What does a giraffe have to do with writing?

 

I chose this lovely gentle giraffe, to show you how it’s very long neck represents writers everywhere.

If we remain stubborn like a mule, that has a short neck… we’ll move like a tortoise.

We all need to stretch ourselves, beyond what we ever thought we could achieve. I for one  stretched myself from picture books to writing a 20 chapter novel. I love to write long books, the longer the better.

I prefer to write about countries and situations that I have not experienced nor been to. This is stretching my writing abilities and my brain. That’s what research is all about.

Where is the challenge and the stretching….when you write about what you know well, and have experienced over and over.

ps. I had the pleasure of stroking,patting and feeding this gentle giant…at a game farm outside Johannesburg, South Africa. In fact my entire right arm disappeared into its mouth, whilst it sucked all the sweat and salt off my arm. I was chatting to a friend when this happened, and suddenly realised this animal had teeth and tried to yank my arm out, it just batted its long eyelashes as if to say, “What is wrong with you. I’m enjoying myself, its not everyday I suck tasty arms.”  Well apart from a little shock that a very large head had completely swallowed my arm whole I was fine. Covered in thick gooey saliva ….but happy, after all its not everyday one gets licked and sucked by a large African animal…and lives to talk about it.

tip no.2 Stretch yourself, and don’t let the problems swallow you.