An Antsy Monday...

I usually find it difficult to write on a Monday. Basically it's the start on the week and there's a long to-do list- both writing and domestic. Then there's chores still hanging over from the weekend to complete.

Over the weekend I decided to do some baking and it went very well. Choc chip muffins, lemon drizzle cake and bread and butter pudding were made for individual family members. It's a way to use that creative buzz when there's no quiet to write- and often ideas and characters emerge when I'm cooking.

Then I had a mad urge to defrost the kitchen freezer on Sunday afternoon- there was enough ice to make bricks! In fact some of the pieces are still visible on the grass outside and they haven't melted yet...

I think this is just another part of my gradual process of getting better organised, so I can make the most of the time I do have to write.

My brain is whirling with so many ideas and thoughts at the moment that I can't settle. So I'm going to get through as many things as I can today, so tomorrow I'll be ready to sit down and get on with the important work- writing.

Do you have off days like this? What helps you get back on track?

Sleeping On It...

The last few days I've been trying to resolve a couple of issues.

I've been pondering how I can resolve the start of my Dorset novel without losing the elements I have that work and are needed- immediate setting and character elements. But those I don't want to lose, if I can absolutely avoid it, for getting that opening impact...

The deadline for the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition is the end of March, so I must get on with the changes I know I need, but as often happens another piece of writing is getting in the way...

So as I've settled down to sleep the last three or four nights I've told my mind to concentrate on the first chapter problem and forget anything else- repeating it two or three times as I relax.

And yes, my sub-conscious has sorted it out. I now know where I'm going...

Then strangely enough this afternoon as I sat looking at my computer screen just wondering if I could work out why I couldn't find the final 70 words for solving Jason's problem (this was the other piece of writing that I was supposed to forget).

It suddenly struck me that it was because Jason was in the wrong place. Yes the cabin had a bed in it, but there was no room for anyone to hide. But, if it was just a bedroom then I could add a dressing room and the problem could be resolved within my word limit.

Now you've probably guessed, that as I solved that issue and completed the 'story' in the 200 words allowed, I realised it's actually another 'inspiration scene' that will have to go into my story ideas folder for future development...

Just proves what happens when you sleep on it...

Novel or Short Story...

At the moment my brain is in novel, rather than short story mode. Though I find that when I'm working on longer pieces my new ideas seem to be short story related, and vice-versa.

As I mentioned previously I've been getting on with combining all the information on my characters for my novel (before I rewrite Chapter 1) and it's been helped along by using the odd twenty minutes or an hour (as available) working on the information, between other tasks.

(I'm still waiting for the competition comments- but I hope to get them from the prose secretary via the post, soon.)

While I can't write the novel without quiet, I've discovered that combining the scattered information doesn't need the same depth of concentration as actually writing the story does; so I'm making a little more progress than I expected. And the list of questions I'm answering has given me some insights into my characters that I wasn't previously aware of.

So meanwhile, my short story attempts are on hold, but I'll certainly be making a note of this useful blog post by Sally Quilford, 'The Key Elements of a Short Story', so I can check I'm not missing something when I get back to them...

Interested in Female Lifestyles in the 1930's?

If you enjoyed the recent centenary edition of Woman's Weekly then I think you will like the publication I discovered today.

Popping into WH Smiths to look at some knitting magazines, I passed by the display shelves where Vogue magazine lurks and was immediately attracted to a cover picture on a lower level of a glamorous and beautifully made-up young woman in a black hat, and wearing pearls. She clearly came from early last century.

It was difficult to tell if it was a magazine or just a soft paperback cover book from its appearance, but then I picked it up and realised it was the latter.

It was this book, although this is a link for the hardback copy it has the same cover image; the version in the newsagent's is much less expensive- £5.99. 'What Every Woman Wants: Lifestyle Lessons from the 1930's' by Christopher and Kirsty Hudson, Atlantic Publishing.

The contents are facsimile pictures and pages from The Daily Mail of the 1930's. The contents include cookery, household hints and lifestyle; while fashion and beauty feature throughout in the pictures, as well as individual chapters of their own. And not forgetting the advice given by the paper's Women's Bureau to their many correspondents.

Actually looking at some of the make-up advice being given, you realise that bronzing really isn't a modern cosmetic creation...

As with the the Woman's Weekly centenary issue, there was occasional dubious health advice given then too; but of course we know so much more about diet, and enlarged tonsils- I always wondered why I liked beetroot so much, and now I know why.

