LIVING THE DREAM

 A few months ago, I made a life changing decision.

It was like an epiphany. At 62 years old, suddenly I thought, why am I waiting until 67 for a pension that will in all probability not be there for me at the end.

 I came to the conclusion, that life was too short to keep putting my dreams on hold.

Louise Hay 

 What did I do?

 I left my paid employment to follow those dreams.

To write, take photos, cook good food, and travel.

 I would finally work from home, I’ve worked from home before (we all have over the last 2 years), the difference this time, working from home, means my own work for a change.

I put my faith in myself with a feeling that all would work out, and before I knew it, a freelance contract was offered by our local newspaper.

When you put your spirit on the line; the Universe always kicks in.

Why am I telling you this, because I want you to know, there's never a time to be ready to follow your dreams, you just have to do it. 

There’s never a better time like the present, and financially, I’m sure it’ll all work out.

It’s been the best change I could’ve made for myself. I can see and feel the difference in a short 8 weeks.

It wasn’t that I didn’t love my job, it’d just ceased being the best option for me.

Now, I’m doing what I love.

Interacting with people and writing about their experiences for the paper, never thought my business card would say Reporter.

 Being freelance, I can do as little or as much to suit my own situation.

 After a lifetime of working for others. It was time to put my own foot forward for a change.

 Time for me. Sounds wonderful. It is wonderful.

 The remainder of 2021 will be used to heal and rest, and work towards my goals for 2022.

My Instagram page is up and running , growing all the time. Check it out at  https://www.instagram.com/studiocone10/  its all about having a good time, being healthy, food, photography, and life in general.

One of those goals is to produce an online creative writing course, the other to write a collection of short stories. I might even finish my long struggling novel.

Exciting times indeed.

Watch this space for follow-up plans.

STRETCHING YOUR MUSCLES

Here we are in August 2021, and New South Wales, Australia is in lockdown. Covid keeps drifting back like a bad smell.

Sick of looking at the same faces you say, just try living on your own. I’m so totally sick of the sight of my face.

All that aside I assume everyone has been taking their daily walks to get their hours of outdoor exercise as allowed. 

Nothing open, nowhere to go, unless you want to shop for food, and if you’re like me, grocery shopping’s hardly stimulating. 

With all this extra time on our hands (excusing those who are home schooling of course), this is the perfect time to stretch those soft flabby muscles.

Don’t get all indignant about that comment, my muscles are just as flabby as the next person’s. 

What I’m talking about is our writing muscles. Especially the ‘little grey cells,’ as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot often quoted. 

There must be millions of Covid stories out there, and this would be a good way to actually record a historic event in our own time. 

Dystopian civilisations come to mind stretch that imagination muscle with a fictional community or society that is undesirable or frightening.

The recent Sydney and Melbourne riots come to mind. A future where unreasonable anarchists are the order of the day. 

There’s a lot of plots out there just waiting to be brought to life, by guess who, that’s right little old YOU. 

As I’ve said before, the best way to know what you want to write is by reading other authors that interest you. Take note of their genre, their characters, the structure of their plots.

Ecclesiastes said, ‘… there’s nothing new under the sun,’ and I’m not advocating plagiarism, but
looking at the structure/process, and there are different structures for each genre as a rule.  

Reading other authors will give you an idea of how to develop your own voice, and writing style. 

I have a few things on the boil myself at present. 

One of those goals is to develop a ‘Creative Writing’ Course, leading up to ‘Writing Your Novel.’ 

Exciting times. Watch this space.