Freedom From The Mundane - A Writer's Blog

It is a day of sad news.

First, I woke to the news over the radio that Richard Whiteley OBE had died. He was the 'Face of Channel 4' and seemed to have been around forever presenting Countdown; a programme popular with students and grannies the UK over. His jokes were awful and his ties sometimes doubtful, but he always came across as a humourous and reliable man. It was a bit of a shock when the news came over and one or two radio presenters were choked at having to read it out. Terry Wogan was too upset to speak.

Richard Whiteley Tributes

Then, after having missed the Irish Derby at the Curragh yesterday, I read in the paper that Gypsy King was put down after the race after receiving a shoulder injury and falling out. Gypsy King was a popular horse and one I have backed several times of late so it is a real shame.

Irish Derby Report

The heat is still unbearable, as it has been for the last three days. It is stifling, my skin is burning up and I am sweating constantly. I must be attracting flies. It was too warm to sit inside, yet too warm to go outside in the sunlight.

There was work to be done around the house so I got no writing done other than some e-mail. Now that Laura is getting older she is able to stay up longer. Coupled with the fact it is almost the summer holidays and the nights last long, it is becoming impossible to find anywhere suitable to write and even harder to be able to start writing until after 10pm. Tonight was one of them nights and it is very, very frustrating.

I went to bed late and enjoyed the cool breeze of the warm summer night blowing through the curtains, and it occurred to me the amount of work I want to do, want to get through and experiment with, is cluttering my mind again. I think I'm not managing my time well enough. Apart from the obvious - getting the office completed - I need to create more hours in the day.

I'm more creative in the morning, yet I struggle to get up. So in response I write long into the night, thus making it even harder to pry myself out of bed the next day. Ideally, I would like to be able to survive on just a couple of hours sleep a night. I would get up at 5am and write until 9am. I would have my breakfast then go to work. I would then get some writing done in my lunch hour and when I come home I could spend time with the family (when they are in - I can hardly remember what Laura looks like she is out playing every night as soon as she gets home). Then after dinner I would chill for a bit, maybe read or watch the TV then write until about 3am.

I wish.

Maybe there's more than time issues going on here. Now that I think about it, could I be jealous of the time my wife and daughter have to themselves?

Gail has a good time; she does what she wants and I would never say to her she could never do something. She does her own thing and that's healthy. I want her to be happy. My only complaint would be that we don't get to do enough on OUR own but that's a story for another blog.

Laura has swimming, Brownies, dance classes and a huge group of new pals in the street, which makes her pretty much non-existent most of the time until either dinner is ready and you have to persuade her not to swallow the plate by accident, or when the ice-cream van comes and she wants money.

Socially, I can't complain much. I get a bevy with the lads on a Friday, watch the racing and have a laugh in Clark's Bar. The weekends away with the guys are always special - more so now because they hardly ever happen - so I tend to make the best of them when they do arrive. It's just that I am not getting enough time to myself to write, read and think about writing.

Part of this rant relates to one of the goals in my GDR for the year; to make people take me more seriously about my writing. It comes in waves but it's not there yet. Not by a long shot. The people who do take me seriously I talk freely and open with about it. The others, I close up when the subject comes round.

This blog is still in question too. Some people are still under the impression that my whole life and emotions are poured out onto these pages. Not so and I'm thinking about putting a disclaimer or something in the links section.

This blog is not a personal diary. It is the blog of a writer. It is the blog of someone who wants their life to be about nothing else. It is the blog of someone who doesn't get to talk enough about writing. Everything, is from a writer's point of view.

I do not talk about personal stuff, except for those things that infringe within my writing life or that are so personal they will remain so forever thus.

In short, just like the television, if you don't like what you see, then tune in to something else. Nobody is forced to read these words.

Now - on with the good stuff.

Project X. I thought long and hard about it and ended up confusing myself with it. I realised I am trying to force a character to come to life in my head, which is a complete waste of time. I have to wait for him or her to come to me. I believe that when they do, it will fall into place so I might as well get on with other things and bide my time. I have faith I will know when they arrive - it happened with Jackie.

Speaking of which, I sent off my character description of Jackie for the KIC Soap artisits sketch. I know it sounds odd, but I am quite nervous about the thought of having Jackie look back at me. He is going to be brought to life and I will see his face. I must finish the story tomorrow.

So much to do. So little time.

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