It's Halloween...

...the night when all the ghouls and ghosts and witches and zombies all come out to play!!

When I was younger, we used to play Duck Apples and Apples on a string and eat lots of sweets and Toffee Apples...good times.  Of course the older you get, the more you turn off all your lights and ignore any knocks at the door for fear of being pelted or stabbed (joking of course!!).  Point is, it's different these days...alot different!

So, we usually just sit in the darkness and be as quiet as possible-we as in my girlfriend and me.  Tonight though will be slightly different and a bit more in the spirit of Halloween.  Tonight, Dominos Pizza will be ordered, lots of sweets and various drink will be munched on and a collection of scary movies will be watched in the blackness of the night!
Lined up, I have:  Poltergeist, Triangle, Rec, Rec 2 and Attack The Block with films such as The Thing, Paranormal Activity 1 and 2, and The Evil Dead all waiting in the background for extreme watching!  Of course, we still will be ignoring any stray trick or treaters that decide to darken our doors.

Naturally the perfect pre Halloween night last night was enjoyed watching Alice Cooper live in the Manchester Apollo.  And I gotta say, it was one of the best gigs I have ever seen.  Highlights were many: the New York Dolls supporting were amazing, a giant Frankenstein's monster joining Alice on stage was brilliant, Alice getting his head chopped in the guillotine was class, one of the guitarists taking a flying backwards slam was amusing, Alice spearing a photographer on stage was unexpected - whilst the whole show, song after song, was performed with such energy and tightness to almost defy belief sometimes; the entire band, especially Alice were that good!! 

But the crowning moment was during 'Schools Out', Alice and the band decided to throw in Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall' and had every single person singing along...it now stands as one of the greatest gig moments I have witnessed!!

So, to everyone out there, enjoying Halloween, not enjoying Halloween, have a good night whatever you do, wherever you are!!  Lets get to it!! 

Its been a while...

...fellow bloggers!!!  But here I am, back and blogging free!!  So, whats been going on in the world of me...

I re-joined the gym...yes that's right, I enjoy the punishment.  Seriously though, I ain't getting any younger, my body isn't getting any slimmer...and I wanna keep going as long as I can because of all the enjoyable things I got to look forward too.
Concerts - well, I went to see the Queen musical 'We Will Rock You' which was absolutely brilliant and more importantly, a hell of a lot of fun.  Last night I witnessed the legend that is Bob Dylan...Bob Fu**ing Dylan!!  Supported no less by Mark Knopfler.  To say it was good is an understatement...it was a pleasure and an honour to see a living legend.  Coming up I got Alice Cooper, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Deep Purple and Lee Evans...nice!!
My winning poem, 'She', was published in the November issue of 'The Writing Magazine', which gave me a real sense of pride and hope...especially when reading the comments made by the reviewer.
My first book has been completed and sent off to a self publishing company for them to give a once over before giving me the OK to publish.  All that remains is the front cover - a rough sneak preview of which is below - and the back photo of yours truly...I haven't decided on arty moody photo or ordinary honest one!!
Work is still work - an evil necessity.  Christmas is just around the corner - 75 days away.  English weather is still as unpredictable as ever - rain, sun, rain, sun.  And the world continues to turn - thank god!!

So until next time, hopefully not as long this time...lets get to it!!

Advice on writing...

...to my fellow bloggers and writers out there.  Everyone is different.  Everyone will have their own writing space, time, method etc.  What helps me write and gets me in the zone may be totally different to everyone else who is reading this.  However, I thought I might share with everyone what helps me write.  What sets the tone and gets me in that special zone...hope it helps anyone out there with the dreaded writers block:

1. Music - I love music.  It plays a massive part in my life.  From the moment I get out of bed to the moment I get back into bed.  Every time I write, I listen to music; writing this I am listening to the mighty Devin Townsend.  For me, it sends me to a place away from everyday life, away from the 9-5 factory job, away from the pressures of paying bills and the depression of daily news...in other words it sends me to the zone and doesn't distract me at all.  (I have a very stressful job so on my breaks and dinners, I go and sit in my car and listen to some music just to escape for that hour during the day.)  In fact, depending on what I am writing, it can be a real help.  For example, if I was writing a dark poem, I would stick on some deep heavy metal crunching music - Slayer.  If I was writing a wish washy daydream type poem, I would stick on a soundtrack score - Tron Legacy...and so on.

