Anna Aden Writes

This is a review of goals/resolutions I set in January in the below blog post.  t https://dabwrites.blogspot.com/2019/01/16-daily-writing-journal-short-2018.html  and basically I'm just going to write under my reviews under the headings. For some reason, I only listed 9. 2019 GOALS Quarter 1 January-March Review. 1. Get a new role - this is urgent and top priority Achieved  I was on a contract and it came to an end. It took me sometime because I was wrapping up in my old role, then I fell ill, (you can check out those blog posts). It was hectic but I had strong support around me so it worked out well. I was hoping my contract would be extended but it wasn't as I really liked where I worked so it was tough but I got there in the end. I was blessed to get a new role! 2 Publish Leyton and Angelica's story The editing is currently in process - check out my Sunday posts, I probably have to do a better schedule. I hope to publish in the late Summer, early fall. ...

Sometimes, more often than not I go to Dalston which is in Hackney. It has a vibrant market called Ridley Road Market where you can get fresh fish, and vegetables, clothes, shoes and bags. I used to be a regular to this market and Brough Market (now a very posh tourist joint). Not so much now. You also get lots of tropical 'ethic' foods - basically African/Caribbean since that's where most settled. So yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, avocados, stock fish etc. Lots of fish mongers and butchers. There are a few markets I used to go to in London. There used to be an excellent fruit and veg market in the west end...but let's not digress. There is also a massive Pak hair - wigs, weaves, body creams. I would say it was mostly black women but now all women are into wearing hair extensions or wigs. I'll do a feature on the next time. It's a rather fashionable place, now with a Marks & Spencers next to the station. There are two overland train stations th...

EMPTY! Just kidding, I thought instead of using the tin, it was time to get a bigger container. And no I haven't thought about when I'd do some banking.  I do have something in mind now, but not sure since it will be quite soon, and this is really for the end of the YEAR. OH WHY! WHY! This is my cash for saving. Look at Jane Austen looking serious. Bet, she never thought she'd be on the pound note. Ten pound at that. Not a fiver. Anyway my other three pounds. New tin - well plastic container and money. This is boring but so are most challenges. If it were exciting it wouldn't be challenging.  Ah, yes, the old tin makes an appearance. It is time to do the transfer. Not sure what I'm going to be using the old tin for. Transfer is complete. You can see I have three tenners, and a couple of fivers peering out of the new money pot. Let's see much longer.

I love raison muffins the same way I love cinnamon buns. To be frank, I love most bakery products -yum! Simit Sarayi is a Turkish bakery with branches all over world - some are franchises , BUT my favourite branch in the one on Southhampton Row, WC1. https://www.simitsarayi.com/en The staff are so welcoming and friendly. Always nice and smiley which isn't the easiest thing to do on  grim rainy London mornings, afternoons or evening.  I've been to other branches before but this is my favourite one. I even introduced a former colleague to them. So its not really about brand but rather the people behind the counter. The muffins - the main reason for this blog - are delicious. Juice raisons and a delicious baked muffin.  It doesn't taste chemically like shop bought ones, you know the shop bought ones that taste like there is too much baking powder or baking soda in the next. Or maybe the stuff to keep it longer on the shelf.  Then the ones that taste like the...

Basically Bradley Copper is a big time troubled star, who meets an aspiring singer who ends up becoming a star, but it all wrong from there.  It's great acting but I just wasn't moved maybe it was too emotional and I was tired. I'm not sure why, but it didn't resonate with me. I just found the beginning very slow and it didn't get any better. I stopped watching it when they had a duet at the concert.  What I did find out was Lady Gaga wasn't the great singer I thought she was. She is very good but without her 'Lady Gaga' persona and the electronic music etc, she was just a good singer. I was expecting some really really good singing. But no. I still like her but doing 'Lady Gaga'. She's more or less a studio recording artist. Funny that.  However her acting was very good. Better than most singers-turned-actresses.   I guess if you want an emotional weepie or like a good drama with  something to cry about,  watch it. Some good ...

I'm always on the lookout for a good planning tool to help me do stuff. Like I have plenty of things outstanding and I'm not even going to bother going into detail. However I was try and maintain a bare minimum. NOTE I ONLY PLAN WHEN I NEED TO. I need to say this because the world seems obsessed with planning. So techniques I've found useful have been to state the goals do the steps backwards. Yes backwards from finish to start rather from start to finish. I used this  method for getting a job, for example this was the last two outlines I had. I learnt this from a free-life coaching website which I can't remember. It was when everything on the internet was free, so I'm talking about a good ten years ago.  Steps to job-hunting First day sign contract references and  qualifications taken up resignation (always a scary one) conditional job offer interview  send out applications  daily job hunting - I'd also name the sites here. I'd also...

Apologies, everyone, lots of things happening and changing off line which is affecting my blog schedule, so as a result I missed my London Hood and Show My Desk, and a few other features. It isn't easy to jump back into blogging when things happen that knock one off a perch or new changes are introduced. I did go out so I'll post my London Hood tomorrow, and I could probably post my desk the day after that. Coping? I've been drawing and listening to music, and talking to close family.  Thank you.

Last week, I was tasked with writing a synopsis which I did. Nothing much to discuss to be honest. This week is  IN LESSON NINE: You will discover how manuscript surgery works. Editing versus Revision versus The Complete Rewrite, WHY they're not the same, and when and WHY you use each.The step-by-step process for changing "what is” in your story to "what needs to be." And how to refine your revision needs and musts into usable form...what I call The Block Revision process. I'm finding during this process that I am a pretty organised writer because more often than not, I've completed the lessons before time, or decided they were applicable to me at the time. This week isn't going to take me too long. Anyway, it is what it is. Not much to say.

