Winter isn’t coming, it’s here

Okay, as many of you will realise from my title, I’m a fan of Game of Thrones, I like both the books and the tv series, though with every season they become more and more separate. This post isn’t really about either, however, so sorry to those who have found there way here because of the GoT connection in the title.

I’m writing today about actual winter, that horrible thing that happens at this time of the year when the sun disappears, the clouds gather, it rains, the temperature drops horrendously and the rain changes to snow.

During this time moods drop and motivation can be hard to come by, just getting out of bed can be incredibly difficult, and you (or at least I) want to eat constantly. As a sufferer of mental health problems, this period of the year is even tougher for me to get through, and I don’t even have the advantage of a regular job, with a boss breathing down my neck, to encourage me to get up and do things.

I am currently unemployed, officially at least, while  I work on establishing myself as a published and successful writer. That means I have to get myself up and at the computer if I want to get anything done and make any progress, which is far from easy.

We’re currently in the early stages of winter here in the UK, and I am already going through copious amounts of coffee every day, along with lots of chocolate and other unhealthy snacks, in an effort to give me the energy to work. I also have to hug a hot water bottle to get warm enough to do anything – I’m really not looking forward to the arrival of full winter.

 

Commuters make their way over Brunel’s suspension bridge in Clifton, Bristol following a night of heavy snow across the UK. Up to 15cm of snow has fallen overnight causing widespread traffic disruption and school closures. 18 January 2013

I’m curious, and would really appreciate some answers in the comments, what do you all do, especially the indie writers and self-employed people among my readers, to motivate yourselves and make sure you keep working and get things done?

Family history

The things you find and learn when you’re clearing out the belongings of deceased relatives can be quite amazing. Just this morning I discovered that my grandfather, as unassuming a gent as you could meet, once saved a life while going about his job as a gas meter reader all the way back in 1972.

According to the letters he was checking meters down the road when he heard cries and discovered that a year old girl had drowned in a pond – he performed mouth-to-mouth and revived her before the ambulance arrived. Both the mother and the ambulance crew wrote to the gas company to praise my grandfather’s actions, which was the first the company knew of what he had done; he was commended by everyone, including the company, for what he did but he refused any publicity. That’s exactly the man I remember, the sort who just got on with things and didn’t want constant acknowledgment.

Thank you gan-gan for being who you were; you might be gone but you’re not forgotten.

Two birds, one stone

Today seems to be a day for doing lots and accomplishing little; at least that’s how it feels, I’ve probably accomplished more than I think. Since that’s the case I thought I would make a brief list of what I have done today to make myself feel better, plus there’s a few things I was planning on posting here anyway so I can kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.

1:- I got myself to the opticians for an eye test, which was overdue; the result, I had to order some new glasses, at an unpleasant cost.

2:- I got a little more work done on clearing out and tidying up the house.

3:- I created a new header for the blog, see above (it’s not the best, I shall have to work on it some more and try to come up with something better)

4:- I’ve put in an order for a cover for the novel I’m writing, should receive it in January in time for release.

5:- 5,000 words typed up from the first draft of Where There’s A Will

6:- Started re-drafting the short story I found the other day.

7:- Got to work on organising an anthology of classic gothic and horror stories I’ve been thinking about doing for a while.

8:- Posted three new chapters from my story to Wattpad 8-10 – https://www.wattpad.com/story/84259729-where-there%27s-a-will

9:- Got around to sorting out some more of my great-uncle’s art – see below

10:- And lastly, I transferred a couple of pictures I took the other day of a guy in the town centre doing some sand art.