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 |   Originally efforts for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge in July... now just a blog |
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The 30 Day Blogging Challenge ..... lets see how far I get... Pretty far it seems! Winner (1st place) for the July 2013 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Second place for the September 2014 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" |
  I was, somehow, sucked into taking part in a twelve days of Christmas soundtrack blogging thingy. I’m hoping I can pull this off without getting to stupid about it. I say that because, normally, when I do blogging challenges, or in fact anything based on prompts, I either get obsessive or I write ridiculous things – or both. This time, I’m going to take a casual approach. If that is even possible! I have spent 90% of today in a workshop watching my wheelchair get fixed. Had I have known it was going to take so long, I would have taken myself off on a drive. Although, knowing my luck, I would have become desperate for the loo and been unable to park close enough to a toilet for me to be able to hobble in. Just saying! I could have also spent the time writing; this blog post or, indeed, anything else. Alas, I didn’t do that either. Instead, I just sat watching and debating with myself about which song to go with first. After hours of deliberation, I’ve decided not to go with an extremely daft song – that will come later. Nor have I chosen a soppy song, or a Cliff Richard song. Nope, I’ve decided that, as it is relatively early on in the festive period, I’m going to ease my readers in. Fire up the festive spirit a little. Step into Christmas, if you will… [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Did you know…  "Step into Christmas" was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was a stand-alone single in November 1973 with the song "Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas)" as the B-side. It only got to No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the single reached No. 56 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. Two versions of the song, with different vocals exist.Final word: Its unfortunate really, but one cannot "step" into Christmas. So, the song title choice is a bit daft! Oh well! -- |
 Today was one of those days. Here's what's irritated me:  I'm self-employed. I don't get paid until I do a job, even then I have to wait a month to get the money (jobs I do in December are paid for in January). So, cancelling me a day before I'm due, is NOT cool. It's Christmas, dude! I'm not working enough this month as it is. Bad star ratings for my writing without good reason. This is not really a 'today' thing, just in general. saying "I love this piece" then giving just three stars? Really? Not cool! Especially when the piece already has three 5 star reviews. Give me something to work with, at least. Prezi. I love Prezi, But today, we fell out. Big time! The other day, I was clearing up my MacBook Air - it only has 250gb so I don't want it filling up too much. I found tons of photos that were all multiplied by fifteen. That's unnecessary, I thought. Delete! Then I found a stack of files that were not connected to anything and looked a bit too dodgy for my liking. Delete!Today, about 10 minutes before heading out to a job, I loaded up Prezi (I use the desktop version). Nothing! 90% of my presentations were empty, including the one I needed for today. I managed to cobble something together, but now I have to rewrite all my presentations. There's two tenuous positives to this. Firstly, I get to rewrite and freshen up my material. Secondly, at least I'm not working much this month! Good Luck Bad Luck! There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows? Everything that seems on the surface to be an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the surface may really be an evil. So we are wise when we leave it to God to decide what is good fortune and what misfortune, and thank him that all things turn out for good with those who love him. Author Unknown |
 Two things have happened in recent days that have made me realise why I write. Well, actually one thing. But the second perpetuated my thoughts, in a way. Many people, who know me or have read my blog, will already know that I am disabled. Ordinarily, my impairment doesn’t bother me. I quite like it really, it makes me interesting – it gives me stories to tell and gives others something to talk about. However, I think it often bothers other people, or perhaps confuses them. Oh well! You see, I have Cerebral Palsy (CP) and, I think, if I’m completely honest, my impairment is quite severe. Or, at least, it should be. I feel very fortunate because, as a child, my parents were extremely encouraging and I am far more independent as the prognosis probably would have suggested. So, obviously, my attitude to impairment and life is a positive one. I have no problem living life and doing whatever I want or need to achieve my goals. I’m not one to blow my own trumpet too much, but I’ve achieved a lot of my goals. The trouble is, society. I feel people’s eyes on me all the time, sometimes watching in surprise as I do things they’d never expect someone like me to do. I am patronised nearly every day, and I am forever fighting the urge to shout, “I have two high class degrees for god sake, and technically my title is ‘Dr’!” But, of course I never do. My day job is a public speaker. As someone with a speech impairment, I am fully aware of the irony of this. Its nerve racking at times, but once I get the audience on side, they will be able to understand every word. However, when I first arrive at the majority of jobs, I see the organisers