WRITER'S DREAM; Start Small

New writer's often ask me how to 'go about it' ...it being the business of becoming a professional writer.  As I have said time and again, there are no short cuts - becoming a writer is generally a long road.  It might be that you have to work hard in another field, say nursing, before you are qualified to write a book about nursing care...the hard slog doesn't just mean sitting at a desk reading rejection slips, though that is usually part of the journey.

There is no quick-fix formula to getting published - if there were someone would have bottled it by now and sold the writer's dream on the open market. Also new writers should be prepared to work for free, say for a school newsletter or a hobby club newsletter.  Even published books that are based on blogs are the product of someone who took time to write their blog for free. Sadly this not what most people want to hear.  They think that;

•  I was published immediately upon sending something out to an editor - No, it took me five years to get anything in print and even longer to get paid for my work.
• That I was an immediate success - No, no-one is. 
• Or that I 'knew people' namely editors and that I was published via nepotism - No, I was a complete outsider to the industry and didn't know a single editor or publisher when I started out.

People see where I am now as a successful columnist, recording artist etc and that is what they want to emulate; they want to slot themselves into publishing at the same level in order to reap the same recognition and rewards.  But let me make it crystal clear... I did not start out by writing for a national magazine and I was invited to write for Spirit&Destiny and Paradise Music only after years of publishing success and hard work...I have a proven track record; I am a known name and one of the top writers in my genre in the UK.  But that is not where I started out as an unpublished writer and I have worked my way up from the very dregs of the slush pile!

It took me almost nine years, from sending off the first piece of work (rejected) to signing a contract and getting paid for my work. Just to put that into some sort of perspective - it only takes three years to train as a nurse and six years of post-grad medical school to train to be a GP doctor!  Yes, I was that dedicated to my goal.   When I started out I began writing humorous poetry once a month for a local pub-guide, which I did for free, for over a year, until the publication folded. There are some who would (and did) sneer at me for it and turn up their noses at this small start....but look where it's brought me!...I recognized it for what it was at the time - a starting point.  I am still proud of myself that I wasn't too proud at the time to write poems for free; poems which were dismissed by those close to me as 'not quite Byron, is it?'  It was never meant to be Byron - I am not into Piggy-Backing and the industry always closes ranks against copy-cats! - it was meant to be Marie Bruce and it was the beginning of my career as a published writer.

So that's how I did it; beginning in my teens and published in my twenties.  You need to swallow your pride, forget the best-seller lists for the moment and start small. Start small, start local and be prepared to write for nowt! If you are not prepared to publish in a small, seemingly insignificant way, and deal with the sneering that brings, then you are chasing the dream for the wrong reasons.

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Autumn Scents, Home Comforts

My candle addiction! I love filling my home with Yankee scents.

Photo from; www.yankeedirect.com

Yesterday I went candle shopping in the local shopping center.  I had so much fun, just sniffing everything like a little puppy, getting excited by the new autumn and winter fragrances.  Shopping for home fragrance goodies is one of my  annual autumn rituals; every September I stock pile spicy candles and scented tea-lights, festive oils and woody incense sticks...all the warm scents that evoke the spirits of autumn and winter.
It is one of the ways in which I welcome in the new season.  I have done it for years, even when I was strapped for cash I would still make sure I bought a couple of packs of incense sticks in fine autumnal scents such as cinnamon and spiced apple.  Incense is certainly one of the least expensive ways to invest in the scents of autumn if you are feeling the pinch.

Yesterday I enjoyed the thrill of a Yankee candle shopping spree.  I bought all my favorite autumn fragrances; Cinnamon Sticks, Sparkling Cinnamon, Kitchen Spice, Black Cherry and Honey & Spice from their new collection. I also picked up a Mandarin Cranberry wall plug-in and a couple of Cinnamon Sticks refills as this is my favorite autumn/winter scent.  I have the plug-in on now and it is filling the house with a beautiful fragrance.

I got a new oil burner too; I had been looking for one for a long time as I wanted a burner with a separate well, rather than a single fixed unit. I also do not like the burner's with a shallow glass dish balanced precariously on top - they crack and break far too easily.  The burner I bought is Yankee's Petal Bowl Burner in pink, with an ironwork stand and a pottery bowl.  This is for my bedroom, as I already have a lovely mermaid burner in my kitchen and a fairy one in the living room.  I then bought a range of burner oils from Marks & Spencer's in fabulous scents such as Frosted Christmas, Mandarin, Cinnamon & Clove, Apple & Elder-flower etc.  I love their oils as they are inexpensive and they do last for ages.  Again if you are strapped for cash and want to fill your home with the scents of autumn and winter, these oils are a wonderful way to do so without breaking the bank.  M&S room sprays are also beautiful; my current favorite being Mandarin, Cinnamon and Clove.

