Sound of Silence

Can you hear that? You can't hear anything? *Precisely* ... for the first time in over eleven weeks all you can hear is the tapping of keys. School's back :) By nine o'clock this morning I was at my desk - I'd dropped the children off, been to the gym and read several chapters of 'Homage to Catalonia' by the pool. It's fair to say I've been looking forward to this day, and cracking on with the next novel. There's a new pencil case feel in the air (let's face it, writers never have to be asked twice to go buying stationary), and a feeling that the new characters are getting impatient.

As the new story starts to take shape, the Spitfire women I've come to think of as 'my' girls have been all over the news in the UK. I've said several times that their (until now), little known true stories are the rival of any fiction, and I hope my debut novel 'The Beauty Chorus' honours their memory. For those of you who missed the BBC4 documentary last night, here's a link and the blurb. Enjoy. x

During World War Two, a remarkable band of female pilots fought against all odds for the right to aid the war effort. Without these Spitfire Women the war may never have been won.
These trailblazers were part of the Air Transport Auxillary, a thousand-strong organisation that delivered aircraft to the frontline RAF during Britain's darkest hours. Every day, responsibility fell on their shoulders to get the planes to the fighters which often pushed them into dangerous and even deadly situations.

Using interviews with the last few surviving veterans, archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this documentary brings to life the forgotten story of the ATA. The resilience of these women in the face of open discrimination is one of the most inspiring and overlooked milestones in women's rights. Their story is one of courage, sexism and patriotism, but above all a story about women who want to break the confines of the world they live in and reach for the skies.

TODAY'S PROMPT: 'Reach for the skies'. The beginning of a new term, a new season, is a good chance to take stock. What are your resolutions for the next few weeks and months? For me, I want a good first draft by Christmas - which means an average of 2000 words a day. What about you? A realistic way to set, and achieve, your goals is to break them down. Give yourself six weeks, and three 'mini' goals to achieve each week on the way to the main goal. So if you want the body of a young Brigitte Bardot, or George Clooney on speed dial, or just to get writing that new book you've been thinking about, today why not take the first step. Make the most of your moments of silence (as every parent knows, they don't last and by hometime you're dying to see the kids anyway ...). So what are you going to achieve?