Author diaries

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18 November 2003 Entry: "Moving on"

No, I'm not moving house, but have just heard that I got a distinction in my MA in Writing Poetry, so this time of limbo is over. Graduation is December 3rd and the good new is that my parents in Montrose and Jamie (studying at Aberdeen University) will be coming down to join the rest of the family.
I think I'm still suffering withdrawal symptoms on Tuesdays and Thursdays, not dashing from work to university, but have joined a five week course at Live Theatre on writing for the stage, so that's keeping me busy. Went to see Keepers of the Flame on Sunday which was brilliant, and am off to the reading of Bill Herbert's play tonight, so will be at Live three nights this week. Am learning to leave extra time for car parking now that the big car park opposite Live has gone.
While writing this, I've been listening to Jackie Kay's A Guid Scots Death. Her short stories have been made into dramas for Woman's Hour and are on all this week, repeated in the evenings. I heard Jackie read this story at Newcastle University last year and it was really interesting listening to the way it's been adapted for radio drama.
My own radio play is with the BBC producer, but I've not heard anything yet. Am trying to forget about it and get on with other things. I've been working on a play for community drama groups and also finishing off my National Poetry Day poems for New Writing North.
Over the summer I began writing some poems for children, based on birds, and after my trip to Newfoundland wrote another using all the Newfoundland words for birds. Scurwinkles and wobbies are two of my favourites.
I have a long train journey to Reading on Saturday, leaving at 6am, so will be printing off this month's stories from the Save the Short Story campaign to read on the way. Hopefully they will inspire me to write my own short story!