A Mental Takeover

When you take time off from your daily writing schedule to attend to other hobbies you have, be it gardening, scuba-diving, whatever, do you switch off truthfully from your writing persona?  I have been wondering about this lately because my hobbies outside of my writing are suffering big time. Now that I think of it, it is my writing life that is impacting on my hobbies. It has always been like this I know but ah, it’s got out of hand I tell you.

I walk in the mornings, and it is my chance to think and get my thoughts in order. I plan my day and think about family stuff and then without realising it I am thinking about the story I have not finished and my characters are talking to me. The plan for the day is pushed aside. I sometimes take my mp3 and listen to a mix of music and hey, presto, certain lyrics hit me that would make great titles for a novel. I can’t listen to a song without analysing the words.

Even when I am with friends chatting and having a good laugh, something that is said, gets stored in my head for future use in a story. Or I wonder what if, when I notice another event happening nearby in the café we are sitting in. It’s not that I am not paying attention when I’m with my friends or family, it’s that my head is storing all this information and I cannot allow it to be wasted. 

Going to the cinema, another thing I like to do. Yet I’m sitting there and mentally I am editing the film. Making suggestions to what they should have done, all in my head of course.

So my dear friends, any tips for me on a past-time that I can enjoy without my writing life butting in and jeopardising it? 

INTRODUCING POET, JACK BYRNE

Today I have the great honour in introducing to you, a wonderful person, poet, Jack Byrne. I really am thrilled to host Jack as I have been an admirer of his work for a long time. So let’s get started.

Mary Bradford: I know you as Jack, but I see you also called John, so which do I call you? 

Jack Byrne: Allow me to introduce myself, I’m John Byrne universally known as Jack. I am from a small village called Newtownmountkennedy in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. I’m getting a wee bit old now. I’m married to Valerie and I’ve been writing for more than ten years, mainly poetry in the traditional genre. I try my hand also at Oriental style poetry in the form of haiku, haiga and tanka. I have had relative success at being published in all the styles I’ve mentioned, both in Ireland and abroad. Thanks to you, Mary, I am striving to write short stories with some success.

MB: That is a kind thing to say Jack, thank you. But you are here to tell us about your latest project?

JB: My latest project is a step in to that great fast flowing river of published works, a chapbook of poetry titled ‘Roses and Rhyme'. Forty love poems, most in the traditional form with some tanka and haiku mixed in. I am excited about getting my work out there so to speak, reaching a new and wider audience. I believe by sharing my work, it will give me an indication of my works acceptance in general and boost connections with other writers and poets. So any writer/poet wanting to contact me please do so.

MB: Where does the inspiration for your poetry come from?

JB: The inspiration for the type of poetry I write, well, my answer would be life, in all its wonderful forms, human, insect, marine, creatures of the air, there is no end to inspiration, happiness or sadness, it’s all there to write about. My greatest influences in poetry mainly concern the genres which I write in, Francis Ledwidge and Katharine Tynan Hinkson for Traditional and Issa for Oriental works. 

MB: Where can a copy of your chapbook of poetry, ‘Roses and Rhyme’ be purchased?

JB: ‘Roses and Rhyme’ is available to purchase directly from me at present and I can be reached at the following links below. Price per copy is €10, including P&P.

Twitter:  @sirjackbee           Email: blackthorn@gmail.com 

MB: Finally Jack, you have a link where people can hear your poetry being read?

JB: Yes a sample of my work can be heard at the following link, https://audioboo.fm/users/113075/boos 

More than one style of Hangover!

Most of us have endured a hangover of the alcohol type or maybe even a chocolate binge headache at some stage. Reading my friends Blogspot about a word hangover she suffered it got me thinking can one have a driving hangover? You know the way you are on the road driving so much which I have been lately. I made three trips to Dublin from my home town (which is a round trip of 300 miles each time) in one week, not including in between shorter trips and so when you get to bed you can’t stretch your legs? The backs of my knees were aching; I couldn’t straighten my legs without being in agony. The same applied to my arms, in particular my elbows, from holding the steering wheel.

I was exhausted to say the least and like Marie in her blog post, she was longing to get the written word going again, I felt the need to drive the following day although my body begged to differ with my mind. Are we suckers for punishment? Maybe I need to learn my limits and live by them. So when you binge on whatever causes you to suffer the following day remember you are just having a hangover!

Check out Marie’s word hangover at the link below,

http://marieohalloran.blogspot.ie/2013/05/do-you-ever-suffer-word-hangovers.html

 

 

Toastmasters, Heart Surgery, Moving

In an earlier post in Feb 2013, I promised to share some interesting facts that not everyone knows about me. The idea came from a course that I attended at The Big Smoke Writing Factory (www.bigsmokewritingfactory.com ) led by Vanessa O’Loughlin. I shall tell you about 3 facts that I thought of when I finally sat down to do this exercise. More shall follow in another post I promise.

Fact #1

I hold a CC from Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org ). CC stands for Competent Communicator; it is achieved after completing a programme that involves giving 10 public speeches at Toastmasters meetings. I was a member of the Fáilte club in Charleville for many years. I have represented my club in competitions in different areas and I must say I enjoyed it. Being able to speak in public with confidence is a great asset for any writer. Reading your work out at workshops or in groups is not a big deal when you have experience in public speaking. This is where Toastmasters International is excellent. I have started an advanced course as in Toastmasters there are many challenges for members to set themselves. Go join your nearest club now, you won’t regret it.

Fact #2

Since leaving my parent’s home when I was 18 yrs old (and then marrying my hubby), I have moved home 4 times. That is a lot of packing and unpacking. It is true that moving house is stressful plus we did this with 4 young children thrown into the mix! I’m a bit of a collector so each time I moved there was more and more stuff to take with me. I even had boxes marked ‘new attic’ and that’s exactly where they went, from my old attic to the new one. Would I move again? One should never say never.

Fact#3

I had open-heart surgery on May 30th in 2008, I was in my forties. There is so much to say about this that I really don’t know where to begin. I have had viral meningitis when I was 19 yrs old and I had shoulder surgery since my heart op too. When I was 7/8 yrs old, I tried to jump over a roll of linoleum, my Dad was going to lay on our kitchen floor, while wearing roller-skates that I received for my birthday 2 days before. I ended up dislocating my right shoulder and also managed to turn my arm backwards. I was wearing a sling for a long, long time. I’ve fallen out of trees, anything that ends in ‘itis’ I’ve had, health has been varied to say the least.

More facts to post at a later date.

 

5 Useful Tips That Work For Me Page

Anything that makes my writing life easier is always welcome. Thinking about this I thought that if a particular tip helps me it may also help others. So with this in mind I have put together 5 tips that I use and that just may help you too. Rather than list everything here I have put it all on a page on the RHS of this blog, please go check it out. Maybe you use some of the list already or maybe you have tips of your own that you might share in your comments below. If so please do, either way we will all benefit and that can't be bad.