NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

 

Hi Thinking out loud here xx :D

This week we are talking NaNoWriMo national novel writing month (though it happens worldwide.) this is for anyone who is maybe new to NaNoWriMo and maybe want to find out what it’s like from someone who has been doing it now for a few years. I haven’t been asked by anyone at NaNoWriMo to do this blog post; this is just something I have wanted to do and give my thoughts on it and my tips on what to do and how to prepare with it beginning this Sunday.

Every November writers all over the world come together to either finish a project, start a new one, or see what happens with any of their writing throughout the month. It’s a little challenge, a whole lot of fun and a lot of words, so why not join in. If you are new to NaNoWriMo that is fine, a lot of the time even I wing it with what I’m writing. This year will be no different. So what does NaNoWriMo mean? It is quite simply National Novel Writing Month an entire month to focus on writing, whenever you can write and however you choose to write the aim is to write at least 50,000 words, you can write more and of course, don’t beat yourself up if 50,000 words is a little out of your writing reach, any amount of writing during November should be taken as a win. You can start a new project or finish one you have previously started but never got round to finishing, so why not within the last few days of October sign up and get your NaNoWriMo project ready.

Since joining NaNoWriMo back in 2018, I have started and completed four novels, all of which now are going through edits and being sent to varies literary agents. I haven’t done only the November months as this will be my third November writing month, I have done one Camp NaNoWriMo April and one Camp NaNoWriMo July all of which have helped make me grow and learn as a writer, they tested me, improved how I write and taught me not to give up when it gets a little hard, there have been long and late nights. Still, I keep coming back for more, so please join me along with many more writers as we venture into what hopefully will be time well spent, and the completion of past work, new works and works we yet don’t know what will be. 

On social media use the hashtags #nanowrimo2020 #NaNoWriMo #writersofinsta #amwriting #WritingCommunity #writer #WritersCommunity #writersofig #writing let people know, earn badges, write a novel and maybe meet some more writers along the way. 

As always thank you for reading this post and look forward to meeting new, old and in-between writers this NaNoWriMo

Love always Thinking out loud xx :D

Winters Calling

 Winters Calling

By Freya Anastasia Hatfield

The wind is howling, its blast is icy

cold daggers hit with a winter chill.

It’s dark mornings and cold nights

they creep in so silent yet have a sharp bite

this is the winter calling and the endless nights.

The moon is bright, the night sky is crisp,

the only lights needed, are thousands of miles away

twinkling shining stars, scattered throughout the night sky.

Trees blow in a gentle night breeze now that the night dwellers have left,

the water is calm as it’s inhabitants sleep beneath the unbroken surface.

snow settles for some, and others it’s a mere dream that never comes,

rainfalls for most, some places it floods some it’s a thankful reprieve.

the sun still shines, but the air is crisper and colder than in its sister months

this is the winter calling and the biter months to come.

Trees lose their leaves, the branches standing bare

birds that ones housed there escape migrating to a warmer climate.

Branches cover with frost, turning into glass as they glisten in the suns rays.

Leaves turn red and brown as they lay on the ground,

they turn crisp in the winter air, they crunch beneath unsuspecting feet.

It only lasts for three months a year, yet can feel so much longer.

Animals hibernate, some are more awake,

it makes us wrap up warm, it’s more cozy days indoors.

Movie days, game days, more days spent inside as the bitterness thrives

it’s icy, it’s chilly, it cuts through your clothes,

this is the winter calling.

Week three of homeschool

Hey Thinking out loud here xx :D

This week is a long post so grabs drink and a snack find a comfy seat, sit back and take some time our for you and the new busy that you are navigating around, I hope everyone who like me is homeschooling is doing good, we are all in this together, no one is alone or should feel like they are, we have this and we are doing everything we can to help our little learners alongside with what their teachers are planning for them.

We have now ended the school holidays here in Australia, and we are back into homeschooling for the third week but second full week. This is also what it's going to be like now for the next five weeks or so, as like every country we battle this virus. It's been made easier by schooling now being done online, though it seems to not be working at the moment, we are taking this first week as the settling in stage and everyone learning this new way of schooling. Though I am thankful for this as my little cousin will benefit and thrive more from her teacher giving her work to do, the websites we used had been helpful, but I know they wouldn't have been any good in the long run.

