You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?
Hello and welcome to my site! This is a two part blog post. First I will deal with my new year goals and talk you through why they mean something to me. Second I will talk about the ideal writing and reading space, and why they are different places.
I’ve already mentioned that in the new year I want to publish some more stories. I think this is important for me because first of all I enjoy writing stories and to share them with the world is a way to be a part of a bigger community. It also helps me to increase my likely hood of becoming a well known author – which is something I want. I want people to know a few stories by me, and to enjoy them. I write primarily horror with particular attention to zombie fiction.
At least if I publish a few more stories – I have two that I want to release by spring – then I will also have had more practice. I don’t believe I could ever stop creating stories. As for how many I want to publish in total next year – I guess I want to publish more – that also depends. I am edging toward shorter novella fiction lately.
Perfect writing space?
Well no. Just like working in progress on your novel, you always work on your writing space. Maybe a desk would work. It does for me occasionally. I use a soft leather desk chair, which folds out so you can lay down. My desk isn’t particularly comfortable to rest arms on though. I like to sit on the cough. I suppose a comfortable writing space is the first step to building a perfect writing place. But there’s more to it…
… it might involve putting on some music in the background or making a brew or favourite drink for your writing session. These are factors too. They influence mindset when writing. Perfect writing space is the whole – everything you do – during a writing session. You might dance before, go for a walk during a break or even make a few phone calls, use the internet etc. I know I’m relaxed when I can write for an hour straight without stopping. If I have trouble then I usually switch up my writing location.
Reading is a different matter. I have to be able to sink back into a comfortable chair to read. If I’m in a café I’ll simply dip my head low into a book and focus on that and it helps me focus. I can read most places sitting down, but not in loud busy places where it is more difficult.
It’s a frosty -2 this morning with plenty of cold winds coming in to. Reminds me of a typical winter day! I really do hope it snows properly this year.
Since last night I’ve been thinking about my reading, more specifically the page count. I don’t usually count the pages I read – but I used to – and since becoming re-aware of my habits I decided I would.
Let me explain. Last week I was enthralled by Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and had read 50+ pages in one sitting. This was good, as usually I’d read little more than 30 pages (at a guess). So my average had increased. yet with another historical fiction book I only managed maybe 2 – 3 pages at a time, each day. I want to read more of that one in each sitting by the way!
I then realised my reading time had improved significantly. Taking the 50 pages I’d read over the course of one sitting, which at the time was around 2 hours 30 minutes, I knew that this was an improvement. I’m usually a slow reader. Anyway my eyes were following the words more easily and pages were turning quicker. The process felt less strained and more enjoyable and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. This could also be due to the fact it’s interesting.
I hear people say they can’t focus enough to read; but I say this, you can read if you practice. Yes, practice reading by reading. By the time you’ve read ten pages I guarantee you will find it easier. But I say that lightly, you need to do it daily to see an improvement in concentration. Reading things you enjoy can be of significant help as you won’t feel forced to pull yourself through a difficult chapter.
Let me introduce the 10 Page a Day Challenge
It’s easy and effective. You’ll find that at the end of the week doing the 10 pages a day – and hopefully a lot more – that your reading concentration and focus has improved ten fold. You’ll be able to navigate large chunks of text in minutes.
Who’s this for?
Ideally those who struggle with reading, those who find it hard to enjoy books or those who don’t read in general. I recommend choosing a good thick book targeted for your age, that way your more likely to meet the wide range of vocabulary expected in other books of the same genre.
I read every day and find the benefits are above and beyond what people expect. It’s winter soon and you’ll be grateful to be in bed under the warm blanket with a book, or even beside a warm fireplace. It’s great for tackling a huge social issue – loneliness – and can (I believe) be super awesome at making you feel better.
So there you go! A 10 Page a Day Challenge and it doesn’t matter if you read more. Read to your hearts delight. I am sure I have some reading to do … by for now!
This Christmas you’ll be tucking into some warm, succulent turkey I imagine! Although, nothing wrong with cooking any large bird, or having any alternative meats!
I’ve been venturing to different areas, some more decorated and in the spirit than others. I have my list of go to places for a meal or drink – those which are nice, have a Christmas theme going and are generally happy in nature. Unfortunately, where I live there isn’t many decorations around the town. Only a little. But I can always travel which is what I have been doing!
The time of year to relax, have fun and get into the spirit. Maybe you should try out a Christmas market. I’ve been trying to find one that stands out. As I said I have my preferences for locations to visit, but they never have a massive market. Some places have mostly food stalls. My recent trip to the Intu Trafford Center revealed a small festive fairground with ice skating which I did not know about! I will be going back at some point.
