What words would you ban?

I am absolutely certain there must be something I should be doing but today should is a banned word. Today is all about what I want to be doing, so.... I got up way too early for a Saturday, went to an appointment which of course I wanted to go to ;-) and then went back to bed which I REALLY wanted to do.

Now, I am going to READ- yes, that amazing leisure time experience that is so often sidelined because of all those things I should and have to do!

Then I intend to WRITE- another activity that is too often sidelined. And well then I am going out, which I want to do.

This week, Anna Perera, whom I wrote about some time ago, came to my school to talk to our Year 9 students about her book Guantanamo Boy and she ran a workshop for them. I'd organised it all after being impressed by her when I met her, so I was pleased that her visit went well.

Anna spoke with passion about Guantanamo and was very informative. The students left with a greater insight into the world at large, life as a writer and of course the publishing world. I'm hoping she may have inspired one or two to go into writing or editing, which is what I want to have happened.

Now that should has been banned, I wonder what other words could be banned? I imagine there are one or two out there just waiting to be banned.

Cat talk

This will be the fastest post ever as I am both exhausted and in the middle of researching my MA assignment. I am currently reading Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, a recommendation from Anna Perera which is really very good. Whilst it is primarily aimed at aspiring and existing screen writers its advice is useful for novel writers too.

At the weekend I went to see Write me a Murder which was about amongst others a couple of writers and proved to be an entertaining couple of hours. I didn't see the end coming and the twist was cleverly executed. Yesterday I watched The Other Boleyn Girl which I enjoyed. I'm predicting a weekend of work- given my assignment commitments!

Hay ho, no rest for the wicked

This week the Hay's Literature Festival is on and there are a few events that look interesting and I would have loved to attend but I am buried under books and papers as I work on my latest MA assignment.

I ought to fill you in on my recent activities - for those frequenters of my blog...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hearing Anna Perera speak. She is a former student of the MA course in Writing for Children at Winchester and her recent novel Guantanamo Boy deals with a hard issue, and because of this I was particularly keen to hear what she had to say. My works in progress tend to be issue based so I was drawn to her and the book. Incidentally she is speaking at the Hays Festival with Lucy Christopher and Melvin Burgess - discussing raw realism in teen fiction, and had I been going, I would certainly have attended this talk.

Instead I am reading Should we Burn Babar and various other books, whilst I draw together my assignment and prepare myself for what looks set to be a busy weekend.

Having toured Oxford last weekend and experienced an enjoyable first by watching Twenty20 cricket at Lords, I am going to the theatre and into London this coming weekend. I have to say after a week of hard work I am seriously looking forward to the weekend.

Morris Dancers and Reading

On a trip to Winchester yesterday, I saw some rather interesting looking Morris Dancers. Why they were dressed like this I do not know. Anyone who can enlighten me- please do!

I am currently reading The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness which is an interesting read if ever there was one.... and I am looking forward to half term. One more week to go.

Oh- and I got my author copies of the Aiming for Level 4 Reading book. It's all go in the Ensaff household, you know!

An opinion or three

Isn't the weather amazing at the moment? Loving it big time. Today I went for a long walk- I'd say about 5 miles- around Virginia Water lake, a beautiful place, and today it really was gorgeous.

I feel very healthy now - that and a wee bit tired. However, let me tell you about a fabulous production of A View from the Bridge that I saw at the weekend. It stars Ken Stott and having read and taught the play before, I really did enjoy the performance.

I am, of course, trying also to do some work towards my MA, and, recently I read I Coriander for a session. I have to say I loved the rich language of the text and the wonderful historical setting but the fairy world just wasn't my cup of tea. I thought the real world was so much more believable than the fairy world but it may well be my taste. I'm much more into realism than fantasy. However, I am open to being convinced of the wonders of fantasy and as I said I did enjoy the richness of the language.

Far be it from me to criticise a book that has been published when little old me has not managed to achieve this - in fiction at least, but as a reader, my reaction to the book was that it lacked unity; the realistic sections were engaging and well developed and the fairy sections just weren't as well executed, in my humble opinion.

Tomorrow it's back to writing and reading.... and redrafting a chapter for the Collins series.

A Clear Mind

This week I have tried to retrieve some of my former creativity which has been sapped of late. In the term time any semblance of energetic imagination seems to evaporate like early morning mist. I think it's the mundaneness of life that does it to me- and its busyness. The waking up, going to work, marking, planning and report writing. That and fitting in my MA schedule (which currently occupies two evenings) and a few social events has become quite draining. I'm just not receptive to things in the way I would normally be. So to have these few weeks to re-charge and re-energise is brilliant.

To this end, I went to university earlier in the week and came back with a bag full of books. I am currently reading Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction. It's by Patrica HighSmith- writer of The Talented Mr Ripley. I find reading these sorts of books by published well known authors really helpful. I'm planning to get through a few others and some fiction in the hope that they will re-ignite my own writing. I have a bit of a problem with one of my books at the moment which is really annoying me and which I want and probably need to resolve this holiday.

As part of my efforts towards clearing my mind and re-energising, I have tidied my study. It was really messy- lots of papers everywhere that needed filing- and filed they now are! It's not as minimalist as I'd like but it is as good as it needs to be. Let the positive energy begin.

In the Workplace

Mmmm I am looking forward to my Easter holiday when I can relax and recuperate, having caught my fair share of bugs this term. And just to get in the mood, I had an Easter egg today. (That's my excuse anyrate)

However, I am not here to wallow in self pity or tell you about my chocolate eating habits; I am here to tell you about the non-fiction book that I am currently writing for Evans publishers. It is my first exploration into the world of non fiction as a writer- having done mostly educational material, to date. It is also my first fee based book, as my others have been based on good old fashioned advances and royalties.

The research for the book has been an interesting experience, as I have had to delve into the retail industry, which I knew something about but which I now know a lot about. It strikes me that prolific non fiction writers must become expert at every possible area under the sun.

In any case the book I am writing is part of a series on career choices aimed at secondary age students. It will be marketed in the US and UK. The series is called In the Workplace - which is on page 12 of the link document, if you're interested. And my book is going to be the In the Workplace- Retail one!