running | the writer is a lonely hunter

Identity and writing

by gailaldwin

I’m moving away from my identity as a published author. It took such a lot of time and energy to get my writing to a publishable standard that stepping away is proving to be a long process. In 2023, my third novel The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell, was published and simultaneous with the launch, my publisher rejected a novel which I believed was my best writing. The initial wobble didn’t stop me from making submissions to other publishers and continuing to work on a new manuscript. Three years later and I’m still on the look out for open submission windows and working on the new manuscript which has yet to reach a full first draft. Over time, I’ve lost the drive to continue a second career as a writer and I’m now embracing new opportunities.

These days, I think of myself as a retired person with creative pursuits. The novel rumbles on and I attend Writers Hour whenever it fits into my schedule. I still enjoy writing and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as completing a perfect sentence or paragraph. I’m still involved with the writing community through membership of Pens Around the World and volunteering on Bluesky with Women Writers Network. I’m also active in a number of writing groups and hope they don’t chuck me out for lack of writing output. However, new opportunities are available and this summer I returned to the Groves Community Choir and sang in their end of year concert. A video of the event appears here. I also joined First Act run by the Lantern Arts Centre and performed in the opening scenes from Our Town by Thornton Wilder as Julia Gibbs. I may not be doing much writing at the moment, but I want to stay creative. I think these endeavours will feed back into my writing when the time comes to pick up my pen again. Perhaps I’m not stepping away from writing at all, just giving myself the space to choose if and when I return.

At present, staying fit has become a new priority. I’ve been a runner for over 10 years and now complete three 5km runs each week. When I don’t run, I enjoy pilates practice developed from online providers. On Sundays, I like to go for a walk. Several good friends and my sister all died in their sixties, so I want to make sure I remain fit and active for a good long time.

In other news, my grandson turned two in May and we continue to look after him on alternate Fridays. It’s fascinating to watch his development and enjoy the new language he acquires. His latest phrase is Jude don’t like it. We continue to holiday let our Dorchester home and will do this for one more year. In the autumn of 2027 we anticipate a big new project… building a home for ourselves in the garden. Watch this space for other creative endeavours.

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Lockdown walks

by gailaldwin

Although currently in lockdown, we are allowed to take daily exercise. David and I are in the habit of running one day and walking the next. We don’t run together as he’s much faster than me. On walking days, we cover a 10km loop that takes us along Poundbury hill fort to the village of Bradford Peverell and then through Charminster on the outskirts of Dorchester to home.

Here are some of the photos I’ve taken on recent walks. From flooded fields, to early buds, lambs in the fields and cottage homes, an azure sky to rain afoot. I hope you enjoy these images of Dorset.

How are you coping during the pandemic?

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What is it with me?

by gailaldwin

Just when I gain the skills and confidence to be good at something, I decide to move on and try something new. I can see this pattern in my writing. First I was all enthusiastic about flash fiction, then writing a novel. Poetry got shoe-horned between the two and now I’m into children’s literature. Others like to consolidate their learning and deepen their understanding but I’m more interested in starting the next new project. What is it with me?

I came to reflect on the meandering journey of my writing career when I shared with a friend my new passion for cycling. It started with a bad knee. When I came back from Uganda into lockdown UK, I decided to use the full one hour per day of time we were allowed to exercise. Hence my runs lengthen from 6km to 8km and I was out every single day. I knew from half marathon training that running each day is not recommended but I became so focused on running further and faster that I ignored my better judgement until my knee buggered. Then even walking was painful and after a week of elevating my leg and applying frozen peas, my knee was better. So, as lockdown continued and my need to get out every day grew, I took up cycling. I was amazed that my lady shopper bike that had never been used since arriving in Dorset in 2007 still had tyres fit to cycle on.

When I started to become fit in 2017, I so enjoyed swimming. Loved going back to the sport I enjoyed as a child and even re-taught myself how to swim front crawl and regularly completed forty lengths of the pool. The only trouble with swimming is the drag of getting to the pool only to end up wet and cold. So, running was an improvement on that. I could start my exercise on leaving the front door and running in any weather certainly warms you up. Now my passion is cycling. This is good to do in the time of Coronavirus because you have to grip the handlebar and there’s no chance of touching anything untoward while out and about.

So with this background in changing exercise routines, should I think about doing a triathlon? Certainly not. It’s one obsession at a time for me. And so for my writing. It’s all about children’s literature at the moment. This week finds me busy making contact with book bloggers who specialise in children’s picture books and I’ve also attended several sessions at an online children’s literature festival. So with the publication of Pan de mo nium scheduled for December, what is my next project going to be? I’ll let you in on a secret, it’s got something to do with podcasts.

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