writing

Researching for my novel and a new YouTube Video

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A few weekends ago I uploaded the most recent of my YouTube Videos. I first started creating them as a kind of research project – one of the characters in my novel (currently called Feeding Jasmine Valentine) is a wannabe YouTube star and I felt it would be helpful to understand the process. As one of this people who tends to learn by doing, I was finding it a bit difficult to get into the perspective of this character, and now I feel better able to see ‘through his eyes’ as it were. The journey so far, however, has not been entirely smooth.

The best I can say is that as a research exercise, it has been quite successful in discovering the many splendid technical difficulties that can occur when making these films. My most recent two videos have suffered from some pretty substantial camera shake (although I think the narration to both was rather nice so if you are the kind of person who listens to films while working on other things, these could be for you), and problems with the camera adjusting to changes in the light.

I have also managed to run down the power on all of my equipment half way through filming something, and in my last attempt, to record no sound at all, despite using equipment that I know well and have used many times. It has been interesting, and sometimes disheartening, to understand the many ways in which something can go wrong. I am hoping that my next set of experiences may be about what can go right!

In the next few weeks I’m going to experiment with a different kind of film, and have taken some footage from a single viewpoint instead of trying to walk and talk. I’m looking forwards to seeing how that goes, and what kind of films I end up making. I hope to bring you some more successful videos in the next few weeks. In the mean time, I would really appreciate it if those of you who are into YouTube would pop over and have a look at my channel, and consider subscribing. You can see my latest effort below.

Thank you for reading. I also make art and films. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

This month on Pram Cam: interesting books and chatting about art.

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Just a short post today as I am struggling a bit for time at the moment. I have been continuing my experiments with YouTube and have uploaded a new video.

In this video I experimented with a different filming set up, chatted about some books I find inspiring, and talked a bit about how all my different projects fit together.

To find out more, please have a watch here:

Thank you for reading. I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Edits, doodles and my Patreon

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wp-15945735727156915729352363623368.jpg Over the last few weeks I have begun to edit my novel on a hard copy print out. I’ve have found that I particularly enjoy doodling on the margins of the ‘book’ which I hadn’t necessarily expected. Other writers out there – is this something you like to do too? wp-15945736665843792080307013364753.jpg Eagle eyed followers of this blog will have noticed that in my signature I’ve added a link to a Patreon page. It’s actually been there for some time, but I never did a proper ‘launch’ for this as I struggled for quite a while to work out what kind of ‘extra’ I could offer anyone who followed me as a Patreon as opposed to what I have here on the blog. Now I think I have something to offer.

I have not quite worked out yet if I’m going to publish independently, or if I’m going to try to get an agent and sell the book commercially. I have been doing a lot of research about different types of publishing, and actually feel like there is a lot to recommend independent publishing. I produce art work and have been working on a film as an independent creative, so in some ways it feels like bring the novels under an independent ‘portfolio’ fits well for me.

However I do feel like there could be a lot to learn by going down the traditional publishing route. I particular I feel like I could really benefit from working with a developmental editor, but I don’t have a budget for that at the moment.

For the time being I think I’m going to offer anyone who wants to follow or support me on Patreon a glimpse of my working edits and doodles. If I end up going the independent route then I will also give advanced views of things like the art work and cover design. This would be along with other, behind the scenes stuff from my creative work. So if you would like to follow me over atPatreon here, I would really appreciate that, and I now have something a bit different to offer.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Update: Write every day?

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A month or more ago I wrote here about trying out the ‘write every day’ approach. I wasn’t sure if it would work for me after baby magpie was born, but frequently didn’t have more than twenty minutes at a time to work so thought it was worth a try.

Here are the results. A full first draft of my novel, Feeding Jasmine Valentine (working title). I had it prints so I could do an edit by hand. It’s surprisingly satisfying to hold the bound document in my hand as I’ve never reached a The End moment before.

So, write every day has worked for me so far. I will keep going with it.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Pick up the baby: dealing with writers block when looking after a small person

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Regular readers of this blog will know that I have set myself the inadvisable task of trying to finish (and publish, or find a publisher for!) my novel this year while I am on maternity leave and also looking after a tiny person.

So far things have actually gone quite well, in that I’ve managed to finish a first draft of my novel. However it has been completed while I am in a sleep deprived daze, and so I am sure that there is lots of work to do now to make it readable.

One of the things I found early on was that when I did have those moments to myself in which I could write, I found it very difficult to get words down. I have previously blogged about some of the strategies I was trying out here, which included writing everyday, and having a (sort of) plan of what I would write. As I now have a finished first draft, I can say that they have worked ok.