Even if you don't buy it for yourself, it's one of those items you'll love browsing through for nostalgia...

Saturday at Sally Quilford's Pocket Novel Workshop...

I had a busy Saturday attending Sally Quilford's first Pocket Novel Workshop in Chesterfield. Now it's not far from Nottingham, 30-40 minutes by train, so off I went. I have to admit I haven't been on a train for over 20 years, so initiously I was a bit anxious...

I needn't have worried, I arrived in one piece at Chesterfield and followed Sally's directions to get to the Market Hall building. Chesterfield is clearly a thriving market town and I'd like to visit another time.

Anyway I got to the room we would be in and Sally and her daughter were there to welcome us, and they provided tea, coffee and biscuits- as it had been an early start for all of us.

We were a mixed bunch of writers, from those who had an idea for a pocket novel, to those who were broadening their writing horizons- our number included two males.

Writers are always told to study their market, so we started with the differences between the My Weekly pn (pocket novels) and those produced by People's Friend. One big difference is 'kissing'; there's no kissing in the PF version, while the My Weekly pn editor is very happy with kissing (more about that shortly).

So we got down to some writing. First our heroine- we wrote about who she is, her background, description (if we knew what she looked like) and anything relevent.
And it's not easy if you don't already have a character in mind, or you do have a character but don't know anything about them yet.

We then repeated the process with out hero- I only had a name, but realised he was actually a character who'd been lurking in my mind for some time (I'd teamed him up with another heroine originally but realised they were not right together).

Our next task was conflict-both internal and external-  difficult when you don't know your characters well.

The secondary characters came next. I've found my secondary character usually acts as a support to both my hero and heroine, rather than one for each, or creating problems.

And finally the kissing scene. We all groaned at the thought of producing this. When you consider you've just started to discover your hero and heroine and then got to get them kissing without the normal lead in time...help!!!!

But we survived and all too soon the day was over- we did have a break for lunch, Sally was not that cruel...

We all learnt so much, but if you want to know, you'll have to find out from Sally. She hopes to do others if she can arrange them, and you can always contact her about her online workshop- see Sally's blog.

It was a great day and among Sally's suggestions were links on Womag writer's blog, the current  pocket novel guidelines and Douglas McPherson's interview with the My Weekly Pocket Novel Editor Maggie Seed (which originally appeared in Writers Forum ).

Why Do My Ideas Want To be Novels?

I had a slight problem the other day. A character that is going to be in my entry for the annual Mail on Sunday Novel Competition intruded into a piece of flash fiction I was writing. Suddenly Jennifer became Miranda- who on earth was Miranda? The character I was writing about at the time was most definitely a Jennifer...
Later that night as I was settling down to sleep Miranda explained who she was and that she was in my competition entry.

Now the competition mentioned above only requires 50-150 words of an opening to a novel with the word ROW used- fortunately the novel doesn't also have to be written, because if it did it would have to go on the waiting list...

This is where my problem starts- and this happens a lot now- what I think is going to be a short story will, by the time I've jotted down the ideas, have become part of a much larger and longer story. And I know from past experience that a story that goes that way just doesn't work by itself...

I know I should be glad that I have all these stories and characters buzzing around in my sub-conscious and I can fill my notebooks up with details to return to later, but I'm beginning to worry whether I can ever manage to come up with an idea that stays as a short story and doesn't want to be anything longer.

When I started seriously writing again- after many years of nothing-it was as much as I could do to write a 1,000 word short story, but as the years have gone by the natural length of my stories has increased: 1200-1300; 1,500 then 1,900 and now I'm having difficulty trying to get a story I've been working on to a 2,000 word length, when it actually needs to have another couple of hundred words, but it will then become an in-between length- not liked by some magazines...

Perhaps this is just a phase my writing is going through and in a few months I'll be coming up with nothing but short story ideas.

But at least I've got the ideas, so now I need to get on with some of them.

If you are interested in the start of a novel competition, Womag published the details on her blog last month, so go there. Good luck if you enter.

Inspiration from Family History...

If you've ever seen 'Who Do You Think You Are'  -on the BBC where a variety of actors, musicians and other well known people are shown following up their family history and revealing often moving stories about their ancestors- then you may already know what I'm going to talk about.

(There has even been an American version which was broadcast in the UK).

Now you may never have given your ancestry any thought, let alone done any family history research yourself, but it is a wonderful tool for novel ideas and starting points for finding out information.

In fact for a writer it is very easy to get side-tracked by the stories of other families rather than your own.

