Thursday, 10 September 2009
Sunday, 9 August 2009
A musing on writing
Often I want to write but don't really know what to write about. Well, the answer to that is easy. Why don't I write about the fact I can't think of anything to write?
Writing can be both the easiest and the hardest thing to do. The actual act of writing is often the easy part of the job. Choosing a subject can be difficult to say the least. You may be lucky and have a commission to write about a subject in a certain style and from a specific point of view. Often, though, all you have is a blank sheet of paper and no idea of a subject. this is the situation I find myself in at this moment in time. I have decided to actually write about this.
If you find yourself in this same situation, why not write about it? Who knows, you may get an article out of it!
Another method I use is so-called "free form" writing. This is where I simply start writing with no idea what you are going to write about. Often all you get is pure nonsense but sometimes this may gel into the beginnings of something more substantial. I haven't actually used this method for many years now, but I have had short stories, the odd poem and even an essay for my English o-level course!!
Whatever method you choose, the key is to relax and free your mind from the self-imposed restrictions of spelling, grammar and the need to actually make sense. All this can be put in later on in a re-write. For the 1st draft simply allow your imagination to run riot and see what you get.
Alll these thoughts are my own thoughts on the subject of writing, you may have your own methods. However you choose to write, enjoy what you do and don't worry too much about your output, just jam and improvise, you can always polish it up later.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Writing can be both the easiest and the hardest thing to do. The actual act of writing is often the easy part of the job. Choosing a subject can be difficult to say the least. You may be lucky and have a commission to write about a subject in a certain style and from a specific point of view. Often, though, all you have is a blank sheet of paper and no idea of a subject. this is the situation I find myself in at this moment in time. I have decided to actually write about this.
If you find yourself in this same situation, why not write about it? Who knows, you may get an article out of it!
Another method I use is so-called "free form" writing. This is where I simply start writing with no idea what you are going to write about. Often all you get is pure nonsense but sometimes this may gel into the beginnings of something more substantial. I haven't actually used this method for many years now, but I have had short stories, the odd poem and even an essay for my English o-level course!!
Whatever method you choose, the key is to relax and free your mind from the self-imposed restrictions of spelling, grammar and the need to actually make sense. All this can be put in later on in a re-write. For the 1st draft simply allow your imagination to run riot and see what you get.
Alll these thoughts are my own thoughts on the subject of writing, you may have your own methods. However you choose to write, enjoy what you do and don't worry too much about your output, just jam and improvise, you can always polish it up later.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
A busy year ahead
It is the chinese year of the Ox. This means that hard work and honesty will pay off in the end. It won't be an easy year but if you keep your nose to the grindstone and don't try to cheat then you will benefit in the long run!!
I have a few unfinished projects I wish to complete this year. The first is to get my comptia A+ certificate and complete my microsoft mcp exams. I'm not sure that I will acheive all this before the end of thecourse in September but I will have a damn good try!
After that I have decided to finish something I began in 1982 and promptly abandoned a year later, namely to gain my amateur radio licence. A lot has changed since I first attempted this and I am bringing myself up to speed slowly but surely in this subject.
I also wish to regain the fitness level I seem to have lost in the 15 months since I returned to lorry driving. Lorry driving is not a very healthy profession in which to work. A long time each shift is spent motionless in the driving seat hunched over a steering wheel. Even loading and unloadng is often nowadays performed by warehouse staff and involves little or no involvement by myself. Normally I spend this time sitting in my cab "twittering" on my mobile phone. so, long dog walks are the order of the day.
Now the summer is fast approaching, I hope to be able to get out and about with my new camera. I will post the results on my Flickr page, just click here to see the page or click on the links to the right of this column
I have a few unfinished projects I wish to complete this year. The first is to get my comptia A+ certificate and complete my microsoft mcp exams. I'm not sure that I will acheive all this before the end of thecourse in September but I will have a damn good try!
After that I have decided to finish something I began in 1982 and promptly abandoned a year later, namely to gain my amateur radio licence. A lot has changed since I first attempted this and I am bringing myself up to speed slowly but surely in this subject.
I also wish to regain the fitness level I seem to have lost in the 15 months since I returned to lorry driving. Lorry driving is not a very healthy profession in which to work. A long time each shift is spent motionless in the driving seat hunched over a steering wheel. Even loading and unloadng is often nowadays performed by warehouse staff and involves little or no involvement by myself. Normally I spend this time sitting in my cab "twittering" on my mobile phone. so, long dog walks are the order of the day.
