Louise M.H. Miller's Blog, page 3

Learn a New Skill

Number 28 on my 30 Things to do before I’m 30 list is to: Learn a new skill.

After debating what this new skill might be, I realised that the answer was glaring obvious to me. Learn British Sign Language (BSL).

It’s helpful in everyday life, it’ll be helpful at work and the reason it’s so obvious is my family.

My brother-in-law and two nephews are deaf. They are able to verbally communicate easily enough and can hear you when you talk to them – as long as there’s not too much background noise – so it’s not been something that as a wider family we’ve needed to learn. My sister (the wife and mother) of course is fluent.

As I’m not too bothered about having a ‘qualification’ in BSL, I’m teaching myself using fantastic DVD resources borrowed from the College Learning Resource Centre where I work. It’s an extra challenge to teach myself but also more of a buzz.

I’m not really wanting to be fluent – but if I’m better able to communicate with my nephews as they learn BSL too then it’s all for the best.

So far I’m finding it pretty straightforward but I’m sure that’ll change – like most things – when being used in the real world.

I think it’s important to learn a new skill from time to time. To keep your mind active and to broaden your horizons. A new skill can be anything from drawing/painting, to knitting, to learning how to drive, how to swim or ride a bike, to learning how to fix a bicycle or a car engine, to cook or to bake or a new language or playing a musical instrument – pretty much anything you can think of!

Why not give it a go? It doesn’t have to take up much time at all. I sit for an hour or two a week and learn new signs and phrases, and practice them through repetition whenever I have a free moment – even just a couple of minutes – like waiting for the kettle to boil, or for the computer to stop updating and finally switch itself on. Give it a go. Learn a new skill. And see where it’ll take you.

You can teach yourself, or join a group or learn with friends or family.

Keep Calm and Sign BSL

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 30 things to do before 30, british sign language, BSL, new skill, new skills, sign language

Why I love a new project

I love the first stages of a new project. It’s equally as great to finish one but starting one fills me with anticipated excitement.

It’s like the beginning of a new relationship. In fact it’s exactly like that. It’s a new relationship with a new story and characters. And it’s in its earliest stages. I’m in the early research and brain-storming stage. I’m jotting down themes and plot line ideas and expanding them. I’m starting to form character profiles in my mind, and letting my mind wander over where the story and my characters may take me.

Like a new relationship there’s definitely butterflies; there’s excitement in research to see if I find another angle or plot line or theme; there’s excitement as I let my mind wander and excitement to see where it will take me. And there’s excitement about getting back writing again.

The end of a project is all about the editing stage. The beginning all about the research/planning stage (or at least it is for me).

Actually I see the start of a new project having two beginnings. The research/planning stage, and the beginning writing stage. I’m excited about that too. I’m excited about writing again.

I still have a delicious buzz for this thing called writing, and I love that.

I’m getting my teeth into a new project and there’s definitely butterflies and excitement as I sink my teeth further into it.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: buzz, new characters, new project, new story, plot lines, research, writing

Getting Rid of Twitter

Stephen Fry has just announced that he’s quitting twitter after a Bafta jibe.

Now nothing so dramatic has happened to me to make me contemplate getting rid of my twitter account.

It’s just simply that I don’t use it anymore. I’ve never used it personally, only ‘professionally’ as a writer, and several reasons present themselves to convince me to get rid.

One. I don’t use it. Two. The twitter community is too vast, your thoughts – and tweets – can easily get lost in the plethora of comments that get posted every second. Three. It may be a great writer platform, a great way to connect with other writers, and with readers – but if you don’t use it – and don’t have the time to use it to it’s full advantage then the positive is no longer so positive.

I wish I did have time to use it fully. I wish I had time to build a writer’s platform on twitter, but…alas I don’t.

At the beginning it’s probably a good idea to build an online presence by engaging with writers/readers in many different ways. Not that you’d keep with all these ways, if you did then you wouldn’t have time to write – which is what writers are supposed to do right. : /

So at first, that’s what I did. I got on WordPress, on twitter, on Goodreads and on a few others that now I can’t quite remember the names of. And I found the ones I like to use – WordPress and Goodreads – so I’m sticking with those.

I think writers – especially the ones trying to make their mark – find themselves under pressure to create a vast and complex online presence, so that they are able to connect with as many people as possible. That seems like the answer. But you run the risk of either doing nothing but networking – or spreading yourself too thin. If you have so many platforms to think about then you can’t (or at least it’s extremely difficult) make that mark that writers (or anyone) so desires.

