A cold chill

Well, I think winter is definitely here! This week was much colder than it has been up till now - hats, scarves, and gloves have been cracked out.

This was the deer I saw last week on my walk:

Beautiful!

This week has been a mix of weather - wet and dry, but also chilly! It's been a week of lots of layers, and hats and scarves. I spent one morning this week helping to rake up leaves, and also set up a bonfire! Sadly we had the bonfire during the day, rather than in the evening, but it was on Bonfire Night so I think it counts! That bonfire smell is wonderful isn't it? And it certainly lingers!

Also this week, I received my MA results (with Merit!), which I was delighted with - and very relieved. Time to crack on with the real world now I suppose though....

I've also been writing some short poems, so here's another autumn themed one (although I suppose it's nearly winter now!):

Autumn Morning 

The ground is speckled with a thin 

layer of white, which glistens

in the morning sun. Outside, 

you can see your breath

form in the air and footprints

lie across the twinkling grass.

Webs hang between plants and branches, 

lit up and shining 

like twinkling lights

far away from here.

See you next week!

P.S. I've also been making some YouTube videos recently about books and things. Check them out!

Autumn (a poem)

Leaves are flying around,
Like confetti from a gun.
The sky is pale grey
and the tree tops are bare.
Wind rattles the window panes
and the air is a sea of orange
and brown. The leaves
Settle on the ground.
Crows dip and soar by,
Seek solace in the trees.
It is Autumn now, I think,
as the leaves swirl and fall.

Sophie, 
November 2nd, 2014. 

More Spring Musings

A sort of poem I wrote this morning when I saw it was actually sunny today:

Blue skies appear over a grey horizon,

Is Spring really here at last?

The world is waking up again,

The smell of Spring is in the air

And the anticipation of brighter days

Hangs around the corner

As I walk with a spring in my step.

Poems and Classes

So guys look at this! It's a poem by me, on the blog of our uni's arts magazine site. So the poem isn't perfect and looking at it again now I would probably change things about it, but still! Exciting to see my poem on another blog and for them to chose it. Yay :) The start of things to come? Who knows.

Spent today in the company of some wonderful people from my poetry seminar and Maxine Chernoff, an American writer and professor who is visiting the university this week and I went to a masterclass run by her, and then a poetry reading. It was really good and great to get a different perspective on things and meet some new people!

I have my first fiction class tomorrow morning (9am) so I really need to get some sleep, and I am looking forward to it, but having enjoyed the poetry more than I ever thought I would, perhaps not as much as I did before. Still, would be good to do something different again. Although I miss my poetry class already! Luckily most of the same people are going to be in it, but it's going to be very different.

My story draft (Love-All) is going well too - have been making the big change to it that I was afraid to make, and now I'm really super excited about it all again and keep getting so many new ideas for it. It's a lot of work, but I'm enjoying it so I think that's good. So much editing to do, but I'll get there. Of course! Loving working on this too. I'm still working on my other story as well (George's Garden) trying to make the first chapter super snappy and intriguing. Phew! Busy, busy!

Feeling postive about things though at the minute. Yay!

NaNoing along...

NaNo's going well so far! Hit 10k yesterday, and haven't really done any today becuase I've had other stuff to get done and a proposal/essay to finish, which I'm a bit worried about because I have no idea if I've done the right sort of thing, and my portfolio for the end of term sounds a bit wishy washy. But anyway.

I wrote this the other day, on the first day of NaNo while I was brainstorming some poem ideas, and thought I'd post it as I just typed it up. Thought you guys might find it slightly entertaining. Maybe.Who knows. Indulge me.

November First

Furiously tying 1,000

Words before nine am -

That’s what NaNo does

To you. Immediate feeling

Of satisfaction, something

Already done, and plenty

Of time to go.

That eager anticipation

As the days countdown –

November is around

The corner and you know

What that means.

Over the world the

Same madness reigns,

Writers furiously scribbling

Desperate to reach

Their daily word count

And I am wasting time

By writing this poem

Instead of topping up

My word count.

 

Hope everyone's NaNoing is going well!