Soooo I will attempt to keep this from being a rant and raver over the state of the Young Adult novel market, so here it goes...
Since I can remember I have always loved reading and find pure joy and elation at being able to lift words from a book and see it play out in my imagination, bringing the characters to life and come to care for them through the pages. Some of my earliest memories are of Biff and Chip (primary school books that I'm sure some of you must have heard of ;) ) Kipper, The Worst Witch series and lots more.
Then Harry Potter exploded into my world and I immersed myself in the books! Hogwarts was so very real and in my heart of hearts I'm damn sure it exists really...right?!
Anyway I was thrilled when the films came out and as much as I enjoyed them, the books are far superior and I still re-read them annually. Fantastical, fresh, fun and ultimately believable. I loved each and every one of those characters, well with the exception of most of the Slytherin population anyway ;) Snape rules.
As I've got older I finally found books that indulged my love of history and fiction and one of my favourite authors for this genre has to be Phillippa Gregory. She is a fellow historian and uses facts and mythology to bring the stories to life which is fantastic! But every so often I like to dip back into the YA genre, just to see what is feeding the teenage population these days.
Here is the problem and hence why I am so despairing...today I found a list of YA novels being released this year and upon reading the blurbs my heart sank. There are almost no original ideas being brought forward, just the same old re-hash of pitiful girls going after the bad boys, a struggle between chasing the hot guy or saving the world, or the plain old love triangle - all revolve around tragic love. Now, I have no problem with the love element but when it becomes so prominent as to blur the real storyline then it is a pain.
Take for instance the Twilight Saga. I remember when it first arrived in the UK, pretty sure I was one of the first to read it in my school (yeah still proud of finding it first!) and loved the idea of it. It was new, a fresh spin on an old love story - Dracula meets Romeo and Juliet - it worked and sparked another phenomenon with teenage girls across the globe. Fair enough. But then there were The Vampire Diaries and True Blood and so many copycats and very quickly it became stale. A pattern is very definitely emerging in the genre of YA lit...or perhaps I'm not looking hard enough?
The Hunger Games is another example, the series is brilliant but was followed by Divergent which in comparison is another dystopian novel set in the future when the world has fallen into separate factions. Fine. But the writing is pretty awful, the characters are flat and I got half way through it realising that I wouldn't be investing in the remaining books. I finished it, I always try to stick at a book no matter how annoying it may be, just in case it contains a hidden surprise to save its face. No surprises here, it just didn't do it for me.
So back to this list...nothing on it grabbed my attention, inspired me or sparked my imagination. I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation that this was all that was on offer to the next generation of readers. Perhaps I have grown out of the YA genre altogether and simply won't be able to go back to a simpler view point that seems driven almost completely by hormonal lust? Heck I'll hold my hands up now and say I fell for Mr Cullen pretty hard, but how many times can teenage girls be expected to fall over at the next hot guy that sparkles??? There has got to be more substance to these books surely? Maybe I'm too fussy. I know that not every novel needs to be heavy going philosophical examination of the human condition - it would suck the fun out of life having that beaten over anyone's head, but come on people, enough of the silly love triangles. Give me some meat, some real conflict! Please?
Heh, I'll just have to write it myself? ;)
Friday, 7 February 2014
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Happy New Year!
A little bit of tradition to start off the New Year :-)
Robert Burns (1759–1796)
Letter to George Thomson, incorporating a manuscript of "Auld Lang Syne," September 1793
http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/AuldLangSyne/default.asp?id=9
Auld Lang Syne - Robert Burns, 1790s
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, (old)
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my Dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, (take)
For auld lang syne.
We twa hae run about the braes, (two, have, hills)
And pu't the gowans fine; (pulled/daisies)
But we've wander'd mony a weary foot, (many)
Sin auld lang syne. (since)
We twa hae paidlet i' the burn, (two/have/paddled/in/brook)
Frae mornin' sun till dine: (from/dinnertime)
But seas between us braid hae roar'd, (broad/have)
Sin auld lang syne. (since)
And there's a hand, my trusty feire, (friend)
And gie's a hand o' thine; (give us)
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught, (goodwill draft)
For auld lang syne.
