Random thoughts - again on a Saturday morning

Well, not entirely random. But I spent some time blog hopping this morning and it brought several things to mind.

First, Emma asks fellow bloggers where they get their ideas and if we organize them in any way. I replied that either save them with NetSnippets or send emails to myself, with instructions to blog on them at some point. Nothing I hate more than having a brilliant flash about something, only to lose track of it in the minutiae of daily life *g*.

Today, however, instead of saving the ideas, I decided to blog right away. Through Romancing the Blog, I found a link to author Jennifer Ashley's blog and website. Was happy to see a page of Writing Tips - I LOVE pages of writing tips *g*. Anyway, the tip that really caught my eye and drew me in was titled Ten Tips to Stay Sane, Write the Best Novel You Can and Launch Your Career. Quite a mouthful, but they contain a lot of wisdom.

I like numbers 1, 2 and 4 best:

1)Do not compare yourself with others - "...always remember -- another author's success does not mean your failure"

2)Find your strengths - "Forget what's trendy and discover what kind of story you write best...Any book that is strongly written and tells a compelling story will find a place in the market, no matter what the trend is that day."

4)Don't be afraid to write in the manner in which you write best - "Never let someone else tell you that your way of writing stories is wrong. It is right--for you."

Number 2 resonated the most, especially with reference to the apparent slump in sales of historicals I commented on the other day.

Also through RTB, I found Anna Lucia's blog, and her post on what she refers to as Fingerprinting - not the kind that involves ink, though. She's talking about how our desks reflect our personalities, and I believe she's right.

If you look at this photo of my desk and office, you can tell a lot about me. That I love castles (see the calendar), all things medieval (the frame near the clock contains replicas of coins from the reign of Richard III) and there's a photo of me and my dh practising archery at a Ren Faire on my bulletin board and also anything to do with late eighteenth century Europe, hence the copy of Lavoisier and his Wife painted by JL David (who was the topic of my MA thesis). You can also tell I love coffee.

In this photo you can see a bit of the back garden through the blinds - I also love to garden. And finally, this angle shows the area to the right of my desk, the items there reinforcing my love of the medieval - you can see my Bayeux Tapestry tea towel (a gift from my sister), the cardboard replica of a Norman manor house, photos of children and cats (the former not mine, but loved as though they are) and some of my writing books. The doll is one I've had since I was a year old - given to me by my late maternal grandmother, while the small statue of the boy and girl was a gift from my late father - something he brought back for me years ago while on a business trip. I treasure those items - tangible connections to my childhood.

What's on your desk and walls?

Anyway, I'm sure there's more, but I believe I've rambled on for long enough this morning *g*.


Teresa