I have to admit that I leave the trawling of records to my OH as he is very good at it- though my family history is still struggling to move beyond the early 1800's (going backwards from the present day of course).

But sometimes gems are revealed in passing that you can't resist...

A bigamous marriage.

Very old photos perhaps with a name and an address, or maybe just an interesting face that weaves a story in your mind.

An old letter or a message on a postcard.

A marriage recorded- by Special Licence rather than Banns.

A death in strange circumstances and the resulting inquest.

The BBC has a page of photos The Nation's Scrapbook, with images submitted by people and covering a wide variety of subjects.

All just another method of sparking ideas. Though don't forget, the truth can actually be stranger than fiction...

The Hay Incident...

As mentioned in my last post here are a few photos of the hay bales that prevented me having a smooth running Friday last week.

The Hay Scene

I'm sure this can inspire a story, but I have too many others in my brain at the moment, so if this gives you an idea then go ahead...

The Hay Wizard

Personally I find images a great prompt for ideas. In July I did a mini workshop where we used postcards and yes, that story idea is still pending...

Some Victorian artists used their paintings to tell a story and you could take any aspect of such a painting to create a narrative.

Just because a scene is historical it doesn't mean you can't translate it to a modern day situation, and vice versa of course, you just make appropriate adjustments for the time period you're using.

How often do you actually stop and look at the minor details in the background of a painting or photograph?

There could be an interesting object, another painting or person caught in time by the artist or photographer. What you then do with that is up to you and your imagination.

Writers observe, even if we aren't consciously aware of it, we are gathering snippets that will eventually find their way into our writing.

So in the coming year I'm going to visit the art gallery at the Castle and see what inspiration is lurking on the walls...

Back to Reality...

Well I'm back to the computer today and have been able to get some writing done- hurray!!!!

Now I have to admit that I've not physically been here the last few days as I was away from home- an extended weekend break-as well as trying out the writing with pen and paper (in different locations).

What worked?

I tried writing on Scarborough beach on Sunday and did get one side of A4 done (I do have large handwriting though) but the temperature was 25 degrees and it was just too hot for me to concentrate.

Monday afternoon was better, I went into the bedroom and shut the door and managed an hour's writing, plus I found out something about my hero that will be very useful- it hadn't occurred to me when I was writing his character profile a few months ago...

So the four pages I managed were not a complete waste of time.

I have learnt:

I DO need quiet to write. It doesn't have to be complete silence but low level background noise that isn't intrusive is fine.

I do go into 'the zone' when I write at the computer. It is easier to put myself into that state where I am with my characters in their surroundings, watching and listening to their conversations.
With a pen and paper I couldn't do that properly, it was a superficial level.

Personally for me, using pen and paper to record ideas and scenes that come to me at any time, works, but I write better sat at the computer without interruptions.

I've been adding to my current work in progress this afternoon and incorporated some of the pen and paper insights from the weekend, so I'm satisfied with the progress I've made.

BUT I have a deadline, so there's still work to do yet...

The Poorly Computer...

Yes, my computer is sick and early next week it will be getting an big upgrade and my long minutes of waiting for image heavy pages to load will be over, no more waiting and waiting for the little hour glass to do something...

I like to read as many blogs as possible over the weekend, but I'm a bit limited at the moment, as not only am I in the middle of reorganising at home, among other things, the postcards are now in a pretty, larger box with plenty of room for new additions- but the washing machine is on the blink threatening to stop working completely- it's had a hard life with my family.

Last Saturday I came back from food shopping to find my OH had dragged the washing machine out of it's slot and was checking the pipes at the back, with a pile of wet washing in a laundry basket.
I'm glad to say he got it working again, but it keeps having stroppy spells- now that has given me an idea...

But anyway next week I will be discovering Windows7- and I hope by next Friday I'll be back surfing the web without any problem and catching up on the blogs I've been missing.

Technology and labour saving devices are great until they breaks down or get old...

Finally here is the writing related bit, I'm going to leave you with a blog to look at- Louise Wise-who has started a blog directory (by category) that you might like to peruse in the meantime.

Reorganising- I Found...

I've been getting on with the sorting out I mentioned recently.

There's been a lot of shredding and recycling going on in my house over the weekend and the bin for dry recyclables is filling up quickly, unfortunately it isn't due for emptying for another week.

I have to admit that I don't like throwing magazines and newspapers away. I will, but only after I've checked that I've removed interesting items for future reference- and of course they then sit there waiting to be used or filed for future use...

