Notes to Myself

Well, I'm incredibly lax at updating this blog. It's not that I don't want to, it's just...well, I've been letting my moods get in the way of late; fed up with work = no motivation to do anything it seems. And this is wrong, in so many ways. So, time to start over. If I write nothing else in a day, I'm at least going to write something here, weird, dull, contrived as it may be.

There was something going about recently, I believe there is a book and some were published in the Guardian, but they were brought to my attention by Lawerence Pearce (@LawerencePearce, go follow him, he's lovely) and it was this; there were a series of celebrities writing letters to their 16 year old selves.

Now, I feel I'm not far enough beyond 16 to do this yet (it was 6 years ago), and yes, although a lot has happened since, I'm not going to do that. But the idea of writing notes to oneself stuck with me, and I got to thinking about how I could apply it. So here goes; to my daily life, to my writing life, and just little things that come to me whilst sitting at the keyboard.


Notes to me: Daily Life

1. Stop drinking so much fizzy. You can live without Irn Bru, Coke and ginger beer. You'll probably have more actual energy too. And you might sleep a bit better. Think about it.

2. Yes, your job sucks. No, people don't want to hear about it all the time. Quit the whining missus, it's becoming all you're about, and you've never been like that. It used to always be about the weird and wonderful things you'd read/heard/learned from Qi. Get back to that.

3. Wash your car more often. Like when the Scottish weather allows. Not when it's a downpour like it is just now. That would just be silly.

4. Tidy away the books that are somehow all over your room. You wouldn't give yourself a fright in the middle of the night by kicking your copy of The Tale of Genji is it wasn't stashed at the end of your bed, would you? In fact, just tidy your shoebox of a room more often in general.

5. Carry on doing the little things that amuse you everyday. Keep reading TerribleMinds (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/), keep being a Twitter whore, and yes, constantly check the wikis even though you know the people who write on one have actual jobs, and the other is usually updated when Mark and yourself discuss things, but dammit, OCD check that thing anyway. Make people watch FeedDump and Unskippable and Extra Credits just because they crack you up/make you think about things. Smile somehow.

6. Keep cooking. People seem to appreciate it. Don't let Dad put Mum down too much about your cooking being better though. Neither you nor she can help that.

7. Stop getting offended when Mum and Dad slag off the way you look. If you're happy in your leggings, skirt and t combo with oversized beanie and huge earrings, then fine. And don't listen to Dad about make-up, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Notes to Me: Writing Life

1. You are supposed to love your characters, even if they are a gay, selfish, alcoholic pirate who makes all the wrong choices. Love her, stop slagging her off when you talk about her. And stop laughing at her Welsh accent, it's not actually that funny.

2. WHERE ARE ALL THE UPDATES YOU SAID YOU WOULD PUT ON THE WIKI TO MAKE WRITING EASIER? You think it's bad when you forget details? Mark doesn't even KNOW the details if they're still stuck in your head/notebook.

3. There, you just did it again. Stop getting distracted when you're writing. NO channel-surfing (no tv for that matter), NO messing with iTunes (sort a playlist first), and NO checking Twitter every 5 seconds. It'll still be there when you're finished, honest.

4. Yes, it is weird that you "chat" with your characters. You work in a psych hospital, you should not have needed to ask that.

5. Nothing you write is a waste of time. Yeah, it may never make it into story proper, and yes, it may just be written on a whim, but it might add something to the character, or highlight a problem you want to be paying attention to.

6. Get over this fear you have of people reading your stuff before it's "finished" and sort out some readers. They may spot things you've missed, since you know the characters "behind the scenes". They might say some nice things too, and that's always fun. Get at least one close friend, because they know you well enough to happily criticize you.

7. You can use those "obscure" words in your writing if you like, especially the ones you use on a daily basis. So what if someone doesn't get it straight away? Teach them the word from the context, be clever with it. Have a character question it. Don't dumb yourself down if you don't have to.


Notes to me: random points

1. See when you see something interesting, and tell yourself you're going to learn more about it? Actually do it. Knowledge is power, and it may come in handy for teaching.

2. Finish that PDGE application. Stop being scared of writing a personal statement, man the hell up.

3. Stop buying books on a whim. Read the ones you have first. You've nowhere to store them anyway. (it'll be blue snow before this actually happens.)

4. You are a nerd, regardless what you think. Embrace it, for the love of us all. Wear that Thundercats t-shirt with PRIDE.

5. It is also weird that you stroke books. Stop it.

6. You can have that jolly roger tattoo when you do something to deserve it. Quit whining about it.

7. Remember to pay attention to what you've just written to yourself.