What A Feeling!

 Oh my giddy aunt!

Last night I finished writing the first draft of my very first novel.

I have just spent a few minutes reading that second sentence again. It's such a wonderful feeling.

Elation, excitement, motivation. They are just a few words I can use to describe the feelings I had. 

I loved writing this story, I really did, I love all of the characters in it, their personalities, their mannerisms, I lost myself in their stories every single time I opened my laptop, and I was excited to see where it took me. Believe me, I got some surprises along the way!

However, now the hard work starts...

I have hundreds of hours worth of editing to start. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it and fine tuning the book.

The thing I find hardest, and I did with the childrens book I wrote, is stopping and letting it go.

I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing, and to bring a character and storyline to life in someone else's mind is my job. I want the reader to feel the emotion, to smell the cooking, to feel the heat of the sun on their skin even if they're in the depths of winter.

I kind of think of songs as I'm writing. For example, I start with The Carpenters and 'We've only just begun' and then Bon Jovi pipes in with 'We're halfway there...' then not long after that you've got Europe stepping up with 'Final countdown' and we finish up with Irene Cara and 'What a feeling'!

So, I embark on the next stage of my journey... lets see what songs come to mind through the editing stage!

Positive vibes sent your way from up here on cloud nine!

"We're (Just Over) Halfway There"....

 So, as I hum the famous tune of Bon Jovi, admittedly adding a couple of words, I am so proud to say I have topped the 40,000 word mark of the book that I'm writing!

I have had the most amazing run this Easter holiday and just four days ago, I had hit 30,000 words, so ten thousand in a few days is pretty good going!

I'm really enjoying this and I'm adding ideas constantly as improvement to the story line. The characters have found their own way in this book and I've let the story develop the around them, which has taken me down many different roads...some forcing me out of my comfort zone completely, however, a story has to be compelling, intriguing and captivating to keep the reader wanting more, so, that's the job of the person writing it, no matter how it makes them feel.

So, I'm still far from the ending, and to be honest, I'm not sure which way I'll be going with that either - it's a mystery to me at the moment!

I'm often asked which genre I am writing, well, I have a few on the go; two family saga/romance, a sci-fi, a funny, a childrens series (5 stories completed so far) and another children's series just started.

Watch this space and hopefully, soon I'll be announcing my finished draft...ready to go through it all again for editing!

Have a great day!

Kate

Autism Awareness Week... *What I want to tell you*

The 4th April marks the end of autism awareness week.

All week I've been planning to write a post. 

All week I've drafted and deleted.

We have three sons, all diagnosed with autism. 

We live with it twenty four hours a day.

Before our gorgeous boys were born, we were 'aware' of autism, but we knew absolutely nothing at all about it. We would hear that someone's little one had been diagnosed with it and we made the right noises and got on with our life.

Then, our first born came along....

Suddenly, our lives changed and we joined a special club. 

It's an epic roller coaster of a ride. To get on this ride and experience the ups and downs of a parent of children with special needs, you need to have:

1. A very thick skin
2. A hell of a lot of determination
3. The knowledge that you will succeed in getting what your child needs
4. A damn good support network
5. The ability to cut yourself a whole lot of slack

You see, the difficulties that you encounter come thick and fast and mostly daily. It's often hard to comprehend why certain situations occur, or indeed, why you are restricted so much. 

All you want is for your little person to experience the same things their peers are, it's just that it may need to be tweaked somewhat.

I could go on, and detail these issues. However, all three of our little people are so different from each other and experience autism in different ways. You know, just like us neurotypical folks do....we aren't all the same and we don't have the same experiences. We hold different opinions about what we like and don't like.

However, what I will point out is that it has been quite an eye opener throughout the pandemic.

I have heard people complaining about wearing masks, going crazy disinfecting everything, worrying that people were in their personal space and not observing social distancing, hating staying at home, or worrying about going out in public for the fear of other members of the public behaving in an unpredictable manner....

....it seems we've all had a taste of what some people on the autism spectrum experience.

This autism awareness week, I have deleted all of my drafts of how our gorgeous boys are affected by ASD, I have deleted a 'be autism aware' post. I choose, to ask you to think about lock-down, think about how you felt when you were restricted, think about how you felt as positive cases were rising and you were forced to live in world that wasn't certain, or comfortable and completely unpredictable, out of your control.

This is how I would like to raise autism awareness this year....just stop and think.

Kate

Get Ready For The Sugar Rush!

Hey parents, carers and guardians - it is Easter eve.

Are you ready?

No, neither am I.

Oh the joys of springtime are wonderful aren't they, in a non sarcastic tone, I really mean that. 

I adore seeing the new buds, the flowers beginning to bloom and the warmer weather. Everyone seems so much happier and the days seem brighter....even in lock down!

Then, just as you are revelling in the new 'spring has sprung' glow, Easter turns up.

Now, I'm not talking about religion here, that's not the post I'm talking about, I ain't opening that can of interweb worms, I'm talking about the enormous amount of chocolatey, sugar laden, E-numbered delights that are bestowed on our delightful children.

Nope. there are no words to describe how our next few weeks will be panning out.

I just know you feel my pain. I hide the treats. If they are in view, there will be all manner of household scaffolding erected in an attempt to grab a chunk of chocolate, and that's just from the adults!

In all seriousness, don't you think these overpriced, hollowed out, thin moulds of an egg are the biggest rip off? Children are lured to the huge boxes of their favourite treat, for less weight than a normal bar of said delight, and us adults are paying more than ten times the amount.

Except we don't do we? 

The damn Easter Bunny does...he's such a fantastic creature! So kind!

So, over the last few years, as our little munchkins have grown, we have reduced the 'eatie treaties' and  brought in trainers.

It works like a dream! A bit of chocolate in hand, trainers on feet and off they go, into the garden for hours on end. They love them,

but not as much as me and papa do!

So, here's wishing you and your wonderful families a very happy chocolate laden, hyperactive, sugar fuelled Easter!

Kate