, bodes well for a contented life.

I'm going to chart my progress, share my process and above all my inspiration to actively fulfill a dream, and who knows, maybe it will push you to going for it yourself. You only live once you know and life is short...