Having been ill, and having had a less than stellar week, I have fallen behind on the work front, and this post is not about writing much at all…
I have a lot to do before the Listening Lunch, and have to get some work done before my next writing group (which was deferred by a week and I’m still behind!) so I’m feeling a little under pressure. I also have a number of tasks to get done by next weekend that are to do with other events so I should have worked really hard this weekend.
Instead, I spent Friday and Saturday evenings huddled under a blanket on the sofa, with honey and lemon, throat sweets and crisps, watching Strictly Come Dancing.
Here’s a bit of fun for you from Saturday’s show – I enjoyed it immensely, and it was just what I needed!
The professional dancer here is Karen Hauer, a previous World Mambo champion no less. Her celebrity partner is Dave Myers. They are being judged in the studio, and being watched by millions – and they are laughing like drains. It is unbridled pleasure in what they are doing.
This is what I want to feel when I write. Whether it’s gone well, or badly; whether the pages are flowing or I am trapped in a cul-de-sac of plot devices, I want to remember this joy in what I do.
I am hoping that next week I’ll get back on track, and that the rest of this year will be a little smoother – but whether that’s true or not, I’ll be watching this video and remembering that joy is about how you approach a task, not whether the outcome is perfect.
In other news – I saw this gallery of Chinese paintings and it’s so beautiful it needs sharing. I love Chinese art because there is something in it that I find both beautiful and tranquil. It’s not just the art I find so inspirational though; I have tried to emulate a style of poetry I found in books of Chinese verse (and indeed in the novel ‘The Silk Road’) – I’ve tried twice now and I love the feel it gives to my work.
And finally – writing has barely been mentioned this week, so I thought I’d better introduce it here! I read this article about people not being able to name authors, and it got me thinking. Does it matter – other than for the author? If I’ve bought, read and enjoyed a book, does it matter if I can’t remember who wrote it? I did the quiz linked in the article and got full marks (for once :-)) but I haven’t read all the books; I read regularly and even if you just take the reading group books I can probably only remember the authors I’ve suggested – even after buying and reading the books. By all means read authors you enjoy, but that isn’t the only way to decide on a reading choice, surely…
Happy writing – and dance-watching!
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
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