Janet Gogerty's Blog: Sandscript - Posts Tagged "writers"
Sandscript on Holiday
What does a writer take on holiday? Some might say nothing to do with writing, if it is supposed to be a holiday. Away for nearly a month, driving around the north of England and Scotland, the first essentials were clothes of every description to cater for any kind of weather. Then the other essentials, cameras to record our travels, including card readers and battery chargers, kindle, knitting and a bag of toys (electronic) to keep the rest of the party occupied while I wrote.
Fresh air, walking, seeing new cites and remote rural areas, meeting interesting people and getting inspiration for settings and characters, all important ingredients of a trip.
At a secluded cottage one can pretend to be a writer who has cut themselves off from the world. But with the right equipment an author can write anywhere.
Take a clockwork lap top and at least one memory stick with the current novel and all other writing. If wi fi is available the blog can also be kept up to date.
Always have a notebook handy for those pleasant times when the sun shines as you sit by the river with your coffee, or on the cathedral green with afternoon tea.
Take the paper manuscript of the novel in progress; if the electronics fail you can read, edit, check the plot lines…
Did I do all these things? Yes.
I downloaded photographs every day onto the lap top ready for my website and Facebook and when rain or mist descended I typed up the notes scribbled in the sunshine.
I’ve edited my novel and knitted a scarf for a family member visited on the way home.
Of course the other advantage of taking manuscripts, paper and electronic... if one should arrive home to discover the house blown up in a gas leak or flattened by a meteorite, at least the writing has been preserved.
Luckily our house was still standing when we returned.
And did the driver complain that I had taken too many bags on holiday? Yes.
You can see some pictures of places visited on my website; in the picture quiz and in Beachwriter’s Blog.
http://www.ccsidewriter.co.uk/chapter...
Fresh air, walking, seeing new cites and remote rural areas, meeting interesting people and getting inspiration for settings and characters, all important ingredients of a trip.
At a secluded cottage one can pretend to be a writer who has cut themselves off from the world. But with the right equipment an author can write anywhere.
Take a clockwork lap top and at least one memory stick with the current novel and all other writing. If wi fi is available the blog can also be kept up to date.
Always have a notebook handy for those pleasant times when the sun shines as you sit by the river with your coffee, or on the cathedral green with afternoon tea.
Take the paper manuscript of the novel in progress; if the electronics fail you can read, edit, check the plot lines…
Did I do all these things? Yes.
I downloaded photographs every day onto the lap top ready for my website and Facebook and when rain or mist descended I typed up the notes scribbled in the sunshine.
I’ve edited my novel and knitted a scarf for a family member visited on the way home.
Of course the other advantage of taking manuscripts, paper and electronic... if one should arrive home to discover the house blown up in a gas leak or flattened by a meteorite, at least the writing has been preserved.
Luckily our house was still standing when we returned.
And did the driver complain that I had taken too many bags on holiday? Yes.
You can see some pictures of places visited on my website; in the picture quiz and in Beachwriter’s Blog.
http://www.ccsidewriter.co.uk/chapter...
Sandscript Packs Up
Lists; obsessive compulsive disorder or good organisation? Whichever is true, the CLM, compulsive list maker, goes into overdrive when a holiday is looming. At first there is one list; cases out of loft, car serviced, catch up with e-mails, pay bills and give neighbours address of destination in case house blows up.
Then the lists multiply; To Do, To Pack down to the final list by the front door: cases, coats, walking boots, buy petrol, lock back door, handbag, bleach down toilet…
For the keen gardener the lead up to a holiday is even more fraught; a dedicated gardener would not go on holiday till January. In September flowers are still blooming, tomatoes are ripe and the grass is growing. Will it be dry so the lawn stays in check, but the flowers wilt or will it rain continuously and the weeds take over?
If there is a photographer in the family the frenetic activity escalates; cameras, lenses, batteries, battery chargers, card readers and clockwork lap top, useless for Wi Fi, but handy for storing a few thousand digital images; all have to be assembled.
But this is nothing compared to the holiday preparation of an author. Packing notepads of various sizes and a few pens is not enough. I have been busy working my way through reams of scribble for my current novel. I like writing in long hand first, but I can’t actually read my writing, hence the need to quickly transfer from microscrap paper and macrosoft brain to Microsoft Word. Then edit and put on several memory sticks in case a burglar steals my computer, or worse, the whole house blows up while we are away.
In the meantime there is work to do in the ether; refreshing my website so it looks as if I have visited it recently and am not dead, blogs to write….
Back to packing…. Our collection of equipment to take is not complete without the various communication gadgets passed round the family or bought cheaply from Pete-at-work. Two Smart phones and two tablets because the lap top can’t be trusted to find the Internet and phone screens are too tiny to enjoy Facebook.
Finally clothes, September weather? Same as for an English holiday at any time of the year, take everything.
We’re only going 180 miles, away for 25 days maximum. Some staying with relatives involved, handy for laundry, shops nearby, so it’s hardly an expedition, but I need to treat it as such so that I will be prepared to enjoy getting away from it all.
Visit my website to see what's on in September; stories, pictures and all sorts. www.ccsidewriter.co.uk
Then the lists multiply; To Do, To Pack down to the final list by the front door: cases, coats, walking boots, buy petrol, lock back door, handbag, bleach down toilet…
For the keen gardener the lead up to a holiday is even more fraught; a dedicated gardener would not go on holiday till January. In September flowers are still blooming, tomatoes are ripe and the grass is growing. Will it be dry so the lawn stays in check, but the flowers wilt or will it rain continuously and the weeds take over?
If there is a photographer in the family the frenetic activity escalates; cameras, lenses, batteries, battery chargers, card readers and clockwork lap top, useless for Wi Fi, but handy for storing a few thousand digital images; all have to be assembled.
But this is nothing compared to the holiday preparation of an author. Packing notepads of various sizes and a few pens is not enough. I have been busy working my way through reams of scribble for my current novel. I like writing in long hand first, but I can’t actually read my writing, hence the need to quickly transfer from microscrap paper and macrosoft brain to Microsoft Word. Then edit and put on several memory sticks in case a burglar steals my computer, or worse, the whole house blows up while we are away.
In the meantime there is work to do in the ether; refreshing my website so it looks as if I have visited it recently and am not dead, blogs to write….
Back to packing…. Our collection of equipment to take is not complete without the various communication gadgets passed round the family or bought cheaply from Pete-at-work. Two Smart phones and two tablets because the lap top can’t be trusted to find the Internet and phone screens are too tiny to enjoy Facebook.
Finally clothes, September weather? Same as for an English holiday at any time of the year, take everything.
We’re only going 180 miles, away for 25 days maximum. Some staying with relatives involved, handy for laundry, shops nearby, so it’s hardly an expedition, but I need to treat it as such so that I will be prepared to enjoy getting away from it all.
Visit my website to see what's on in September; stories, pictures and all sorts. www.ccsidewriter.co.uk
Sandscript
I like to write first drafts with pen and paper; at home, in busy cafes, in the garden, at our beach hut... even sitting in a sea front car park waiting for the rain to stop I get my note book out. We
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