Saturday 26 November 2011

10 Reasons 2012 Will Be Awesome


I know it’s a little early to be thinking about next year, but if stores can start stocking Christmas goods in October then surely I’m allowed to indulge in a little positive forward thinking?

I’m the first to admit I won’t be sorry to see the end of 2011 and it got me thinking about all the things I have to look forward to in 2012 and why my 30th year is surely going to be an awesome one.

So, in no particular order…

Winter wonderland…

Would you like to know the cure for the post-Christmas blues?  A log cabin, in the forest, with a hot tub.  No phone, no internet, no people, just plenty of books, wine and chocolates.  A perfect January getaway.  Plus, I can go hunting for Anomolies in the forest.  If you don’t understand that reference you should probably be proud.  If you do, welcome to the land of the geek.

May the odds be ever in your favour…

The Hunger Games hits the big screen.  I could not be more excited.

The Irish are coming…

And we are going.  Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish are heading to Dublin, and so are we.  Ok, so this may be more awesome for my husband than for me, but still, a city break is a city break, and I’ll take any excuse to buy merchandise.

Let’s gather together in a field and have a chat…

And let’s hope that’s not how the Twilight Saga comes to an end.  After becoming briefly disillusioned with the badly adapted series, Breaking Dawn Part 1 has restored this Twilighter’s faith – let’s see what they can do for the grand finale.


Destination Anywhere…

Destination Braehead Arena, actually, to see the stars of The Commitments in their 21st anniversary tour. 

Green is good…

Kermit and co are finally making their way back to the big screen in February, and I have a special Muppets t-shirt all picked out.  Yes, I’m aware that makes me a bit sad.


Destination Anywhere Part II

For the first time since 2007, we do not have a trip to Walt Disney World planned for the immediate future.  2012 will be (hopefully) the year of late deals, last minute trips to anywhere that takes our fancy and, if I am very lucky, maybe even that dream trip to Boston…

Out with the old, in with the new…

2012 will be the year I de-clutter my life, dispose of the excess baggage taking up space and kick the bad habits.  Including the use of terrible clichés.


My name is Elizabeth and I’m a published author…

The power of positive thinking.  The power of positive thinking.  The power of positive thinking. 

And finally, it’s the end of the world as we know it…

Surely 2012 will provide us with some more highly entertaining apocalypse preparation.  Or at the very least another terrible yet oddly compelling blockbuster. 

Yip, it's going to be awesome. 

Saturday 12 November 2011

#amwriting

I am happy to report that I am writing again.

In real terms it has only been a few months since I finished my novel and passed it with trembling hands to the first of my test readers.  It has felt like a lifetime.

Between post-Disney exhaustion, the endless drama of the Day Job and the emotional trauma of that most dreaded of questions – “are you all organised for Christmas?” – I was beginning to suspect that I would see the start of a new year before I would see a new story. 

I have the frustration and stress of working life to thank for my progress, though.  (Now there’s something I never thought I say!)  After a particularly distressing few days at work I found an escape in sitting down and writing a rough outline for a story that’s been tumbling around in my head for a while now.  And once I’d started I couldn’t stop. 

I’m tackling this new story in a slightly different way than the last one, which was written with only the barest hint of a plan.  That’s not to say I went in completely unaware of where I was headed, but I felt that the story changed as I was writing it, and in the end turned out quite differently than I’d expected (though I’m pretty happy with the result!)  This time I thought I’d try plotting out the story a little more thoroughly, perhaps even put together a full outline before I start to write. 

It feels unbelievably good to have my computer on for something other than job hunting or looking at houses I would buy if I won the lottery (an unhealthy hobby if ever there was one.)  I’ve always thought of writing as something I wanted to do, and I’m only now realising it might be something I need to do. 

It also feels like the next few months are going to be an exciting time.  I’ll be putting the finishing touches to my first novel and making the final adjustments, reading it and reading it again before I face the terrifying prospect of sending it to an agent (and the even more terrifying prospect of letting my best friend read it!)  I’ll also be bringing the new story to life.  I won’t say too much about the plot for the time being, but I can say this – there’s a reason the title of this blog is “What Happens in Hayden.”