As we get closer to the end of the week the system that the school is using is starting to settle down, it's still not working correctly, but it is beginning to work, we though for this week have been using previous websites, I can tell my little cousin is starting to get bored of the same learning games and activities. Still, we are both doing what we can do, I am beginning to see just how long these five weeks are going to be, but I know we have got this, and we will learn as the days go on. I have split the online learning up with baking and crafting something that we both enjoy and the baking can, of course, be shared with the rest of our family wh are essential workers so its a nice treat for when they get home. Today we made banana bread our second batch as last weeks went down pretty well, I think next week we will have to bake some cookies as my little cousin can not wait to bake some cookies.

For craft, we have been using a box that my cousin got for Christmas it has been fantastic to use so many different things to create. We do though need to get on to doing some more p.e. Hoping to incorporate that into next week as we find our feet more. I, of course, know that I am not replacing her teacher and I know I never could, but hoping to keep her somewhat on track of where she would be were she at school, I think when my cousin can, she is going to go to school but for the time being it's all a bit of a not knowing whats going on with other children and what the school has in place for more students than its already two hundred pupils it has attending.

Five weeks is a long time for any child to not be at school especially one who loves to learn, gets a buzz from being around people her own age and thrives off being given something to do, I know there are a lot of children in the same boat, some might be finding it more comfortable than others, I know for us adults it's hard at times to comprehend what's happening and how vast things are changing around us. I hope that this in some way teaches the younger generations to be kind, to not only people but to nature, to our planet and that what we do ultimately affects everything from people to animals, to plants trees and the greater planet. What we add to the earth and what we take away affects every ecosystem, I hope through homeschooling and on the return to going to school, they learn the different effects of what being at home did to how they travel to and from school.

If anyone has any tips for homeschooling maybe for when the internet is down, and we aren't able to use websites, please od let me know, I have some ideas, but some more ideas would be greatly taken, I have a friend who was a teacher who is sending me links daily, and it is so helpful and hoping ot in the coming weeks incorporate them into our school day, even if we are ending an hour before what the actual school day is but hey we're at home so why not aye. But please do send me links on what you have found useful if you are also homeschooling or even if you are a teacher and have some ideas.

Thank you again to every essential worker today lets thank the banks, and to the fantastic people who are keeping money flowing and making us able to still spend money and buy the essentials that we still need to maintain day to day life as normal as it can be, you are all appreciated so Thank You

As always thank you for taking the time to read this weeks post.

Love always Thinking out loud xx :D

First week of homeschooling and holidays

Hi Thinking out loud here xx :D

This post is going to be two in one as the first half I was going to post last week but changed my mind halfway through, typical writer problems and too many ideas jumping around at the same time. So get yourself comfy grab a drink and take some time out to have a read.

First part is the first week of homeschooling my little cousin and was written as if I was writing it for uploading last week.

(Let’s start back in time a week ago.) We are coming up to the end of our first full week of homeschooling here in Queensland, and it’s been going pretty well, I’m trying to stick as close as I can to my little cousins class schedule and keeping the school days as structured as I can. This means no iPad until three o’clock, which I think is going pretty good, we’ve conquered the no iPad at lunch by my little cousin sitting next to me and chatting while she eats, even getting her on to make her own lunch.

I’ve found that I’m still able to do writing when my cousin is doing work, I figured if I write when she works then take a break when she does it works out pretty well, though I tend to no take breaks unless its a day when words aren’t flowing then it’s a full day of breaking. This new found structure to my day though is working pretty well. I am finding that since she has been home, I have been a lot more productive. I’ve found that there is a lot of people who are doing a lot of things online for children, we can do p.e with Joe wicks aka The Body Coach. We have websites that the school use during some of the school week that we can log on at home they have been amazing, we luckily already had a science book at home that we have been working from and doing some of the experiments some have been hit and miss, but just need a bit more practice.

