Tag Archives: writing

You mean I can’t check my emails on holiday?

Posted by Lynsey May on

In recent years, Fin and I have noticed how difficult it is to have an actual holiday. You know, the kind where you just kick back and relax. We’re always thinking about, well, stuff. Emails to answer, stories to plot, articles to write, people to worry about: all those things, all the time. I’m especially guilty, I check messages on my phone compulsively, as though I could find an email there that will end the world if I don’t answer it immediately. Ridiculous.

So with this habit in mind, I wondered how well I would get on during our short holiday on the coast, staying in a fabulous cottage from The Creative Retreat folks that not only had no net connection, but also no mobile reception or even a landline. Surprisingly well, it turned out.

The cottage was lovely, the village beautiful, the weather rough but forgiving and the peace very welcome. Putting myself on call constantly doesn’t normally feel as though it’s bothering me, but I have this feeling that, maybe if I didn’t, I might just be a little bit happier and get a hell of a lot more writing done.

I can’t wait for our next holiday.

Where does your imagination reside?

Posted by Lynsey May on

Source: http://archann.deviantart.com/

This year, I am making a conscious effort to reawaken a sense of curiosity and do things that spark my imagination. It’s something I suppose I have been putting off for some time, because I guess I liked to think that I already possessed these qualities.

But now that I have more time to ponder and daydream, I’ve been forced to admit that they are not as strong as they once were and that I am more naturally inclined to think about, well, boring stuff when given half the chance.

Is this a symptom of getting older or does it have something to do with letting myself live a life that is ruled by deadlines and making enough money? I also wonder how much of it is just plain old laziness. Why imagine things when someone else could do it for me? (I do love it when someone else does it for me.)

As part of this project, I’m trying to work out exactly what it is that is most likely to persuade my imagination into a flight of fancy. I’m reading loads, going to exhibitions, restricting the watching of TV shows and generally trying to not check the emails on my phone every five minutes.

Me as a wee 'un

But am I missing something here? Is there anything you do to shake your mind out of the mundane?

I recently wrote a guest post for the lovely Kirsty Logan for her Thievery series – posts about the inspiration behind stories – and I enjoyed the process a lot, mainly because it encouraged me to recall some childhood holidays I hadn’t thought about for a long while.

Hurrah for Love your Library Day

Posted by Lynsey May on

I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day, too much of an excuse for forced decelerations of the kind of love I’d rather see seeping through in the day to day, so I’m chuffed to bits with the idea of a Feb day to pledge your adoration for libraries instead.

This year, Midlothian libraries are celebrating Love your Library Day on the 4th of February with a program of comedy, readings and gigs, all taking place in local libraries. With support from comedians like Frankie Boyle and Miles Jupp, popular Edinburgh bands and, of course, plenty of authors, it should be a great day to remember how much libraries mean to us all. Check out the Midlothian Libraries’ press release to find out what’s happening in a library near you.

Since deciding to freelance it up, I’ve spent a lot more time in my two local libraries in the last three months than in the 10 years before that, and I am amazed by the big mix of people that seem to spend a lot of time there. Sometimes I have to fight for a seat, once I got told off for accidentally sitting in the area reserved for teenagers and today I witnessed a rather elderly gentleman use the computer to check out the alluring yet badly formatted profiles of some ladies from Asia.

True, we all might get something a little different from our trips to the library, but whether it’s the chance to dream about an alternative and unlikely future or to become submerged in a story about the past, it’s very lucky we have somewhere to do it.

I am especially pleased that this year, I’ll be reading some stories in Penicuik Library along with the lovely ladies from my Leith writer’s group. This is the library my mum works in and the one that my little brothers go to, so it’s one I’m really looking forward to sharing a few words in.

Forget about flowers, chocolates and overpriced tat, show your love for your library with wonderful words and sounds this February.

What was I meant to be doing again?

Posted by Lynsey May on

Oh yeah, I was meant to be, like, you know, writing stuff. Except I haven’t been, even though I did my desk up all nice and everything.

Well, that’s not true, I have, it’s just been of the copy variety. That’s the thing about freelance isn’t it, you always want to say yes to every job, just in case it’s the last one that’s ever offered. Never fear though, I have lovely friend who already tuts and tells me off when I accept too many briefs and, get this, the other week I turned down a job for what was, I think, the first time ever.