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp, (buy/cup or tankard)
And surely I'll be mine; (buy)
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Robert Burns (1759–1796)
Letter to George Thomson, incorporating a manuscript of "Auld Lang Syne," September 1793
http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/AuldLangSyne/default.asp?id=9
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
New Year's Eve Thoughts
Well Christmas is over again for another 359 days and so far I have avoided the sales like the plague although my mum has fallen prey once again. There is something about the allure of huge red signs with giant white 'Sale' slogans that draws her like a moth, is it weakness? More habit and it's not one I want to get into, so I stay away from the marauding nut cases that prowl the shelves and rails, grabbing what they can regardless of size, shape or design! One of mum's favourite phrases is 'I've got to get it out of my system' and 'I'll treat myself' which turns into an excuse for a spending binge on things she bought on impulse...be warned, I'll admit to having also partaken in this guilty pleasure, although I'm curbing the urge to just spend spend spend! So I'm keeping an eye on two items in particular that I really would like but they are vastly out of my budget range - little hint they begin with the now immortal letter 'i'... I'll let you think about that for a second ;-)
Away from the spending lecture, and I'm feeling more and more as though I can carry on with the work in progress and I might even make it a New Year's Resolution and crack on with it in January before the day job gets busier and I need to focus on it. Of course I still have spare time, after work and the weekends but some how I lack motivation for those sensible times...my brain prefers to work in a darkened room in a silent house which in my little world means about 11 pm, pitch black, everyone else sound asleep and then suddenly an alarm goes off in my head and I'll lay awake for at least an hour. This usually involves mulling over the events of the day, the week, my family, my emotional stability and then if the muse is awake it will turn to the story still on the laptop but rather more dormant than I would like. So perhaps I should make more time and actually make a go of it. It's a cliché I know but I do dream of being published, either through the traditional route of finding an agent, publishing house, making a book deal (in my very deepest and darkest of dreams muhahahaha!) or via the now ever growing route of indie publishing both of which I am rather cautious about, having listened to many horror stories since I plugged into the wondrous world of writing way back in my early university days aka 2009 to be exact when the story that had been floating around in my sub-concious finally kicked in and forced it's way into my mind, demanding that I sit and write something down...I'm still proud of my nanowrimo efforts of 2012, plans for continuing the 2013 journey were stalled by the starting of the day job on, you got it, the very 1st of November! I was so nervous and wanted to focus on Getting Things Right, I decided to be sensible (there's that word again >.< ) and pushed the thoughts of nano out of my mind, whilst wistfully reading other's adventures on Facebook.
Obviously, I've come out of my shell hehe seeing as I'm writing this from the office computer, but I've done my filing, checked the emails and I'm all alone there's no one here beside me - ahem just a little Donkey moment there! - but you get the point.
I read an interesting article somewhere on the great wide web a few days ago, about inspiration being a mythical thing that really has little use in the writing world...I've heard other writers talk about the Craft and honing the skills of writing and mastering language before, but it struck me suddenly that it is the Craft I should be practising, not waiting around for the imaginary bolt of lightening that is inspiration, thrown with occasional accuracy by the elusive Muse. Practise I must, for like all things the tools grow rusty with lack of use, I must remember how to turn a phrase, make my characters come alive and dance to the tune of my choice - wish me luck as I wish you all the best of luck with your work in progress.
The family has a collective bout of cold and sniffles, thought I had escaped but it was not to be so I snuffled and sneezed through the past few days and dared to hope I would be back to health by the celebrations this evening. Thinking an afternoon cat nap will help prepare me for a long night of fun and games spent with our lovely neighbours as it's their last Christmas and New Year in our road, they move in just a few weeks time :-( We will be sad to see them go, in the 10 years we have known them they have let us into their circle and made us so welcome...refreshing in a time when community spirit seems to be dying out and a friendly face, kindly voice and helping hand are almost non-existant! It's at times like these when I begin to wonder that making a lot of noise and voicing opinions about The State Of Our Once Great Nation isn't enough. To quote of my favourite authors - you fantasy guys will recognise it for sure! - 'Words are wind' - just a lot of hot air which is no use to anyone! Why not set about helping, make yourself useful? The more I think about it, the more I think we, the great and terrible Youth Of Today, should be helping our elders and betters. We might be the future but we're certainly not doing anything to help our own futures, so in looking forwards perhaps we need to look back at what has been and the people that built our country in the last century or so? Food for thought definitely. Food. Energy. Money. Key things in our lives but how many of us, young and old, actually take into account how much we take and use? Do we think about what we can give back, put into the community, locally, nationally, at home and abroad? We need to pull together before the country falls apart. As such volunteering at local food banks would be a good way to start, it's something I've looked into very briefly. It may give me some satisfaction in knowing I'm helping out people who have been neglicted by the powers that be, but it also unites communities. Volunteer in a charity shop, soup kitchen, animal rescue, raise money for a good cause, raise the profile of something that matters to YOU.
