Coffee coloured conversations
A particularly happy day today. Gina is an intensely focused writer, often working from the moment she wakes up until 4 or 5 in the morning. As anyone who follows my blogs knows, I am very proud of her and certainly do not begrudge her working practices. It’s always been my opinion that any creative person should never be interrupted when they are in the zone, as I call it, even if it means they are in that place for months. Today, Gina took a rare break from her work, so, to celebrate, we went to the Mall, near Bristol, and splashed out a little on a very special box of chocolates and had a mooch around the shops. We found a wonderful ratty brooch and a beautiful butterfly necklace for her to wear at her next book signing, both wonderful bonuses as we weren’t looking for anything in particular, it’s just great to come across something special like that.
After our little shopping treat, we went to Costa Coffee for a couple of giant cups of cappuccino, toasted paninis, cake and plenty of good conversation.
When Gina is not working, we are almost always chin-wagging, but, for some reason, it’s just more fun when we sit down in a cafe for a chat and a drink. Today’s conversation was about writing. Well, when I say a conversation, when it comes to plots, characters, twists and turns, new ideas, new stories and new adventures, I tend to listen more than talk. I watch them evolve in front of my eyes as Gina’s words and ideas flow, growing with every word that comes out. It’s amazing. I have never met anyone with so much to write and so much to share. Today, she even talked of writing two completely different books at the same time, just because she cannot wait to get one or the other book onto paper! That’s Gina. Hehe.
I wondered, as we sat there having a great time, how many writers have similar conversations all around the world. I wondered how many plots and characters have evolved over a cup of coffee, growing, solidifying, becoming reality. To a non-writer like me, it’s like magic being weaved before my eyes, the miracle and genius of a creative mind and heart. Beautiful.
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Keiko Amano says:
Ryoma, I want to smell the
Ryoma,
I want to smell the air there, and drink coffee at Costa Coffee. The ocean and greenery must be beautiful.
Ryoma Collia-Suzuki says:
Hi Keiko. :)
Weston is a funny place. People either love it or absolutely hate it. We love it and think it's beautiful, I think you would like it too. :)
Keiko Amano says:
Ryoma, I don't know which
Ryoma,
I don't know which blog, but I think I read something like Brits are like hippies. In what way? I'm curious.
Ryoma Collia-Suzuki says:
Hippies
Hi Keiko,
I'm so sorry that I missed your response! My head has been a bit 'fuzzy' the last 3 weeks, last week in particular, so I hope you will not think that I was ignoring you.
I'm not sure I'll be around much over the coming weeks, we'll see anyway. :)
I don't know which blog you were referring to. I suppose the Brits would be comparatively hippy-like compared to some stricter cultures and societies, but then again, the Brits are more known for being very reserved compared to many. I don't know.
Personally, I love being a Brit, hippy-like or not! LOL!
Hope you are well. :)
sarah bradley says:
Hi Ryoma, I love your blog!
Hi Ryoma, I love your blog! (In fact it was one of your blog entries that brought me to Red Room in the first place... when I was trying to find some articles to show to my partner about being a writer's husband!!)
My lovely boyfriend is also works in a creative field and we spend a lot of time talking about our work. I help him write text & edit text for his magazine & books.... and he helps me by taking my picture for my blog! It's so interesting being able to talk to someone you have a lot of love & respect for to find out what drives their creative process, and to help them draw it out and develop it. For me personally, I do find that being able to talk to 'outsiders' (whether it be my boyfriend or my writing buddy) can really help in terms of developing plot and characters. Sometimes ideas occur to you as you speak things out loud. That looks strange when I write it down, but I find it to be true...
Ryoma Collia-Suzuki says:
Hi Sarah
Thank you very much for reading and posting! I'm sorry that I haven't read your blogs yet, but I will definitely read them all over the coming days. :) What a lovely thing to say about the 'Being a writer's husband' blog. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Do you mean the book signing one, or the one about tip-toeing around Gina and making lots of hot choccies? :)
I smiled when I read your comment, "Sometimes ideas occur to you as you speak things out loud. That looks strange when I write it down, but I find it to be true..." Gina used to say the same thing to me, many times. :) I think it makes sense, actually. Part of the evolving creative process.
It must be amazing being part of a creative couple. The evolution of ideas must be exponentially greater!
I followed a couple of links about you and saw that you are in West Yorkshire. It's a great part of the country. I used to spend a lot of time in Leeds, Wakefield and the surrounding areas on business. Great people in that area. :)
I look forward to reading more of your blogs. See you around.
Edit: Sarah, I recognised your name, but not your profile pic. Sorry. You posted on my blog in May. Duh, I'm such a siv-brain! Right then, I'm off to read your blogs now. :) Thanks for reading!
Stephanie Watson says:
How wonderful!
It sounds like you had such a beautiful day =) It's great how passionate Gina is about her writing - in my opinion thats the most important aspect of being an auther =D
I always thought coffee and writing go perfectly together...speaking of which, I think I'll go make a mug full! xD
xxxx
Ryoma Collia-Suzuki says:
Coffee!
It's been wonderful to be able to drink coffee again after all these years. Since that wonderful caffeinated conversation, we have been back a few more times and enjoyed every moment.
The brooch and necklace that we bought when this blog was written were both worn at her last book signing. Gina was gorgeous, as always, and looked even happier for wearing them too. Waterstone's Bath kindly invited her back for this signing and it was a fantastic success again. I don't want to say too much because I think Gina wants to blog about it once she finishes off this round of edits and work she is doing on her current project.
Hope you enjoyed that coffee!