I also hope to be able to do some skiiing over this winter. I doubt it will be on a real mountain, but I nonetheless want to. That’s a great day out if you are struggling with things to do with the family. I’m hoping to spark some creativity in you by sharing this post. A lot of people are alone and struggle at Christmas. Why not go out and do it yourself? What I mean is that if you are struggling for ideas on what to do you should just do it yourself because you will probably have a good day.
There are loads of Christmas pantomimes on this time of year and a load of Christmas themed shows. Not to mention the markets in the cities, although primarily food based are still a good way to socialise if you are lonely.
Don’t feel pressured into being happy and cheery though. You aren’t doing anything wrong by simply not having a good time. People struggle, it’s human nature.
When you think of publishers you probably think of all the big names, including Penguin Random House. Before we go any further you might like to peruse the complete list yourself here https://www.penguin.co.uk/classicslist
Today I want to lay out those books for you. You may find the list useful. It is also a good way to mark down which classics you have yet to read. They say ‘you should read the classics’ but in reality, the majority of people haven’t even read their own mail.
It is not a full and complete list. You will find that there are thousands of books. I will simply list some here which may be appealing to you. 25 listed.
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Wuthering Heights
Dracula
A Tale of Two Cities
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Moby-Dick
Crime and Punishment
Great Expectations
Anna Karenina
The Odyssey
The Art of War
The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin
1984
Meditations
Oliver Twist
Don Quixote
Les Misérables
War and Peace
David Copperfield
Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
East of Eden
You can go to a variety of sites to buy these books, including Penguin, Amazon, Waterstones and more. I recommend checking out World of Books first; they offer secondhand books at reasonable prices. I’ve bought from them before with no issues in quality.
Wellbeing is the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. Welfare of individuals is important year round but more so when the sun sets earlier during the autumn, rising later in the morning, leaving people in the dark most of the time.
This can have a significant impact on… you guessed it, mental health. With reduced daylight hours we can suffer from vitamin d deficiency – a crucial vitamin made in the body when skin is exposed to sunlight. This can result in depression and other mental health symptoms, like anxiety.
For many the darker days bring the feeling they want to comfort themselves. Maybe the lack of light, or lack of social interaction, the cold or even a general unhealthy diet can make it more difficult to get through.
Did you know that social interaction and a close-knit society can help depression?
This is the number 1 wellbeing tip I recommend for you. Science has studies on this.
There seems to be a lot of emphasis on other areas of life when it comes to wellbeing and staying happy. A good wellbeing plan might incorporate exercise, healthy eating and a regular sleep schedule for instance. But it might also lack any indication of a social interaction time.
I’ve touched before on how people can interact in more than one way. Notable is the of social media, video calling software both on phones and computers and just a general increased connectivity in the world. However, on the other end we also have seen numerous people talking about the increased isolation, depression and general mental health problems as a result of people not interacting, despite the increased connectivity. It could mean that face to face interaction is more effective. I believe this is the case, as seeing people in person is usually more rewarding than receiving a video of each other doing things and then simply talking about it over a call.
Having a pet that can interact will no doubt help you battle feelings of isolation. There is no need to feel isolated though.
Having a healthy eating plan, a regular sleep schedule, daily exercise and getting up and getting the early sun are basic methods to keep wellbeing stable. To take it further you could indulge in those feel good things you enjoy, like hot bubble baths, hot cocao beneath a thick blanket in the evenings, watching a movie alone or better yet going to the cinema with someone.
Take it from me that a GOOD WELLBEING PLAN will do you a world of good this autumn and winter. With increasing prices it is highly likely that the majority of people will not be doing much at all.
There are those will money though who will simply continue to go on expensive holidays and buy ridiculous priced items whilst the rest suffer though.
Try making a wellbeing plan today. Or share some tips below in the comments for everyone to try! Here are some things I like to do.
Watching a movie beneath a thick blanket with hot drink
Watching travel videos of hot countries
Reading and writing
Going to bed early and reading in bed
Walking in the early mornings or trying to get out at least once a day for a ‘leisure’ walk
Eating healthy
Contacting people
Painting
Playing video games (helps me feel connected, and works for me)
It indicates different languages to learn and expected time. French is considered easier than German.
I think learning something new should be fun! I chose languages as the first part of this post since I find it the most fun thing to do. It allows you to become engrained into foreign culture and at the same time you are able to learn to speak and communicate in that language.
Apparently it takes six months or longer to learn a new skill. This is nothing to be afraid of but instead to enjoy. Why rush? The above site provides tons of things. From writing, languages, reading skills, painting, art and craft, dancing, musical instruments, design, crafting clothing, making things, photography and more!
Combined the idea is to learn something new whilst enjoying yourself. It is not productive to focus on something you don’t like. Although if you push yourself and focus and study etc., then you will likely come to enjoy it.