looking confused as if to say, “who the hell did we book? How will this work?” Obviously, I’m good at my job, so their opinions always change by the time I leave. So, what has this got to do with writing? Well, to start, I’ve always loved writing. I’m not bad at it, I don’t think. I was always happy writing essays and reports. Now, I love creative writing even more. I used to write loads of stories and poems, but stopped because I was told it was daft. I started again a few years ago, on and off, and more recently, I just can’t stop: I write something nearly every day, at least. I spend a lot of time on WDC where I have made loads of friends from all over the word. They know and like me (I hope) simply through words on a screen. Many of them know about my impairment, but no one cares. They can’t see/hear it. I can make a new friend without needing to break down any barriers. If they like my work, they like the words. I do not need to prove that my impairment doesn’t affect my ability, because as longs as I can type and think the words go down. Anyway, the other day I was writing Christmas cards to people on here, my lovely writing friends. Now, I may be able to write but my hand-writing is truly shocking. It’s not my fault, its an impairment thing. But as I was going through them, a thought occurred to me. I found myself thinking, “they’ll see a piece of the real me.” Don’t get me wrong; I’m not embarrassed about being disabled; far from it, as I said earlier. I just realised that it’s quite nice to hide behind words, sometimes. However, if I was that bothered the cards wouldn’t have gone out. This is merely an example that illustrates my point. With words, I can fly freely without explanation or needing to convince anyone I can do the job. I just get on and do it. If people don’t like those words, that’s fine. But it’s going to be a personal preference, rather than because they’ve judged me before I’ve started. The second thing didn’t so much make me realise anything I didn’t know, it just compounded the ‘Christmas card’ realisation. I was in Starbucks, where I queued for about a day, and when I ordered my coffee, I heard a woman behind me say, “wow! That’s brave!” She was talking about me ordering with a speech impairment, it was obvious – I wasn’t being paranoid, I swear. There was definitely an “if only you knew,” scream in my head. |
| I was asked to do a interview for a magazine, so I thought I'd share my answers with you all. If I could bring about change, I would… Deliver thousands of workshops to teach the world about disability and impairment to rid society of prejudice and misconception. Oo oo and encourage more people to try their hand at writing and reading for pleasure. Nobody knows this, but… I spend all my free time writing poems and stories. I’ve nearly finished my first novel. (technically loads of people know this, but shhh) I wouldn’t be where I am now without… The support I get from numerous people, especially my mum and now my husband. The last concert (gig) I went to was… Ooh that’s sad that I cant remember. I must go to more gigs! I used to go to loads, maybe I’m getting old. I often dream about… My next challenges and succeeding. Winning, basically. My heart was broken by… Most recently? By a box of Heroes… they’ve removed Crunchies (the best one) and replaced them with Toblerones (yuck!). Why would anyone do such a thing? The last time I cried was… At my wedding in July: I swore I wouldn’t cry but I failed at my attempts. (this is a lie; I've cried since then, but I'm not going to be THAT honest in a national magazine!) My ultimate indulgence is… Chocolate. Just chocolate… lots of it, too. My ideal dinner party guests would be… Nelson Mandela, Stephen King, Queen (the band) and Big Bird. Before I die, I want to… Ooh I want to do lots of things before I die! Publish a book, see the world, change the lives of others (for the better, obviously), and maybe bring up an amazing child! Not much, really. The biggest lesson life has taught me is… You have to be passionate and a little stubborn to get what you want. Life will put obstacles in the way that will make you think about giving up: don’t! Keep going! My favourite way to relax is… With books; I love to read and on a good day I can read entire books in one sitting. My favourite book/ film is… To Kill a Mockingbird is my favourite book, and it is probably my favourite film too. Although, I am a big Harry Potter geek too. If I wasn’t doing this I’d be… Well, currently I am working in schools to motivate students, and working with charities too. I feel like I have a great life because every day is different. I don’t ever want to change. But, if I had to, I would like to dedicate myself, full time, to one of the many amazing charities we have in this world. The hardest thing I’ve had to do is… Oh, I think it might be a tie between swimming with a very severe shoulder injury at the Beijing Paralympics and deciding to retire just a year before London 2012. I owe my parents … Technically, my life! My heroes are… It sounds a bit cheesy but my sporting heroes are all the members of the British Paralympic swim team (past and present) I swam with because they inspired me to be successful. My writing hero is Stephen King – I wish I could fire out novels like him. Following Rebecca Adlington’s decision to go into the jungle on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, would I, if asked, prefer to go on Strictly Come Dancing or the jungle programme?... I’d definitely go into I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. I think I’d love it. If I could spend my fantasy 24 hours in any way I wished with no restriction on travel, how would I spend it? Doing a whistle-stop tour of all the beautiful places in the world I have yet to see and eating lots of ridiculously tasty food! |