Along with the homeschooling indoors we’ve just moved. Hence, there is plenty to do outdoors as well, we have an acre of land that needs a lot of love and attention, my older cousin has been taking the little one out with him and getting her to collect firewood for the fires on a night when it drops cold, cold for us has been 22 degrees I know it’s not freezing, but in Australia anything 22 and below is cold. This last week we found some possums living in our granny flat so some of the time was spent painting a new home for them that is now safely in a tree we are just waiting for them to find their way to it, there is a light on where they have taken up residence hopefully in the next few nights we will know if they have left. As it’s coming up to the last day of homeschooling I can safely say we haven’t done bad, so far it’s only been a week and a half, but we’ve made this new normal work for us, and managed to have some fun along the way fingers crossed this continues.

Now time for part two, let’s get onto this week.

We are now on the two week school holidays, so homeschooling, for now, is on hold, we have books ordered for if homeschooling continues after these two weeks. We got told that the principle is still saying the school will be back to normal after the hols crazy I know, but what can you do when the government is taking the country to a full lockdown. Given that we aren’t on lockdown and only on semi-isolation we have deemed it ok for the neighbours’ kids to hang out, there are only three kids at any one time and had stopped going to school long before we had. This is making the school hols much easier meaning I still have time for writing and at the moment don’t need to be doing any while in bed, result means the Netflix watching can still go on. I really can’t complain the kids are lovely and have taken my little cousin into their small group like they’ve known her their whole lives, I’m writing this as they are currently running around playing hide and seek.

This though is a bit of a weird week mentally, physically. I guess emotionally, I had planned a trip back home to NZ back at the beginning of Feb before everything got crazy but like everything my flight got cancelled and rightly so if im honest even the short three and a half hour flight I wouldn’t want to be taking for risking my family back home or risking my family on my return to Aus. But while I physically know I’m not going home my mind is still set for flying out on Thursday which is hard to try and get it onto the fact that I won’t be going to the airport and stepping on a plane, it’s hard, but this is the reality of what we are all facing in the next little while. I know though that where I am is safe and I’m with family which makes this whole new crazy a lot easier than if I weren’t with family. I know I’m luckier than most and I am so thankful to be safe and in a position where it doesn’t matter how long im in Aus for as luckily NZ and Aus reciprocate with not needing to have visas so very thankful for that right now, even if our government seem to be a bit slow and quiet on the lockdown situation I realise we are a big country. Still, we’ve seen how it spreads quick, and I know if we don’t do something other than closing our borders it has still got room to spread.

On a lighter note though I am starting to see the beauty in everyday life bugs are thriving. We are happy and healthy, it’s not what was expected for this month, but we are getting there, my mind is slowly getting there, and that’s ok, come Thursday it could be completely different and I not be ok with the fact I won’t be home for a month. For now, I’m doing ok. I am ok with hanging out with my little cousin for the next month, I’d rather be able to go outside than knowing I’d be on quarantine and putting my family into quarantine for two weeks at either end of my trip so staying right now is worth any kind of risk and stopping unnecessary travel is part of keeping us all safe and stopping the spread of this horrible virus.

I hope you are all keeping safe, I know these past few blogs I’ve thanked essential works but I’m going to continue thanking them at the end of every blog post for now as they are risking their lives and their families to help us to help keep us safe if we get sick so please do the bare minimum and stay homestay with the people you are isolating with don’t go out unless you need to for medical help or getting your weekly shopping done. Please keep washing your hands something we should always be doing regardless of having a virus going around. And please if you have the chance to thank essential workers, not enough people are thanking them, they will appreciate it if you do thank them it goes a long way with letting them know they are doing a fantastic job.

As always thank you for reading stay kind, stay safe and stay happy

love always Thinking out loud xx:D

Changing Seasons

By Freya Anastasia Hatfield

The days are changing, getting shorter, the nights grow longer and colder, 

the need for wrapping up warm becomes more evident.

Wearing socks on a night and a big jumper shows how the season is changing, 

shorts and singlets will soon be a distant memory,

 the Summer heat will soon become a dream.

Days of 15 degrees will become a new reality, 

days stuck inside while the rain pours, 

keeping plants and trees alive before the harsh heat of Summer will once again return. 

