Bea-ing Active

Writing is not the healthiest of careers, involving as it does so much time sitting down. I know that to get fit I need to be more active. To do so I need to begin slowly: run some, walk some.

To write well also requires regular mental exercise. When not used, the creative muscle can become flabby. It’s not always about the bigger enterprises; sometimes the little things help. Short pieces, longer pieces.

This last month I have had four pieces of writing published, two of them short, two longer:

·         80 word rant in Mslexia,

·         4 line poem in littlems (Mslexia’s baby sister).

·         Story “Violets” in the August edition of Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special

·         Story “Sing it loud” in Issue 4 of Kishboo.co.uk

From a writing point of view, 80 words, or 4 lines, is not much. But from a writing fitness point of view, it has proved invaluable in keeping me going during my extended holiday. Now I have to build up my writing fitness again.

Perhaps I should also take some gentle physical exercise, maybe by walking more often? It may even help my creative thought processes.

Bea Z...?

When I began my blog in February 2015, I wanted a structure to help me focus and prevent me simply rambling.  I decided that my posts would be brief and each would be alphabetical. (I should explain here that I had not at that time heard of the A-Z Blogging Challenge before I began. What I thought was an original structure turns out not to be so. Sigh. Originality is so hard to achieve.)

The title would be my name followed by a single adjective or adverb to explain something about me, my writing journey, my successes and failures. Hence I began with ‘Bea Afraid’ and progressed steadily through the alphabet to ‘Bea Yearning’. Today I reach the letter Z and find myself, uncharacteristically, lost for words. For a writer that’s an uncomfortable position.

There aren’t many suitable descriptive words beginning with the letter Z: zany; zealous; zoological?  But none of them are appropriate to me today.

So instead I am reflecting on my first five months of blogging. I have appreciated the discipline of writing regularly. I have enjoyed occasions when readers have been kind enough to leave a comment. Even when postings have been without comment they have sometimes been shared on Twitter which is gratifying. But above all I have found the process worthwhile.

Now I have reached my 26^th post I have decided to carry on blogging alphabetically. But perhaps next time I shall not limit myself to adjectives. It may make titles easier to find!

Bea Yearning

There is much to be said for being happy: comfortable with oneself; accepting of our position; content with our achievements. Yet this same state of self-satisfaction has a negative connotation. It can stifle creativity. Why settle for what we have when we can strive for better?

It certainly applies to me and my writing. For any writer we are only as good as our last story, book or article. We have to move on to the next project or we become a one-hit wonder. Only a few can afford to rest on their laurels: consider Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), JD Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye) and Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights).

For the rest of us, we keep on writing, keep on creating, keep on keeping on. But what if I were to write a story tomorrow that met with great critical acclaim and the movie rights were sold for some obscene amount? Would I stop there? I think not, for the desire to write is not something that can be switched off at the sight of a healthy bank balance or a prestigious award.

Having said that, I would be very happy to sell my writing for big money. So I had better get on with creating and stop wittering about it. Better earning than yearning.