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AINSLEY CAINE - AUTHOR

Acronyms – the best kind

February 15, 2025
44 Comments

So, I’ve just been diagnosed with ADHD.  Both inattentive and hyperactive, it’s apparently mild, but it still gives me cause to think of what might’ve been if I’d been diagnosed earlier in life.

Bittersweet really.  I mean, I feel a loss of self in a way.  All the times I’ve been called off with the pixies/fairies (not a bad thing really), or accused of always being late, or vague.  They are of course the negative associations, the positive ones are what I’d really like to concentrate on…

All my life I’ve been able to see the ‘lay-of-the-land’ easily, I initially thought everyone could see it, because it really did seem like a no-brainer to me most of the time.  This skill bode well for me when I was in corporate-land because I could see the dominoes falling a mile off and could duck and weave before they landed on me (usually).

I wanted to write about this, because well, it’s a cathartic exercise and if there were any other folk in their mid-fifties who had also just been given this nugget of information, that it was all going to be okay.

If you have kids, get them checked out as this shite is hereditary, so odds are they’ve also got an acronym of sorts.  Earlier the diagnosis the more help they’ll get to be able to forecast their future in a more pliable way.  I don’t mean they need to fit into the norm with all the other neuro-typicals, but they can also make things easier for themselves.  Even the recognition that they are neuro-spicy can be a load off their minds, all those times in school they felt weird, or off-kilter just because things didn’t gel, well now the puzzle pieces might seem to fit – I mean, we could always get the edges right, but the center pieces well, they kinda suck, or appeared to be upside down.

Next step is to go to my doc and get a referral to a psychiatrist to get meds, I don’t want them to take away what I perceive to be a bit of a superpower to be frank – but why not try to fill in some of those missing center pieces hey?

Ciao for now, A x

Hmmm could this be a publishing reward?

June 17, 2020
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So when you finally get published do you have a reward planned for yourself? Other than of course having the privilege of actually being published! I’d always promised myself I would get a small tattoo of a quill. It would have a thin line and possibly be in navy ink… I’m a clean skin, so it’d be a big thing for me to get one.

Something like this perhaps?

Or maybe this one?

I’m undecided, it may even be the title of my book? What would you get if you were publishing for the first time and were inclined to celebrate with an inking?

I mean there are other different ways you could mark the occasion, you could get some jewellery, or take your significant other to a slap-up dinner? The latter would create memories, but wouldn’t give you something tangible.

I have looked around online for some interesting author type presents for myself. There is always a new writer’s planner, or notebook – some magnificent ones around! I’m a bit naughty as I often buy myself notebooks from Erin Condren, or grab a Leuchtturm1917 and whack it into my magnificent Saddleback (they’ll fight over it when you’re dead) leather journal cover.

I could also be considered a bit of a course junkie as I’ve already spoilt myself by spending loads of money on courses. I’ve indulged myself with the various Self Published Formula’s courses, Publish and Thrive from the lovely Sarra Cannon and various others including Derek Murphy’s Creativindie courses.

They are just the paid ones!  I’ve also thoroughly recommend David Gaughran’s free courses and not to overlook the wonderful Kindlepreneur Dave Chesson – they are both brilliant and did I mention free?

Anyhoo, I’ve been a bit slack with my blog posts. It’s been a busy time getting things lined up for my first book lauch – but I’ll try and do better.

In the meantime, I’m nearly finished my final edits draft and have commissioned the cover for my first novel – I figure it’ll be a few more weeks before I’m ready to launch but it’s an exciting time after being ‘in-flight’ for years…

Thank you for reading, I’ll be back to add to my literary adventures soon!

Ainsley x

Finding your writing path

February 26, 2020
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Finding your writing path

I’ve tried to write this first item a number of times, but have been too busy contemplating the question of how do I provide value for fledgling writers/authors like myself, and do I even have an audience?

I realized it doesn’t matter either way, as I want to document a genuine and open dialog of someone who starts off as a writer and becomes a published author.  I will add to this blog regularly and impart whatever sound advice I’ve gathered by reaching milestones and on finding useful information because I have found it’s been tough to work through the mire and get to the good stuff!

If you read my other pages you know I am starting out fresh as a part-time writer from mid last year after a long time in the writing wilderness.  My intention is to write this blog as a review of the interesting things I find in my travels (research was my bag in my former life).  I’m going to show what resonates with me in terms of helping with the writing basics, like; planning, plotting, writing, editing, and finally publishing.

I have developed a bit of a bent with all things AI and am finding it incredibly interesting as a creative person.  Many find it a dilemma to use this new tool in a way which doesn’t go against the grain of their individuality and talent.  I use it purely as an aid, a way to fact-check (within reason) and to have a relatively cheap 24/7 virtual assistant.

To recap – I wasn’t really a particularly good student at school with creative writing or English really – I was average at best. I like to believe I had an imaginative spark in me, but no real sense of how to put the words together, despite attending a brilliantly scholastic school.

It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my first child that I had the opportunity to attend a 2-day workshop with a local television personality that I really found my stride. This wonderful gentleman was a seasoned journalist and gave of his knowledge graciously, he managed to teach me more in two days than in all my schooling years. My lecturer was Peter Leonard, we lost him to cancer many years ago, but he left an indelible mark on the majority of people he met – a truly beautiful man.  After just two days, I felt confident to tackle whatever form of writing the corporate world threw at me and it became a comfortable space.

Now that I feel have been gifted the time in my life to embrace a creative life, it feels strange to not have the shackles or boundaries of the restrictions I put on myself – to do it all 110%.  I can write after I finish work, or before, I don’t know why I ever really felt guilty about doing it before this time, but I did.

So what now?  I can continue to procrastinate and flail about under the guise of learning the craft in a theoretical sense with my various online courses, or I can learn by doing.   Malcolm Gladwell suggested it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field, and this is based on 20 hours a week over 10 years.

I’ve started on this new journey with a positive outlook and want to reach a new level of comfort in writing without the formality and structure of my own mental chains.  I do find immense joy in writing and will continue to by forging ahead into this chapter of my creative life.  It’s okay to take your time and find your own rhythm.

Thanks for coming along with me, I hope you continue this path alongside 🙂

Cheers,

Ainsley x