Nights of 4 degrees, wind howling, trees rustling, 

thunder banging and lightning crashing as the endless storms roll on overhead, 

while you lie in a warm bed, listening to the music of the night.

The cold you know won’t last long, but while its here, 

you can’t help but hope soon for the warmth,

 the beach days and late nights outside, with loved ones around.

For now, you settle with, movie days, game days,

hot chocolate and warm comfort food while you pass the time, 

in the coming months of shorter days, longer colder night.

A little bit unique

Hi Thinking out loud here :)

This poem, I hope shares some light that not everyone is the same, that we all think differently, and all act and react to things in our own way. It might be clear what it is about, I have purposely not written any kind of ‘medical/society labels’ solely for the fact that we don’t need them to know what the difference or the uniqueness is. I know some people like to know the labels, but I sometimes think it can be so blatantly apparent without the need of saying what it so obviously is, that could just be me and how I think or how I’ve been brought up. I did the same in a previous poem (A little bit different), I hope to make this a small series over the next few weeks/ months. They will all be along the same lines, but each poem will show different personalities without needing to say the specific word of what it’s about. This is my way of showing everyone is different regardless of what labels/diagnoses we are given.

A little bit unique

By Freya Anastasia Hatfield 

It’s loud in here,

It’s hard to think.

This brain always on overdrive,

A constant noise,

A constant hum.

These eyes taking in every little detail,

These ears hearing every little sound,

This mouth makes noises that no one understands, 

sounds that form words, a hidden language,

stop and listen, it just takes a little bit of time to understand

This happens several times a day, it feels nice.

This is being unique,

This is being your own kind of beautiful.

This is not being like everyone else,

This is being your own normal.

This is being unique.

It can be hard to focus,

It can be hard to listen,

It can be hard to know what’s going on,

When so much is happening.

It can be hard to keep eye contact,

It can be hard to talk, repeating words and sentences.

It can be hard to be in a social situation.

It can be hard to touch some things, hands turn into a fist, 

other things feel nice to touch, hands slowly reaching the object,

the sensation is pleasant, each hand is flat.

This happens several times a day, it feels nice.

This is being unique,

This is being your own kind of beautiful.

This is not being like everyone else,

This is being your own normal.

This is being unique.

There is an object, it is beautiful

It is fascinating,

Every little detail on it stands out

Every line, curve, colour has its own place

Every angle is different ever so slightly.

Eyes become overwhelmed, by its elegance

Emotions start to build, uncontrollable, 

Everything bubbling into one big scream of excitement.

Spinning, jumping, arms are flapping,

This is excitement, this is joy. 

This happens several times a day, it feels nice.

This is life being unique, showing its beauty, in its purest form

This is being unique.

Be kind, be a light in the dark

Hi Thinking out loud here xx :)

I'm sure some of you will know that two weeks ago a kind broken heart passed away,  as much as I don't condone violence, what this person went through from the media isn't OK, yes she knew what she did was wrong. It's so clear she regretted it, I didn't know her personally, I did watch the programmes she presented on. We all make mistakes, some mistakes are more significant than others, but just because she was in the public eye shouldn't have made it any different, yet it always does. We need to start seeing celebrities as people yes they might be famous, but that doesn't change the fact that they like all of us make mistakes. 

The media (newspaper, magazine, news shows, 'reality' tv) have so much to hold accountable for how they show us these 'famous' people, how they portray them ultimately decides for us how we see them. I'm starting to stop watching 'reality' tv programmes for the lack of support for the people who are employed, and the people who appear on the shows. As a viewer (ex-viewer) it seems after the series ends they drop them back into actual reality, newfound fame, and an outside world that for some people haven't taken so nicely to them they are forced to do this with no help with re-entering normal life.
In light of what has happened and in light of this blog post I have written a poem, please remember to be kind that's all you need to do is be kind, give love and talk to someone if you or they need help. Thank you for reading, I hope you have a lovely day, love always Thinking out loud xx 💖

