Step Four-Point-Five: A Reflection
It is November. And the coldest November night since 2010. As I draft this, on a chilly Monday morning, the temperature in Braemar is currently -12°c, and falling. Here in the far north, in the town at the end of the world, it is -1°c.
I have been absent from these pages for a wee while, something that has probably annoyed me more than it has you. However, following this brief reflection, I intend to return with a new impetus.
The next post in my Thirty-Nine Steps series should have been Step Four: On Home. However, this question — of what exactly home means to me, whether a place, a time, a feeling, or even people, or a person — was asked at precisely the wrong time. Or perhaps the right time, considering how seriously I have considered it.
I voted remain, obviously. The events in the
However, all these things, not to mention the rise of the right (and please, please, stop calling it the alt-right — the things these people say are not “alt”, they are neo-Nazis, and I have zero tolerance for that and, especially, for them) — these things have stalled my progress on Step Four (and you should also have a look at this post, as it contains a lot of wisdom on how to move forward at this time). I got stuck, rewriting, rethinking, retooling, re-examining what Home means to me. At this precise moment, this feels like home:
When I write fiction (something I shall soon discuss in more depth), I have developed a drafting habit I like. If I get stuck, if I find a scene too difficult to write, or I note that it is taking too long or using up too much of my wee brainpower — then I skip it. I move on. Leave a small note for future redraft-Alex, perhaps, and get to the next step. A draft is always an unruly mess, and this, for me, works. I often return to that point during redrafting and realise the oh-so-impossible scene isn’t even needed, but was actually a distraction all along, simply there to cause me to stumble and pause.
Keep writing.
And that is why this is here, and also why it is Step Four-Point-Five and not Step Four.
I shall return to the idea of Home at some point in the future. I shall certainly share that essay with you (and the attendant photos I’ve chosen to accompany it), but not yet. Perhaps not for a while. This is my blog — my place, my rules. For
When it comes to
I have several posts planned for here.
I also want to talk about places I have visited, things I have seen and done. Adventures. Begin to share other posts I have long planned, such as a discussion of items I have found useful over the years, or dip further into how I have shifted my mindset about exercise, how this works out practically. I have a lot to write and post here, and I think it is important that I do so, for myself, if not for any other potential reader.
Too often there is a temptation to concentrate on work-for-money, to avoid those projects and ideas that will not really generate any income, but this is wrong and perhaps even dangerous to the writer. I need to share thoughts that mean something, share ideas that I think might help others and, through sharing, enable me to focus on what they mean to me. I also need to remind myself that there
The kind, the good; they are too often mistaken for the weak. This is wrong, but it is not a bad thing. Those who mistake kindness for weakness and exploit it, well, I feel they are in for a surprise. Again, it is basic tactics; never underestimate your opponent — yet it is a trap I see many bullies currently falling into. Their mistake.
So this is Step Four-Point-Five; a brief reassessment of myself, of my situation, a wee gaze into the future, and a subtle flexing of blog-muscles, stretch of the WordPress tendons. It feels good to wake, it feels good to be thinking and talking again. Hello.
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The Outrun is now on my list of books. Thanks.
I don’t have the same enthusiasm as you for Sturgeon though. She is trying to divide the country. Trying to insite hatred between two neighbours.
Thanks for the very good blogs.
Thank you so much for commenting!
You won’t regret reading The Outrun, it really is a wonderful read.
It’s interesting what you say about Sturgeon, I’ve seen other people mention the incitement issue, but personally I’d suggest the country is already divided – Scotland has diverged from England irreparably, with a ridiculous swing to the far right down south, and the politics of hatred rearing their head again. The way I view the SNP is based on their track record which, especially when compared to other parties, is outstanding – and based very much on a fairer, equal society. Sturgeon herself is viewed in very high regard – as a consummate politician – both internationally, and here at home too – but the English press don’t seem to want to report this so much, instead pushing issues of division, as though she has created them herself. Can’t imagine why they’d want do that!?
Thanks again for your comment and, especially, for reading.
The Outrun is now on my list of books. Thanks.
I don’t have the same enthusiasm as you for Sturgeon though. She is trying to divide the country. Trying to insite hatred between two neighbours.
Thanks for the very good blogs.
Thank you so much for commenting!
You won’t regret reading The Outrun, it really is a wonderful read.
It’s interesting what you say about Sturgeon, I’ve seen other people mention the incitement issue, but personally I’d suggest the country is already divided – Scotland has diverged from England irreparably, with a ridiculous swing to the far right down south, and the politics of hatred rearing their head again. The way I view the SNP is based on their track record which, especially when compared to other parties, is outstanding – and based very much on a fairer, equal society. Sturgeon herself is viewed in very high regard – as a consummate politician – both internationally, and here at home too – but the English press don’t seem to want to report this so much, instead pushing issues of division, as though she has created them herself. Can’t imagine why they’d want do that!?
Thanks again for your comment and, especially, for reading.