Ideas

 Frustratingly, I can't say what my day has been full of so far today, but let's just say I haven't had time to get on with any writing. However, I am going to have to, even if I am still writing at midnight. 

Something I have been thinking about is 'ideas', and timings. Sometimes I have an idea every other day and sometimes there is a huge chasm where my creative brain cells should be. This is torture when I'm desperate to write something. PF do dedicate some pages online to sparking ideas in their writers, which are incredibly useful. When I remember (which is not always the case because I am in a creative desert, parched and panicking), I go on and have a look. If you are writing fiction for magazines, something you need to keep in mind is that you have to rise above the here and now. If you are sitting in your lounge, in the depths of winter, huddled up by the fire, you need to put yourself into a heatwave. If you are sitting on a sun-lounger by a pool in the Mediterranean (well, we can dream), you need to imagine yourself knee-deep in snow. I would say write six months in advance of your time-setting. Magazines plan a long way in advance. Word count is vital. Make sure you check. Sometimes there is a bit of leeway (10% perhaps) but not always. 

Think about big days that are coming up. Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, VE Day. You get the idea. You don't have to always be writing about 'days' but it can help to spark something. Similarly, you can use incidents that you've been involved with; everyday happenings that might be funny or particularly emotional. Make a few changes. Embellish a bit. You have a new story.

I don't often write in the study - more often in the dining room/Ant's room when he stays - but on the walls up there I have put up printouts of things that hit home. Here's one of them.

Find sayings that resonate and print them off. I will share my favourite one another day. It always makes me smile.