Be kind, be a light in the dark

By Freya Anastasia Hatfield

It doesn’t take a lot to be kind 

It doesn’t take a lot to stop and think twice

It doesn’t take a lot before you say something nice

It doesn’t take a lot to stop and think twice

It doesn’t take a lot before it all sinks in

Words can hurt

Words can be harsh

Words can scar

Words can break people's hearts

It takes a lot to have courage

It takes a lot before it all gets too much

It takes a lot of suffering in silence

It takes a lot of sleepless nights

One mistake can end a life

One mistake can be monumental

One mistake could change everything

One mistake and then it’s all gone

It doesn’t have to be like this

It shouldn’t have to be like this

It shouldn’t cause such pain

It shouldn’t cause so much fear

One person shouldn’t suffer

Be kicked while down

Battered by the media

If it were the opposite sex

They’d have been praised, been let off

Said this is just a warning

A little slap on the hand

Begone with you, nothing happened here

It takes a moment to ask how someone is

It takes a moment to help someone 

It takes a moment to sit with someone

It takes a moment to be an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on

It takes a moment to be a friend when someone’s world is turning dark

Take the moment

Be the friend

The ear to listen

The shoulder to lean on

Be kind and be a light in a world that is full of darkness.

catch up

Hey Thinking out loud here :D

This week I’m going back to a proper sit-down blog. So before you get reading, get yourselves a drink, whether it be water, tea, coffee, wine, beer, a cheeky g&t. Whatever may be your drink of choice and find yourself a comfy seat. This one might be a long read, sorry, not sorry. (End of the blog me. This is really long definitely get yourself a drink, something to eat and a comfy seat and maybe something warm and cosy if you are somewhere cold.)

This will be a post where I let my thoughts run wild. No poems, short stories, just my thoughts and letting them be, no boundaries no this is what I’m going to write, I'm going to write whatever comes to mind whatever topic. Right now, I have no idea what this blog post will be about or what I will write, so this could be interesting, but after all, that is what this blog is called Thinking Out Loud right?

Recently there has been a lot of different things happening in the world and being said on the news, not that, that hasn’t ever happened before, shock it happens all the time. But recently there has been a lot from mental health awareness, which some past blogs have been based on. I find it so important to talk about and to not stop talking about. 

To climate change and how drastic the world around us is changing from what we use and how we are living. This has also been in recent blog posts. The post before this one was a poem on climate change it was called Not Our Problem. (If you haven’t read it, please do, out of every post I’ve ever written it is the one that left me moved and the one that I felt most compelled to write.) It’s a bit of a play on how we are acting like it isn’t our problem when in fact it totally is our problem, also something that needs to be talked about and being kept on talking about. I find so often with an issue or a problem the minute you stop talking about it is when it gets swept to one side and gets forgotten about or gets seen as no longer being a problem or that in hope it somehow fixes itself, when we all know that doesn’t happen, the same can very much be said for mental health. 

To leaders of countries saying and doing things that surprise surprise not everyone agrees with, but that is politics for you, not everyone is going to agree with everyone, and that’s ok. 

As much as all these things do need to be spoken about, especially mental health and climate change. This post isn’t going to be about any of that despite clearly having just written a page and half about them. Contradicting I know but there you go, this is just part of thinking out loud and letting whatever I’m typing be typed, welcome to how my brain works.

So Instead of writing about anything on the previous page, let’s talk about something entirely different. Let’s have a catch-up. How is everyone? What’s going on with you? Let me know in the comments below (if it doesn’t show up straight away don’t worry, it will, I just moderate all comments before they can be shown at the bottom of a blog post.) I’m good, life is busy but good, I actually just went through some past posts and realised I haven’t really talked about what I do or even really who I am, so hey here I’m known as Thinking Out Loud aka Freya though have many nicknames I will answer to. I am shy most of the time really only when I’m away from a computer screen and out in public do I go shy and become my introverted self.  I am twenty-four, originally from West Yorkshire in England, then moved to New Zealand and now currently in Australia for a little while.