As we age our brains don’t really learn like they did as children. A healthy mind is an active mind. You learn by doing, and doing so helps improve those brain connections. You can experience improved well-being, happiness, reduced stress, improved memory and confidence, feeling more well rounded, and finding it easier to interact with others. It may also help you more into a new career, or to progress in your career, or to help people.
Learning a new language might help you to do some volunteering for a charity who supports refugees for example. It could also help you become a translator. One of the best thing you can do is learn something new, something you’ve never experienced before.
Learning doesn’t mean just skills though. It means anything that challenges you to experience new things. Going to a new place, learning the routes and then coming away having learned them is a learning experience. Interacting with new people, speaking to them and learning names is a different kind of learning but still useful. If you have anxiety then this is particularly good to help your brain relearn how to socialise for example if you were unable before. Cooking is a form of learning, whether that is with the aid of a book or not doesn’t matter.
Reading books – helps improve memory and attention and focus (learning). Writing and researching – helps to learn a topic, think of an essay you had to do once.
Sometimes when we push ourselves we become these incredible people that surprises us.
We cannot sit back and let out potential lay dormant.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post today. I hope you have had an enjoyable week and are looking forward to the weekend celebrations. I read a post on social media describing someone’s writing goals on the Medium platform. I have published a few posts there myself, however my site is my main source of writing. Plus, you all get to see it! It would take a while to build up to the same amount of followers on there, so will add to Medium every once in a while.
So my motivation was sparked by that post to add my own writing goals for June. I listed 3 main goals in my notepad. I also listed 3 lesser goals. Here they are:
1) To Complete my Masters Submission for the 10th June.
As part of my law course I have to do a masters too, it is on clinical legal education and involves a critical reflective report. I have managed 2,500 words on it today taking the word count to just over 6,000. I have to write between 8000-9000 words overall. So tomorrow I will edit what I’ve written today. I am planning to have completed it by Sunday or Monday which will give me a few days to review and edit it.
2) Finish Beach Town: Survivors
The new upcoming and horrifying novella which I plan to release in August 2022. A summer release for what I think it quite the gruesome and dramatic story. I’ve managed to crank out 2,500 yesterday or more, and tonight I suspect I will be able to finish the story. There has been a lot of surprises whilst writing, namely that it is just full of bizarre twists and turns and unexpected happenings. You can see a little more about that by going to the post below, where you can also see what I hope is going to be a good cover!
I really enjoy connecting with you all here on WordPress and putting out content which is so well received. I would love to hit 600 followers by the end of the month. I don’t have that many to go and have exceeded my expectations massively this year, as I’ve gained so many great new ones and likewise discovered so many new and fascinating blog sites here.
4) To Write More About my Life
As I recently started counselling sessions I hope to be able to keep a more accurate diary of my days and to try and incorporate that onto this site sometimes. I think it will allow me to actually see where things are improving, and where things are still in need of support. Many people do this so why not dedicate more time to it?
Well that is all for now and as usual thank you for reading, if you enjoyed then like, comment, reblog and follow and share all over. Also, check out the Dawn of the Dead (1978) movie review below if you like.
I’ve managed to have a chat with yet another incredible writer. This time Sandra S. Frankowska is telling me about her writing journey and about her incredibly inspiring fantasy series! I hope you enjoy what she had to say, I know I loved every minute and thank you for taking the time to read!
S.S. Frankowska
Sandra S. Frankowska is the author of the epic fantasy series Heroes Of the Shadow. When she is not writing, Sandra is either working at the ed-tech start-up, reading, painting or rock climbing.
Some of Frankowska’s favourite reads include The Lord Of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Journey to the Center of the Earth by J. Verne, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Dark Tower by S. King, Jurassic Park by M. Crichton, The Drift by C. Aufenthie and The Hunger Games by S. Collins.
Where do you live?
Recently moved out from London to a small village in Kent, UK called South Darenth.
Why are you a writer?
My passion for writing comes from my passion for reading. For as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed discovering other worlds and losing myself in them. Writing was about the same, just on the brand new levels. I plotted my series in my head long before I wrote the very first word on paper. I drew places and creatures that existed nowhere but in my mind to get them out of my head. Drawing soon wasn’t enough. I painted, sculptured, and tried other forms of expressing it, but with time, nothing worked. My characters began to appear to tell their stories, and I found myself plotting it all on paper before I even realised that this was what I was doing.
Eventually, writing became a coping mechanism for me. It was a way to take a step away from the crazy world we live in and immerse myself in the new place, which only I could explore. It became a way for me to process things I found difficult to process otherwise. To express things that matters to me, that I often felt no one else cared about.
As the first chapters formed, I realised I have a story to tell. A story that I couldn’t find anywhere else, and that I enjoyed. A story that I was looking for in other books, but it wasn’t there. How could it be there? It was inside me this whole time.
What do you enjoy about writing?
There are many things I love about writing.