But concentrating on one or two platforms means that you don’t spread yourself too thin, and you are able (or so the theory goes) to have a greater online presence.

An online presence for me is not just about how many different network platforms you are on, nor how many followers you have (of course that helps), but about how you engage with the followers you do have, and putting content up there on the world wide web that people want to engage with. That it’s not all about ‘Look at this – check out my book’.

An online presence is not something that happens over night, it does take time and effort. So why not put this time and effort into just a few ‘projects’ rather than loads – you may find that the rewards can be huge.

And so swinging full circle back to the beginning – I’m getting rid of twitter!

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: followers, goodreads, internet, networking, online, online presence, Stephen Fry, twitter, wordpress, Writer, writer platform, writing

Term Time

I’ve previously mentioned — last month — that I have a new job. Which means another new routine for me and my writing.

I work four days a week which leaves one day a week for me to write…plus I work term time – I work in a library at a College, so when the students are off I am too! Not the best news for pay, but great news – absolutely fantastic news when it comes to my writing.

It was a pretty stilted way of writing when I only had one day a week – as I had in the past – to write.

Now this new routine will be pretty much the same for most of the year – but every half dozen weeks or so, I’m off work again and free to write!

Hopefully this will mean that my progress in my projects will be much swifter and the time that I get to network will also increase.

I’m looking forward to the time I’ll get to spend on writing fiction – after working on a non-fiction project — ready to be (self) published in the next few months — I’m looking forward to getting back to fiction again.

I loved working on the non-fiction project and I would – and probably will do it again. But as much as I loved it – I’m excited about getting creative again.

I’m currently in the early research and planning stage of my next novel and here’s hoping that the Easter/Summer breaks will be spent putting pen to paper and writing the next story.

I haven’t put in place a deadline for myself yet for this new project – but hopefully the first draft will be completed (way) before the end of the year (hopefully the end of the summer) for me to begin the editing process before the year ends.

But that seems so far off into the future that it doesn’t even appear as a hazy mist on the horizon.

I’ll just see how it goes.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: college, half term, more time to write, networking, new job, new routine, summer break, term time, writing, writing routine

Where would we be without the internet?

The other week at work the internet went down for a couple of hours! We were – almost – at a loss! Luckily we managed to find something to do – but we really felt lost without the internet.

Many of us now globally take the internet for granted. Children born today (and before that) will never know a world without it – and for many will never know a world without fast, reliable internet at home, work and at school.

Could I live without the internet? As an individual in my spare time probably yes, I could. It would take some getting used to but I think I could.

At work (my day job) apart from the internet connection we need to run our various softwares – perhaps – but not really.

As a writer – most definitely not. Not just for research purposes, but specifically writers today for networking. For getting our writing out there, our names out there and interacting with other writers and readers. The internet is most definitely a vital tool for building up a network of writing companions – and if you’re lucky – fans!

Of course, the internet poses a lot of dangers (the obvious included – there’s some nasty stuff (apparently) lurking on the dark web); it poses dangers in terms of cyber bullying; it poses a risk to families and friends no longer communicating face-to-face; children spend too much time on the web and on tablet computers; there’s child exploitation and radicalisation…the negative aspects to the internet unfortunately go on and on…

But for the average Joe (if such a person exists) the internet has made life so much easier and access to information easier too. Internet banking, networking tools, online journals and periodicals, shopping, speedy information, TV and films, jobs and recruitment, advertisements…the list for its (more positive) uses also goes on and on…

I’m therefore not afraid, but perhaps a little ashamed to admit, that I couldn’t live without the internet – for the positives of course – and for the great ease it brings to writing and networking and access to information.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: could you live without the internet?, information access, internet, internet down, internet for writers, life without the internet, networking, no internet, writers, writing

Speed Reading

Just a quick thought and blog for today! There has been several articles and blogs out recently about the amount of books some people, Agatha Christie for instance, have read,

<http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/reading-is-bliss/13659451/Will-you-read-more-books-in-2016 >>,

and some people who read hundreds of books in a year. There was a BBC magazine article about how to improve your speed reading skills too.

But is it all that it’s cracked up to be? Is speed reading ruining the joy of reading – are speed-readers missing out on the beautiful words and turns of phrases used?