What is the point? Another £12 in the pot. I've given up on my takeaway meals. Yes, takeout. In fact I now  walk pass places and think, 'that is tin money. Blog 52 week challenge'. I don't know.  I get the picture is upside down but give me break. Cash is cash. So I cracked up and I  ordered some roast chicken via a delivery service.  And all I could think was stat was potentially X-amount  that could have gone in the 52 Week Mo Money Challenge money. There is the Queen smiling - it's a small smile at us. And there are the fifty pence coins. Then tenner in the tin is Jane Austen staring out at us. That was from last week's haul. HAUL FROM MY PURSE. The money is now firmly in the tin.

Challenge: To complete the drawings in this book! Drawing has always been a hobby and I think I covered in an earlier blog post. However like every other hobby I have, I like to buy or borrow books about it. I have countless drawing books - okay about ten or more. Not sure how many because they are scattered around the bookcase. They are also books I've acquired since I was a teen to now and that is over about two decades.... So moving on with drawing. This year, I decided to downgrade my drawing hobby from seeking to being a better drawer and perfectionism to just drawing. Normally I get frustrated that I can draw properly and things are out of sink. I've also been about two live art courses and two cartooning courses. Yes, I had high and deep aspirations to do with art but the frustration with my drawings led to stop and start inconsistently over the years. Now I've reconciled myself to just drawing. The Task So deciding this, I've decide to just comp...

Not so well. I've missed a few posts, and I've been busy off line with other commitments. Even though I have two films/movies lined up, I had no time to watch them. So I'm going to have to review what goes and what stays. I'm thinking of reducing the blogging but I'll see. Did I not have a plan? Yes, I did but it more about time and scheduling, and finding what I'm interested in. Also I'm supposed to be a writer and I'm not even promoting my own work. Plus not even sure people are reading this. Okay but just like one or two people. Not even sure if its consistent.  Show My Desk  I missed one feature, just totally forgot because I had some urgent errands that day. And who exactly what's to look at at my messy desk? I might give this a miss but I'll see. Wednesday - Film/Movie Night I don't have a Netflicks subscription and I do watch movies but not as much. So this will probably be a struggle. Also I'm quite fussy abo...

I love cinnamon buns, it used to be a treat from the Nordic cafe in Covent Gardens before they closed down but I recently discovered Fabrique another bakery. Their buns are delicious! A bit pricey at £3.00 (about $4.00- $5.00)  a bun but worth it. Full of cinnamon goodness. Yum! I normally have a takeaway but the shop tend to be full of trendy people. This is my bun with a bit already torn off. http://fabrique.co.uk

I missed this last week but as you can see my desk is in a state. This is due to lots of things happening  and I normally also use my desk as a spare surface space. Yes. So at the upper left hand corner is a day-to-day calendar from 2017 - that was actually a complimentary from a publisher at the London Book Fair. I get them but don't really use them. I start of each year thinking, great let's use but hardly. I guess I can take the spare one I have for this year to work. Next is  organic Pukka castor oil which I use to condition my hair. And no, I have no idea if it works or not, but I use it. After that is some peppermint Bodyshop foot lotion. I use it occasionally.  After that a jumble of things including strings for a former guitar I had. I was learning. My non-aluminium deodorant. Apparently it's healthier. I've been using this for years, though I have the normal ones for spare. A black complimentary note book from a CPD I attended years ago. After t...

There is a bit of crisis because I'm not sure where this is going and the last week was slightly tedious. The course is very good but I feel it's too risky to do wait until the 21 week for do some writing. Also I was getting bored. Last week was about world-building and the lesson and worksheet were excellent but it wasn't for me because I don't think that way. But I am going to revise it at a later point. And I'll be using it for other genre writing. Next lesson - week eight! Can you believe I've been editing for eight weeks now! Can you? So lesson eight is below. Themes.... FINALLY, IN LESSON EIGHT: You’ll discover your story and theme. While you were writing, you may have considered Story and Theme. You may not have. Most writers, after all, give them only cursory attention. But Story and Theme are what pull everything else together. They refine your target, illuminate the priorities in your promises, and spotlight every Scene, Plot, Conflict, Chara...

Another blog on the go. I was on my way to an appointment, and I thought this was a nice spot to feature. Beyond this square to the west is the British Museum. That imposing building is Victoria House. This is the garden map which is east of the garden. Big Poppa Charles J Fox. Nice name for a historical romance character. This is north of the garden. To the west is the Le Cordon Bleu cookery school.  They do short courses as well.

So this is my £11. It was harder this time - check out my mini-rant last week. I get weary especially when I realised for the next 8 weeks I'd have to find £10 plus an incremental 2 - 9. But this is the challenge I took. Beware of taking random challenge for likes and hits. Yes the money tin, with the Queen of England starting at you from the five pound note. I'm not even sure why I am doing this. I've got another of uses for this savings though. The money is now in the tin. So it will be balance remember I started in week 7 and this is week 11 but I'm not counting now. I might have to change the tin. This is pretty boring and painful.

Came home from work and it was a long day so I put on my posh pasta. I had a shop brand but decided to try this. The shapes are different. Added some tomato pesto. I can't tell the difference but I'm sure there is some was the Rummo is three times the price of the Sainsbury's brand. Back to dinner now 💖😊.