Now the summer is fast approaching, I hope to be able to get out and about with my new camera. I will post the results on my Flickr page, just click here to see the page or click on the links to the right of this column
Friday, 27 March 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
A ramble
Do I really have to write meaningful posts for this blog? Can't I just write a stream of drivel and get away with it. I mean, I don't think in a coordinated, organised manner so why should my blog be any different. Twitter works on this level. How many times have you logged on to twitter and wondered what on earth people are rambling on about?
Perhaps I should just publish some of my diary rants on here for the world to see. Wonder If that would work.
Perhaps I should just publish some of my diary rants on here for the world to see. Wonder If that would work.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Mothers day
Hey everyone. Don't forget it's Mother's day this coming Sunday!! I've just ordered my Mum some flowers to be delivered as I am working this Sunday so won't be able to go see her.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
QR code
Got a barcode reader on your mobile phone?
If you have scan this is. I've made a little message for you :-)
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Who do I choose to be?
Akemi Gaines asks on her blog "if you could start your life anew today, who do you choose to be?"
After the initial reaction to this along the lines of "multi millionaire" or "successful businessman". I’ve started to actually think about this question and I realise just how deep a question it is!
Well, for a start, I would like to free of all the bills and financial commitments that life in this society burdens us all with. I would like to be free. Free to do what I please and free to live my life in a manner that benefits people and society as a whole. I would like to go around teaching people how to live fuller lives.
I guess I need to start living a fuller life myself. The million-dollar question is how to begin. How do I free myself from the shackles of this world without making myself dependent on others for my survival? This is the hurdle that most people fall on. It’s one thing to quit your job and drop out of society but eventually you will need to eat and find shelter, this means needing money which, in turn means having to work to earn money.
The key is not to drop out totally but to find ways of maintaining an income by doing things you love rather than slaving away in a job you hate.
I am currently in a job I can just about tolerate, but the hours are brutal to me. I find that most people at work don’t understand what I am moaning about, but working nights and most weekends, time I would rather be spending with my family, is wearing me down. Still, I have to be strong. Another 12 to 18 months of this and I will be completely debt free and able to actively seek a lifestyle more in keeping with my life purpose. In the meantime I can work on strategies and ideas that will help me achieve this goal. I am studying for some I.T. qualifications, I won’t finish the course in the allotted time but that is not really as important to me as the knowledge I will learn from the course materials.
I am also trying to find my writing voice. This is a voice I lost in my teens when I stopped being creative and started on my journey in the material, adult world. It has taken me nearly 30 years, but I have realised that the material world is not a world I am happy to live in. At the moment my writing voice feels awkward and stuttery. I know that I need to write my way out of this mental block so this blog is sort of like my testing ground for finding my writing voice. I have even started writing fiction!! This is something I haven’t done in any serious way since I was 15!! (1980 if you are curious). I am very excited by what is forming in my imagination and am only frustrated by my lack of ability to get it out and onto paper before it disappears into the ether!!.
Anyway I have strayed from the original focus to this blog post which is the question Akemi Gaines set. Who would I choose to be? Well I would choose to be a better, stronger version of ME I guess. A version who is not afraid of taking risks. A version who doesn’t worry what other people think about me. A version who will spread love and kindness in the world and show people that it is possible to live an honest, caring life and still be a strong, ambitious person.
After the initial reaction to this along the lines of "multi millionaire" or "successful businessman". I’ve started to actually think about this question and I realise just how deep a question it is!
Well, for a start, I would like to free of all the bills and financial commitments that life in this society burdens us all with. I would like to be free. Free to do what I please and free to live my life in a manner that benefits people and society as a whole. I would like to go around teaching people how to live fuller lives.
I guess I need to start living a fuller life myself. The million-dollar question is how to begin. How do I free myself from the shackles of this world without making myself dependent on others for my survival? This is the hurdle that most people fall on. It’s one thing to quit your job and drop out of society but eventually you will need to eat and find shelter, this means needing money which, in turn means having to work to earn money.
The key is not to drop out totally but to find ways of maintaining an income by doing things you love rather than slaving away in a job you hate.
