It had to happen sooner or later. A crude attempt to crowbar some fairly clumsy symbolism into a blog about writing! So, here it is. See this sunflower? I've spent months nurturing it from a seed. Many of its sisters and brothers fell foul of marauding snails. I would run out into the garden of a morning, dressing gown hastily knotted at the waist, to pick snails off stems as my sunflowers struggled to survive. Only three of them did and this week they flowered. All that patience, love and care has finally paid off. Remind any of you of ... writing? Ha! There.Moving swiftly on. It's been such an exciting week. I've had feedback on my manuscript and the encouragement to continue writing. All I have to do now is - well, a lot actually. But I have a deadline (okay, an invented deadline, but it's still a deadline) and guidance. What more could a writer ask for?
I've also enjoyed the kindness of author friends, telling me that I can do what I'm trying to do: write decently. A writing community is so important. There's no reason to do all this alone. Not when there are others around who understand and share the same experiences.
Oh, and there's been a whole day of writing, sat under the watchful face of this very sunflower, as butterflies dart around me and I take breaks to pull up vine weeds in a garden that is threatening to take over Walthamstow. What a great way to write! What a life. As writers, we never stop growing. That's a wonderful thought.
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