Dent Head Viaduct in the snow
Ok, so not an update as such, but wanted to share some pictures with you.
2013 has been all work, work, work so far and as I am writing this, there are 101 days until my Dales book is due for submission.
Here’s a few of the pictures I will be using from my last trip to my second home.
One tree standing… and a sheep… and a great view. Jealous of them.
At times I can be a very solitary person.
I like walking on my own – mountains and all – as well as caving, to rely on my own self and know my limits. People think I’m a little mental as a result and ask me “what would happen if you had an accident” but you never know you are truly alive until you push your capabilities.
Also, I tend to think I know what I am doing…
Society seems to balk at the fact people can operate alone and be perfectly happy. People don’t want to take risks anymore and the health and safety culture, and the fact we are more bone idle, has driven large sections of it never to experience the thrill of the peaks, the rain, wind and snow.
I think that’s a shame but on the other hand it’s better as the fells are free for the rest of us to enjoy.
I feel energised when I come back from trip to the hills and even though I get that familiar hunger pang to be back there almost immediately, it remains with me for a few days.
It’s a hit, a drug, a need. Being on my own there is a symptom of that hit. It’s vital. It’s necessary and prescribed.
Being office based leaves me with cold turkey until the next adventure and new experience.
That’s why writing my ‘Yorkshire Dales‘ book is important for my soul. Without it I would feel lost, without commitment.
2013 will probably be my busiest year to date. I am continuing with Lee’s book, although I have a week to complete the final chapter for now, and I have my Dales project which has proved bigger than I ever thought imaginable. It’s opened my eyes to many facets of the area and also the loss that is being felt ecologically and socially. I am already in mourning and I haven’t written it yet.
Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of how being alone is good for the soul.
Wander…
After my last project – which is still ongoing – it was always going to take me a while emotionally to pitch into another.
Lee Briers’ autobiography was such an involved book and has taken most of my spare time for the last 18 months.
Now we are on the last chapter and that means I can now finally focus on my Dales project.
That began in earnest last week as I got a week off from the day job to go interviewing, walking and caving in an area I hold close to my heart.
And it worked too. Interviews flowed, as did my literary juices and I feel ready to tackle it head on.
It wasn’t easy… on the first day my new camera decided to purge the battery of all its juice even through it was charged and then two of my interviewees didn’t show to arranged meetings.
However, these were just blips in a superb week.
Now I have a bundle of transcripts to do and even more interviews to arrange – thanks to the people I met on the way.
I will also be podcasting my walk and ramblings for ‘Walks Around Britain‘ too.
I’ve been reluctant to talk about the book to a few people as it is a real labour of love and I didn’t want to jinx it. Once completed, the plan is to give a chunk of the proceeds to the Cave Rescue Organisation too.
So, what’s it about:
Using the famous Three Peaks Walk as a road map, Mike Appleton takes a tour around this most popular of areas and finds the real story of the picturesque dales. Away from the trudging boots the farmers who have been abandoned by the EU and are left to fight on. The tourist villages still picking up the pieces following Foot and Mouth. The locals struggling to find affordable housing.
But in a time when the countryside is facing a crisis from cuts and reduced spending, he also finds beauty in the labyrinth of passages hidden beneath the earth, how countless species continue to thrive and how those characters of the Dales carry on regardless.
And he speaks to those who are charged with making sure this boundless natural wonder continues to serve its people and the rest of the country for generations to come.
Just a quick update from me.
Hectic day job has slowed up my outside work and I’m worried my next project will suffer.
I can’t seem to get into it, nor find the time to significantly move the ‘blinking line’ across my screen.
Thankfully the season is coming to an end and it means I can use the days I have left to immerse myself in the subject.
I need to live my next project or it won’t be what I expected.
Perhaps I have put myself under too much pressure now, but I hope I can rescue the position I am in.
I am pretty scared though.
Next Project underway…
As you can see, I’m underway with my next project.
My wonderful and not manipulated in any way Instagram picture shows it in all its glory and how well it is motoring on.
Pictures do lie very much!
I have a year to complete the project which centres on the Three Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales and how humans interact with nature; and how that interaction will shape the future of the region for generations to come.
I’d love to reveal more than that, but as so often happens these days, things get lifted from internet sites and ideas are stolen!
Suffice to say, it’s pretty hectic and I get loads of lovely trips up to the Dales to mither poor folk on the hills.
In the meantime, Lee Briers autobiography is with the publisher for its first draft review and hopefully you’ll see a mock-up of the cover very shortly.
We have one more chapter to complete – the 2012 season – and that looks like being a real belter for Warrington. It’s good copy for the book, but awful being a Saints fan!
The plan is to release the book in early 2013 so we will have details of signings and snippets towards the back-end of the year.
For now, I’ve got my Dales head on.
Write upside down…
One of the hardest things about writing any story is the beginning.
I’ve suffered startitus ever since school and those endless essays you had to hammer out. It was the same at Uni too.
It isn’t a motivation issue, but more of a how do I get the bloody thing started.
So instead of agonising over the start I’ve started writing from the bottom up. I find I know where I want to get to so i have been rebuilding to the introduction. I don’t do this every time but it’s a technique that seems to be doing the trick at the moment.
Have you got any little writing tips you can pass on?
My latest project has now gone to my publisher and I await their comments and feedback.
It’s always a scary time when you give a project away as it’s been part of you for a long time and there is a reluctance to let it go. But I had others to get on with and now I wait the proofs!
Wish me luck!!