So in my effort to get organised and make space for these items I've started on the book shelves, well the cardboard magazine files that I started with some years ago. And as I realised when I pulled out the first one, it was some years ago- 2004-5... That's what happens when something is so tidy you forget it's there.

I went through a dozen magazines, cut out snippets, pages, stapled where needed and then discovered I'd run out of the thin clear plastic A4 covers.

Well I did find a few interesting items. A piece about Priest's Holes and a short list of properties that contain them. I'm considering if I can put one of these 17th C. examples to use in a story set in a later time period.

Another item about the changing face of beauty and the power beautiful women could wield as a result.
Clever women throughout history have gained power by using their looks and their bodies to get what they wanted, and who could blame them when men decided their futures, and usually their views weren't considered at all.

I think I'm going to need to have a box just for the items that spark ideas as I go through- thank goodness for post-it notes.

Next for cannibalising are the old family history type magazines, and I know there are always useful and inspiring articles in those.

So I've made a start. Now I just need to be ruthless...

To Short Story or Not To Short Story...

I'm having one of those moments. It's a bit like those self-doubt moments but not as bad.

When I first started writing short stories (seriously, rather than just for fun) it was as much as I could do to make 1000 words. The thought of a 2000 word story would have had me shaking my head in disbelief.

Over the years I've gradually increased that figure. First it was 1200, then 1500, 1800, 2000. But now my problem is trying to keep to under 2000 words. Basically I'm failing. I think my brain and fingers are working to their own plan and consider 2500+ quite okay.

My other difficulty is that my ideas just don't stay small enough, they keep wanting to turn into much bigger projects. Okay I won't be short of ideas but it isn't helping me write shorter stories.

Perhaps I let my imagination run away with my ideas and I need to exert more control.

Maybe I need to work on one of my longer projects for a while- it's happened that way before.

Perhaps some writers are short story writers and don't want to produce a novel, so it's not unreasonable to assume there will be some for whom the reverse is true and those who want to do both.

I want to do both, but I'm realistic enough to know that if I can't get the short story right, then a successful novel is going to be even more difficult.

Well, back to the short story editing.

One day, one day...

A Book to Help Me...

Well I hope it will...

I know a few writers (on a forum I contribute to) have mentioned Evan Marshall and his 'Section Sheets', so last week I had a look at Amazon to find out more. 'The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing' had a look inside option available, so I was able to see what the book covered and read an example.

I bought it from another online supplier in the end- and it popped through my letterbox this morning. So I'll be reading this over the next few days and making notes.

Back in January I got the feedback from the two novel competitions at the writers' club and it was clear that I had a problem with my characters- a character who was dead was the most interesting one and the others weren't too good- a bit flat.

I decided I needed a new approach and since then have been considering what I needed to do, but health issues have rather interfered with the process to date.

Meanwhile more ideas and characters have been stacking up. I know that's good in one way, as I'll have plenty of options to work on.

So I've resolved that as soon as I finish the current short story I'm editing- and get it sent off, I'm going to make a start on one of my longer ideas- a novella length.

I decided that the Plan just might help with my characterisation problems- and having only taken a brief flick through I can already see elements that will help me.

I know my strong area is dialogue, so I can concentrate on improving my weak points now.

I'll let you know if it works...

Have you had, or got, a weak spot in your writing? If you're willing to share, how have you tried or resolved that issue?

Now I'm off to start reading...

I'm Not Crazy- I'm a Writer...

Nothing heavy for my weekend post this time.

Most writers probably wouldn't admit to strangers/non-writers that they have people hanging around in their head holding conversations and generally trying to get attention, or admit to characters even being there.
It gets you strange and worried looks if you do...

Flash back to this Wednesday just gone...

It was manuscript night at the writers' club and I'd popped down to the bar for a top-up of fizzy apple before the meeting began. Since my accident I've found climbing the stairs very tiring in the evening, so I opted for return via the lift...

As I stood there waiting, a thought popped into my brain, then the door began to slide open and I saw a body slumped in the corner with a trail of blood running from his head- don't worry the lift was actually empty.

With only a momentary pause I returned upstairs and the first thing I did was grab my notebook and without thought said 'hold on I've just got to write down the body in the lift'. There were a few smiles and jokes in response.

That is one of the joys of being among a group of writers, you can say something like that aloud and it's considered quite normal... :-)

My only worry now is why did some unknown girl slug this reasonably attractive man round the head- it's now on my to consider list...

Anyone had any moments like this when they were in less understanding company?

The Time I got Flash Fiction Right...

