Hello
Something major has happened this Christmas, to myself and my family. This has changed our lives forever, as things sometimes do. I am always amazed at how a few moments and certain choices made by people can change the course of the rest of our lives.
This is in my mind this Christmas. I have always loved Christmas because of Christ's birth. I know most people hate Christmas, but I think they hate the shopping centres, the fake carols over the loud speaker, the endless consumerism and the cheesy platitudes that abound at this time. I don't think people despise the story of Christmas, a humble baby born into the world, parents, angels, animals, wise men from the east, shepherds.
I want to wish everyone who stumbles upon my blog, a thoughtful, divine-searching Christmas, one where we all look upwards instead of towards each other or downwards.
That is what I am going to seek to do. There was a little baby in a manger and he was the picture of humility and serenity (no matter what you believe about him).
May this Christmas be special for you.
21 Dec 2007
13 Nov 2007
Mini Manuscript Assessment
Hello again
Today my mini manuscript assessment from Vignette Press arrived. It was about some of my short stories included in Daisy Chains the collection I sold earlier this year. The assessment was very good. It contains a lot of encouraging information about your writing as well as the problems and areas that need to be addressed.
There was some very valuable feedback set out in detail for me. I would recommend getting a mini assessment from Vignette or other organisations that do them. I have not had any from other companies so I cannot compare but I did think what I got was profitible for me to move forward as an artist.
What I have taken away from this assessment is that I need to keep working on my novel. I am definitely taking the comments and advice on board and will be implementing these elements in future pieces. Overall, I am really glad I got this assessment done. It helped me to see some of my strengths and weaknesses and has caused me to focus my efforts a little more in certain areas of my work.
Today my mini manuscript assessment from Vignette Press arrived. It was about some of my short stories included in Daisy Chains the collection I sold earlier this year. The assessment was very good. It contains a lot of encouraging information about your writing as well as the problems and areas that need to be addressed.
There was some very valuable feedback set out in detail for me. I would recommend getting a mini assessment from Vignette or other organisations that do them. I have not had any from other companies so I cannot compare but I did think what I got was profitible for me to move forward as an artist.
What I have taken away from this assessment is that I need to keep working on my novel. I am definitely taking the comments and advice on board and will be implementing these elements in future pieces. Overall, I am really glad I got this assessment done. It helped me to see some of my strengths and weaknesses and has caused me to focus my efforts a little more in certain areas of my work.
12 Nov 2007
To write or not to write...
Hello again
I think every writer questions whether they are doing the right thing in devoting their time to writing. It is probably the same with any artistic field, as there are little or slow rewards for creating art. In the ABC short story competition I participated in recently, one of the winners talked about how she felt torn between her family, working and writing. I have heard other authors say the same thing, they questioned what they were doing constantly. Writing can present so many frustrations, but if you have an overwhelming urge to create you will not be able to give it up.
When you start to take your art more seriously it becomes more obvious that there is a lot of work and pain involved. Tangible results may or may not eventuate. One never knows. You always hope, but in art you can never guarantee it. No one really knows if they will ever be recognised by anyone or indeed if they should be.
The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thanks for reading.
I think every writer questions whether they are doing the right thing in devoting their time to writing. It is probably the same with any artistic field, as there are little or slow rewards for creating art. In the ABC short story competition I participated in recently, one of the winners talked about how she felt torn between her family, working and writing. I have heard other authors say the same thing, they questioned what they were doing constantly. Writing can present so many frustrations, but if you have an overwhelming urge to create you will not be able to give it up.
When you start to take your art more seriously it becomes more obvious that there is a lot of work and pain involved. Tangible results may or may not eventuate. One never knows. You always hope, but in art you can never guarantee it. No one really knows if they will ever be recognised by anyone or indeed if they should be.
The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thanks for reading.
11 Oct 2007
Editorial Consultancy
Hello again
I recently paid for an Editorial Consultancy at the QWC. You send in a sample of your work and then you get booked in with an author to talk about your work. I saw Lesley Singe, who is an author and tutor related to the QWC. The purpose of the consultancy is to provide advice about your work, the things you need to work on, the things you are good at and potential places you can market your work. I was dubious about what would come out. But once I was there it was very productive.
