Tuesday 23rd May 2023, edited the fourth chapter of You Can See the End of the World From Here, 0 new rejections, 0 new submissions, finished Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, reading Sally Gardner’s My Side of the Diamond (the unravelling plot is keeping my year 8s on their toes), The Sanctuary by Andrew Hunter Murray (@Ampliterary guest reading) and After Story by Larissa Behrendt, 7 new book purchases (I can explain!), 3 coffees, 1 tea, and 3 dark chocolate digestives
My two week book purchasing ban had to be relaxed this weekend as I promoted @AmpLiterary to the second-hand book buying public at a local festival. Being a supportive member of the community I had to purchase a couple of books to allow myself to pitch our event and leave behind a pile of leaflets. Self-promotion, whether for my books or our literary festival, makes me uncomfortable and reminds me of the sales targets I left behind as an insurance broker 18 years ago.
I discovered that choosing second-hand books brings me more pleasure than browsing in a new book shop. I haven’t over analysed the reasons for this (my daughter will claim it is my thrifty northern nature) but after listening to Gilbert’s Big Magic I have a feeling it has something to do with serendipity: the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not looked for. It feels a little like magic. The value here is not a signed first edition but a book that means something to me.
If you study the photograph of my book finds, I can explain every choice.
Love Me, Love Me Do – as a Beatles fan I could not leave this behind. Never heard of the book or the author.
Silk – a slim volume always piques my interest as succinct, compact writing impresses me. Also superb for carting around in your bag without the risk of slipping a disc.
Sophie’s World – I fear I might have a copy of this somewhere (in a TBR pile) but wasn’t sure. If I have, it is still a £1 towards church funds.
Big Stone Gap – Read book #2 Big Cherry Holler back in September 2011 (thank you for the information Goodreads). I remember enjoying the characters.
The Empty House – as a teenager The Shell Seekers was a book that stayed with me and again another slim novella for my tote bag.
Red Sky in the Morning – this Lincolnshire author was my grandmother’s favourite and every time I visited her she told me how much she enjoyed her novels. The idiom also reminded me of home (a shepherd’s warning) and it is set in a Lincolnshire village. This may take a while before it reaches the top of my TBR pile but when I start editing With Everything I Know it might be what I need to get me back into 1940s Lincolnshire life.
The Lady in the Van – I enjoyed Alan Bennett’s dramatic monologues, Talking Heads, which I studied for my A Level English Literature course back in 1993. I watched the TV adaptation with Maggie Smith too so decided to give it a go.
As well as finding inspiration in a second hand book stall, I do relish a recommendation. A fellow blogger posted about Gilbert’s self-help book (a genre I usually avoid) and I have found it guiding me to live creatively for the love of it, rather than allowing my writing to become a burden or a task I am failing at. Gilbert confirms talent, constant wishing, dedication and even industry contacts will not guarantee traditional publication. And that it doesn’t matter if publication is not my path. You have to write for the love of it alone and if that is not enough she suggests you don’t do it.
One reviewer on Goodreads called Gilbert’s book ‘wishy washy’ but I beg to differ. Her description of what it feels like to write sums up my own experiences. This book reinforced so many of my approaches to writing I found it reassuring to listen to her beliefs. Her description of how curiosity feeds her writing, how ideas can arrive in dreams or coincidences, and how a scavenger hunt can become a project, mirrors my own experiences. Gilbert has left me with a desire to trust myself more and to spend less time focusing on publication and more time focusing on doing what I love. I will not be a martyr to my writing but will continue being a trickster. If you need positive reinforcement on your creative journey, I suggest you give it a read.
In my last blog I explained writing does not feel like work. I write this blog to support others on their creative and/or querying journey. Gilbert made me feel heard when she described the questioning of your sanity mid-project, and the funk you feel when you finish one. This blog may not speed up my journey to publication (in fact it consumes time so may do the opposite) but it makes me write publicly and keeps me focused on my creativity when sometimes the rest of life can get in the way.
As promised I am posting chapter 4 of You Can See the End of the World From Here today. Chapters 1 and 2 have now been removed and chapter 3 will disappear soon, so if you are not up to date, please do pop over to this page and catch up on my novel so far. Gilbert, quite incredibly, has managed to convince me that my work is worth sharing, so today this chapter goes online with less fear than before.
Kate
P.S. Tonight, in a perfect Big Magic way, I found a pile of books behind my TV (don’t judge me) and there was a copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things. It’s been moved to the top of the pile.
Yellow Brick Road Writer 
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