Monday 27 January 2014

'Sea Fever'

 Sea Fever
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking,
 
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
 
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
By John Masefield 

I love this poem, and it sums up how I feel about the sea and the coast. If I've shared this before, I'm sorry, but I love it and it seems like the right time of year to post it.

Definitely going to head down to the sea sometime soon.....I need it right now.

Saturday 25 January 2014

January blues and 'Potter' ramblings

I was going to write a post about how terrible it is that I haven't written a post yet this year (how has that happened? I don't know, I'm sorry) and what has happened this year and how low I'm feeling at the moment (January blues), but instead, I've become lost in a YouTube vortex of JK Rowling videos.

It happened because I re watched Deathly Hallows P2 the other night (having watched some of the others over the last few weeks) and that one more than any others brought up a web of emotions and just nostalgia and disbelief at how wonderful those stories are, and how important they are, and the power of the story and the message of love, and all that. And just how intricately plotted they are. How important they are to so many people, me included.

Watching all these videos of Jo makes me remember just how much I look up to her and how much of a hero she is to me.

Of course there's that tiny bit of me that is sad that I will never write something as popular or wonderful as Harry Potter, but then I have to step back and just be happy about what I write, because I do love what I write. Anyway, that's beside the point.

Thinking back to that kid who found the first two Harry Potter books in her stocking one Christmas and didn't expect her life to be changed in such a big way by the book series, it's mad. I just did not know at all how huge this would all be for me and how it would change my life and my world, in the best way possible. I'm sure I've talked about this before, and just how important the books and characters have been in my life. But still, some things struck me (again). Mostly that Harry Potter is a series about LOVE. Most importantly, a mother's love for her child, and this is evident throughout the whole series. ALL OF IT.

That is the main plot line, the main feeling running through the WHOLE STORY. A mother’s love. Harry potter is about how much Lily loved Harry. How that love is unbreakable, never goes away, no matter what. She wasn’t alive for the whole of the series, yet her love had the greatest impact on the whole story. She was always protecting him from afar.

I know this is nothing new, but I just love it.

So many feels and emotions from that last film. 

In other news, January is nearly at an end (how?) and the January blues have got to me. Sigh. Today seems a bit brighter though, a bit better. Maybe helped by a good night's sleep and the fact that it's now light until about 5. Yay!

Writing wise, am plodding on as usual - switching between far too many projects and wanting to work on so many different things. Is good at times, but then I find myself just switching between things and actually getting nothing done at all, which is not so good. But am cracking on, and also focusing on Treading Water, and getting that maybe ready to query in the near future. Maybe.