Stephanie Hanlon's Blog
June 2, 2015
Looking for some help!
So this is a bit of a personal plea for help.
In March this year my 13 year old son was rushed into Great Ormond Street Hospital after his nose surgery went wrong and he almost died in the recovery room. He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and spent a week in a coma. They are still not sure what caused this to happen but he went into multi organ failure and we weren't sure if he would ever wake up. Thankfully after weeks of recovery he is now finally home and doing well. We cannot ever thank the brilliant doctors and staff who looked after him but this weekend I will be running in a charity race to help raise money so that other families can receive the same great care that we did. Wouldn't normally do this but if anyone would like to help support this great cause then please follow the link and help. Thank you everyone x
http://events.gosh.org/site/TR/RBCRac...
In March this year my 13 year old son was rushed into Great Ormond Street Hospital after his nose surgery went wrong and he almost died in the recovery room. He was taken to the Intensive Care Unit and spent a week in a coma. They are still not sure what caused this to happen but he went into multi organ failure and we weren't sure if he would ever wake up. Thankfully after weeks of recovery he is now finally home and doing well. We cannot ever thank the brilliant doctors and staff who looked after him but this weekend I will be running in a charity race to help raise money so that other families can receive the same great care that we did. Wouldn't normally do this but if anyone would like to help support this great cause then please follow the link and help. Thank you everyone x
http://events.gosh.org/site/TR/RBCRac...
November 5, 2014
A White Blank Page
In the war between the words and the blank page, the blank page is most definitely winning.
But if I'm honest, it has been winning for a while now.
Don't get me wrong I still spend far too much of my time listening to my characters have conversations in my head, and dreaming up new and deadly ways of putting them into danger, but for some reason it is getting lost before it makes its way into the reality of my notebook.
So what is it about a white blank page (or screen) that fills a writer with absolute panic and causes the hand to freeze and the mind to shut down.
After thinking about it for some time I realised it comes down this.
The dreaded writers block.
Most writers out there will know what I'm talking about. Those times when the mind goes blank and no matter what you do you can't write the words.
You can sit for hours staring into nothing, willing the words to come, but nothing. Empty lines with no meaning and no story.
And why is it that the moment we sit down to write, a million other things happen to need doing. And they are always more important, let's not kid ourselves. I mean that bottom draw in the kitchen that's been there for the past five years, just has to be tidied right this minute.
You know you've done it.
We can all try to rationalise it too. We're too stressed, too tired, uninspired but really I think a lot of the time this block come down to just one thing.
Fear!
I can't speak for everyone here but I know that's where most of mine comes from.
That fear of failure; of not being good enough, of being judged and criticised. Of not being able to bring your words to life and feeling like you've let yourself down.
I've learned over the years that tt's scary to put yourself out there, but if we let that fear of failure rule us we will never achieve anything. I guess the saying "It is better to try and fail, than to never try at all" is true.
Because we surprise ourselves.
The mistakes are how we learn, how we improve and keeps us growing.
We need to face those fears and take a leap of faith.
As one of my favourite writers, Stephen King once said "The scariest moment is always just before you start"
So now when I sit and stare at a blank page, I take a deep breath and jump.
No holding back.
We just have to remember that a blank page is only blank until we write the first letter.
And then our imaginations are free to paint any picture we want.
But if I'm honest, it has been winning for a while now.
Don't get me wrong I still spend far too much of my time listening to my characters have conversations in my head, and dreaming up new and deadly ways of putting them into danger, but for some reason it is getting lost before it makes its way into the reality of my notebook.
So what is it about a white blank page (or screen) that fills a writer with absolute panic and causes the hand to freeze and the mind to shut down.
After thinking about it for some time I realised it comes down this.
The dreaded writers block.
Most writers out there will know what I'm talking about. Those times when the mind goes blank and no matter what you do you can't write the words.
You can sit for hours staring into nothing, willing the words to come, but nothing. Empty lines with no meaning and no story.
And why is it that the moment we sit down to write, a million other things happen to need doing. And they are always more important, let's not kid ourselves. I mean that bottom draw in the kitchen that's been there for the past five years, just has to be tidied right this minute.
You know you've done it.