The thing I didn’t write about in that post is what helps when those things fail. There have definitely been moments where I had a bit of time, and I knew what content I needed, but somehow the words wouldn’t come. In this situation I found that the best thing to do was actually to walk away, and pick up the baby. Or do the washing up. Or fold his cloth nappies. Something like that.

I think for me, just doing something different and physical like playing with the baby, paying attention to all the new little things he was doing instead of working on a sentence was actually a great way of giving my conscious brain a break. Often after a little bit of time I would find that my subconscious mind had worked through what ever sentence I was having trouble with, and something good enough for a first draft would pop into my mind.

Sometimes the only way to moving forwards with an idea is to step away from it.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Motherhood: time moves differently here

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It’s been a few weeks since I have posted anything as I have been engaged in a final push to finish a first draft of my novel. As I get closer and closer to the end I feel more motivated to put the few hours a week I have free to myself to that purpose. I’m very close now, which is really exciting. Regular readers of my blog may know that I have a bit of an issue around actually finishing things.

I’ve also been making sure I spend a lot of time just hanging out with Baby Magpie. He’s beginning to do all sorts of interesting things and I don’t want to miss out on them, as he seems to change every day. I’m not sure what I expected, but I find that the days just seem to drift past at the moment in a kind of dreamy haze. Some days are tough, and I get very tired, but mostly the time just slips by as my partner and I feed and play with him.

If you had told me this is what it would be like before he was born I’m not sure I would have believed you. A year off work felt like a long time then, now it seems to slip past so quickly. However, it feels like time well spent to me.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

‘I’ll fix that later’: things that help when trying to write and look after a baby.

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When I was pregnant last year I had difficulty thinking about how I would continue to ‘be me’ and also be a mum. Keeping up my creative practice was one of the ‘be me’ things I was worried about. As I write this my baby is almost eleven weeks old and, as I’ve written about here, I’m concentrating on the writing at the moment, as it’s the easiest thing for me to manage. This has been pretty helpful to me from a psychological point of view, as my identity inevitably changes, and I have limits on my time, I am finding myself able to continue with a few things that were important to me.

Obviously I’m no expert in productivity, I’ve been working on my novel for a long time (eight years and counting), but I’m beginning to figure out some of the things that help me actually get words on the screen. I’m also understanding what I need to let go of for now. Here are my thoughts for now:

1. The phrase ‘I’ll fix that later’ is your friend. I have found that the less I try to get everything down perfectly the more I can actually get done. Interrupting the flow of writing to try to fix something or research something normally just results in me not doing anything. Instead I try to keep with the flow, and where I notice I’ve just done something I don’t really like I think ‘I’ll fix that later’. It’s then quite straightforward to fix issues in an edit when there is a bit more time.

2. Small chunks of writing are possible in even very short periods of time. I have found two to four hundred words very doable in ten minutes, which is two to four hundred words more than yesterday.

3. Small chunks of writing are only possible if I give myself reminders. If I try to cast around for the muse in ten minutes I inevitably don’t find her. So, if I have to put my writing down quickly, which I frequently do at the moment, I’m finding that if I can get a sentence down (often highlighted in red) to remind me what I was going to write next I have no trouble returning to it.

I hope this is helpful. Now I need to go and cuddle the baby.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Late night research and the Hidden Life of Trees

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Followers of this blog may know that I’ve been working on a novel for some time (like ten years worth of time). I think it’s taken so long because it took me a while to work out what kind of book I was writing. When I started I had pretentions towards a kind of literary book, maybe magical realism, but wouldn’t have placed it in any kind of genre. Over time my ideas have evolved and I have ended up writing something that fits more squarely with the science fiction/ urban fantasy genres, with a strong environmental and mental health theme. I hesitate to call it feminist, but it has two female protagonists who are complicated, and as ‘whole’ as I can make them so far.

One of the things I’ve been doing while up in the middle of the night expressing milk for the baby is to read non fiction books that could be called ‘research’ for this. I think this may be where the famous ‘multi tasking’ that women are often claimed to have begins, because I certainly wouldn’t claim to be a multi-tasker, but I’ve found that I can just about manage to hold a breast pump and balance my chrome book on my knees at the same time.

My list so far has been slightly eclectic, and tending towards environmental themes. I’ve read This Changes Everything, by Naomi Klein, which I really liked/ was deeply frightened by, and also Into the Woods, by John Yorke, which is a really nice book about the mechanics of storytelling.