Flash Fiction is becoming very popular, more competitions are using this format. Even the major Bridport Prize competition introduced a flash fiction category in 2010- and there's still time to enter the 2011 competition.

I have a problem with condensing a story into such a brief amount of words. Basically I am much better at writing longer pieces.

Personally if the idea inspires me then I might be able to do it, but often the problem is my ideas are too big and don't work when they're cut...

Whenever I try anything this short I refer back to my post of the 17th January this year where writer AJ Humpage kindly helped me out by explaining the essentials. You can find the link to her blog post on writing flash fiction, there.

I said I did get it right once-and as it is no longer available on the web- I'm going to post it here for you to read.

Now here's the inspiration for my story...

In 2007 all the awards ceremonies had a few celebrities wearing strapless dresses and hems that flowed out over their feet. I did wonder what would happen if someone foolishly stepped on their hem...

About a week or so after this I was listening to Radio 4 and an actress who had appeared in one of the early Star Trek episodes (the 1960's TV version) was recounting her costume disaster, it was fine until she breathed and moved, so the costume department used tape to keep her brief dress in place.

(I later discovered you can buy pre-cut tape to keep your clothes in situ, and it's great for low necklines that could expose too much flesh if you bend over. It's saved my embarrassment a few times.)

I was also inspired by a number of older well known lady celebrities who still look stunning despite their age- I'm not suggesting they went to Lola's extremes of course.

(The final line was plucked out of the air after the rest was written and got a laugh...)

The story appeared in print in the Winter 2007 edition of Scribe magazine, and between May 2010 and early May 2011 as an audio download (read by me) on the Nottingham Writers' Club website. (I even have my own MP3 copy).

(My pseudonym for the entry was Lola de Cortez.)

Positive Exposure

    When the work dried up I knew I had to do something. Who would know it was me doing the voice-over for Squeaky Clean washing up liquid?
     I made changes, finding a nice cosmetic surgeon in Harley Street; who reminded me of my third husband. I had a face lift; botox and breast enlargement, and it certainly got me noticed.
     I was booked for Parkinson, and then invited to present a BAFTA for the best Make-Up and Hair in a movie. I'd have liked something a bit more prominent, but there's always the Oscars.
     I looked amazing on the night, three inch heels, diamonds at my wrist and ears, complimenting those sweet little gems in my beehive. And the dress...a perfect grey strapless floor length silk. It was such a shame I had to tape myself into it.
     It wasn't that it didn't fit,well it was a teeny bit loose about the chest, but I couldn't let the opportunity go- it was reduced in the sales.
     Double-sided tape was all I needed, strategically placed; I even bronzed my shoulders and cleavage to give me a glow.
     If only that silly young man doing all the talking hadn't stepped on my hem. My dress parted company with my chest, and I was bared to the world.
    The next day the tabloids were covered with my moment of exposure, and I must say I looked good for 62.
     The headline blazed '60's Siren Coming Unstuck', and I've been working every day since.

© Carol Bevitt 2007

    

Rarely do I get such a ready-made character pop into my head, so Lola was obviously lurking, waiting to be written, just at the right time...

Back to Normal Soon

As you may know Blogger has been down and some blog posts are still missing.

I was intending to post Thursday evening, but could only read, not write posts because of this Blogger issue, so the weekend item will be a little late. Fortunately I'm not missing any posts...

I'm trying to decide which of my previously published items to show you and explain what inspired the story.

So I better go and decide...

A Picture Can Inspire a Thousand Words or More...

Yesterday I was looking at some photos taken while I was in Dorset a few years ago- it's a very scenic place to visit at any time of the year.

I often find that when I've taken a photo, concentrating on a scene or subject, something off to one side has been captured. It doesn't have anything to do with what I'm interested in, but later on those unexpected scenes set off the creative tingles...

Where've they gone?

I won't throw out magazines (recycle) until I've looked at each page for interesting faces, places or information I might find a use for later on. (My husband despairs and tries to throw things out when I'm not there to scream "stop!")

As it's the Easter holidays and next weekend the Royal Wedding and the May Day Bank Holiday, you might be out and visiting old houses or markets.

Guide books and postcards are great prompts for stories or for settings.

I have a few old postcards that I've picked up over the years- currently in a box that was put somewhere I can't remember...I must look it out.
(Postcard collecting is apparently a serious hobby and there are books about it.)

So here are a few photos for you that might inspire a story...

Stopped for lunch or something else?



Wait for me!







Creativity Strikes Anywhere...