That's my two cents anyway *jumps down from the soap box* I don't want to be adding to the surplus hot air so perhaps my New Year's Resolution should be to stop procrastinating, take the time to volunteer and take a stand no matter how small for something that matters to me?
Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful (I love public firework displays far too much for complete peace and quiet ;-) ) New Year! See you in 2014 in what I hope is a prosperous, peaceful and successful year for all!
Away from the spending lecture, and I'm feeling more and more as though I can carry on with the work in progress and I might even make it a New Year's Resolution and crack on with it in January before the day job gets busier and I need to focus on it. Of course I still have spare time, after work and the weekends but some how I lack motivation for those sensible times...my brain prefers to work in a darkened room in a silent house which in my little world means about 11 pm, pitch black, everyone else sound asleep and then suddenly an alarm goes off in my head and I'll lay awake for at least an hour. This usually involves mulling over the events of the day, the week, my family, my emotional stability and then if the muse is awake it will turn to the story still on the laptop but rather more dormant than I would like. So perhaps I should make more time and actually make a go of it. It's a cliché I know but I do dream of being published, either through the traditional route of finding an agent, publishing house, making a book deal (in my very deepest and darkest of dreams muhahahaha!) or via the now ever growing route of indie publishing both of which I am rather cautious about, having listened to many horror stories since I plugged into the wondrous world of writing way back in my early university days aka 2009 to be exact when the story that had been floating around in my sub-concious finally kicked in and forced it's way into my mind, demanding that I sit and write something down...I'm still proud of my nanowrimo efforts of 2012, plans for continuing the 2013 journey were stalled by the starting of the day job on, you got it, the very 1st of November! I was so nervous and wanted to focus on Getting Things Right, I decided to be sensible (there's that word again >.< ) and pushed the thoughts of nano out of my mind, whilst wistfully reading other's adventures on Facebook.
Obviously, I've come out of my shell hehe seeing as I'm writing this from the office computer, but I've done my filing, checked the emails and I'm all alone there's no one here beside me - ahem just a little Donkey moment there! - but you get the point.
I read an interesting article somewhere on the great wide web a few days ago, about inspiration being a mythical thing that really has little use in the writing world...I've heard other writers talk about the Craft and honing the skills of writing and mastering language before, but it struck me suddenly that it is the Craft I should be practising, not waiting around for the imaginary bolt of lightening that is inspiration, thrown with occasional accuracy by the elusive Muse. Practise I must, for like all things the tools grow rusty with lack of use, I must remember how to turn a phrase, make my characters come alive and dance to the tune of my choice - wish me luck as I wish you all the best of luck with your work in progress.
The family has a collective bout of cold and sniffles, thought I had escaped but it was not to be so I snuffled and sneezed through the past few days and dared to hope I would be back to health by the celebrations this evening. Thinking an afternoon cat nap will help prepare me for a long night of fun and games spent with our lovely neighbours as it's their last Christmas and New Year in our road, they move in just a few weeks time :-( We will be sad to see them go, in the 10 years we have known them they have let us into their circle and made us so welcome...refreshing in a time when community spirit seems to be dying out and a friendly face, kindly voice and helping hand are almost non-existant! It's at times like these when I begin to wonder that making a lot of noise and voicing opinions about The State Of Our Once Great Nation isn't enough. To quote of my favourite authors - you fantasy guys will recognise it for sure! - 'Words are wind' - just a lot of hot air which is no use to anyone! Why not set about helping, make yourself useful? The more I think about it, the more I think we, the great and terrible Youth Of Today, should be helping our elders and betters. We might be the future but we're certainly not doing anything to help our own futures, so in looking forwards perhaps we need to look back at what has been and the people that built our country in the last century or so? Food for thought definitely. Food. Energy. Money. Key things in our lives but how many of us, young and old, actually take into account how much we take and use? Do we think about what we can give back, put into the community, locally, nationally, at home and abroad? We need to pull together before the country falls apart. As such volunteering at local food banks would be a good way to start, it's something I've looked into very briefly. It may give me some satisfaction in knowing I'm helping out people who have been neglicted by the powers that be, but it also unites communities. Volunteer in a charity shop, soup kitchen, animal rescue, raise money for a good cause, raise the profile of something that matters to YOU.