 ![Merit Badge in Nano Winner
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On behalf of the [Link To Item #1546312] , congratulations on successfully completing NaNoWriMo 2014!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Nano_Winner-2180.gif) ![Merit Badge in Congratulations
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I am so proud and happy to have been a member of the Pink team! No matter where we placed as a team in this contest, we all rocked the challenge!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Congratulations-2500.gif) ![Merit Badge in NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon
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On behalf of the [Link To Item #1546312] , congratulations on crossing the "century" mark for NaNoWriMo 2014... 100,000+ combined words written and GPs donated! You are a Write-A-Thon juggernaut!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-NaNoWriMo_Write=45A=45Thon-1546311_12.gif) I took part in my first ever NaNnoWriMo this year. I planned every detail out in October, but still I didn't think I could do it. My novel is not quite finished and it needs a lot of editing, but I hit 50,000 words with 32 hours to spare. I'm so incredibly proud of myself and I learned a lot from the process. Here are the 10 things I learned from doing NaNnoWriMo:  I am more than capable of writing a story over 1000 words. Honestly, that was previous highest word count for a story! I eat more junk and drink more coffee when I'm writing. 50,000 words in 30 days is not that hard if you break it down with daily targets. If anything uses the term win/winner, I will do it. I am highly competitive and, now, a NaNo winner. My writing.com friends are awesomely supportive. I am able to tell a story well. But seriously need to work on 'showing'. I really want to give up my day job and just write. That's not something I'll be doing any time soon. I can write a novel without my hand dropping off. I only type with one hand and I have wrist problems. But I got very little pain. I didn't even use Dragon Dictate. Its great to do something so big with so many other people! Quite fun really. I would probably do it all again. |
 Write at least 2000 words to get back on the NaNo track Take wheelchair to get looked at - its literally falling apart Try and write one review Put a few poems in my port Decide whether or not to go to Manchester (4hrs away) for the weekend to volunteer at a swimming competition... I'm currently thinking no! Definitely update "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge"  Doesn't look like loads but it'll keep me busy for sure  |
Hey  I thought I would take some time out from thinking about NaNoing to write a quick blog post. I'm feeling a little fragile this morning so please don't judge me if this post involves a little self-pity. I might also talk about the things I've won recently to make myself feel better. My foot is still a bit of a mess from being cast in a stupid position for 10 weeks. But now its more about strength of the muscles than pain. Which is good since I am starting to be able to walk on it a bit. Thank goodness. I've also worked out a way to get my wheelchair on the back seat of my car and hobble to the driving seat. This is great, I need to drive to feel free and do my job properly. Its still going to be a long journey to getting back on my feet though. Unfortunately, for the second time this year, I have Labyrinthitis, which causes dizziness and the feeling of sea sickness. I've had it a lot over the years and I absolutely hate it. It has to be one of the worst feelings I've had. Yuck. But the main reason I'm feeling fragile is because I fell down our entire flight of stairs last night. I absolutely shit myself, if I'm honest. However, I did prove that my falling skills are amazing - my wheelchair was very close to the bottom of the stairs (breaks on) and I manage to avoid hitting metal and made my legs go through the middle of the foot plates. Impressive huh? My chair is not exactly forgiving, so I imagine that my foot might not be as healed as it is now, had I have hit the chair. I feel very shaky this morning. I can’t decide if I’m shaky because of the fall or the labyrinthitis! In general, I'm not sure how I feel. I don't feel like work is going as well as I like. I keep remembering that I have tons of emails to get through, but I'm just being incredibly slow and un organised. This is not like me (in the real world). I'm also struggling to get school bookings in. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I've needed a slow start this term. But money is money. The past few months have made me think that I may need to get myself a part time contracted job with a bit of security. Soooo... I've been doing a new CV for myself. I have found a job that I have absolutely no chance of getting but it looks good so I'm going for it. Aim for the stars and all that! .So, there are lots of things I am not happy with at the moment and a few things I am happy with! One of the things I am definitely happy with is my writing! If breaking my foot did anything positive, it made me sit down and just write! I've finally started getting stuff down that I actually like.  I'm 31,000 words into NaNo - I am so proud of this fact that I can't even put it into words. This morning I woke up to discover that I'd won "The Lighthouse Poetry Contest" - I forgot I even entered it, but I got 1st place for:
I won 2nd place in the "Interview yourself" contest:
I won 2nd place in "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" ![Merit Badge in Special Appreciation
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For your outstanding blogging efforts in the September 30 Day Blog Challenge.
