Mind Travelling and the other kind!

Have you ever looked forward to going somewhere and then been terribly disappointed when you arrived?



Well it can happen with our work too. An idea comes bubbling to the surface of our minds, this sounds great we think. We analyse it, mull it over, change it around in our head, yes this is the biggy, and so we set about writing it all down. We get up to about 18,000 words and then think, what the heck am I doing with this junk? Boom, you come crashing right down.



Yet before you discard it, look again. This little bit here, this girl, I like her, I like what she stands for, I can't chuck her in the trash, and what about that other gem - that scene there. Sure, l6,000 words can go but that 2,000 well that is really going somewhere.



Thinking on this put me in mind of a trip I took to Tuscany. Gosh the hotel was awful, the people that ran it so rude and unpleasant, and because I was travelling alone, the room allocated to me (after I had paid a whopping supplement) was more like a dog kennel. Complaints were ignored with a shrug of the shoulders.



The town was nice, it was on the Tuscan coast, Marina Pietresanta, a lovely place. But I was SO miserable and could find nothing good about my stay there. However, one day we went to Florence. A magical city, guaranteed to take you out of yourself. On the way back we stopped for a pre-arranged dinner at this little village in the Chanti hills. It was a warm, balmy early autumn night. I wandered first of all into an olive grove, the silence was breathtaking, the green of the grass unbelievable. Later I stood on the terrace at the restaurant, a glass of cool white wine to hand. The terrace gave a view out over the wonderful Tuscan hills. The sun was going down and the sky was criss crossed with scarlet ribbons. The food was good too, and if I tell you the owner looked like he should have had top billing in a Harleqin romance, you will catch my drift.



So out of disappointment comes surprise and pleasure, just like when you are writing. Look for the nuggets never mind about the huge junks. You can build on the little believe me - "little apples are so sweet!"



TTFN



Margaret.