Category Archives: Thoughts

Buzzing!


I have been writing a little story about a solitary bee.
Now, I know my little image is not exactly as a bee should be, but I thought he looked cute.
Why the story about a solitary bee?
Well, last year, we had a solitary bee that had made a little hole in the wall, just above our kitchen window. 
It would fly in and out all day, and I was worried that it was a wasp, and that there was a nest. However, after doing a little research, I realised it wasn't a wasp, and that I had nothing to worry about. Apparently, solitary bees are not aggressive, and they are great pollinators.  
For more info:
greenandblue.co.uk
There is a solitary bee week 28th June - 4th July 2021, and you can buy bricks with holes in them!

Just a little update!

 

I've been busy this week. 
I had decided to re-draw my Lots of Fish illustrations. I thought it might be nice to have a printed version of the story, and so,  I've been re-working the images.
I'm now using a different software, and I thought it would be a challenge, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I've enjoyed it - a bit unnerving, really. I haven't encountered any complications as of yet. All good, so far...

Read a Children’s Book!

Yesterday, I woke up with a fuzzy brain and a frown.
Funny? It isn't, but these days only come once in a while.
I mope about feeling sorry for myself, and everything is an effort. There are no magical sunny pants to help change my mood, but there is one thing, and you may think this strange, but it does help - I lose myself in a children's book.
I read a chapter from George's Marvellous Medicine or a quick read of Room on the Broom, and I'm guaranteed to smile or even chuckle.
For a short moment, I am engaged in a world that is so very different from my own, and that instantly lifts my mood.
Now, I know that reading children's books may not work for everyone, but it's worth a try, isn't it?
I did a little research and found this - Children's literature an escape from the adult world - cam.ac.uk. Dr Louise Joy. 
It's an interesting read.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/childrens-literature-an-escape-from-the-adult-world

Story Ideas

Thanks to Tara Lazar’s Storystorm, I have lots to work with over the next few months. 
I admit, my imagination didn’t always want to shine. Sometimes it hid within a big black cloud, and I was lucky if I could catch a sprinkle of an idea. 
Thankfully, I caught enough to be getting on with, and I now have the pleasurable task of extending those ideas. 
I want a magical journey with a charismatic character who, along the way, meets with a problem. They battle to try and solve that problem, and then, without the help of an adult, they overcome that problem. 
Creating a story is similar to planting a seed and watching it grow. 
We have the initial story idea, but then you have to build on it, layer by layer. 
In my case, creating a story can be like planting an oak tree. It can take years to get it right.