Wednesday, April 01, 2009

'Changing The Guard' - Proactive & Polari

A change has come over Savidge Towers of late, the procrastination seems to officially be in migration (that leaves the possibility that it may come back but am hoping not) as I have now decided that self discipline is definitely the way forward. So at 9am (well technically 10.30 today as Mr B had a shoulder popping out of socket incident at 4am) I turn on the computer switch of the blackberry, close msn and any other messenger, ignore facebook and work. And do you know what this new routine is working, why had I not thought of this before?

I have a very last minute freelance job to thank for this change. On Thursday last week I got a message from the editor of Polari Magazine saying that someone had dropped out of doing a piece for the magazine last minute and that I had been recommended (thank you Kenneth Hill) as someone who could write something. The brief was a blog-like piece that was around 900 words on ‘changing the guard’ to be delivered in twelve hours. Firstly I was stumped with ‘changing the guard’ I knew a piece on the ritual outside Buckingham Palace wasn’t what they were after. So I will admit that the first three hours or so were ‘research, thinking, smoking, coffee drinking’ aka procrastinating. I went to be with a few pages of notes and a doomed feeling in my stomach. 8am Friday I sit at my computer and type, concentrate and type shutting all the naughty distractions of. Three hours later it’s done. And looks like this…

You can see the full piece here at http://www.polarimagazine.com/03mar09/20-21.html I am not going to copy and paste it all in this blog as I really want people to go and read the mag as its great. Do have a read though as would mean a lot to me! As for the piece its a subject I never thought I would write about and I am quite proud of it as a whole (without sounding like a self promoting big head), it’s a change in style for me a little bit more mature. The people at the magazine are really, really lovely and are really keen to push The Great Gay Reads which is exciting. It seems it has also given me the kick I need to get the whole ‘I work for myself I need to manage myself’ ethos properly formed in my mind and since then I have to admit that I think this is the most creative and productive writing week I have had in ages. So it appears I have changed my guard in some strange way.

With that said I better dash and get some more typing done!