yeahwriters:

erinbowman:

Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure. (Or: infographics I want to hug.)

Graphic by Eduardo L. Lozano

Ugh so pretty

tabledfables:

thegingerbreadroom:

thecheshirecafe:

Hans Christian Andersen wrote in his fairytales that, “just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” 

We would argue that a little coffee never hurt either.

If you haven’t had the chance to leap into the nearest carriage and come down to the Chesh to try one of our magical Fairytale-themed specials then be sure to do so before the clock strikes midnight on Sunday! 

We can’t guarantee drinking these will cause everyone to live happily ever after, but we’re pretty sure you’ll be happy for at least the next hour after tasting one of these delightful concoctions!

Such a shame that the “Hansel and Gretel” flavor is marshmallow, or that would be my obvious pick. I’ll take “One Hundred Years of Sleep” instead, please…

xx Gingerbread

Cute!

It’s raining
I’m tired
I went to Zumba on Monday, and that counts a, like, two runs at least, cos it’s really intense
It’s my birthday! I can’t go RUNNING on my BIRTHDAY
Now I’m hungover
It’s Friday! I can’t go RUNNING on FRIDAY
Now I’m hungover again
I’ve already missed, like, a week, so one more day doesn’t really make a difference
It’s HAILING
I had a shit day, I just want to go to bed
I was so busy today I barely had time to eat, let alone run
Oh, just… up your bum, running. Up your bum.

A little poem for Mother’s Day…

It turns out that if you do three gigs a week, write 500 words of novel a day, start a new exercise regime and keep up with your day job, you don’t get made Head Girl Of The Grown Ups, as I had previously assumed. All you get is a chest infection. And then you can’t run, or write, or do anything at all except for lie in bed, wondering if your lungs have somehow worked out a way to cry blood. So, only two runs this week, and one of them I’m not sure whether to count, as it was the slowest, most resentful run ever, when I was already ill (top tip – DON’T GO RUNNING WHEN YOU’RE ILL. You cannot “run off” a cold. You are already delirious. Go to bed.).

According to the Internet, this kind of thing happens a lot – beginners get sniffles, push too hard, knacker themselves and give the whole thing up for a bad job. But NOT ME, I am too clever (stubborn) for that. I am going to give my bronchioles time to scab over before I get back on it.

It’s easy to see how it happens though – even though I’m nowhere near the stage where running is anything other than a massive pain in the ass (and calves, and knees) I do kind of miss it. It made me feel clean, somehow. And like a badass. I miss feeling like a badass. I keep mooning around other running blogs, sadly thinking about how good it would be if I’d already been for a run today. Still. No running for me, breathing first, always.

One other thing I found out this week – the non horrible run was first thing in the morning, and it was glorious. I felt like I’d been turbo charged for the rest of the day. All high on good circulation and endorphins and smugness. I’ll see if this continues, and report back.

I normally find Runner’s World a bit annoying (“Top tip - if you’re a woman, take a dog running with you, to stop you getting raped!”) (I’m not kidding) but this article is lovely.

It was weird.

I’m doing a couch to 5k. No, honestly, seeeeeeeriously guys, I mean it this time. This week the plan has been -

Walk 10 minutes

Walk 1 minute, run 15 seconds - repeat 10 times

“Freeform run” 10 minutes - this means run as much as you can be arsed, walk the rest.

Now, that isn’t a lot, I know. I did some serious eyebrow raising at the 15 second runs, in particular. But I MASSIVELY SUCK at running, and that’s because I’m inconsistent. And this time, I have kinda stuck to a plan, just because it seemed so lame to wimp out of running for 15 seconds because I was “tired”.

This is some stuff I’ve discovered out this week –

1. I am not too good for stretching. Because it’s so little running, I assumed I could slack off and get straight into the shower. NOT THE CASE. If you want to be able to stand up without mewling for the rest of the day, stretching is crucial.
2. Running makes you very warm. This may not surprise some of the more physically active of you. It did surprise me. Even when it’s –3, you won’t be cold, cos you’re RUNNING. No excuses for not running when it’s –3.
3. The feeling of sleet hitting your face is still unpleasant, no matter how warm you are.

Next week I will be upping my running section to a legendary 30 seconds at a time, and also experimenting with MORNING RUNNING. Stay tuned.

When I was younger/in a long term relationship with someone I met at Uni, I thought that online dating was TOTALLY LAME AND FOR LOSERS, OMG. I was pretty sure that I’d never need to pay a website to find me a boyfriend, because I was really cool and stuff, and surely it’s totes easy to meet people, right?

What an idiot.

When you don’t go to an educational establishment or (possibly, I don’t know) work for a massive company, there is NOWHERE TO MEET PEOPLE. You can’t do it. I always assumed that friends could hook me up with guys. I’ve been close to these people for about 10 years. Exactly where did I imagine that they were going to summon hot, normal men for me from?

I’ll let you imagine your own visual for that one.

A lot of people take up hobbies for the purposes of meeting people to share sexy fun times with. This can work – I have a (male) friend who got a lot of ass from joining a salsa class. But my life is FULL, and hobbies are, in my head, a place to unwind and not care if you look like a prick (running, yay!) not, like, an audition.

This leaves you with online. It’s the most efficient way. When I told my Mum about OK Cupid, she said it was a great idea, and kind of implied that it sounded like ebay, but for sex. Yes! Yes it is! The internet is where I do everything, from shopping to socialising to trying to work out the meaning of my life, and finding someone to flirt with over a pint is no exception.

This is me and Paul. We met on OK Cupid, over a year ago. Sometimes when I think about him, my face starts hurting and I wonder why and it’s because I’m smiling so much. Thank you, the Internet. I love you, the Internet. You are my valentine.