That's my two cents anyway *jumps down from the soap box* I don't want to be adding to the surplus hot air so perhaps my New Year's Resolution should be to stop procrastinating, take the time to volunteer and take a stand no matter how small for something that matters to me?
Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful (I love public firework displays far too much for complete peace and quiet ;-) ) New Year! See you in 2014 in what I hope is a prosperous, peaceful and successful year for all!
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Technology, or rather the lack of!
I've taken my time in getting here I have to admit, but I think you can forgive me as I've been settling into my new job over the past couple of weeks! I thoroughly enjoyed my little role in our Christmas craft fair and met a lot of interesting people either exhibiting their goods or just visiting for the day :-) Hopefully I made myself useful and contributed to the running of the day!
Back at home I said a difficult goodbye to Jessie Bengal kitten last Monday. This had to be one of the most difficult litters we've ever had, Jeanie had three kittens in total and losing the little boy at a day old and then Fidget at 7 weeks was heartbreaking. So I grew very attached to little Pudding, she is a very special girl, but luckily she has found a lovely home with our close neighbour and I will be visiting when I can!
Anyway, I wanted to put my thoughts down about the abundance of technology surrounding our lives and the comparative lack of it in this house! We have a very old computer, by the standards of today at least, and the fan makes such a racket it's a distraction. The poor processor is getting slower and slower and I'll be surprised if it lasts into the new year...the big decision now is to get another desktop or replace it with a laptop which would suit everyone being portable with a bigger memory?
The interesting point here is that no one else has offered to replace it, they seem able to put up with the noise and sluggishness but it's driving me mad! So anything new will be brought under my own steam which is fine, I can finally start giving something back to my long suffering parents (hehe!) I may well "donate" this laptop which is very reliable to the use of the family or whomever gets their grubby mitts on it first, and look into getting a Lenovo Yoga for myself - I worship the design, size, portability and reliability of Lenovo and the Yoga just stands out of the crowd for me! I love how it can be folded open like a book, used as a tablet form and then back to the standard laptop; dynamic is not the word :-) The only downside is the price tag but I shall keep saving and see what happens.
In the mean time I am also attracted to an iPod as my MP3 player isn't up to much these days and my music collection has vastly outgrown the memory space. The debate this time is which iPod do I choose? Decisions, decisions! I think it's narrowed down to an iPod Touch 4th generation, 16gb suits me just fine and I like the fact it can download apps so I can still get radio channels on it *happy dance* and I have just placed a bid on ebay as I type so we shall see what the outcome is over the next few days. Still working on quite a tight budget especially in the run up to christmas and buying presents for friends and family.
And then of course there is the iPad. I resisted for as long as I could but the more I see them being used the more I really like the design and convenience of them. The iPad 2 is rather heavy for my liking but the screen size is perfect, so am thinking about the first iPad mini for size and weight. It's been recommended by a few friends so will be keeping a beady eye on good ol' ebay!
I had been looking at the iPad, Google Nexus and Galaxy Tab to start with, but came to the conclusion that the Nexus is a little limited in use and the Galaxy has mixed reviews and a much smaller memory than the other two tablets. For quality then I think Apple still reigns supreme but it does come at a significant cost to the purse...watch this space!
Back at home I said a difficult goodbye to Jessie Bengal kitten last Monday. This had to be one of the most difficult litters we've ever had, Jeanie had three kittens in total and losing the little boy at a day old and then Fidget at 7 weeks was heartbreaking. So I grew very attached to little Pudding, she is a very special girl, but luckily she has found a lovely home with our close neighbour and I will be visiting when I can!
Anyway, I wanted to put my thoughts down about the abundance of technology surrounding our lives and the comparative lack of it in this house! We have a very old computer, by the standards of today at least, and the fan makes such a racket it's a distraction. The poor processor is getting slower and slower and I'll be surprised if it lasts into the new year...the big decision now is to get another desktop or replace it with a laptop which would suit everyone being portable with a bigger memory?