We can all try to rationalise it too. We're too stressed, too tired, uninspired but really I think a lot of the time this block come down to just one thing.
Fear!
I can't speak for everyone here but I know that's where most of mine comes from.
That fear of failure; of not being good enough, of being judged and criticised. Of not being able to bring your words to life and feeling like you've let yourself down.
I've learned over the years that tt's scary to put yourself out there, but if we let that fear of failure rule us we will never achieve anything. I guess the saying "It is better to try and fail, than to never try at all" is true.
Because we surprise ourselves.
The mistakes are how we learn, how we improve and keeps us growing.
We need to face those fears and take a leap of faith.
As one of my favourite writers, Stephen King once said "The scariest moment is always just before you start"
So now when I sit and stare at a blank page, I take a deep breath and jump.
No holding back.
We just have to remember that a blank page is only blank until we write the first letter.
And then our imaginations are free to paint any picture we want.
October 16, 2014
This is me!
Having begun my adventure as a Goodreads author, I was exploring the site to see how I could interact with others on here.
When I wandered across the link Start a Blog I shuddered.
I'd never really thought about writing a blog before, mainly because it takes me weeks to write anything I'm happy with, and the prospect of having to post on a regular basis just terrifies me.
After speaking with a fellow writer and friend however he convinced me of the benefits of writing one.
Of being able to just clear your mind and write how you feel without overthinking everything. Of the wonders of creativity that will arise just by the act of writing.
So feeling inspired I set about writing my blog.
And then the panic set it!
How do you write a blog?
Are there rules and guidelines?
Do you have to post daily or weekly?
Do I only write about writing or can it be about anything?
Do I have to be formal or am I expected to be funny because truthfully that's never going to happen.
So I sat down and googled "How to write a blog" and this is what I discovered.
1. Limit your words to a few sentences - give the reader a enough to sink there teeth into.
2. Keep it simple - be detailed in your writing.
3. Post about what you love and inspires you - look around at what people are interested in.
4. Post every day - post when you can and build up to more.
5. Be impulsive when you write - plan your posts up to three months in advance.
You see what I mean. Much like writing, I don't think anyone can agree on how you should create your blog.
Personally I think it needs to come from within yourself.
Don't try to be like other people.
Don't try to be funny or witty.
Just be yourself.
So on reflection - This is me!
I might be doing it all wrong.
I might be doing it so wrong that no-one has even reached this part.
There might be no-one out there even reading it at all.
But that's okay because it feels good just to be writing.
I may not post every day. I may not even post every week but I'm here to stay.
I hope you do stick with me and find out where this adventure is taking us because honestly at the moment I have no idea.
Steph x
When I wandered across the link Start a Blog I shuddered.
I'd never really thought about writing a blog before, mainly because it takes me weeks to write anything I'm happy with, and the prospect of having to post on a regular basis just terrifies me.
After speaking with a fellow writer and friend however he convinced me of the benefits of writing one.
Of being able to just clear your mind and write how you feel without overthinking everything. Of the wonders of creativity that will arise just by the act of writing.
So feeling inspired I set about writing my blog.
And then the panic set it!
How do you write a blog?
Are there rules and guidelines?
Do you have to post daily or weekly?
Do I only write about writing or can it be about anything?
Do I have to be formal or am I expected to be funny because truthfully that's never going to happen.
So I sat down and googled "How to write a blog" and this is what I discovered.
1. Limit your words to a few sentences - give the reader a enough to sink there teeth into.
2. Keep it simple - be detailed in your writing.
3. Post about what you love and inspires you - look around at what people are interested in.
4. Post every day - post when you can and build up to more.
5. Be impulsive when you write - plan your posts up to three months in advance.
You see what I mean. Much like writing, I don't think anyone can agree on how you should create your blog.
Personally I think it needs to come from within yourself.
Don't try to be like other people.
Don't try to be funny or witty.
Just be yourself.
So on reflection - This is me!
I might be doing it all wrong.
I might be doing it so wrong that no-one has even reached this part.
There might be no-one out there even reading it at all.
But that's okay because it feels good just to be writing.
I may not post every day. I may not even post every week but I'm here to stay.
I hope you do stick with me and find out where this adventure is taking us because honestly at the moment I have no idea.
Steph x
