It is just a thought, but I have read that headline many times and recently it was there again, this time the gist was that someone on the platform of my local station had been hit by said train. Continue reading
Category Archives: writing
An ego trip
Blogging is something of an ego trip; I get that and have no issue with it. Whilst I do try to keep my ego in check I know that it can run away with me given the slightest loss of control, but I also know that it is not possible to do the sorts of jobs that I have done without an element of ego being prevalent.
I know that, at times, I have been a pompous prat and that realisation is part of my control mechanism. I can recognise the symptoms and, for the last 33 years, have had a good woman at my side to make sure that I have seen the signs of going over the top. Like most things in life it is about balancing opposing forces.
Over the years since blogging became popular I have had more than a dozen blogs of the go. A few years back I cut all of that back, deleting three blogs and five websites including dropping all of the social media presence around them. It had all got out of hand and my lifestyle was changing as I ceased working overseas. Now the time has come for more rationalisation and I am looking at merging this blog with ThatConsultantBloke.com.
There will be consequences to doing that, not least in terms of audience, and there are various sundry issues like email accounts linked to the blogs (which are also websites in their own right). It may turn out to be impractical, but time marches on, I will be 70 in a few weeks and I need to try and declutter my life a little as other priorities become important. My last two business ventures are being closed down and I will trade on a personal basis when and where I choose to from now on.
This is not the last you will here from the bloke at the back, but my voice may come through a different URL soon, ego permitting. Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and maybe you’ll look in again.
Filed under writing
Writer’s Block
I appreciate that this blog has been neglected for quite a while. It is not my only blog and they have all lacked content lately.
There was a time when my business travels left me with time to both think and write. Those days are gone, at least for now, and my daily commute is a ten minute drive so these is no scope for my scribbling. At home there are too many distractions.
I have had the block before, even in the days when I had a deadline for a monthly feature of around 1700 words. Somehow something would flow from brain to fingers to keyboard and on to the cloud for my editor to review, even if I did often have to stare at a blank screen for several daily sessions until the eleventh hour. This time, with only self-imposed deadlines, I have been pretty sterile for several weeks.
The problem is not a lack of ideas. I use the Notes app to capture random thoughts and also record audio clips where I can. There is a wealth of stuff to prompt me, but putting it into sentences and paragraphs that I am happy to publish is another question.
I will get past it. This is evidence that I have moved on enough to get something happening, so, as always, watch this space.
Filed under writing
The joys of writing, part seven
There are those days when I can stare alternately between a blank page and the world outside my window for ages with nothing flowing between brain and fingers. On other days the two parts will connect and words flow freely onto the screen, but with none of them making much sense.
The magic happens when the words just flow and a good story emerges. It may be fact or fiction, a blog, article or book; it doesn’t matter as long as it just pours out of me.
It is rare that any such good session is perfect. Almost always I will print a copy off to look at later and read off the page. That is where I will see the typos and redundant words and can correct them, making whatever it is that I have written tight and economic. Of course if any such piece is going before an editor they will improve it further; the fresh eyes always make a difference.
Nothing can compare though with that thrill of a good hour, part or full day at the keyboard. It makes up for all of the frustrating days when nothing worthwhile can be prised out. They always come; I just don’t know how, when or why and maybe that is why they are so special.
The odd thing is that, when faced with a deadline, something always does come. It’s just that not everything forced works as well and whilst I have never had a piece rejected, there have been many where I have taken my fee with no feeling that I have earned it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though and just because I do not like one of my offerings does not mean that others will not enjoy it. The hard side of that truth is that something that I feel is magnificent may fall short of my reader’s expectations.
It doesn’t matter though because the pleasure that comes when the words fly onto the screen is such that it will keep me going for days.
Filed under writing
Tidying up
One of my first jobs now that I have integrated this blog with my website is to check all of the links and menu items. I know that some of them need updating, but I am having problems working out how to do it as WordPress seems to have changed the way that these things work.
No doubt I will work it out, but it may take me a day or two so I apologise if you find a dud one before I get them fixed.
Filed under writing
A change has come (and more will follow)
I have merged my old johnjbowen.com website with this blog or, to look at it the other way around, this blog is now my website. It had ceased to make sense to have both a static web site and a blog so I have moved on.
This blog will evolve too as I settle into a new way of using it. It has been the frivolous companion to Monday Musings, but I think that it will take on a more serious tone whilst dealing with things that Monday Musings would not cover. The latter has always tried to stay above politics and I will keep it that way. Here I have usually treated political comment to sarcasm and humour; my letters to the editor and so on, but I may try to bring a more serious comment in from time to time.
I will also try to cover other things that interest me in more depth, but, as always, these things eat time and I will have to find a level that works for me. The important thing is to try and be more regular and consistent with my postings.
Even more on the joys of writing
You find yourself at a point where you have written something that is published and being read. It may only be a blog or possibly a self published book, but it has attracted an audience, even if just of one. Continue reading
Filed under writing
More on the joys of writing
It is about five years since I started to blog and to write for magazines and three years since I published my first book. Since then I have written two more books and around eight short e-guides. Continue reading
the joys of writing part six
One of the joys of writing is when your muse is on full song and the words fly from under your fingers as you scribe or type. On such days there is nothing wrong with the world and writing is a pure pleasure. Continue reading
Filed under writing
the joys of writing part five
This week I received from the printers my proof copy of “Trousers” in paperback. The moment of joy at having my own book in my hands was soon over though when I spotted the errors on the back cover. Now these are mine as I had used a precis of an existing piece with some changes to tense, but had failed to carry the changes through fully. Easily fixed though. Continue reading
Filed under about me, Books & Reading, writing
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 