The interesting point here is that no one else has offered to replace it, they seem able to put up with the noise and sluggishness but it's driving me mad! So anything new will be brought under my own steam which is fine, I can finally start giving something back to my long suffering parents (hehe!) I may well "donate" this laptop which is very reliable to the use of the family or whomever gets their grubby mitts on it first, and look into getting a Lenovo Yoga for myself - I worship the design, size, portability and reliability of Lenovo and the Yoga just stands out of the crowd for me! I love how it can be folded open like a book, used as a tablet form and then back to the standard laptop; dynamic is not the word :-) The only downside is the price tag but I shall keep saving and see what happens.
In the mean time I am also attracted to an iPod as my MP3 player isn't up to much these days and my music collection has vastly outgrown the memory space. The debate this time is which iPod do I choose? Decisions, decisions! I think it's narrowed down to an iPod Touch 4th generation, 16gb suits me just fine and I like the fact it can download apps so I can still get radio channels on it *happy dance* and I have just placed a bid on ebay as I type so we shall see what the outcome is over the next few days. Still working on quite a tight budget especially in the run up to christmas and buying presents for friends and family.
And then of course there is the iPad. I resisted for as long as I could but the more I see them being used the more I really like the design and convenience of them. The iPad 2 is rather heavy for my liking but the screen size is perfect, so am thinking about the first iPad mini for size and weight. It's been recommended by a few friends so will be keeping a beady eye on good ol' ebay!
I had been looking at the iPad, Google Nexus and Galaxy Tab to start with, but came to the conclusion that the Nexus is a little limited in use and the Galaxy has mixed reviews and a much smaller memory than the other two tablets. For quality then I think Apple still reigns supreme but it does come at a significant cost to the purse...watch this space!
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Half way up the stairs...
Life has suddenly and forcefully happened over the past few days, I thought things had been going a bit too well. Jeanie had her second litter in August, two babies on a Monday, one with fluid on his lungs and was very weak and we lost him at a day old :-( She then had another baby on the Wednesday (unheard of for us for such a long labour!) and this baby seemed very strong and the two survivors, both girls, pulled through and were very strong. Jeanie did a great job of looking after them, she's a brilliant mum. And then around 2 weeks old I realised the youngest kitten had a deformed ribcage, I have seen it before and heard about it, in some cases it can grow normally and in others it's permanent but the kittens can live a full and active life. As she grew, it became clear that this was a severe case and she was much slower to play and run around than her sister, finding eating difficult as we began to wean them at 5 weeks and her breathing grew more laboured. Then at 7 weeks she still wasn't eating unaided, we had to prompt her to drink and she would sit by the heater and watch her sister run around. Jeanie was still very attentive and hadn't abandoned her but she went down hill within a week and we made the sad decision to let her go on Friday 11th October; she was just 8 weeks old, despite our feeding her and keeping her as warm and comfortable as possible she wasn't doing at all well. Nicknamed Fidget at a few days old (because she could scoot around the nest so quickly!) she was a little character and so very sweet. I like to think she is running free at rainbow bridge, whole and well and happy. I miss her every day but I have her sister Pudding (she likes her food ;-) ) now named Jessie to keep me busy which I'm thankful for. Losing a kitten at a day old is bad enough but to lose another at 8 weeks is heart breaking and so difficult, in fact I considered giving up my hobby of breeding my cats altogether, the pain is horrendous when things go wrong. It still needs some serious thought. Sleep tight baby girl, we miss you so much!
And now it's taken a few days for all of us to process this and realise the permanence of our loss...we had to say goodbye to Bryn, our 13 year old Border Collie, on Monday 14th October. He had been very energetic a few days before hand and enjoyed a day outside with our other collies and my Dad on Saturday, even jumping up on to the sofa on his own (he had chronic hip dysplasia and had an operation as a youngster to remove the ball of the joint) so that was quite a feat for him at that age. It was a shock to see him Sunday morning laying quietly, eyes closed and barely able to move - we think he had a very severe stroke during the night which left him paralysed down his right side.
Letting him go was the kindest thing to do for him but it has broken my heart. I made the mistake of thinking he was always going to be around, in my mind he was invincible and didn't let his bad legs affect his life at all no matter how many times we told him to calm down, not to jump around or run like a mad thing! But he knew best of course!
