We do like to be beside the seaside

Went to Hunmanby Gap today for a walk along the beach. It's one that can be used all year round by dogs so we took Winnie - who had a bit of a mishap. Thought the water was a shallow puddle and turned out to be deep so he had to swim. We laughed. He didn't think it was funny. Had fish and chips in Filey and walked back again. Not long now before the kids emigrate so it was lovely to spend the day together. Now I'm shattered.

Out with the old

Sad day for my son today. When he was a kid, he spent a long time collecting videos of films that he liked - mainly ones no one else in their right mind would have any interest in watching. He bought them from closing stores, off the internet or from shops and then spent hours cataloguing them. He had hundreds!
Today he gave them all away to charity. He's going to live in another country and he can't take much with him. Certainly it's not worth the cost of transporting something that's technologically out of date.
He is taking his soft toy dog that he slept with as a kid though!!

The Creative Process

My ideas for stories come from everywhere - dreams, life, music, books. I usually grab the thought and run with it - I lie in bed in the moments between waking and really waking and consider whether the idea would make a story. If I think it will, I write it. No prep, no plot, no nothing - other than a few random notes of things that occur to me as I go along. I might end up with seven pages of ideas by the time I'm writing chapter two.

BUT - when I see the calls for specific submissions - I think - oh can I come up with something for that? Usually the answer is no, because I just don't think that way. I can't start with a premise and then write a story if it wasn't my premise. It doesn't even have to be a premise - even something like - we're looking for vamp stories with a twist - has me scratching my head - unable to come up with a single original thought. I did manage to write a story for ARe's competition but that was only after I reread the requirements and realised I could write any paranormal story I liked. I really want to write a one night stand story for Decadent Publishing - who are Soooo lovely - but can I think of anything? NO.
I'll keep trying but I've realised that I'm creative in a very specific way! My way.

Short versus long

Well, anyone who reads my stories knows that I write l...o...n...g. That's not to say that I can't write short - two freebies for Ellora's Cave, a short for Ravenous Romance and a slighter longer story for EC called Snow Play. Well, I've written two more short pieces. Pause for applause. One I've sent in for a competition. When I don't get anywhere with it - how's that for confidence!! - I'll offer it as a free read somehow. The other story is about 10,000 words - a paranormal romance that I hope is funny. I've tried to make it funny so of course, it won't be.
Rambling over - what I wanted to say - was how hard it is to write short stories. They are a different life form to novels. It's so hard to fit everything in and end the thing in a satisfactory way - a twist, an aaahhh moment -but definitely HEA>

A new book

Only as I start writing a new book, do I remember how much I hate starting a new book. I lose faith in my ability, in coffee, in everything. Each word is a huge effort. Not helped by the fact that this book is a bit different. I'm sure the premise in the hands of Stephen King - would be a winner - but it's in my hands and it's struggling for life. The irony is for once I have a title right at the outset - A New Life.