I am currently in a job I can just about tolerate, but the hours are brutal to me. I find that most people at work don’t understand what I am moaning about, but working nights and most weekends, time I would rather be spending with my family, is wearing me down. Still, I have to be strong. Another 12 to 18 months of this and I will be completely debt free and able to actively seek a lifestyle more in keeping with my life purpose. In the meantime I can work on strategies and ideas that will help me achieve this goal. I am studying for some I.T. qualifications, I won’t finish the course in the allotted time but that is not really as important to me as the knowledge I will learn from the course materials.
I am also trying to find my writing voice. This is a voice I lost in my teens when I stopped being creative and started on my journey in the material, adult world. It has taken me nearly 30 years, but I have realised that the material world is not a world I am happy to live in. At the moment my writing voice feels awkward and stuttery. I know that I need to write my way out of this mental block so this blog is sort of like my testing ground for finding my writing voice. I have even started writing fiction!! This is something I haven’t done in any serious way since I was 15!! (1980 if you are curious). I am very excited by what is forming in my imagination and am only frustrated by my lack of ability to get it out and onto paper before it disappears into the ether!!.
Anyway I have strayed from the original focus to this blog post which is the question Akemi Gaines set. Who would I choose to be? Well I would choose to be a better, stronger version of ME I guess. A version who is not afraid of taking risks. A version who doesn’t worry what other people think about me. A version who will spread love and kindness in the world and show people that it is possible to live an honest, caring life and still be a strong, ambitious person.
Monday, 9 February 2009
Change is coming
Why do I get the feeling that something important is about to happen to me in my life? I can’t explain it any better than that. I feel that all the things I have been thinking about and researching over the last 6 or 7 months are about to happen.
All this self-analysis may be beginning to bear fruit. I have started writing after a gap of roughly 25 years. Ok so this isn’t going to land me a multi-million pound writing deal, but hey, it’s a start!!
I am beginning to define my other passions in my life. Aside from my family, they are mostly to do with computers and the Internet. I also have a long held ambition to be a radio ham and to learn to design and construct my own electronic projects. This is something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager but have never known how to go about learning the skills necessary to do this. Until now.
A recurring dream in my life has been to be able to work from home. I remember when I first encountered the internet that I thought "one day I will be making money off this" it’s taken a long time but now I am beginning to get ideas on how to do this.
Perhaps I can make my money from writing about my interests, I need to get really knowledgeable about them.
First of all I need to define what exactly my interests are!!
All this self-analysis may be beginning to bear fruit. I have started writing after a gap of roughly 25 years. Ok so this isn’t going to land me a multi-million pound writing deal, but hey, it’s a start!!
I am beginning to define my other passions in my life. Aside from my family, they are mostly to do with computers and the Internet. I also have a long held ambition to be a radio ham and to learn to design and construct my own electronic projects. This is something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager but have never known how to go about learning the skills necessary to do this. Until now.
A recurring dream in my life has been to be able to work from home. I remember when I first encountered the internet that I thought "one day I will be making money off this" it’s taken a long time but now I am beginning to get ideas on how to do this.
Perhaps I can make my money from writing about my interests, I need to get really knowledgeable about them.
First of all I need to define what exactly my interests are!!
- Ok, writing is one interest. I want to create original stories and articles.
- PC building, upgrading and repair. I am working towards qualifications to help me do this. I need to pull my finger out and get them done. Also I need to set up a workbench in the house where I can practice my skills and create new projects.
- Amateur radio. As soon as I have completed the computer courses I will work towards this qualification.
Now how do I go from working my guts out as a truck driver to working from home as a writer and PC tech guy?
That is the next step on my journey that I now need to focus on. I must remember that I won’t get it all overnight. Solid foundations take a long time to construct, only once they are securely built can work start on the main structure.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
On writing
I know I’m meant to write. From an early age I’ve always had what other people called "an active imagination". I always used to get gold stars for my stories at school and I remember one of my teachers telling me I should consider being a journalist or an author!!
All that was 30 odd years ago though and adulthood has crept in and destroyed my imagination. Here I am now, at 44 years of age, and worrying about all the adult things in life such as paying bills and getting enough sleep and not enough about creating new worlds and stories.
The other night, while I was at work, I was a bit bored and found myself thinking about how I would really like to be spending my days. I asked, in my head, "what am I meant to be doing with my life" and the reply I got, I guess from my spirit guides, but I can’t be sure, was "writing". I then asked "but what do I write and how should I go about it?" to which the reply was "just start writing" or " just do it" I can’t remember exactly which it was now.
So, my idea is to start a diary, or journal, as our American friends call it. I can use this to gain some writing experience and to log my thoughts, musings and ideas as they occure to me before they are forgotten forever.