I'm cherishing the memories and the fun we had competing in agility, he preferred to take his own course and make his way back to me but he was known for his sense of humour and it was wicked :-)
The hardest part is adjusting to life without him; the house with 3 Collies feels empty, and there is a very definite gap, he was always to be found on a sofa, in the Beagle's bed, laying by the front door or his very favourite seat - stretched out on the stairs, wedged in tight so anyone wanting to go up or downstairs had to step over him carefully, no way was he going to move! Half way up the stairs is the stairs where I sit, as my dad used to sing to him and it suited Bryn perfectly. I keep expecting to see him out of the corner of my eye or hear his bark demanding one of us fetches him from the second floor landing or to be let into my room! He loved sneaking into my room and making himself comfy on my bed and last year my new double bed...he would start laying down by my feet and in the morning I would wake up to him stretched out next to me with his head on the pillow :-)
And now it's taken a few days for all of us to process this and realise the permanence of our loss...we had to say goodbye to Bryn, our 13 year old Border Collie, on Monday 14th October. He had been very energetic a few days before hand and enjoyed a day outside with our other collies and my Dad on Saturday, even jumping up on to the sofa on his own (he had chronic hip dysplasia and had an operation as a youngster to remove the ball of the joint) so that was quite a feat for him at that age. It was a shock to see him Sunday morning laying quietly, eyes closed and barely able to move - we think he had a very severe stroke during the night which left him paralysed down his right side.
Letting him go was the kindest thing to do for him but it has broken my heart. I made the mistake of thinking he was always going to be around, in my mind he was invincible and didn't let his bad legs affect his life at all no matter how many times we told him to calm down, not to jump around or run like a mad thing! But he knew best of course!
I'm cherishing the memories and the fun we had competing in agility, he preferred to take his own course and make his way back to me but he was known for his sense of humour and it was wicked :-)
The hardest part is adjusting to life without him; the house with 3 Collies feels empty, and there is a very definite gap, he was always to be found on a sofa, in the Beagle's bed, laying by the front door or his very favourite seat - stretched out on the stairs, wedged in tight so anyone wanting to go up or downstairs had to step over him carefully, no way was he going to move! Half way up the stairs is the stairs where I sit, as my dad used to sing to him and it suited Bryn perfectly. I keep expecting to see him out of the corner of my eye or hear his bark demanding one of us fetches him from the second floor landing or to be let into my room! He loved sneaking into my room and making himself comfy on my bed and last year my new double bed...he would start laying down by my feet and in the morning I would wake up to him stretched out next to me with his head on the pillow :-)
This was March 2012 in our local park, Bryn on the left with Aussie on the right..so glad I managed to take some pictures on a gorgeous day of my beautiful boys.
Remembering two very special pets and members of our family, we miss them every day and I wish they were still with us, but I dream of them running free and happy at Rainbow Bridge with the rest of our pets from years gone by.
Bryn - Touchango Jesta Minute (1/04/2000 - 14/10/2013)
Fidget (21/08/2013 - 11/10/2013)
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Hold The Phone...
So it's a day later than I had planned but here it is at last, my fantastic announcement *drum roll* I have been offered a full time job! This is my first real job working in a team which is part of a much bigger company and I am thrilled that I was offered the position.
Initially I had sent in the application for weekend work and didn't expect a response, but I was emailed and asked to go to the interview. I was nervous, not gonna lie about it as it was my first serious interview, but after some prep talks with my lovely boyfriend I was ready and the day rolled around!
My goal was to answer the questions without tripping over my words, turning a pretty shade of beetroot or simply appearing to be a complete wet lettuce really and it actually went well :-) I came away feeling pleased that I had tried my very best, been myself and answered all of the questions without any problems. I was told to wait for a reply by the end of the week - insert nail biting week of waiting - I wasn't holding my breath though but lo and behold I had a phone call on Monday asking whether I would like the job! I was thrilled to say the least but then came the even more interesting part, would I like to interview for a full time position the next day? No brainer, of course! So off I went for a morning interview having looked over the job description an hour earlier so I had an idea of what I could talk about. Again it went well, I answered as best I could and felt I wasn't quite up to scratch but I was pleased they had asked me to try it out and that I had a good feeling about it. I left feeling elated, two interviews in as many weeks and both felt successful - result :-)
Then that very afternoon I received another phone call offering me the full time position and needless to say I accepted it and replied in writing today! *par-tay time*
It's taken a few days for it to sink in, I'm very excited and more than a little nervous but it's onwards and upwards from here :-) I couldn't have done it without the support of my boyfriend or my family, it means so much that they are there for me and I hope I can be there for them when they need me!
