writing – Page 9 – don't confuse the narrator

expect delays

I was slightly taken aback by the road sign in the photo.

On the one hand it’s eminently logical: if the road is to be closed for seven weeks, there probably will be delays.

On the other hand, the advice to “consider alternative route” seems to have been added as an afterthought – as if we all have so much time on our hands that we could realistically contemplate sitting in our cars waiting for seven weeks watching while the contractors dig holes and fill them in.
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the blank page

So many ideas tangled together.

Try and track them as they bifurcate, diverge… Others interrupt, approaching from a different, contradictory perspective. Some are brighter, some less so. Some are more established, carry more weight; others taper into nothing. Impossible to keep track of all of them.

So many thoughts and ideas. So many blank pages.

habits

Humans are creatures of habit. And yet it sometimes seems very difficult to build a new habit into our lives, even when we know that it’s a good thing to do or the results will be beneficial. Maybe it’s a medicine that needs to be taken at a specific time of day, a morning exercise routine that we know will ease our aching back and bring long-term relief, or a regular phone call or email to a distant relation that only takes us a few minutes and brings them genuine pleasure.

None of these things are exactly difficult or onerous, but until the habit is formed, it’s very, very easy to forget.
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words, words, words

Usually when I go somewhere different, I come back with lots of photographs I can use on the blog.

This weekend, though, I have been away at a conference. I took very few photos, but have returned with my mind awash with words.
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spoiled for choice

Once more, I am selecting a set of poems to read at an upcoming event. once more, the organiser wants to know in advance what to expect. Once more, I am dithering over making a decision.

When I was first invited to read, I leapt at the chance and didn’t give a moment’s thought to whether I would find something suitable. But there is a theme: the pieces should be humorous. And humour is a very subjective matter.

So I’ve been leafing through papers and notebooks, scrolling through documents, and re-visiting lots of old poems to see what I can find. Although very little of it is laugh-out-loud funny, the more I look, the more pieces I find that might be suitable.
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