Enjoying writing (and not complaining for a change)

This is the life! A WORK book that tells you to look through a magazine for inspiration! Brilliant. “No – I’m not slobbing around, reading Heat. I’m doing RESEARCH.” Hopefully the next chapter will instruct me to create a very large pile of clean, but crumpled clothes, and observe its daily growth, for inspiration. Hope so – I’m half way there already.

The downside is the time element. “Spend half an hour writing a haiku.” OK – off I go, fiddle with words for what SEEMS like half an hour – discover it’s been an hour and a half. I need a time machine! Need to go back to this morning and do the housework! Loving haikus – if that is the plural. I’m not sure one a day will ever be enough. I started yesterday and I have seven already. I love the way they force you to concentrate your mind.

My current task is to think of a pseudonym – purely because I like the idea of creating a persona and inventing my own name to match – nothing to do with the course, although I can see it might have its uses if I was trying to think of a character’s name, for example. Years ago, in a job I had pre-marriage and kids I adopted this alter ego called Lucy Lastic, who used to write to my friend Jane, advising her on matters of the heart. A sort of agony-aunt-come-dating agency! That name still appeals, but is probably not quite right for a dark, gothic style novel – not that intend writing any, but anyway – the quest continues.

It has to be a name I like and can relate to AND appeals to my sense of humour, but could be serious as well. I am open to suggestions, especially as I can only think of things like “Chester Drawers” and “I. P. Freely”. I’d like something a bit exotic I think, but obviously would have to dress differently, to match.

Heidi Hole is really appealing at the moment, but probably wouldn’t be taken seriously enough. I like Heidi as it’s not too dissimilar to Wendy. I do like my own name, but I feel a bit strange about pairing it with a different surname. I wouldn’t want to see “Wendy Davies” on a shelf – although I can appreciate the benefits of being at the front end of the alphabet.

Heidi Fox – I quite like that, and topical at the moment as I’ve just been doing this quiz thing on a website which tells you what your “Daemon” is – and mine is a fox called Nicholeus. (Go to http://www.goldencompassmovie.com – and have fun exploring the site).

Other names I have come up with are: Mavis Clatterbridge; Fiona Fishwife; and
Daisy Smap (this was me being dyslexic and trying to write the word Spam)
and possibly my favourite so far, which would REALLY stand out on the shelf:
SANDRA TURD.

Anyway – after a hard morning’s “work” – I’m off to watch Neighbours and Doctors… um… I mean… do some extensive research on contemporary Australian family life, and the British medical profession and the current state of the NHS.