The wonders of skype. I was able to see my daughter's room. She has a lovely pink and white poster which says Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake. It made me smile.
There is also a slight irony as my daughter would much prefer a biscuit or proper peice of cake as she finds cupcakes a bit too sweet. But the sentiment is there.
She seems to be doing fine. Okoay more than fine. She looks like she is having a great time.
I really recommend skype for any parent whose children are far away. We discovered its advantages last year when my son was in the US and so it has continued. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Because of a post on The Healthy Writer's Blog, I dug out my copy of The Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdock. Less well known than Joseph Campbell/Chris Vogler's The Hero Journey. The Heroine's Journey gives a structure for a more internal conflict type book. You can find it in use in many works of commerical ficition. She developed it because Campbell told her that there was no need for a woman to go on a journey as she was already THERE. Murdock knew she wasn't. The heroine's Journey is all about healing the psyche. It is about the integration of the feminine and masculine.
Many authors of commercial women's fiction already use elements of the journey in their work. For example, the father's daughter who has turned her back on her feminity only to have it reawoken by the hero and in the process to discovering her true and strong identity is standard fodder for series romance.
Anyway, it is useful sometimes to remind myself that such structures do exist and for good reasons.
Good luck to all who are entering the New Voices this year. Remember it is not the end of the journey but the start and it is what you do after, and how you continue to pursue your dream that is important.
Equally keeping calm and eating a cupcake is a good thing to do in times of stress.
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