I am a writer, shock surprise, like no one reading this didn’t already guess. I have been writing on and off since mid to late 2014, but physically sit down at laptop this is what I want to do and just writing since mid-2015. Within that time, I have been writing a trilogy based on mental health. It is a total work of fiction and follows three different characters stories but are all in one way or another connected. Depression is very much openly talked about in them, and different sides of depression are spoken of from the person who physically has it to loved ones around them, and how it also affects them. 

I have though alongside the trilogy started writing stand-alone books manuscripts. (For anyone who isn’t a writer manuscript or ms for short, are what books start out as before they become the end product you hold in your hand or on any reading device.) All of which are varying in genre. I don’t think I have a single ms besides the trilogy that is all in the same genre. Some have things from similar genres, but they don’t all fit in to say romance, but there is an element of that in some of them. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think I’m a writer where I stick to one genre or topic to write on or about. I know typically you find with writers and authors that a lot of what they write is one genre and they stick to that genre. Take Stephen King where his books are horror or J.K Rowling where hers a predominantly based on magic and the wizarding world. (I know not all of her books are in the same genre.), with me, that isn’t going to happen I have everything from mental health, fantasy, war, crime and the list goes on, and each one of those genres I know is very different, but that seems to be the type of writer I am. Hopefully, once I get published and realise books, there will be something for everyone and not just one demographic group but something for young to old to female to male. I don’t want to be that person who wants to please everyone, and that’s not at all what I aim to do as I feel that is impossible to do. But if there happen to be ideas I think of that happen to go over many genres with different books and characters then this girl is going to write it, regardless of the genre and demographic I have previously written. So no I won’t please everyone, but yes I will write whatever genre for whatever demographic group.

I have also had this blog on the side, I think I first started it back in 2015 though I had it a little while before then when I was deciding if I wanted to have a blog (that was the introverted side of me very much having a hold.) I know this blog has entirely at times taken a back seat, on those weeks, months, years, where it has taken a back seat it’s merely because I’ve focused so much on the trilogy and trying to get that to the point of being able to take at least the first book to agents/ publishers. I guess I’m still finding that fine balance between ms writing and putting one day aside where I write a blog post and edit it then upload it. Which hopefully fingers crossed soon I realise that I do need to have a break from ms writing/editing one day a week and dedicate that day to this blog. I know upload days are Thursdays but not always possible to write, edit and upload in one day especially if it’s a short story or poem with them I like to give them time to grow and truly be happy with what I have written.

I also like everyone spend way too much time on social media, though I have met some amazing people on Instagram and Twitter over the past three years, who are also writers/ authors. I have learnt so much from them and without them don’t think I would be as confident as I am in my writing compared to when I first started and knew nobody for the first year I had no idea either of these social media sites had such a vast writing community, of course. I had and still have friends who aren’t writers, but I do often feel that talking about characters like they are real people isn’t the same as when you speak to a writer about them, I do think that talking to none writers you get these weird looks of are you ok? And are you sure you are sane? Most of the time, yes to both and sometimes no to both, that’s all part of being a writer. I couldn’t be more thankful for the online communities I am so lucky to be apart of on days when you are your worst enemy and think you’re not good enough or your characters are just not behaving. You can guarantee there will be someone to talk to who knows exactly what it’s like and what you’re feeling. In general, just knowing you have this whole world online, that’s such a fantastic support system for when it seems like the hardest writing day someone will be there to help you and talk to you. That’s also another thing for any writer who isn’t fortunate enough to have a fantastic support system at home the online community is guaranteed to always be there for you. In with the online support, I have an amazing family, and amazing friends who I know are there when I need them, and if I’m not sure about something I can go to them or send them a message asking if something sounds right or if I should upload whatever I’ve written for here. I don’t do it often but knowing they are there, is so important and something I am thankful for.

This genuinely turned out longer than I thought it was going to be, so if you did make it this far, I’m surprised you did and thank you for making it to the end. I hope you’re drink helped you through this read.

I will possibly be back next week, I hopefully will be, but I have some friends visiting and not sure yet what the plan is, but if I figure out that fine balance of ms writing and blog writing who knows anything is possible right. As you can see, I can clearly keep writing and rambling, so going to end it here. Thank you again for reading. I hope you have a lovely day week.

Love always 

Thinking Out Loud XX :D