Tag: blogging

Where to begin… (again)

~ Meg ~ 31 Comments

Wow, it has really been a while. Like since September of 2020.

I have been at a creative loss all these long months. Other than a few paintings, I have found myself unable to produce anything else. I will blame lockdown, yes absolutely. I know some people have used this time to enable them to embark on new hobbies, new projects and educating themselves in avenues of exploration they never had time for previously. Not so me. The long months of lockdown — Ireland is just opening up now— have kept the ideas from forming. And yes, there were ideas, but ones I could never seem to bring to completion. And I hate trying to write something for which I know not the conclusion. So they stayed in the imagination or maybe with a note or two jotted in my trusty notebook.

I haven’t even had the motivation to add posts to my blog. Even that much writing felt too overwhelming. I have probably lost many of my old friends as I never kept up with reading here either. That makes me sad. I have no one to blame but myself. Still, I am a writer. That is what I tell people I do. But what is a not writing writer? A monster courting insanity so says Kafka.

I still don’t have any ideas fully formed to conclusion, but I need to get started somehow, somewhere. And that place is here. So in the coming days I will begin again. Maybe with some stories of life here in Ireland. I won’t bore you with the dreary months of lockdown —everyone is sick to death of talking about the pandemic. But I will try and give you a glimpse of life on this island with all its charm and eccentricities. I hope you will like it and I hope it gets me back on track. The possibility of writing something, anything might be the spark this monster courting insanity needs to keep the craziness at bay.

Oh and if you wonder how I spent this time? Reading, podcasts and more reading. A true gem of a discovery has been the Irish History Podcast produced and narrated by Fin Dwyer. I have learned so much about my adopted country this way. If you have interest in Ireland and its history both ancient and modern, I heartily recommend you check out the link to the podcast.

Until next time, cheers and best wishes.

This Boot’s Not Made For Walking…

~ Meg ~ 41 Comments

It’s four weeks today since I fell and broke the ankle. It feels like four months. I am absolutely hating all the sitting around. For the first two weeks, I had to keep the leg elevated all the time which really kept me stuck in the chair. After the first two weeks, I had the cast off and the stitches out, now the leg is in a boot. At least with the boot, I can take it off to wash and give the leg a little massage. Sleeping in the bulky boot is a challenge, though. The ankle doesn’t hurt anymore and I don’t have to keep it elevated, but I can’t put weight on it, yet. I’ve been doing exercises on the floor so I don’t get too out of shape. I’m used to walking/jogging 3-4 miles a day. I will say this… I’m definitely going to have more upper body strength when this is all through!

I have, however, been making good use of my time. I’m doing some copy editing for another writer and I have started [restarted] working on my WWI novel. I’ve got a series of sketches planned, two of which are completed and one which is in progress. And of course I am reading plenty of interesting research material.

I guess if you try to look on the bright side, this injury happened in January when the weather is miserable and the days are short. By spring time, I should be healed up enough to go outside and enjoy the sunshine and milder temperatures. Well, maybe not sunshine so much… it does rain all the darn time over here. Nonetheless, I have two weeks to go till my next follow up appointment and I’m hoping for a good report. In the meantime, I’m getting around the best I can:

I plead insanity …

~ Meg ~ 20 Comments

How long has it been?!? I have been an atrocious blogger the last several weeks, maybe months. And I’ve been terrible at reading, visiting and commenting at all your lovely blogs as well. But now its a new year, time for new goals and getting back to business. I promise to visit everyone soon!

I finished up 2019 by doing a lot of reading. I tackled some heavy hitters this year and fell one short of meeting my GoodReads challenge of 30 books. Still, considering the weight of some of the material I covered, it’s a pretty good show. I tackled The Divine Comedy with notes, The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States, The Art of Memory, The Stranger, The Plague and One Hundred Years Of Solitude, just to name a few.

The second half 2019 was insane, there’s no other way to put it. I’m in a new country, new house, finding new friends and my way around unfamiliar territory, physically, mentally and emotionally. But it’s good. It really is.

The move consumed a lot of time and energy and it prevented me from writing and posting here on the blog. That changes now. I am back to writing this week. I have an editing project to work on and another one possibly after that. The very act of working on writing, even though it’s someone else’s material, has given me the inspiration to get started on my own work again.

So this year, I’ll be sharing more of my World War One research, updates on the historical novel, bits and pieces of writing advice/mistakes, and an occasional piece of art. I’m not going to try any challenges this year, though. That became a bit of a burden last year. I am going to try and keep any artwork that I do relevant to my historical work. For example, characters I encounter in research or events set during the Great War.

I hope you all are well and that 2020 is off to a good start. Happy writing and productive editing!