So I’ve not been getting as much done as I wanted, but I did do some successful Christmas shopping today. Spying a million things I never realised I wanted along the way, of course – the dangers of going to the shops, something I don’t normally do.

And last week was grand, because we had the launch of the latest issue of the Edinburgh Review, with its lovely cover image from Fin, and the fabulous Gwendoline Riley and Ewan Morrison treated us to some top quality readings. Happy times. I also enjoyed the wine, maybe a little too much.

Overall, I’m pretty good and people even keep telling me I look refreshed. I think working from home (and sleeping for more than six hours a night) totally suits me.

One month in, freelancing funtimes

Posted by Lynsey May on

It’s officially been a month since I quit my full time job in favour of a freelance existence. So far, so good. I’m still in one piece, people have been paying my invoices in a timely fashion and I haven’t become addicted to day time TV (to be fair, we don’t have a TV aerial, so this is less to do with willpower than I would like to think).

I haven’t quite managed to write loads of stories, which to be honest was kind of the whole point, but I have really enjoyed the chance to pet a really cute dog, play with my bookshelves and do a lot more reading. There’ve been quite few train journeys in the last few weeks, so I’ve been making the most of my new wee Kindle.

That said, I was feeling quite discouraged for a while, because I think I read three novels on the trot which I’d heard were good but turned out to be kind of unsatisfying. I won’t say what they were, because I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night for the thought of author’s Googling their own names and making lists of every slightly negative thing anyone has said about them ever.

Luckily, this disappointing run was broken with A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I loved and which reminded me what it feels like to be in the hands of a capable author. More books like that please. How much time can I reasonably spend reading and pass it off as research?

I’m a freelance writing ninja now, right?

Posted by Lynsey May on

Source: Ian Dawson

It’s that time of year again, when all of my online information streams start creaking under the weight of Nano-related updates. Somehow, despite (or maybe because of) never taking part, the whole thing tends to make me feel a little blue.

Probably because when it comes to fiction, I am a very slow writer, and if I tried to complete 50,000 words in a month, I suspect I’d fail so badly I’d drive myself away from the notebook for a while. Still, when I see so many people hitting their wordcounts and creating something new in such a short space of time, I end up feeling a little jealous and I guess a little guilty too.

And it’s been very much in my mind this month, as it’s my first official month of being freelance – a.k.a that magical time when I will become some for of writing ninja. Needless to say, I have not been writing very much. It’s not that I haven’t been busy though, on the contrary my days have been pretty packed.

Putting together a new site for the Edinburgh Review has taken up lots of time, but I’m really happy we’ve got it up now, and that we’re planning on posting more extracts and excerpts from some of our contributors soon.

I also had the good fortune to take part in two readings this month, the first was for 4’33”, a wonderful audio magazine with lots of short stories for your listening pleasure, it was an excellent night and I was really impressed by the quality of the readers. A big thank you to Mike Wendling who runs the whole site solo and put on the cracking event for no monetary recompense.

Lynsey May reading at Words Per Minute, Photo Neil Douglas Thomas

Photo credit Neil Thomas Douglas (http://www.neilthomasdouglas.com/)

The second reading was at Words Per Minute, where I was again blown away to be included in such a sterling line up, and did very much enjoy getting to be part of their Sex Special. These lovely ladies – Kirsty Logan, Helen Sedgwick and Kirsten Innes, all fab writers themselves – do a grand job of choosing complementary acts and mixing readings with music and film in a way that ensures you’re always engaged.

So, I haven’t exactly been setting my wourdcount on fire, but I;m hoping there’s still time for that. Still almost a third of November left after all. I just have to remember that ninjas tend to get out of bed and get down to business more often than I’d necessarily like.

No notebook: my new night terror

Posted by Lynsey May on

Anxiety dreams sneak into your sleep in all kinds of insidious forms. The ones I know I share with a lot of other people are those involving teeth and nails, gruesome little numbers that wake you up scrabbling and wishing and hoping you were wrong, those little body parts are still attached and safe. Luckily, you generally were, and your disasters were only a figment of your overtaxed imagination.

