Make the Most of the Unexpected

This has been a rather messed about week for me. My car went in for a service which meant I had to spend several hours in Newbury (a lovely town) and, because the car needed new tyres, I later had to spend over an hour at a tyre fitters.

So what has this to do with writing?

The first is that during my wait in Newbury I was able to spend time visiting the Invicta Book Shop - a wonderful second hand book shop and treasure trove of material. Here I was able to browse as well as buy a couple of reference books which will almost certainly be useful. And by spending time in old books shops such as this you never know what you may come away with, whether ideas, inspiration or what could be a useful book or two.

Also, as I had some waiting to do at the garage, I was able to look at a few magazines I do not ordinarily see. And it is always interesting to see what material they feature and whether there is scope for a possible contribution.

Then, later in the week and while at the tyre fitters, I was able to do a little writing and editing. It may not have been exactly quiet but it proved useful.

And from all this come the following suggestions:

* Make the most of chances to spend time in second hand book shops. You never know what treasures you may find or ideas you may come up with.

* When in waiting rooms, take a look at magazines lying around. This way you may spot a possible opening for your work or gain something of value from what you read.

* Grab spare moments and put them to good use, whether for writing or correcting something you have written.

Soon I'll have some exciting news to announce in this blog but, in the meantime, I hope your writing activities are going well.