Sometimes I re-read beautifully written paragraphs or sentences just to appreciate the linguistic beauty a second time. Are speed readers missing out on this? If not and you take every beautiful sentence and phrase in, and can appreciate all the different words that the English language has to offer, then I’m even more impressed with your reading skills!!

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: agatha christie, blog, read more, read more this year, reading, speed reading

Me and American ‘classics’

After looking through all the books that I read last year and thinking about the ones that I enjoyed the best, and the ones I didn’t with the exception of Gone With the Wind what I’ve come to realise is that I don’t really like American ‘classic’ novels – The Grapes of Wrath; The Big Sleep; On the Road & The Great Gatsby, and of course Catcher in the Rye.

I thought they were fantastic stories, which were all beautifully written in their own way but still I didn’t really seem to enjoy them. They weren’t my cup of tea. Maybe I was expecting more from novels such as these which have been deemed influential works, especially influential on American literature as a whole. It could have been the case of reading something you know should be good – and being disappointed by them. I don’t really know – I can’t really explain it very well and if I continue to try to I think that I’ll end up digging myself into a hole.

Sorry folks. I wish I enjoyed such classics as these – but I don’t. Not everyone can, can they? I know that I should but….

I will still give them a go. I won’t cut others like them out of my reading life completely and if anyone has any other reads of ‘American classics’ they think I should try – I’m open for suggestions.

Perhaps digging myself out of a small hole – I have enjoyed American ‘classics’ in the past – but I think the vast majority of them so far – I haven’t.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: american classics, american literature, classics, reading

My Top Reads from 2015

Every year I record what I’ve read throughout the year to look back on it when the year ends as an interesting reminder. (And useful when I forget if I’ve read it already!) And again every year (it’s becoming a sort of tradition) I document my five top reads from the previous year – 2015:

My top five reads from 2015 are as follows – in no particular order:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (which has I think fast become one of my all-time favourite reads);

 

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (fantastic story and wonderfully written; an epic);

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (perhaps a controversial choice given the context – but thoroughly enjoyable – Scarlett O’Hara has real gumption);

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (the last in the trilogy of His Dark Materials and equally as entertaining as the others – not your typical ‘kids’ book at all – it can easily be read on so many levels);

and

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (a beautiful read and a lovely story).

I can’t wait for the rest of 2016 to see what great reads and new worlds I’m going to discover.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 2015, book review, books, Gone with the wind, read, reading, reading list, reviews, the amber spyglass, the count of monte cristo, the pillars of the earth, The Thorn Birds, top reads

2 weeks in…

Well we’re already two weeks in to January 2016! Two weeks! 14 days! Time really does drift away when you’re not paying attention.

I think that it’s high time that I rolled up my sleeves and got down to the business I love – writing.

Here I go…..

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: time, Writer, writing

No TV!

We’re all generally watching more TV than we ever had before. And who can blame us – there’s some amazingly addictive TV shows out there. And anyone who can testify that they’ve been so hooked by a TV show will agree with me that a weekend can easily be taken up by that one TV show watching episode after episode.

But sometimes you get to a point where you have to say – look I watch far too much TV. (Live TV, DVDs/films, Netflix, Now TV, Amazon Prime….) All these different forms of TV count.

As global societies who watch too much TV we’re slowly suffering. Our bodies are getting lazy as couch potatoes, our postures are terrible as we snuggle up on the sofa to watch one more episode. Our minds are dulling. No matter how informative or interesting or intrusive a TV show or film may be it can be nowhere near as stimulating as reading a book. Our social skills are suffering. As a couple who watch TV, while we do talk, sometimes it just tends to be about the mundane topics of work and running the home. (What do you want for tea? Etc)

And that’s why starting today my partner and I have decided to cut TV out of our lives for a week. It may not sound like much but I think we’ll find it much more difficult than we may imagine – for people whose instinct when we come home is to turn the TV on. But this is the habit that I want to get out of. We’ll start out at just a week and see how it goes. Hopefully it’ll lead to us watching less TV – like only switching on the TV set a few nights a week instead of everyday. (This break in TV also includes watching things direct through the computer too.)

Already I’m able to write this as normally I’d be watching the news right now. Of course, it would be nice to be able to cut technology out of our lives completely to switch of entirely for this week – but we both use computers every day at work so that’s not practical.

I’m looking forward to it – let’s see how we get on….

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: interact, no more tv, no tv, read, social, technology, tv, tv time