Cool London Photos

While I definitely do NOT believe in past lives, the strangest thing about my trip to London that I can not shake was that I had the feeling I had been there before. Everything seemed so familiar, every street seemed someplace that I had wandered before---and even "chillaxing" on the lawn in front of Westminster, I had a feeling I had done this hundreds of times.










I'm having a hard time letting go of that wonderful, wonderful, city... aka, the City of Dangerous Writers...anyone wanna sponsor my work permit?



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One of my friends said maybe I was drawn to London so strongly because that there is a book there that I have to go there to write. I'm not sure. I just know that I've never felt such a part of a place when visiting it
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OK, maybe I won't be a character

....mainly because I'm having doubts that the wig would arrive via mail in time. The wig is vital to making Blythe work.

Then I realized, wait, I'm giving a writing workshop while I'm at this book fair. I'm going to have a bit much going on to worry with being Blythe....

And I always do this...I always build up these crazy, unrealistic goals and then hit myself over the head when I don't reach them. What's up with that?

But no more. Writing dangerously doesn't mean hitting oneself over the head.

Becoming my Character

I've decided I'm going to become Blythe.

I'm appearing at the Celebration of Books Festival in Highlands, NC. I'm very excited about it, including a specialized writing workshop for teens.

Maybe I'm desperate for publicity, maybe I've just not had much of a social life, maybe I took the wrong medication, but at any rate, I've decided to spend at least part of the time at the festival in character, dressed as my character, Blythe Shelley, from Leaving the Comfort Cafe.

Will this be successful or a disaster?

There's a pretty good chance of both.

The big ??? about whether or not I can pull it off depends upon whether or not I can find a red, curly-headed wig [though Blythe does change it to black later in the book....] This may be an opening for "The Blythe Monologues" --hmm...I'll file that idea away for later.

To get an idea of Blythe, you can hear me reading a section from the novel or even read a part of it [for free] on my website at www.dawnwilson.net.

Writing dangerously?
Well, it's doing something dangerously, anyway.

Free Writing Workshop for Teens

I'm returning from a hiatus. I had to move to a new apartment, then I had the wonderful chance of a lifetime vacation in LONDON. Absolutely awesome.

I hope some of the random Brits I met while over there check out this blog and drop a comment.

The main issue right now is I have to get ready for a book fair in Cashiers, where I will be presenting a FREE workshop on creative writing for teens. This is a part of the Celebration of Books festival in the Highlands Civic Center, Highlands, NC. The festival [where I will be selling and signing books] is on Sept. 11 from 9 am. to 3 p.m.....my workshop is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Workshop room. I'm not sure where that is but I am sure I will find out.

I'm debating spending part of time in character as my character, Blythe, from Leaving the Comfort Cafe....What do you think? Should I splurge on the $10 ginger wig on Amazon?

London- the city of dangerous writers

I don't care if you don't like literature, or even if you can't appreciate the magestic genius of Shakpesare's sonnets, because the city of London is, in itself, complete poetry.

I have never seen such a gorgeous city in my entire life. I am instantly in love with its architecture, its vibe, its combintation of both the tr4aditional and trendy.

I do NOT believe in past lives, but there is something very strange about how wonderfully at home I feel in London, as if, as a writer, I have somehow lived here for thousands of years.

After taking a gazillion photos, I finally, and thankfully had my batteries die down---it made me realized thatI needed to beless concerned with capturing the moment, and letting the moment capture me. More coming up later...I'm just too jet lagged and incredibly thrilled to care.

Wishes for London Trip

We all know I love the Brits [see earlier entry] and I'm stoked about going cross the pond.

A Writer's Way exercise once told me to expect great and crazy wonderful things. So whenever I embarked on a trip, I liked to make predictions of what I'd like to happen...not an itinerary or stuff I wanted to do, but just strange, neat, crazy, off the wall things. While sometimes the things do not come through, they do teach me, as a writer and a person, to open myself up for the predictable unpredictability of the world and just roll with it [like the time I shared a trolley with the Secret Service while in Savannah.]

In no particular order:

-- I feel I will meet someone absolutely amazing over there. I'm not talking romance, though I'm open for that come what may, but just someone interesting, quirky, or intriguing. Someone I'll share my e-mail addy with.

-- I will have a religious experience of some kind.

--I will see some celebrity, have no idea who they are [because they are sans makeup or what not] and ask them for directions, the time, something mundane, and not realize until later who he / she was.

-- I will eat something in Stratford on Avon. Not food, but a leaf or piece of grass...I'm hoping there's something in the water there that will help me become a better writer.

--At a pub, my travel buddy C and I will meet a cool group of folks that we spend a bit of time with. We run into them later on a double decker bus.

- I come home with a TARDIS of some kind. Or David Tennant. Even better.

-- And of course, someone is going to inspire a novel. You know they will....

Blogging from Across the Pond

Yep, I'm writing dangerously as only you can when you are in the land of the great writers of Shakespeare, Keats, Dickens, and oh, so many too numerous to mention...

Check out my photos, travel journal etc. and the stuff from famous writer's houses at:

http://dawninlondon.shutterfly.com

And yes, before someone freaks about security, someone is housesitting for me.