The main problem I have is the bottleneck created by my writing and typing speeds that are never able to keep up with the speed of the ideas that are in my brain. Often I have a good idea but by the time my writing or typing has caught up then that idea has dissolved, never to be thought again. When I am away from my computer I can put up with parchment and quill or the clumsy predictive text on my mobile. None of these are ideal, but better than nothing. When I am at my computer I can type into a word document like I am doing now. However, I feel the way to go is some form of speech recognition software, or, away from computer, a bluetooth Dictaphone device that is completely hands free.
Writing is the way for me to go I believe. The idea of creating. Bringing into this world something new, never before seen that I can create from nothing. That is an idea that really appeals to me.
I have always wanted to create something that will outlive me. Something that will be read and remembered by generations of readers to come, long after I have left this existence and ceased to exist as Andy Bedford!!
Original fiction is my ultimate goal. Maybe I have to find my voice by writing drivel such as this diary entry. If that is the case then so be it. So, from this day forth, I intend to start a diary. In this diary I shall document my life both long since lived and currently being lived by me. Also, I will record my present feelings and thoughts. Sometimes I will make elements of this public on my blog. Often much of what I write will stay private. Either way it will serve as a way to get my ideas and opinions out of my head and onto paper before I forget them. In this way I will re-learn the craft and art of writing.
Ok, my next few entries in this diary will be about my life so far and my passions and plans for the here and now and my future.
All that was 30 odd years ago though and adulthood has crept in and destroyed my imagination. Here I am now, at 44 years of age, and worrying about all the adult things in life such as paying bills and getting enough sleep and not enough about creating new worlds and stories.
The other night, while I was at work, I was a bit bored and found myself thinking about how I would really like to be spending my days. I asked, in my head, "what am I meant to be doing with my life" and the reply I got, I guess from my spirit guides, but I can’t be sure, was "writing". I then asked "but what do I write and how should I go about it?" to which the reply was "just start writing" or " just do it" I can’t remember exactly which it was now.
So, my idea is to start a diary, or journal, as our American friends call it. I can use this to gain some writing experience and to log my thoughts, musings and ideas as they occure to me before they are forgotten forever.
The main problem I have is the bottleneck created by my writing and typing speeds that are never able to keep up with the speed of the ideas that are in my brain. Often I have a good idea but by the time my writing or typing has caught up then that idea has dissolved, never to be thought again. When I am away from my computer I can put up with parchment and quill or the clumsy predictive text on my mobile. None of these are ideal, but better than nothing. When I am at my computer I can type into a word document like I am doing now. However, I feel the way to go is some form of speech recognition software, or, away from computer, a bluetooth Dictaphone device that is completely hands free.
Writing is the way for me to go I believe. The idea of creating. Bringing into this world something new, never before seen that I can create from nothing. That is an idea that really appeals to me.
I have always wanted to create something that will outlive me. Something that will be read and remembered by generations of readers to come, long after I have left this existence and ceased to exist as Andy Bedford!!
Original fiction is my ultimate goal. Maybe I have to find my voice by writing drivel such as this diary entry. If that is the case then so be it. So, from this day forth, I intend to start a diary. In this diary I shall document my life both long since lived and currently being lived by me. Also, I will record my present feelings and thoughts. Sometimes I will make elements of this public on my blog. Often much of what I write will stay private. Either way it will serve as a way to get my ideas and opinions out of my head and onto paper before I forget them. In this way I will re-learn the craft and art of writing.
Ok, my next few entries in this diary will be about my life so far and my passions and plans for the here and now and my future.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Snow!!
It's been a long time since we have had snow like this in Northampton!!
I've uploaded loads more photos of the snow to my flickr page here.
I've uploaded loads more photos of the snow to my flickr page here.
Saturday, 3 January 2009
my objectives for next week
Next week, being the 1st full week of 2009, is the week i have decided to start my new year resolutions.
My objectives for next week are;
To take dogs out for a walk every day.
To go for a swim on 2 days and for that to become a regular thing.
To join the gym at work. I can go for a session after work 2 or 3 times a week.
Lastly, to keep a regular diary.
My objectives for next week are;
To take dogs out for a walk every day.
To go for a swim on 2 days and for that to become a regular thing.
To join the gym at work. I can go for a session after work 2 or 3 times a week.
Lastly, to keep a regular diary.
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