I’ve added a new one to my collection though, one I’m actually almost ashamed of. Rather than dreaming about a real disaster I have to fight my way through, I find myself in an unfamiliar city with time to kill as dusk draws in.

I look around and decide to sit and a café or a bar to while away the time as I wait to meet the mysterious reason for my visit to the city. But as I approach my destination I realise there is no notebook in my bag, no pen.

One of my trusty notebooks

Mildly worried, I start scanning the streets, looking for somewhere I can buy a fountain pen and a notebook. Cue a dash around, as doors are shut in my face and shops show me to their scanty stationary sections. I never get my hands on a notebook in this dream, and I always wake up a bit pissed off rather than with sweaty palms and a hurried heartbeat, but it does make me feel a bit pretentious. Thanks subconscious, for adding such a wanky anxiety dream to my repertoire.

My first foray into a slush pile

Posted by Lynsey May on

Slush is a dirty word

Ian Dawson: White Paper Pile

I used to hate the term slush pile, really hate it. The thought of all those words I’d tweaked and printed and lovingly posted ending up melting into some kind of inky, grey sludge made me feel not only sad, but also kind of resentful. Back then, the realities of the world of publishing were pretty fuzzy for me. Not so these days, and especially not now I’ve had my first foray into slush pile reading.

When the slush still sounded scary

Once, I had a quick fire attitude towards sending my work out there. Submissions would be done in a flurry and I’d be sending out work practically with my eyes closed, because I was too scared to find out too much and be disheartened. In a way, it was both an act of extreme confidence and extreme lack of it – which sounds like it could pretty much describe the whole writing condition. I suspected my stories would end up slushed, so I tried not to find out too much, so as not to be discouraged.

Clearing the slush from my windscreen

After seeing the kind of stuff that pour through the doors of the journal I’m part-timing for (as well as reading a few good articles on slush), I’ve got an even better idea of why blind submissions are a waste of time – and an invitation for rejection and minor heartbreak. It really is a slush pile, because not only are some of the stories that come in not very good, but lots just aren’t in any way suitable. Really, you’re sifting the slush for the things that fit, as well as the stories that shine.

To be truthful, I can’t say I’ve come to love the term slush pile, but when you look at those snowy white submissions heaped up, full of spelling mistakes and unsuitable material, you can just image the way the black type begins to bleed and your mound becomes slushier and slushier.

Book festival fun times

Posted by Lynsey May on

I’m kind of missing in action this week. On holiday from work and yet running around so much I feel as though I could sleep for a few days straight. And I probably would, if I didn’t already have a bunch of things to do on those days.

On Sunday I had an excellent time chatting away to some writery folk, getting some great tips for my next short story purchases and reading in the Book Festival Speigeltent. I was pretty nervous I have to admit, but a bunch of my lovely friends and family came along and it was amazing fun. These are the stories I read.

Lynsey May reading at Story Shop at Edinburgh Book Festival

Me reading at Edinburgh City of Literature Story Shop

Other book festival highlights so far have to be Gutter’s McHigh night which featured some amazing readings and a highly entertaining Neil Gaiman and Audrey Niffeneger event. Sigh, grand times, if only there could be a book festival every month? Although I suppose too much of a good thing is always a terrible idea.

A day of words, words and more words

Posted by Lynsey May on

When it comes to writing, there are times when months and months go by and it feels as though nothing is happening, nothing will ever happen. And then there are times when suddenly, everything happens at once – this is one of those times.

I feel as though I’m at the centre of a veritable flurry of literary things, and I’m loving it.

Today I read some stories as part of the InkyFingers Mini Fest and when I got home, my inbox had three nice surprises for me – a bunch of my writing all went live on the same day!

At IdeasTap, I’ve an article about financing a writing career without feeling as though you’re sacrificing the ability to write.

There’s a wee flash piece bout a women under siege called Edith’s Voice over at The Pygmy Giant.

And Metazen also published Yonica’s Beautiful Things, which just happens to be one of the stories I also read aloud today.

Whew, if only every day was as literary! Although to be honest, I’m about ready to curl up with a good book now. Maybe until Sunday, when I am super excited to be reading as part of the Edinburgh City of Lit Story Shop at the Book Festival – whew!