Yankee products can be a bit on the pricey side, but they are designed to be a treat, an everyday indulgence; and the tarts and scented tea-lights are at the cheaper end of the price range so there is something everyone can afford.  It certainly felt like an indulgence to me yesterday walking out of the shopping center with a couple of bags of Yankee goodies, the fragrances wafting around me as I walked to my car.  When I got home I had more fun just sniffing and trying the new oils and so on.

Today it's back to the grindstone and I have been tucked away in my library working on some editorial copy that I need to get in to one of my editors early next week.  I love being in my own little study, surrounded by the home comfort of my books - I missed it so much when I was away in the Highlands.  Pyewackett is curled up asleep in his basket beneath the escritoire; the wind-chime is tinkling softly in the breeze from the open window; the sun is shining through the faceted crystal hung in the window, casting sunlight and rainbows upon the spines of the books.  I am burning one of my new candles Honey & Spice.  It smells warm and comforting, mingling in with the scent that drifts from the mug of Options Turkish Delight hot chocolate, with marshmallows, that sits on a Bruce coaster beside me. It is the scent of a home-coming.  I gaze around the study in wonder...this is my job...I am working right now...I know how very fortunate I am... but I also know how hard I worked to get here.  There is no such creature as an over-night success.

WRITER'S DREAM; HUSH, Its Story-time

It's no secret that I adore Hush clothes...their stylish dresses, snoods and wrist warmers suit my lifestyle perfectly.  I can wear the same Sloppy Joe dresses to the ice rink, the stables and the dance studio before coming home to my real job as a writer.  The picture above sums up my cosy life in a nutshell.  I enjoy the versatility of the Hush collections and I look forward to the arrival of each new season brochure, which is more like a glossy fashion magazine than a catalogue.  I especially love the autumn/winter collections and I recently purchased quite a few of their winter dresses for my holiday in the Highlands.  As a writer I need clothes that are comfortable, as I am sitting at a desk all day long (and sometimes all night too!) I find their cashmere wrist warmers protect my wrists from the heat of an overworked laptop and I am tempted to buy the lovely deep wine red mittens in the winter collection for the same purpose!

As I am a fan of the Hush brand and their ethic of enjoying your downtime in style I was intrigued to see that they are currently running a short story competition and I thought it would be of interest to some of you who are pursuing your own writing ambitions.  Simply write a 2000 word short story around the theme of the word HUSH and email it to info@londonwritersclub.com by 31st October 2012.  Send for a Hush catalogue or check out their website for further details www.hush-uk.com  or follow the brand on Twitter @hushhomewear

So take some time this week to curl up in something cosy with your laptop and write your entry :-)
Good Luck!
Marie x

DISCLAIMER; This is not a sponsored post, I just thought I'd pass on info of a writing contest.

ONCE UPON A DREAM; There's No Place Like Home

The comfort of one's own bed after travelling is perfect bliss.

Picture from; www.google.com
 

Late last night I returned from my working holiday in the Highlands and if you have been following my blog recently you will know why I was so much looking forward to the break.  I spent my time based in a tiny Victorian spa town called Strathpeffer which really hasn't changed a bit since its heyday in the 19th century; it is very easy to imagine ladies in long gowns wandering around the little town to 'take the waters'.  I have been to Strathpeffer before and the area and the locals are familiar to me.  I like to travel alone so I have no-one else to please and I can just wander and ponder and do my own thing.

My first visit to the town was eleven years ago and although I love all things Victoriana,  it made me realize just how much of a city girl I actually am. Even though I love the countryside and the Highlands, it was still a bit of a culture shock that the town does not boast a single jukebox... nor is there a village pub, just the hotel bars...or a takeaway -  the locals have to order pizza from Inverness and it takes 40 minutes to arrive and then it needs to be warmed in the oven.  This all seemed very strange to a 20-something girl used to having everything she could possibly want right on her doorstep at all hours of the day and night.  On my recent visits over the last couple of years however, it is the very peace and tranquility of Strathpeffer that has drawn me back there - it is like spending a few days in a time capsule. It is the closest I have ever come to time travelling!

Staying in a hotel has its perks; no washing up, all meals are cooked for you and there is no housework to do.  But it also has its drawbacks...I missed my home comforts, my cat Pyewackett, my privacy.  I did get lots of writing done, but missed the comfort of my own study.  As I was up in the mountains the internet and phone network coverage are somewhat sketchy so I left my laptop at home and carried a notebook and my diary instead.  Again this allowed me to absorb the peace of a much simpler time and I was offline for more than a week, which for a writer is a very long time.