First one is plotting. I spend a lot of time daydreaming, with my mind travelling across different worlds and timelines to see how the story will develop. I treasure these moments a lot. Being able to see all of that in my head makes me to realise how gifted and lucky I am. Detaching myself from excel tables, grocery planning and paying bills to figure out how the world with dinosaurs and dragons living in one place could look like makes me feel complete. I may be physically still here, but with my mind, I can be just anywhere. Isn’t human brain amazing?
Second thing I love about writing is how it makes me feel the emotions that not only are not mine but also belong to a fictional character. Yet, they are real to me. I write a scene and I catch myself smiling. I write a scene and suddenly realise that my heart is speeding up. My characters are somewhere high up and I feel dizzy. None of this happened, and yet I felt it all.
Finally, writing is self-discovery. My plot and my characters force me to ask myself questions I wouldn’t ask myself otherwise. To understand the complexity of thousands of different experiences that impact the smallest decisions we take. To see how resilient and brave I am. Writing and publishing isn’t an easy process. Many of us experience self-doubts on regular basis, struggles to be seen, and receive little to no support on the way. Realising how much strength you have to continue, nevertheless, should be a huge thing. It was for me. I never knew I had it until I started to write.
Tell us about your most recent works
My debut epic fantasy novel came out last year. “Heroes Of the Shadow. Blue Scar Indeabinito” is a first book in the 24-books-long planned series. It’s a story of a soldier, Thomas McCartney, who was taken to another world called the Indeabinito. It’s a world filled with mythical creatures and other humanoid races, some of which remind him of things he knew (like mermaids and centaurs), some are completely new to him.
While the Indeabinito world has a lot to offer, Thomas actually spends most of his time trying to find a way back to his home. His father is a soldier, and so is he. Taken to another world, he’s worried that people will consider his disappearance a one thing that he would never do: a desertion.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?
Based on books that I love, my first choice to try something new, would be a dystopian fiction.
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?
I rarely take people for role models (too easy to get disappointed). There are, however, authors whose art inspired me to write. The two key series that made me to write were The Chronicles of Narnia and Jurassic Park + Jurassic World. The first one, for the simple reason: I loved the idea of the portals that existed in our world and could take you to somewhere else. Exploring Narnia made me to fall in love with fantasy and limitless possibilities it offers. That was my “what” to write.
Jurassic Park and Jurassic World made me to realise the impact of a good story. While I enjoyed the movies, these books carried so much more in them. Particularly Jurassic Park has this one scene that explains how systems used in the park were designed with logical error, and how simple and easy to miss that error was. Everything that happened later was just a huge consequence of one wrong assumption. The way M. Crichton plotted important messages into the world that didn’t exist but felt as if it could be real, was my “why” to write.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I’m currently working on getting my second book in the series ready to publish later this year, while also outlining book #3.
Where can people buy your books?
My books at the moment are only available on Amazon.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
First of all, you are only aspiring until you start to write. As soon as you started, you are a writer, and never let anyone take it away from you. Other than that, treat anything you hear regarding the writing process as an advice, not as a rule. Writing is an art. There is no such a thing like one size fits all. We all do it in different ways. That’s why our stories are unique. Try different things, experiment, but never force yourself into something that doesn’t work for you.
Writing is not easy, but you should enjoy it. Otherwise, what’s the point?
It was incredible to speak to such a talented author. I thank you for your continued support and for reading, so if you liked, like, comment and follow and reblog!
I had my fears and niggling voices about Wattpad in the past. I used to have a brief look and think to myself, too risky to publish on the platform, for risk of theft of work. I have done something incredible and actually created a short romance/lust/erotic/manhood story called Discovery Avenue– doing well peaking at #5 in manhood already and #15 in cutegirl. I believe some of you already had a look which is great.
My new venture is going to focus on two young girls, with a ten + age gap as they pair up to survive the zombie apocalypse. Not the usual protagonists, so could be classed as young adult… possibly? Again, meant to be a short story. I don’t really intend to drag anything out. This is all part of my experiment with the platform. Please also try to look past the titles, I know they are not great. Zombies was the original title until publishing the first part of the story and then changing to Zombie Outbreaks. I have a plan for the story, but not glued to it. I hope that everybody has a chance to check it out.
If you can forgive the cheesy titles then please consider following me on Wattpad and reading my stories. I just started writing a zombie apocalypse tale, with different types of protagonists than I am used to. Check the synopsis below:
The dead are rising quickly, over taking the small suburbs of Britain. On Easy Street, it is anything but easy as 12 year old Ida and 23 year old Kayla attempt to survive most of their now undead neighbourhood!
They expect to be able to find shelter further afield, and plan to try and get to the airport. However, multiple obstacles they will find! Living and undead threats abound.
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psychedelicwizard 