I’ve just begun reading the Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, which is a really interesting insight into the biology of forests. It explains how trees in forests communicate through a ‘wood wide web’ and form a social network through which they can support each other and warn each other of threats. I really like these ideas for my novel. I was finding the idea of writing science fiction because there was no place for things like robots or computer science (yet) in my book. Equally I was having difficulty with the idea of writing fantasy as so far there are no elves or swords in my story (although with time who knows – these things evolve). But I feel like I am on good ground with biological sciences, which I always found a had most affinty with.

For anyone interestes in reading about the social life of trees I would suggest this book as a nice tour. The writing in the early chapters reads a bit like an essay someone has written for GCSE biology, with a series of chapters that read a bit like lists of interesting things, rather than a coherent story, but this evens out later in the book.

Happy reading.

This article contains affliate links. Should you choose to buy one of the books cited with the links here amazon will throw few pennies my way. I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Trying to be a new parent and creative at the same time: Write everyday?

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IMG_20200302_041051151 It’s been almost 9 weeks since I had my baby and I’ve been beginning to get back thinking about how to be a creative person, at the same time as being a new parent. It’s been quite a learning curve, but I think that he’s beginning to settle into a routine, which means I’m beginning to be able to predict when I will have a little bit of time to engage with my creativity.

For anyone who has followed my blog over the years, you’ll know that I’ve always had several projects on the go, including writing a novel, making art (some of which is available here), and trying to finish a documentary, as well as a day job. The big, important thing I have learned since having my baby is that I am only likely to have a little bit of time in any given day, so I need to choose wisely how I use it. Most of my projects involve getting out camera kit or bits of paper or other stuff which will a) take half of the short amount of time I have to set up, and b) will be abandoned half way through my trying to do what ever it is I am trying to do to get tripped over or sat on by cats.

At the moment I’ve chosen to focus on my writing because that’s the one project I have that I can pick up and put down easily. At home I have two computers, one which is a mac that has all my film making software and word on, and a chrome book which is really designed for using a range of apps and the internet. At the moment I have a draft of my novel on the go in google docs, which means that I can work on it from either computer. I’m finding this really helps. I almost always have the chrome book to hand to add in a few sentences to a page. I turn on the mac for moments when I know I will have a bit longer to do a more concentrated bit of work.

I’ve also been listening to a podcast called The Bestseller Experiment (check out the website here), which has been going for several years now. I started right at the beginning and find it’s a good thing to listen to when I’m in the bath in the evening. The podcast is full of interviews with people who have written best selling books, and has lots of interesting insights. One of the big messages they have, which has come out of interviews with lots of authors, is to write everyday, even if it’s only 200 words. I am trying that out at the moment, which is a different approach for me, as before I was saving my creative work for times when I knew I would have a big block of time (half of which I inevitably spent procrastinating).

I am finding the write every day approach is helping a lot, as it forces me to keep continuity on a single project. I’m finding I’m having a lot more ideas as I work this way, and am making a lot more progress than I did with the big blocks of time approach, so this is a win I think. I expected parenthood to be teaching me all sorts of new things. I was concerned that I would lose the creative part of my life to being a mum, so it’s really nice that some of those things are about how to be more creative.

I also make art. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see I also have a Patreon Page here.

Thinking about next year

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I have been a bit quiet of late. I’ve been really tired and had to concentrate my energies of doing just a few things rather than the usual broader scope of stuff I get involved in. However I’ve not been sitting around doing nothing. I have begun to write a novel that has been hanging around in my head for several years now, and am not so far off finishing my film now. I’ve also enjoyed seeing some art recently, and particularly enjoyed the chunks of arctic ice that were outside of the Tate Modern for a short while (see photos here).

I’m hoping with the coming of the new year I’ll be feeling a bit more like myself again. Keeping that in mind I’ve been thinking a bit about when next year has in store. We’ll be moving house in February, to be closer to work. The rationale is that this will cut down on travel time and be a bit less stressful, although more expensive. It looks very likely that we’ll also be starting IVF later in the year so that is something to get mentally and physically prepared for. With that in mind I have more swimming, climbing and walking planned, and maybe a bit of running too. How about you?

Creatively I have quite a few things planning. I’m hoping to wrap up my film this year and get a draft done of my novel (or novella, I’m not sure how long it will be). I’m thinking about publishing some short sections here – is that something you would like to read? I’m also planning more art and the beginnings of an animated story. So that’s plenty to be getting on with.

I hope you have all had a good festive break and are looking forwards to the new year.