No not the floods! Picture taken in Bewdley Worcestershire yesterday.
I went on Miranda Dickinson’s Write Foxy workshop on 1 February. One of the things that stuck in my head was her remedy for feeling bogged down in your writing. She advises to write something completely mad. She writes about a wombat.
I took her advice and several conversations between a blackbird and a goldfinch have emerged. So in a mad blog post I decided to share the first. Whether I share the others will depend on your reaction!
Tales From a Garden Feeder Part One
‘Oi.’ There was a flash of gold.
‘Are you referring to me?’
‘Yes, you with the odd white tail feather.’
‘I can’t help that. It’s passed on from my mother.’
‘You’re supposed to be a blackbird.’
After fluffing up and rearranging feathers, Blackie replied, ‘I am a blackbird with attitude and enhancement.’
‘Bet it makes it difficult to find a mate.’
‘You’d be surprised. The girls think it’s sexy.’
‘Yeah right. Shift over I want some of that seed.’
‘Wait your turn. I’m hungry.’
‘There was a time when you blackbirds didn’t come on the feeder, robins neither. Too much competition now you lot have mutated.’
‘Hey, come on. There are more humans putting seed out these days.’
‘In some places. Haven’t you heard of the recession?’
‘Sure, but with that came “waste not, want not” attitude. They’re more likely to put out stale bread. I even found some stilton the other day. Must have been left over from Christmas. Sticks to your beak, but a good source of fat.’
‘Never tried it, but if it made my breath smell as bad as yours, I don’t want to.’
‘Cheeky.’
‘You finished yet?’
‘No.’
‘Come on my turn.’
There was a scuffle. Feathers flew amid much squawking.
‘Hey, you are so bad mannered. You nearly pulled out my distinctive feather then.’
‘Don’t tempt me, freak.’
‘At least I don’t look like a patchwork quilt. How do you cope growing all those different coloured feathers? No need to preen yourself, you don’t need to impress me.’
‘Never hurts to look your best. The goldfinch code, you know.’
Well at least it distracted me from editing doldrums!
What do you do when your writing or editing isn’t going so well?
I so love this, I must try it. I usually write a flash fiction piece, and if my chartacters are still sulking I let them. I'll wirtie a diffferent book instead.
ReplyDeleteRaven - You write loads! I tend to tie myself in knots when I'm editing, so the bird sagas have been an interesting diversion. I'll post some more soon, they have developed to have messages about life and living. At least it frees the mind! Thank you for commenting. Mx
DeleteI think that's great! Not the floods though ... take care
ReplyDeleteFlowerpot - I live quite a way from the river, but my mother has swans swimming outside her window. Just praying it doesn't go much higher!
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