On my last evening I said a fond farewell to the town, the Pictish Eagle Stone, the memories and the timeless mountains;  I will be back again one day, but in the meantime there are other parts of Scotland I want to explore. I am already planning a new trip to Wester Ross for next year.  I always find coming home after travelling in Scotland somewhat bitter-sweet.  I am happy to have my space and privacy again; but I miss the fresh mountain air, the big landscapes, the glens, the stags, the scent of pine trees, the pipes and kilts and the beautiful accent of the Scots with their romantic way of expressing themselves.  I never feel so free as when I am in Scotland. But these are some of the things which make my return home a true homecoming;

The comfort of my own lovely four poster bed

A hot bath with a range of lovely bath products to chose from

A cosy study in which to write

My big screen TV and DVD collection

My car just waiting for a midnight drive to see if the local barn owl is hunting

The lure of the shopping center!

The fragrance of scented candles burning in the evenings

My cat Pyewackett

Family and friends and their 'Welcome Home' smiles

Ordering pizza for supper and it arrives inside 10 minutes, piping hot!

Enjoying breakfast in bed and a lazy lie-abed morning

The knowledge that Yorkshire is home, Scotland is hame and I will always have a foot in each country.  I could never choose between the two. I am a Bruce and I belong to both places.

It was wonderful to be in Scotland; it's great to be back in Yorkshire.

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Time Spirals

A Perfect Example of A Time Spiral

Photo from angelslightworldwide.com  .

In the winter of 2002 I watched helplessly as my grandmother died of cancer.  Now exactly ten years on, I am watching my step-father go through the same process.  It is heart-breaking. He is the latest of my family to be struck down with the disease...every other member of my close family has either died, or survived cancer...but since the late '90's it has always been there,  an ominous dark shadow hovering over us.

It is very upsetting and distressing but it got me thinking about time spirals and how they affect our lives. I have never believed that the passing of time is a linear process; I believe it is more of a spiral which we traverse in an ascending direction, moving ever on-wards and upwards.  At certain significant periods in our lives we pass by the same bend in the spiral, re-experiencing something, drawing out old emotions and regurgitating memories.  This explains why we sometimes feel as if we are going round in circles and getting no-where fast because in effect, we are going round in circles!  But we are still moving forwards and ascending the spiral.

Of course I have had the understandable gut reaction of  "I can't believe we are here again; that my mother has to go through this...again; that my step-father has to experience it at all".  It is a real struggle to try and find any kind of silver lining in my life at the moment and I must confess that my positive attitude has taken a significant knock-back. Any positive vibes I have must be given to my mother, step-father and to my work. Even so, I am trying to come to terms with the hand that life has dealt us.  It's not easy, but knowing that it is just the same old bend in my personal life spiral is strangely comforting.

It is not only the family illness which tells me I am traveling the same bend, although that is the most significant evidence; but other things have also occurred in recent months which have brought the past back into the present... for example, last autumn I had an unexpected meeting with the doctor who cared for my grandmother when she was dying and whom I've not seen for years.  I have found myself pondering on the past quite a bit too, especially my grandmothers funeral which is an event my mind had blanked out...but now I remember.  I have found myself drawn back to the same destination in the Highlands that I first visited a decade ago.  These are all signs that I am passing by a landmark on my time spiral...the past has come back and taken up temporary residence in my present.

The good thing about time spirals is that they can help us to navigate the most difficult bends in the road; I have been here before so I know what to expect.  In the decade that has passed since my grandmother died I have grown older, wiser and stronger.  Nothing knocks me down that I can't bounce back from.  It's just a bend in the spiral and this too shall pass.  I am also aware that something good must be waiting for me and mine round the next bend because life is about balance...to get there I just have to keep plodding on-wards and upwards.

I share this personal story because other people might also have experience of a difficult time spiral.  No-one's life is perfect and we all have rocky roads to navigate at times.  If you do ever feel that you are running round in circles, or wonder how you can find yourself in the same old place after a decade has passed...take the time to think back over your own personal life spiral...it could simply be that you really are just... going round the bend! :-)
Blesses Be x

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Back to School Thoughts

A traditional English Cambridge Satchel
photo from www.Google.com

As the final week of the summer holidays draws to a close I cannot help but think back to my own school days.  Although I don't have any children, I still get excited at this time of year. This is partly because all my favorite activities such as ice-skating and dance will be child-free once again; but it is also due to the fact that there is the buzz of change in the air.

September is a time of transition from summer to autumn and we all feel this shift in the seasons as the year prepares for its slow decline into winter.