2. The Zone - so music sends me to the zone.  Once you are there, make the most of it.  But, for me, it is possible to stay in the zone even if you get distracted.  For example, when I write, I don't just stare at the computer screen the entire time I write...I look around a lot, I check my phone, I get up and grab a drink or bite to eat, I will even answer the phone...as long as you stay in the mindset and are determined to complete the task you have set yourself, you will stay in the zone.

3. Punctuation and spelling - forget it...at the start.  All you want to do to begin with is get your words on the page.  Punctuation and spelling can come later, words sometimes only appear once and if you forget what you wanted to write because you couldn't decide where a comma or full stop should go, then you will never succeed.

4. Rawness - embrace it.  Now this point, I know people will disagree with.  It doesn't take me long to write a poem.  As long as I am in the zone with some good music and a subject that is gripping me, it probably takes me about 20-30 minutes to write a 30 line poem.  And that is that.  I may make very minor changes - couple of words, punctuation, etc - but then to me, that is a finished poem.  I like to leave the impression of rawness and feeling in a poem because to me, that is what poetry is all about; an outpouring of raw emotion in that moment.  A poem should never be rewritten, revised, polished up, etc...it becomes less of a poem when this is done.

5. Experiment - and why not?  I would agree that you should write what you know.  But you can not and will not succeed if this is all that you do.  Experiment.  Write about things you have never done, let your imagination fly, put yourself in somebody else's shoes.  Enter competitions which give you set rules and a different subject matter every time.

6. Let it flow - read it out loud.  When you have finished whatever you are writing, read it out loud.  I believe a great poem is one that flows off the tongue and rolls around filling the air with an almost sexual tension.  Getting someone else to read it out loud also allows you to hear it.

So, to sum up:
Find something that will get you in the zone and keep you there but don't spend all day staring at the computer screen.  Get those words out of you and when they are out, don't mess about with them and drain all the emotion away.  Experiment with everything and anything and don't be afraid to try something totally new and alien and finally, it must flow from the mouth to the ear over the eyes and have that bite.

Hope this helps, now lets get to it! 

I finally did it...

...after entering many competitions and being shortlisted in the top 5 twice, I have finally won a writing competition.

My poem entitled 'She' has won first prize for The Writers News magazine.  To say I was happy was an understatement!!  I was over the moon; I had finally won a writing competition!!  Even though I was becoming a little frustrated and feeling I was never going to win, I continued to enter these writing competitions and continued to write my best regardless of subject or rules.  And it finally happened!  I now await my prize and publication of the poem in The Writers News magazine which I intend to frame when I receive!!

I have also put into plans the self publication of my first book, 'Love or Suicide and the life inbetween' aiming for it to be done and out by the end of September, whilst beginning my second book which be a collection of poetry on the subject of Life...exciting times!!  So below is a poem which will be included in said book...hope you enjoy...back to it!!

A crack in the ice

Amongst the angst of life and stone,

we struggle and question each decision,

our brave façade a crack in the ice,

our brave façade a false reality.

Surrounded by our hot water and bed linen,

comforted by the bricks that lock us in.

Proud of the fancy floors we walk upon,

our arrogance keeping us afloat any-ways.

The lure and pull of the cardboard office,

an excuse to ignore the family life.

The higher we climb up the corporate ladder,

a reason to look down on the empty spaces.

The fancy car, the crazy nights, the young lust,

the wife left at home nothing more than scum.

Kids, mere objects that get in the way,

their tears twisted, their blame reversed.

And as we pretend it's alright,

we pretend we can change.

And as we pretend it's normal,

we pretend we can stop.

Then before you know it, its too late,

your past a sludge of unimportance,

your future limited to piss and wine,

and that crack in the ice now a hole.