What writing practices do you have that you think are eccentric or at least never mentioned, but you find helpful? – is the theme or topic for September’s Round Robin post.
Hmn!
If they’re our practices will we be aware that they’re eccentric? If we are, do we keep quiet about them lest others think we’re eccentric – or because we sense an unfair advantage?
So, Tunnock’s Tea-cakes are the secret eccentricity around here. But – maybe not so eccentric as they’ve been around, if not here exactly, but in Scotland anyway, for nigh on 60 years. They are a much enjoyed tea-time delicacy, school snack, lunch treat, anytime…
And how do they constitute an eccentricity in writing terms? Well, when it’s going well, they’re a wee reward. when it’s going okay, they’re a sugar rush to the head. When it’s going badly – well there are worse things to do than eat a teacake – or two.
Maybe I was supposed to tell you about long-hand drafts or my portable type-writer; the folders of tourist information brought back from trips abroad and never again consulted, but I know they’re there if needed; the xxxx dotted through MSS so I can find the places in need of corroboration or checking; the frantic ‘find and replace’ searches in final edits so that the heroine’s hair and eye colour is the same throughout.
Maybe.
My fellow Round Robin friends may have more curiosities for your delectation. They can be consulted by clicking on the links below. In the meantime, I’ll unwrap a teacake, designed by Boyd Tunnock for the family firm in Uddingston in 1956.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Dr. Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/is-my-writing-right-for-you
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Anne Stenhouse https://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
Novels Now 
I love those tea cakes and don’t buy them nearly enough!
LikeLike
Hi Ros, I had a particular reason for avoiding snacks over the summer and so DO NOT HAVE ANY IN THE HOUSE at present. This may be why there’s no completed novel this year – to date. Anne
LikeLike
Oh, I love Tunnock’s Tea Cakes! We eat them a lot here in Yorkshire, too, and it’s only recently I realised they’re actually Scottish. Now you’ve added to my list of writing snacks…! I shall try these and see if they help my word count more than digestives 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Helena, DH swears by digestives! Anne
LikeLike
Anne, I was convinced I had almost no weird writing habits 🙂 but reading the posts of my fellow bloggers, I realized that I have a whole boatload of them. Who knew?
LikeLike
Hi Margaret, that was one of my reservations – f they’re personal to us, how do we know they’re weird? Thanks for dropping by, but hope you aren’t stymied by discovering your own foibles. Anne
LikeLike
I can’t think of a better eccentricity — something offering reward, impetus, and encouragement.
LikeLike
Well said. Wish I’d thought of those words, they make snacking respectable. Anne
LikeLike
I love the reward/stimulate/console idea. Now if only I could figure out where to get Tunnock’s tea Cakes here in Florida!
LikeLike
Hi Skye, That’s a knotty problem. My nephews did find Irn Bru in Moscow. Anne
LikeLike
Anne-I remember seeing those teacakes when I studied abroad in Nottingham! My friends and I really fell for the Digestives, though; I ate those sometimes while writing. Your cover art for Courting the Countless is also lovely–I had to say that. It’s gorgeous!
LikeLike
Hi Rachael, interesting that the teacakes have made it to Nottingham. thanks for you comment re cover of Courting the Countess – it looks like a house-style as there are a whole host of them with different figures according to the title. I think it encapsulates the period well. Anne
LikeLike