I Should be on Holiday...

But I'm not.

After getting most of my office organised- apart from a few bits and pieces that are elsewhere and currently inaccessible- OH and I are on a big sort and reorganise session.

Now I know lots of this should have been done years ago, but young children take up time and it's only now that they are old enough to help (after all a lot of the items downstairs are actually theirs in the first place) and tolerate the disruption that the reorganisation is underway.

Among my discoveries are postcards from various museums I've visited, interesting rooms set out for specific occasions or time periods- and I now have a box for all my postcards, with room for more.

Old pictures and articles with interesting images or information- just the sort of stuff to inspire any writer. (And yes I have boxes for them too.)

There's a lot of old paperwork from the late 90's that is now shredded paper and gone to be recycled at the tip- known nowadays as the recycling centre.

As I've been sorting items they've brought back memories, incidents and people long gone, but not really forgotten. And I'm sure they will pop up in my future writing somewhere...

The six weeks between the end of July and early September has usually been the time when I could recharge my creative batteries that are on low by July, and I usually do research while I'm getting back to full charge.

This year is different, I'm getting organised.

It's the start of a new future...

In the Office...

I'm now relocated to my new office area at one end of the dining room.

There's still a lot of boxes to sort through, but my shelves are starting to fill up, and essential items are at hand.

Ever since we got broadband at home we've had a router (we're on our second one) and it's started to wear out, so at the end of last week I contacted our broadband supplier and moved to the latest device. Plus I asked if we could replace our old rental phone with a newer model, and yes we could do that too.

The new equipment arrived this morning, so I've got some reading to do before I start connecting anything.

Technology has moved on so much in the last five years and it will also improve the space available for the essentials.

I've still got a big box with books, manuscripts and stationery to empty and arrange on the shelves, so it's still a work in progress, but I can start working meanwhile.

I can now sit at the computer out of the way of the rest of the family, and sheltered from the everyday noise and movements through the house. And when the phone rings I'm there to answer.

And best of all I can't see the tv...

Moving Ahead...

And I mean that in many ways.

I've had my postcard acknowledgement back from Woman's Weekly, so I know my short story has arrived and is now in their system. So now I'm going to forget about it, until a yes or no letter arrives.

I'm getting very little quiet to write or even read at the moment, as my sons are taking their GCSE exams and are in and out of the house, or at home revising and relaxing, so my much valued peace during school hours is gone...

I've also got to start packing the remainder of my writing stuff up to put it into boxes ready for the weekend move. The computer will be moving position- as will some of our furniture-into different areas of the living room/dining room.

I'm hoping I can fit a filing cabinet in by the new desk area too, as I have a lot of papers that are currently sat in boxes and not accessible; likewise quite a few of my reference books are packed away and I'd like them on a shelf or at least stacked nearby.

The advantage of the new location means people moving around in the living room won't be close enough to distract me if I'm working, unlike currently.

With the Queen's Jubilee celebrations this weekend, plus the Monday and Tuesday Bank Holiday days it will give us plenty of time to get everything done.

And if that doesn't work and make me more productive, I may have to resort to a shed in the garden...

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?

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...