You Are A Writer Because.. 7 Reasons Why You’re A Writer

Last week I was asking when does writing make you a writer? When should we feel comfortable saying it out loud? What makes the difference between a pastime and an

3 Reasons To Go Easy On New Year Resolutions

1. You’re setting yourself up to fail. Do you really need that? Again?! Research shows only 10-12% of people keep new year resolutions so unless you’re one of that weird minority, don’t create a false optimism that this year will be different. You’ll end up feeling a flop by March.
2. You’re probably being selfish or at least too self-focused. I need to be thinner, fitter, faster, richer, blonder or whatever. Despite what common culture would have us believe these are not the keys to happiness. To be happy, research shows we need to be more outward focused. So if you need to make a resolution make the sort that practices small acts of kindness or spreads a bit of joy like smiling at people. If you absolutely must have a proper challenge for the new year, commit to remaining polite and charming even with the biggest idiots and egos you have to deal with.
3. Finally, we’ve got the word all wrong! Resolution is derived from the latin resolvere meaning ‘loosen or release’. Let all that crap go about ‘should’, ‘ought’ and ‘need to’ at the start of this year. Give yourself a break for a change and whilst you’re not so busy beating yourself up you might be able to be a bit kinder, a bit more attentive to everyone else around you.

Blog Lite – Trying to get the Balance Right

Bad backs make for boring blog posts but a mention is necessary to explain why I haven’t posted for 7 months. Another reason was

CHEMO BRAIN Part III – Notes to Self

This post forms part of a series I am writing to pull together some research and personal experience on Chemobrain, what it is and how you might manage it and help yourself.

It’s a reasonably long post (2,750 words approx) covering:

1. My brain and its thinking:

-Poor Prospective Memory

-Distractibility

-Inability to see the wood for the trees.

2. What I do about it

Ask a busy woman, or Organising my writing

“Someone, somewhere needs the next page

of your book now!”

 

My friend Rachel tossed me this motivator a while ago now. I was discussing the difficulties of writing my memoir.

Since school went back, I’m focusing on finishing it. It is the ‘work’ goal / theme – This doesn’t mean I will ever manage to sit down and write for 6 or 7 hours a day. Some writing of memoir is about coming to terms with the stuff you’re trying to get on the page. It takes shape, reforms or

Goals or should that be Gaols?!

School’s back and as ever I have a mix of excitement and determination as another new year starts!  Not that I have been to school for some time, but I envy my son going off to join his lovely bunch of friends with the sense of a fresh start.

This feeling of new beginnings in September has been with me since I was about 12 or 13, but it also marks one of the first goals I set myself when struggling with ‘living’ with stage 4 cancer – I decided I would do everything and anything I could, to see that boy of mine start school at 5. As I mark off another year (and that precious boy turns 16 this term), I am aware that this