Friday 19 October 2012

W.I.P Creativity, Barbara Catchpole and P.I.G.

Evening folks – some spare time on a Friday night – so, here is anther early update. Allin all, I’ve had a pretty decent week. Last weekend I read seven chapters from my current project to hubby – his critique ranged from ‘you’re further on than I thought’, ‘I can see that character in my mind’ and ‘you’ve relocated the row of cottages near the pub, haven’t you?’ Yes, yes I have! Anyhow, he enjoyed what I’d produced and now I’ll make a start on the next seven chapters. If only he knew not only have I moved the miners’ cottages but I’ve pinched the local road layout too.

Monday was a manic day at work, so I arrived home with a bad head – a wasted night. Tuesday evening saw me rushing like a mad man trying to fit two nights of writing into one. Why does my brain do that? My W.I.P. is becoming real with each chapter - the characters are starting to talk to me, their actions and behaviour is surfacing and the chapters are flowing nicely. I feel quite smug, for once.

Wednesday saw me attend the world smallest writers’ meeting with the Mad Hatters’ – just two of us. We’d had several apologies and one no-shower (who we worried about due to the lack of communication – though totally unnecessary). The two of us spent the evening chatting about anything related to writing and poetry – a very relaxed meeting which finished at the normal time.

Thursday saw me and my form group produced a scary movie themed about Halloween trick and treating. The kids had a great time dressing up and acting – though secretly, not as much as I did. Thursday evening saw me curled on the sofa with my ‘Harry Potter’ reading book which is part of my Open University literature course.

Friday – was a sheer delight! I welcomed the author Barbara Catchpole into my English lesson to give the children a talk about her P.I.G. books, published by Ransom Books. Barbara encouraged the children to produce the outline of a character and begin creating an idea for a story. She filled the classroom with happy, smiling faces for the entire hours – which is more than I do on a Friday morning, period 3. Barbara generously shared her creative thought process, daily writing routines and the inspirations which helped to create her series of P.I.G. books for children. Anyway, after a few photographs for local press publicity Barbara said her hearty goodbyes – the children were disappointed to hear the school bell signal their next lesson, I am sure that her enthusiasm has ignited lots of creative thinking.

And finally, to this weekend – my plans revolve about an study essay that I have to write regards ‘Harry Potter’ book – woohoo! The rest of the weekend will fall into place about this central focus. If I get the chance I will be working on the W.I.P. – attempting to put together the next few chapters. A decent dog walk and dog training will definitely be on the agenda to blow the cobwebs away. And, it goes without saying I’ll be twittering as I go. You can follow me by searching for odwyer_author – that way you can accompany my journey as I walk it. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Barbara C said...

Thank you so much! The kids were so well behaved. I had a great time!

Barbara C said...

I forwarded the blog to my publisher and they were thrilled but wanted to point out it is Ransom Books not Random. I, of course, was carried away by your sweet words and did not notice. As they are probably the most supportive, creative and efficient publishers in the UK (if not the world and the universe)I felt obliged to put the record straight.