Of course for kids the prospect of going back to school is anything but welcome, but for parents it is time to breathe a sigh of relief that the old familiar routine will soon begin again.  I used to like school when I was very young, then I fell out with it in my tweens, before a fresh burst of enthusiasm for learning took hold of me in my teens as I was working towards GCSEs.  Even so, I felt that enthusiasm wane as the summer holidays drew to a close and the first day back at school loomed ever closer!   I don't think it was a reluctance to learn that bothered me so much as the loss of liberty.

Luckily my mother understood our reluctance and she devised a few traditions which helped my older brother and I be more inspired, if not by school itself, then certainly by the new season.  On the last week of the school holiday she would take us shopping for new shoes, stationary and school bags.  I still buy myself a new bag at this time of year and I have a special fondness for satchels - I like the old school traditionalist look of a satchel and I have a bright red one which I use as my holiday bag for when I am in the Highlands. I plan to buy a black or brown one this year.

Autumn fun begins with playing conkers!
photo from www.Google.com

On the weekend before school started Mum would start to ask us what we were looking forward to about the autumn term; this made us think of friends we hadn't seen, nature walks and fields trips, playing conkers, Halloween events and Bonfire Night...in short everything we loved about the coming season.  The Sunday night before the first day back in class was when we finally got look over our new stationary and pack our new school bags, making sure we had everything we would need next day.  As we chattered and packed my mother would be dishing up a home made rice pudding and mugs of hot cocoa as a supper treat, with the promise of creamy porridge next morning to make getting out of bed a little easier.  We would also dig out scarves, hats, gloves and legwarmers, ready for when the weather turned colder. We were Prepared!  Such simple rituals are what memories are made of so here are some more of the things which stick out in my mind about going back to school and which I am reminded of at this time of year;

• Kicking through autumn leaves as I walked to school each day with my brother
• Wearing my new Spider Man mittens for the first time - on a string, no less! 
• My Victoria Plum satchel
• My Miss Piggy Loves Kermit lunch box
• Seeing our breath in the air and feeling the morning mist dampening our hair 
• My brother telling me off for dawdling
• Parting at the gates to my school as my brother went on to Big School 
• The smell of the classroom
• Meeting a new teacher...always scary at first 
• Bagging a desk...always by the window if I could manage it
• Standing in line for the tuck shop at break time
• Playing conkers
• Being a Milk Monitor...big responsibility
• Getting into the school Choir

Even now in my 30's I still love learning something new. Autumn is a great time to take up an activity or sporting class or to attend night school; these are things I do quite often. Many schools offer a course of adult learning programs in the evenings; you could do pottery one term and cake decorating the next.  Schools are community buildings and they are not just for kids...so see what is on offer and what new skills you can pick up.  The only limits to learning are the ones you impose upon yourself.

Have a think back to your own school days; what traditions did you have?  What traditions have you made for your children?  What traditions would you like to begin? Remember that you are creating the memories your kids will look back on throughout their adult lives so put some fun and frolic into their back to school routine and help them to get excited!

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Caged Heart; A Fairytale

FREEDOM!
Picture from;  kirstenstar.deviantart.com

My heart has awoken. 

 I can hear her Nightingale whispers in the night as the she sings to me of liberty. 

 Romantic palpitations allow me to feel her as she flutters around, beating her wings against the bars of my rib-cage.

 I cradle my hands against my chest, delighted to know that she is still there, safe within.  

She makes me smile. She makes me happy.

 Her resilience knows no bounds.

She is singing once more, no longer content to be broken and confined. 

She wants to be free.

  She flits and flutters, fluffs up her feathers and preens to be seen.

 She is open to the gift of possibility.

 She is seeking out the spirit of adventure.

She is looking for another to sing to.

She is so much stronger than anyone knew.

Gently I whisper back "Soon my love"

I soothe her ruffled feathers "It won't be long now. Your time will come again, you'll see"

Softly we whistle together, a sweet melody of love. 

I witness her dreams in my sleep.

She is reborn.  She is yearning to take her maiden flight.

She is almost ready for the risk that comes with the fall.

She knows that she is strong enough to fly once more and she is the heart that is longing to soar.

She is my strength; my compassion; my ambition.

She is the courage that beats through my blood.

She is ethereal beauty.

Her spirit is wild and untamed. 

Her enchantments are powerful magic.

She casts a spell of allure wherever she goes - to see is to fall.

She is my own; my dear one. 

I will set her free and let her fly.

She is my Fairytale Heart and our story is only just beginning...

By Marie Bruce

I woke early this morning and wrote a simple piece of poetic prose, inspired by the picture above. Enjoy!