Very superstitious.

Morning all,

The theme this week is Superstitions, a subject that never fails to throw a divide down between believers and cynics. Now, I'm no authority on the subject but, one thing I do know is that superstitions are complex things. I have them. I don't believe in them. I am though, a football supporter and as every fan can tell you, this leads to the strangest things taking on a value.

Four years ago, as Blackpool climbed League One to gain promotion, I had a lucky pen. It started here. A pen I took to the games became a pen and a lighter, a pre-match ritual of cheese on toast, lucky pants, socks, notepads, gloves. If you could keep it the same from one week to the next, I did.

Since that season I have had a badge, a coat, boots, trainers, four or five tangerine lighters and, new for 2011, a five pound note. All of these things hold a lucky value to me, a superstition if you like but, on the whole I think they all come down to changes- or lack of them.

I should, given that I don't believe in them, throw these tokens away. The £5 note has been in my wallet for weeks now- since the five goal drubbing of Leeds away. Something about it just screamed 'good luck' and it has been in there ever since. Maybe it is the "Jesus Is Lord" stamp that covers the Queen's head on one side, maybe it is the "God is so Good" stamp on the other. Thinking about it like this, it frightens me a little.

That some fanatic could have spent the time and effort to stamp and recirculate these notes is one thing. For me to hold on to one as if it were a blessed charm is another. The barista at my local coffee shop (supporter of a rival team) confiscated it last week and actually chewed it. I still have the sodding thing.

As a writer I am becoming increasingly aware of these everyday traits people have. I see them in myself. In people tapping their hands, touching wood, clicking pens... It is these kinds of details that make the worlds we create come to life. I've been thinking a lot about writing fiction- character development and so on, and these little things are really starting to ask and answer my own doubts about the plot as a whole. It is in the thought processes, the details and the reasonings behind those choices that we discover the most and so, reader, your task this week is to have a think about three different superstitions you have. How can these find a way into your own characters? How do they make you feel? When did they come about? Why do they happen? What do they mean? Really get your teeth in.

I'm going to give this a go myself as well just to see how many things I notice about the world when I actually look for them. As I said at the top, I still don't really believe in superstitions in general but they are very much a part of the world we live in and as yet another 'in' into the landscapes and relationships we create not only in prose but in poetry too, they are proving a most useful resource. One thing though- it sucks you in. I've started worrying about 'the change in an unexpected direction' that my horoscope warned of...

Touch wood, I'll still be here next week. Until then, thanks for reading.

S.