Every photo...

 Can bring back memories...

plus sites—and sights, scents, sensations, scenarios and sweet memories.

Or bad ones but I'd rather concentrate on the positive.

And think...

(source: pinterest)

What bought this about?

The lovely husband was tidying his desk and found an old hard drive. which was full of photos from anything up to twenty or so years ago.

And every photo brought back memories. Of fabulous holidays, and experiences like street food in Singapore. The Night Market in Hong Kong, watching a shoal of fish turn a placid english river into something like a whirlpool. 

Street signs, a junk in Hong Kong Harbour, Tring a zip line (Never again)  And as I looked through the photos I could imagine what it was like.

I remembered food, parks, animals and birds. The sheer joy of discovering somewhere new. Even now I'm thinking how lucky I was to go to somewhere different and fascinating.

The picture of me holding one of my earliest paperbacks, gave me the sensation of the smell of a new book. 

Looking at a photo of a cake and I couldn't remember who made it and why. That was (and still is) frustrating.

Then there's times I had to go back to where I thought of something, because I'd forgotten what it is I wanted to do after seeing something in a photo. (Or even just thought of something and forgotten it before I got to where it was.)

Some photos I'm sure I've got a dozen of, taken at different times of the day, and different years. But each one evokes a different memory.

Walking on the sands in Barbados, going again at sunset to see the 'green flash' as the sun disappears. 

Remembering the sound of the waves, the fish market and the live music.

 
Heading to Devon and watching the fishermen go net fishing, 

Going across the river on the ferry and using the area in my Devon Trilogy. (Written as Katy Lilley)

So of course I then got out the box of snapshots.

Old Photos of my family, from Grandparents, to the present day. Imagining I could smell my late mum's favourite perfume. Remembering how she'd go to the hairdressers and the same day, a few hours later, go swimming. 

Looking at wedding photos and feeling the silk petals of a corsage, how my feet hurt and I kicked my shoes off as soon as I could.

(No I'm not showing that photo)

Rain on the patio, with the Christmas lights twinkling  and the scent of fresh earth once the rain stops

I could go on and on, but I won't. Because The rain has just stopped, the earth and the lawn have that gorgeous 'just soaked' scent, it's time to go for a walk.

Happy reminiscing,

Love Raven xxx

Those first few words

 This last week I've been plotting in my head, and making some notes about a story that's been in my mind for a while now, but I've not got any of it down 'on paper'.

Or anywhere else

But I've read a lot of books and drunk a lot of coffee.

If I'm honest I've been struggling to get anything written. Lots of starts, no substance. (And not been that eager to make myself sit down and get on with it.)

However, this story I'm determined to write and finish. I like the idea I've created.

That's easier said than done. I've played around with the first chapter umpteen times and been dissatisfied with it. The delete button has almost worn out. 

I'm lucky that a good online friend is always happy to read and give me some advice. I'd written the first couple of thousand words—again—and asked her if she'd help.

Bless her, she said yes, read it and gave me some great advice. She'd picked up the bits I wasn't happy with, and a bit more that didn't work and suggested some ideas for me.

It's given me some good things to ponder. 

Helped me realise I do want this story to work, and that one of the things I'd missed was getting into the head of my character(s). They played a little role in an earlier book—Second Chances for Lottie Botte—. She's what we in the North East and Scotland would call a 'nippy sweetie'. 

As I read those few words over again, I saw I'd not shown that at all.

So, it's second chances for my new story. And maybe third and fourth. Until I get her character right, and a hook, that grabs the reader and keeps them wanting more!

Wish me luck.

Happy reading,

love, Raven xxx

The dilemma of what to take on holiday to write with

 Of course there’s an obvious answer…paper and pen! Except I couldn’t then be bothered to type it all up when I got home. (I know me!)

Which when you consider I love notebooks, is weird, maybe? But my notebooks have bits of stories in. Prompts and bullet points. Which as my handwriting is getting worse, (arthritis is a pain in more ways than one) have to be brief. So the thought of putting a whole book down in one of them is a big no no.

It has to be laptop or tablet. 

Usually, any holiday sees me with a tote bag over one shoulder, my carry on and a big suitcase. Cables, notebooks and of course, e-reader, laptop and tablet. Which is a pain at security as I have to haul them out.

I decided I needed to try leaving the laptop at home and writing on my tablet. I’ve got one with the ability to write all I want, so. I decided to give it a go.

The dilemma was should I take a keyboard or not?

The first break I left home, feeling I’d forgotten something.

Ah, ha, my laptop. Safely tucked away.

I can manage I thought, after all I had my keyboard, so wrote I could.

Except I didn’t.

It was a faff to sort the keyboard out every time I wanted to use it, and remember to switch it off when I’d finished. So half the time I didn’t bother. And writing on my tablet with a different keyboard to my laptop was (and is) frustrating. I keep hitting the wrong keys and getting silly words. Which if I don’t see immediately, I then have to try and fathom out. Yes, silly things I know but it all added up to very little writing getting done. And as often on holiday I would usually get up early to write, I found that just didn’t happen.

So recently when we had a couple of weeks in the Lanzarote, I swithered. Laptop or not?

It was only a couple of weeks. I could use my tablet, surely? And not take the keyboard.

So that’s what I did.

I sat near a palm tree. Got out my tablet…

Oh dear, too sunny. Better try later.

Oh what a lovely sunset. Can’t see properly to write.

Indoors and oh, there’s a puzzle I want to do.

The writing just didn’t get much of a look in. Which is my fault, no one else’s. But it is frustrating not to be able just to open laptop, open the doc and get stuck in.

So, I might just have to accept I’m going to have to unload half a tote bag at security, or not get much writing done, if we go away anytime soon.

It shouldn’t be such a big thing. I didn’t think it would be, but…

And now, after a lot of puzzling, I think, just think I might have a sort of a solution.

I was watching a video on my tablet the other day and I had a sort of a brainwave. Why not write landscape and have bigger keys? Okay, the area of type I can see is miniscule and I can’t actually see the last thing I wrote without scrolling. But I had a go! 

.

So the next holiday, it will be notebooks for notes with a big memo from me…

Turn the tablet sideways!

Happy reading,

Love Raven xxx

Ps to prove I could do it, I decided to write this on my tablet, and for the life of me I have no idea why the size of type keeps changing and I can’t sort it, it just glares at me every time I try. Sorry

,