I'm a bit late in posting my mid-week blog because I was at an open evening yesterday. One of my sons is looking at potential courses for autumn next year, so I went with him to the local further education college to find out about Computer Games Development.

Actually there are some similarities between creating a game and creating a story.They both start with ideas and inspirations. They need to be developed and if something doesn't work you go back a couple of stages and try something else, or make alterations to something you have that is good but just isn't quite right. You revise and fine tune until eventually the game/story is ready.

The only difference is that I can understand the terms used in writing, whereas gaming terminology goes completely over my head. I just sat there while my son and the tutor talked in phrases that meant very little to me... :-)

But it must have done some good because today my brain has been working.

Now I have always found cooking dinner to be a creative time- combining ingredients to make something delicious and satisfying.  So as I was putting together a chicken casserole two of my vague characters moved into my conscious. I now know the circumstances that gets them together, some of the back story and the conflicts. So now I need to find suitable names and what they look like...

Some writers report they get ideas develop when they're out walking, or even when they're ironing, so I've learnt to accept this as normal and not to let anyone or anything distract me until I've written it down. Hence the reason for notebooks in my handbag, by the television or near the computer...

So at least it's been a productive few days...

Colour and Me...

As the past few days have been very warm and extremely bright I've been out in the garden taking photos of all the tree and plant blossoms that have suddenly burst into life- okay I know that all the buds and flower heads started to burst into life a month or so ago, but you know what I mean, colour is suddenly everywhere...

(And sympathy if you are the part of the population who start sneezing, itching or having breathing problems the moment pollen starts rising.)

Cherry and Magnolia in my garden

Looking at the various shades of white from the assorted blossom it started me thinking how to describe such a basic colour. In the next-door neighbour's garden is a white Magnolia- I automatically think of the shade of paint when I hear the word magnolia- but it is a different shade of white to the cherry blossom, the former has tinges of pink while the latter reminds me of ground chalk (chalk was used for writing on blackboards when I was in school many years ago).

So I had a look at The Bookshelf Muse blog and viewed the list of words under White in the Colour Thesaurus but chalk wasn't mentioned- well they mostly use whiteboards in many schools now.

If I haven't mentioned this blog before it is worth bookmarking. I especially like the Settings Thesaurus, it has a lengthy selection, among which are a Casino, a Cryogenic Sleep Chamber and a Wood at Night. There's a setting for any genre.

I wonder what I might find in a fantasy Herbalists Shop? Hopefully not eye of newt or tongue of iguana, but then again...

Sadly the brightness didn't last and the dismal clouds arrived- no I'll leave the dirty dishwater description out of it I think and include a few blossom pictures so you can imagine the sunshine.



Open Magnolia blossom

Notebooks and the Subconscious...

If you're a writer you're likely to have a notebook in your bag or pocket-and a pen or pencil to write with. If you haven't, why not?

Even non-writers need to make notes sometimes.

Though I admit that I do know writers who use their phones to send an e-mail with those sudden bursts of inspiration, or even use a Dictaphone.

While I was waiting for an appointment this morning I thought I'd review what moments of insight I'd jotted down in the past year or two but hadn't looked at - okay, I admit the notebook contains as many pages with notes relating to names and phone numbers, plus other non-writing associated scribbles, but there are a few ideas, dialogue from my characters, all mixed among snippets of overheard remarks or sights seen.

But I did come across something which ran to three and a half sides of A5, though sadly at the bottom of the first side the words became an indecipherable scrawl as I was having a hypo at the time (a hypoglycemic reaction- low blood sugars).

I was surprised because the words have no mental visual images associated with them- which usually happens when I get an idea- so my mind is completely blank about them.

Here's what I jotted down that I can still read...

In the beginning we'd never believed Felicity would return. Return to this house of purity and truth.
Truth.
Truth had never been the purpose. It had been the desire to resolve the truth of that photo.
That so revealing photo of  Mathew and Mark. So engrossed in a romance of love and desire that they...

Sadly I will never know the answer to what I was writing as from then on as it becomes unreadable.

Now that it is in my mind, my sub-conscious may start working on it and eventually I will find out who Felicity is. Who, or what Mathew and Mark are to her and what IS so revealing about that photo? And who is the narrator telling the story?

I'm a great believer in letting my subconscious work on writing problems while I get on with other things and it usually works.

If I ever find out the answers and/or write the story, I'll let you know...

Edited to add: I wouldn't normally use repetition  in the way I have above, that's just what came from my pen at the time.