A Writer in a Wheelchair

Words - The #Disability #BlogCarnival

2012-02-01T23:46:00.001Z

This is the (day late) January Disability Blog Carnival. Our theme today is words and we have several posts to share.I originally chose the theme because I am focusing on the word courage this year. I've been meaning to write a longer post about the reasons behind that decision but most of my blog time lately has been taken up by words of a different sort - my 100 days of writing project.I've

I Should Be #100daysofwriting #disability #mentalhealth #amwriting

2012-02-01T23:10:00.000Z

Day 14 of 100!A bit of bad news and very high pain levels led to an accidental 3 hour nap and my not being my usual self.I Should BeI should beI should be writingI should be sleepingI should be doing the washing.I should be doing my physio.I should be sending emailsExercising, knitting or reading a book.There are many things I should be doingBut I'm notI'm sat hereBack hurtsSpasming musclesAnd

Unlucky For Some. #100daysofwriting

2012-01-31T23:54:00.000Z

The Disability Blog Carnival is running approximately a day late due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologise for the delay to this service.Anyway. On to the writing.Day 13 of my 100 days of writing. And I've been thinking about the idea of unlucky 13. Which morphed into this somewhat unrelated piece which needs a much better titleUnlucky For Some"I don't know how you do it you know?""you've

The Meaning of Wheelchair User #wheelchair #language #disability #disability #CP

2012-01-30T22:03:00.001Z

I've been thinking for a while that there needs to be a different term to wheelchair user.I spend 99% of my waking hours in my wheelchair. I can stand to transfer but I need to get my chair right by the bed or the loo or whatever. The thing I'm transferring to needs to be the right height and also stable. In the bathroom I have to have grab rails and with them I can take a couple of steps. If

A Few Haiku #poetry #100daysofwriting #haiku #amwriting

2012-01-30T20:22:00.000Z

One of the things I've been hoping that will come out of this 100 days of writing project is that I'll be stretched as a writer. And that's definitely happening, the daily commitment is tough to maintain. But I'm enjoying it and I think the discipline of it is helping me a lot. I want to be stretched as a writer in other ways though. One of the things I've always struggled with is set forms

Decisions #100daysofwriting #amwriting #poetry

2012-01-29T23:25:00.001Z

I've been doing a lot of thinking about various things over the weekend which has inspired this poem. My thinking hasn't resulted in any real decisions as yet. It seems I can write about them but not make them today.DecisionsDefinitelyMaybeSlowlyQuicklyLife flashing byInformation hits meComing from all anglesBlink and you'll miss itUpDownInOutDon't know what to doInformation overloadThere's a

Silent Sunday

2012-01-29T17:16:00.001Z

Some of the pieces of my mum's 24,000 piece jigsaw.

Things What I Have Been Reading - January 2012 #fridayreads, #readingchallenge

2012-01-28T22:07:00.001Z

I know! A blog entry that isn't writing related! Nobody faint now...I thought it would be interesting to blog about the books I've been reading (other than books in given to review I mean) this year. So here goesThe Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee BenderI loved this book but having tried and failed twice to explain it to friends I fear I won't be able to do it justice. This was a

Appearances Can Be Deceiving #100daysofwriting #amwriting #sailing

2012-01-28T18:58:00.001Z

Day 10 of my 100 days of writing. This is my attempt at a piece with more description of the setting. It's an amalgamation of a couple of the places I've sailed and a bit of artistic license.Appearances Can Be DeceivingWith its bare trees and complete lack of flowers at first the reservoir seems like a completely desolate place. The high winds whipping through your hair on this cold winters

The Story of a Writer #100daysofwriting, #amwriting, #writetip, #writersblock

2012-01-27T23:51:00.001Z

100 days of writing day 9.I started writing about writing and finding it hard tonight - something that was recommended in the creative writing class I took if you ever got stuck. It's not a technique I've tried before but it definitely worked. I'd be very keen to hear feedback on this or any of my other pieces.The Story of a WriterSitting there. Writing. Knowing that the words would flow

Service #100daysofwriting #customerservice #poetry #amwriting

2012-01-26T23:17:00.001Z

Day 8 of my 100 days of writing. 1 week down, 13 and a bit to go (having just worked that out I'm glad I didn't do so earlier). Today I have experienced good service. And also some bad service this evening where promises weren't lived up to. It was very much a no harm, no foul situation but it left me frustrated.This was what I came up with for my writing. I guess you might call it a poem of

The Lion's Den

2012-01-25T23:01:00.001Z

I was thinking about my favourite quote earlier because it's part of my focus for the year (something I need to blog more about). This is inspired by that quote and I hope it works. The quote is right at the end of the piece. I think it's a great one for disabled people like me.Also: day 7 of my 100 days of writing! Given the level my depression was at the fact I've made it this far is huge.

