Spring Energy
At this time of year, the world feels as if it's absolutely bursting with energy. Vegetation exploding into life, birds singing, days of warm sun and, today, an exhilarating mix of sunshine and refreshing breeze. All this activity is, to be honest, making me feel a bit tired!
Had a lovely few days with my friend - on the Saturday we went shopping, and on the Sunday we went down to an art exhibition by Anne Sudworth, held at Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham. It's a remarkable 'little Gothic castle' which is about to close for complete renovation. On the Monday we went to a craft fair at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, where it was so sauna-like inside the marquees that I don't know how the poor stall-holders could bear it. Bought some lovely pictures of hares, exotic-scented soap, and a ceramic frog of immense personality. Tuesday, we went walking in fabulous bluebell woods, had a pub lunch, then did more walking and discovered a hill with amazing views from the top. I'll try to post images, once I work out how to do it!
Most importantly, we had some in-depth talks about our respective novels-in-progress. I can't emphasise enough how helpful it can be to share writing ideas and problems with like-minded writers. Thanks to some no-nonsense input from my friend, I sorted out all the tangles with the outline I'm writing for my agent!
Writing outlines is such a pain. If the book is already finished, it's easier, but also kind of pointless because, er, the book is finished. If the book is in progress, or even not yet started, it can be hard unless you already know every nuance of your plot - and also still pointless, because you know how very much the book may change during the actual writing. And yet, it has to be done because editors need to see outlines! Even thought it might not yet be fully formed in your own mind, you have to put something together that sounds like a cohesive, convincing story. So input from a friend that suddenly turns the little lightbulb on is priceless!
Now it's time for breakfast, and finishing synopsis number three...