Norb and Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/WDC-Special_Appreciation-40_40.gif) I also won 2nd place in "Invalid Item" - I don't have my prizes to show off yet but, again, I was very proud of this win as there were some skilful poets involved!To Do List  Finish NaNo  Update "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge"  I'm so behind with this its stupid! Enter one more contest before 30th November Write 4 more reviews before 30th November Post 10 poems into my port before 30th November |
| Hi guys, I thought I would write a final blog before NaNo begins. Really I am doing this to practice using Dragon dictate. I should have really practised much more - as in not just two days before I attempt the biggest project I have ever done. Oh Well, I clearly got far too engrosed in coming up with my story. This is the main reason I am so scared about the project. I do not doubt that I have 50,000 words in me - in fact I probably have hundreds of thousands of words in me - that isn't a problem. No, the bit that concerns me is actually creating those words down on paper or the screen. I cannot type too much because I end up getting wrist pain. I also have a speech impairment, so DragonDictate doesn't like me as much as it would like Joe Bloggs. Therefore, I find myself correcting the dictation more often than I would like when I am planning to write a novel. Hence why I said I shouldn't have practised much more than I have done. Silly girl! Yesterday I put together all my novel preparation into a highly organised folder, which makes me very happy indeed. I do not have OCD but I definitely have OCD tendencies. I also managed to finish all the goals I set myself for October over at slave drivers Inc. Unfortunately, I am slightly concerned because I set myself the same goals for November as well. I did this before I decided to take on NaNo. So, on top of trying to write 50,000 words, I also have to write 10 Poems, five reviews and also enter two contests. The poems shouldn't be too difficult because all my novel chapters will be starting with either an Haiku or a Senryu. I am not saying they are easy to write, I just mean that I would probably hit that goal anyway. The reviews always feel like they will take longer than they actually do. So I guess that shouldn't be too much of a big deal either. Yesterday I wrote three reviews in about an hour or so. I'm sure my novel will allow me that time The two contest -I am not really sure what they will be. Does taking part in NaNo count as a contest? Maybe? Also, I think it is possible that I may have forgotten that I have a job! Haha. Mind you, I am only doing six or seven full days this month so I guess that is also doable. You can probably tell that I am trying to convince myself that I haven't taken on too much. I'll let you know whether I did or not at the end of the month! We shall see! Okay so a this business as possible, the dictation has become easier and easier to deal with. Maybe this is possible after all. My other problem with dictation in that I don't like the fact that other people might hear what I am saying. But that is just something that I will need to get over. I will also need to keep a keen eye out for all punctuation otherwise I will need to edit like crazy once I am finished. Anyways, this blog has turned into a whole load of nothingness. Therefore, I will end here and just say: to those people taking part in NaNo - good luck, I will cheer you on as long as you cheer me on. To those people not taking part in NaNo - good luck dealing with all of us that are! |
| My head still feels a little scrambled and I really need to sort this out. I really really want to do NaNo this year. I've done SO much prep so far, which I'm proud of. But I still have tons to do! So, I thought I'd write myself some to-do lists to make my self aware of where I'm up to. No neeed for anyone else to read this - its just dull Official NaNo prep:  Cultural setting + bonus (20th) } Outline 3 + bonus (22nd) Setting description + bonus (23rd) Minor #2 profile + bonus (24th) - accidentally logged this instead of 21st so log as 21st when done Plot back story (25th) Market description + bonus (27th) Brainstorming (28th) Outline 4 + bonus (29th) Protagonist change + bonus (30th) Premise revision + bonus (31st)Fran's Perfectionist Prep: Finish reading Outlining Your Novel by K.M Wieland Do any of the suggestions I think might be useful from that book Look through the other books I bought to help me with this Type up all hand written notes and brainstorms Complete 3 more setting profiles Complete 7 more detailed character profiles Create three more "rules" Map out Marrowstone Make sure my outline is as detailed as possible and air tight Practice more on Dragon dictate otherwise 50,000 words ain't going to be written Work out writing timetable - work out other commitments Vs. free time Print out all prep and put into a very organised folder that is easy to flick through Sort out desk and make sure everything is organised and ready to goOther goals/commitments: } Give out MBs for "Merit Badge Projects" Come up with new projects for "Merit Badge Projects" Update "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" at the end of the month Write four new poems by 31st October Do five reviews by 31st October - great way to practice on Dragon Dictate (probably get done this saturday for "Merit Badge Projects" entries) Reply to lots of emailsLots to doooo! |
| Hi guys, I’ve not blogged in a while. To be honest, it wasn’t my intention to blog now. But, my brain feels like mush so I thought I’d attempt to wake it up. I hope it works. My head is a little scrambled at the moment. I’ve just started new meds, which really are not helping my brain. The common use for these meds is depression, but I’ve been given them for pain. Gahhh… I’m just so tired and cannot think. I’m a little disappointed. I was doing really well with NaNo prep and was beginning to actually believe I could write the novel. But now I’m not sure! I’m still in the running but I’m behind by about four days. My emotions are just in tatters too! I’m not depressed. Therefore, I think the “anti-depressants” are making me craaaaazy… No! Come on Fran … you can do this… My to-do list:  Get brain to work Catch up with "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" - the guys over there probably hate me by now Catch up with NaNo prep… 4 days catch up then continue Write 4 poems by the end of October Write 5 reviews by the end of October |
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