Initially I had sent in the application for weekend work and didn't expect a response, but I was emailed and asked to go to the interview. I was nervous, not gonna lie about it as it was my first serious interview, but after some prep talks with my lovely boyfriend I was ready and the day rolled around!
My goal was to answer the questions without tripping over my words, turning a pretty shade of beetroot or simply appearing to be a complete wet lettuce really and it actually went well :-) I came away feeling pleased that I had tried my very best, been myself and answered all of the questions without any problems. I was told to wait for a reply by the end of the week - insert nail biting week of waiting - I wasn't holding my breath though but lo and behold I had a phone call on Monday asking whether I would like the job! I was thrilled to say the least but then came the even more interesting part, would I like to interview for a full time position the next day? No brainer, of course! So off I went for a morning interview having looked over the job description an hour earlier so I had an idea of what I could talk about. Again it went well, I answered as best I could and felt I wasn't quite up to scratch but I was pleased they had asked me to try it out and that I had a good feeling about it. I left feeling elated, two interviews in as many weeks and both felt successful - result :-)
Then that very afternoon I received another phone call offering me the full time position and needless to say I accepted it and replied in writing today! *par-tay time*
It's taken a few days for it to sink in, I'm very excited and more than a little nervous but it's onwards and upwards from here :-) I couldn't have done it without the support of my boyfriend or my family, it means so much that they are there for me and I hope I can be there for them when they need me!
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Prep & Pep Talk!
Second post in one day, I must be ill! Oh wait, I do have a cold and seem to be suffering from fits of the giggles at random times of day for little or no reason but I'm blaming the coffee.
Looking back at past tweets or things I've clicked as a favourite and I think this is probably one of the most important ones so far; it's simple and to the point and makes sense instantly, no long winded advice, just pure simple sense.
It's something I've never thought of before, to literally put one word in front of the other and sort it out tomorrow. It suddenly shifted the mental block out of the way and shoved me forwards to the point where I am really looking forward to NaNoWriMo instead of dreading it. Fear is holding me back again and the same niggling doubts - am I good enough? do I have any writing ability? will I be able to fix it all tomorrow or simply throw in the towel? And this little quote found on twitter reassured me that I've come this far, got 60K under my belt from last years 'win' and all I need to do is repeat the process, dig down deep and produce the goods! I've done it before so there is no reason why I can't do it again. Right? You'd think so, but I really need to kick the fear out of the park or it will hold me back permanently. Who cares if my writing isn't up to scratch...it's called editing for a reason!
So if you're aiming for nanowrimo this year, I wish you lots of luck and we can get through this together :-)
Now, where's the coffee?
Looking back at past tweets or things I've clicked as a favourite and I think this is probably one of the most important ones so far; it's simple and to the point and makes sense instantly, no long winded advice, just pure simple sense.
Neil Gaiman's writing advice"mostly it's a process of putting one word after the other.Fix it tomorrow." @neilhimself...
— KateMaruyama (@KateMaruyama) September 14, 2013
It's something I've never thought of before, to literally put one word in front of the other and sort it out tomorrow. It suddenly shifted the mental block out of the way and shoved me forwards to the point where I am really looking forward to NaNoWriMo instead of dreading it. Fear is holding me back again and the same niggling doubts - am I good enough? do I have any writing ability? will I be able to fix it all tomorrow or simply throw in the towel? And this little quote found on twitter reassured me that I've come this far, got 60K under my belt from last years 'win' and all I need to do is repeat the process, dig down deep and produce the goods! I've done it before so there is no reason why I can't do it again. Right? You'd think so, but I really need to kick the fear out of the park or it will hold me back permanently. Who cares if my writing isn't up to scratch...it's called editing for a reason!
So if you're aiming for nanowrimo this year, I wish you lots of luck and we can get through this together :-)
Now, where's the coffee?
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