Doing the Maths Helps Clear the Block

So there I was, stuck on chapter 8 of a textbook I'm writing with a colleague in the US. He'd written part of this chapter and I needed to finish it. I had no idea what I was going to write or where the words would come from. It seemed a huge task and I felt myself starting to panic.

Then I attended an Arvon Foundation course where one of the tutors was author Richard Beard (http://richardbeard.info). He talked to us about structure and the way maths comes into the planning of his books.

Back home, I looked at the number of words I already had and the number I needed to complete the chapter. Then I did some research, reminding myself of all the things I'd forgotten I knew about the subject. I listed the points I could make and calculated the number of words I needed to write about each point. It was surprisingly few.

Four hours later the chapter was finished, edited and winging its way across the Atlantic for my colleague to review. Bringing a bit of left-brain thinking to a right-brain activity seems to have worked. Now to tackle the other chapters I've been trying to ignore!

What about you? What devices or structures do you use to help you plan your writing?

Manners, Ladies

One of the things about moving to the country is that I spend lots of time driving through narrow village streets or country lanes. There are frequent stops to let oncoming traffic through. Inevitably, a larger vehicle causes frantic backing-up (when I usually end up in the hedge!).

All this manoevering is generally done with good humour. A little wave of thanks is exchanged - and everyone drives on with a smile on their faces. Just occasionally, there is no wave, no smile - no acknowledgement that I've stopped to let someone pass. Invariably, these people are women. As a woman myself, I find that galling. We're all busy - we all have lots going on in our lives - but a second of courtesy costs nothing. Come on ladies, where are your manners?

Swanwick Day 3: Transfering A Memory

It was Sunday, lunchtime, the last week in June. The sun was strong, the sky cloudless and deep blue. Crowds strolled along each bank of the river in Ljubljana. Stall holders watched their stock lazily from under parasols. It was too much effort to pull in the punters. There was a buzz of conversation and occasional shouts of laughter from the crowded bars.

We were having lunch in our favourite restaurant. We shared a bottle of cool local wine, young and with a greensih tinge. There was a large wooden platter on the centre of the table with local hams, cheeses and olives, both green and black. The sour taste of the olives complimented the wine beautifully.

"You know we're going to lose our buyers, don't you?" he said.

The thought of losing the wonderful converted barn we'd discovered in Dorset was too much for me to bear.

"I don't suppose you'd consider buying the new house before we've sold the old one?" I whispered

Swanwick Day 2 - To-Do Spidergrams

I've always been highly organised - or anally retentive, as an unkind colleague once described me. One of my delights is writing To-Do lists, in the form of spidergrams. On trains, on planes, in hotels - each time I feel my busyness overwhelm me, I make another list.

Best of all are the ones I prepare in my own office, with coloured pens on flip-chart paper - blue-tacked to the wall for all to see. I use them as a plan of what must be done and a record of what has been achieved. I've even been known to add completed tasks (which I'd forgotten to list previously) to the list, so I can immediately cross them off.

My lists encompass the day job, creative writing and personal life and are written in code. The latest one has headings of: Writing, Party; HIS work; CWC; NAWC; CBG and Swawnwick. I make mini-lists on a daily basis, taking critical tasks off the master list.

Once while on a business trip, I got a call from a client to say a project I'd assumed to be cancelled was not only back on, but also pulled forward. Tears rolling down my face, I told my partner I couldn't do it all. He just sighed, pull a blank sheet of paper towards him and picked up a pen. 'Let's make a list' he said.

It has been suggested that making lists is a substitute for getting things done (like sharpening your pencils instead of doing homework). That can't be true - my list is different every time I draw it. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to get any shorter.

Swanwick Summer School - Day 1

It hardly seems a year since the diamond jubilee, but here we are again at Swanwick for the 61st Writers' Summer School. After 6 hours of hell on the M5 last year, we let the train take the strain this time - along with half the inhabitants of the West Country.

During the 'Writing Autobiography' course on day 1, we were tasked to write a mini-memoir in just 50 words - much harder than writing it in 500. Here is my attempt:

"The woman in pink blocked the aisle as the packed train set off. Absent-mindedly wrestling with the Yorkie in her arms and chatting to her seated companion, she ignored my attempts to reach my friends. I shrugged, found an empty seat, put my feet up on my case - and waited."

Sunshine and Sausages

My play-project finally matured on 01 August. Sunshine and Sausages, an e-book on how to organise and run a successful summer garden party, was launched. You can find it at www.elizabethducie.co.uk.

The objective of the project was not just to write and publish a book, but also to learn about the technology. In two months I wrote, laid out and illustrated the book, developed my new website and mastered the art of PayPal buttons.

Thanks to John Williams of Creative Maverick (www.creativemaverick.com) for the original suggestion and for encouragement along the way.

Now for my next project....

Dartington Literature Festival

Coming to the end of a week spent at Dartington, soaking up a real cocktail of talks and book reviews. My highlights of the festival were A C Grayling for erudition and a distinguished head of grey hair; James Lovelock for looking like my father - and for the twinkle in his eye when he talked about his many opponents; Michael Buerk for a wicked, non-PC view of the world, with which all his audience empathised; and Ben Crystal for showing us Shakespeare and the Iambic Pentameter in a totally different light.

However, for me the most memorable session was with two newly published authors: Edward Hogan and Anna Richards. Ed has recently won the Desmond Elliott prize for his first novel Blackmoor and Anna was long-listed for the same prize for her first novel, Little Gods. They each read a short piece from their books and talked about the long journey to first publication (best part of 10 years in both cases). Their humility, humour and willingness to offer advice to other aspiring novellists was a breathe of fresh air.