Knowledge Is Power #fiction #100daysofwriting #amwriting, #character

2012-01-24T23:25:00.001Z

Day six of my 100 days of writing and a piece partially written earlier this evening whilst I was setting a new goal in my standing frame (37 mins). I'm back to fiction today. This is very rough and I think it's much more of a character sketch than anything else.I've called it knowledge is power for no reason other than its better than leaving it untitled. I think I might return to this/these

Time #poetry #amwriting #100daysofwriting

2012-01-23T23:18:00.001Z

I've made it five days into my 100 days of writing challenge. Its been easier then I thought but in other ways its been harder. Fitting the writing in has been a challenge today. But then getting things done in general has as well.Inspired by the fact that the theme of the day seems to have been lateness I've written a poem about time.TimeLife takes its time to happenAlways waiting, killing

The Clock Winked #amwriting #100daysofwriting #fiction

2012-01-22T23:54:00.001Z

Day four of the 100 days of writing. I found myself very keen to write but extremely lacking in inspiration. So I found a prompt online - the clock winked. This felt quite hard to write and the words didn't come easily. I was beginning to think I should scrap this idea and take another route with the prompt. But then it clicked. This is the end result which I think needs a lot of work. But

Things

2012-01-21T22:43:00.001Z

Day three of my 100 days of writing. And having thought I'd just be writing fiction, I've changed track and written a bit of a poem. It's a weird one but I like it (I think). Mostly I will be writing fiction in this project though. As always I would love to receive feedback and/or constructive criticism on this or any of my other writing.ThingsBig things.Small things.Every thingIn

Flying

2012-01-20T23:43:00.001Z

This is the second piece for my 100 days of fiction writing project. It's a little late and is heavily inspired/influenced by my trip to see The Chinese State Circus tonight. Who were seriously amazing. They took my breath away several times. Nothing else is taken from my life but Ruth is named for someone who played a similar role to me (in very different circumstances).FlyingI've always

There was once a chance I didn't take

2012-01-19T22:17:00.001Z

This is the first of my 100 days of writing pieces.There Was Once A Chance I Didn't Take"There was once a chance I didn't take." said Danny pausing to take a sip of his latteKarl didn't respond being too busy thinking. He hadn't really wanted to go for coffee but no matter what excuse he gave his companion had overruled his objections and carried him along like a force of nature.There goes Danny

100 Days of Writing

2012-01-19T16:41:00.001Z

I've been using a goal tracker app to try to take better care of myself. It's working relatively well as a tool to help me manage my depression better. The goals are things I was previously struggling with - each dose of my daily medication is listed along with tasks such as physio, showering, drinking water etc. I'm not managing every single task everyday but I never planned for that to be

Off Balanced by Zachary Fenell

2012-01-13T16:04:00.002Z

Zach sent me a free copy of Off Balanced. It's his self published ebook memoir of life as a teen with CP. In the UK it's available on Kindle.. In the US it's on both Kindle and Nook. In the interests of being fair, here is the synopsis. However I strongly disagree with some of the statements made about CP within it. I'm also not sure this is the best summary as it focuses on the CP

What Access Is - And Isn't #spartacusreport #disability #access

2012-01-10T23:53:00.002Z

A few situation I've encountered when it comes to "wheelchair access" and what I'd like to have said in return. If you've got toilets on the ground floor but not a disabled toilet then don't tell me you've got wheelchair access. If you had wheelchair access you'd have a disabled loo. A toilet which has no grab rails and which you can get a wheelchair in but not if you want to shut the

REPOST: Emma's Story #spartacusreport

2012-01-09T21:30:00.001Z

I originally wrote this post in October 2010 when it appeared on The Broken of Britain. It's my story. I'm re sharing this here today in the hope it will help to show how important DLA is and the different it makes to me and millions of other disabled people in the UK. It's my hope that by sharing my story as I have here, in my previous entry, and in many other tweets, Facebook posts and

REPOST: My Submission To The Consultation on DLA Reform #spartacusreport

2012-01-09T11:07:00.001Z

I originally wrote and posted this in February last year. It's the text I submitted to the consultation on DLA reform that happened then. I am reposting it today as a part of my support of The Spartacus Report. I am lifelong disabled. Always have been and always will be. Specifically I have cerebral palsy (CP) and use a wheelchair 95% of the time. I’m able to stand and take a couple of steps,

Silent Sunday #1

2012-01-08T19:44:00.001Z

My new mobile phone (bought because I've lost my usual one. If you think I should have your number can you let me have it again please). It's a Samsung Tocco and the screen shows the date and time. For some reason the date was preset as 6th January 1980.

The One Dollar Horse by Lauren St John

2012-01-06T19:56:00.001Z

Waterstones gave me a copy of The One Dollar Horse by Lauren St John to review. It's coming out on 1st March. Here's the synopsis: Casey Blue loves horses but living, as she does, in the inner city with her father, who is not always on the right side of the law, her dreams of becoming an event rider seem out of reach. Until one day she rescues a horse from the knacker's yard. She works hard