Lesley provided detailed feedback on the work I had provided. She pointed out things that I knew I had to work on, which was really good. She suggested markets and publishers for my novel when it's finished, and she liked the ideas contained within my novel. As a result I feel increasingly confident this novel has many levels and a depth to explore within its narrative structure.
I would recommend attending a session, especially if you have finished a manuscript. It is very informative and provides a writer with much needed clarity and direction for themselves and their work. Do it if you can, it is worth the money.
I recently paid for an Editorial Consultancy at the QWC. You send in a sample of your work and then you get booked in with an author to talk about your work. I saw Lesley Singe, who is an author and tutor related to the QWC. The purpose of the consultancy is to provide advice about your work, the things you need to work on, the things you are good at and potential places you can market your work. I was dubious about what would come out. But once I was there it was very productive.
Lesley provided detailed feedback on the work I had provided. She pointed out things that I knew I had to work on, which was really good. She suggested markets and publishers for my novel when it's finished, and she liked the ideas contained within my novel. As a result I feel increasingly confident this novel has many levels and a depth to explore within its narrative structure.
I would recommend attending a session, especially if you have finished a manuscript. It is very informative and provides a writer with much needed clarity and direction for themselves and their work. Do it if you can, it is worth the money.
23 Sept 2007
Moving Forward
My novel in my mind and on paper is moving forwards. I am really keen to get a first draft done of this novel, and then start rewriting. I am reading The Dirty Beat, by Venero Armanno. A great book full of beauty, empathy and strong characters.
There is something mysterious in art, a piece of work that takes people to a different place, like the Heart of Darkness did to me when I was a teenager, transported me, mesmerised me, and like the Snows of Kilamanjaro did to me at university and the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Cry the Beloved Country and many other books. They draw you in and change you. They affect you and remain with you for the rest of your life. Well that's what good books do to me, profound books. Not just a book that is enjoyable but ones that affect you for the rest of your life.
Some books I enjoy their style and structure and I admire the way the novel is written but there are other books that remain forever dear to me, close to me, intimate friends. Music can be the same, intimate. I would love to create something close to this.
There is something mysterious in art, a piece of work that takes people to a different place, like the Heart of Darkness did to me when I was a teenager, transported me, mesmerised me, and like the Snows of Kilamanjaro did to me at university and the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Cry the Beloved Country and many other books. They draw you in and change you. They affect you and remain with you for the rest of your life. Well that's what good books do to me, profound books. Not just a book that is enjoyable but ones that affect you for the rest of your life.
Some books I enjoy their style and structure and I admire the way the novel is written but there are other books that remain forever dear to me, close to me, intimate friends. Music can be the same, intimate. I would love to create something close to this.
20 Sept 2007
Novel is moving
This morning I am so pleased and thankful that my novel is moving forward. Some great themes and plot and character developments are forming, in my head anyway. I have also decided (thanks to some of my friends in YON) that I am going to set myself a deadline of February for a complete draft of the novel. There has been a cloud over this novel for a little while now and I am grateful that it is lifting. Just keep going until the draft done and then be prepared for many revisions.
Veny said in the last YON class about how Peter Carey wrote ten versions of the Ned Kelly book in different points of view until he completed the one he was happy with. I can understand starting from scratch because sometimes it is hard to just move words around, sometimes you need to totally reconstruct the scenes and action etc. Anyway, that's sometimes how I feel.
I am just going to keep moving forwards. Work, life and doing things for other people in our lives take up a lot of our time so when the creative flow starts to move, we should hold on tight and ride it like a white water rapid, until we reach the end of river.
Veny said in the last YON class about how Peter Carey wrote ten versions of the Ned Kelly book in different points of view until he completed the one he was happy with. I can understand starting from scratch because sometimes it is hard to just move words around, sometimes you need to totally reconstruct the scenes and action etc. Anyway, that's sometimes how I feel.
I am just going to keep moving forwards. Work, life and doing things for other people in our lives take up a lot of our time so when the creative flow starts to move, we should hold on tight and ride it like a white water rapid, until we reach the end of river.
17 Sept 2007
Reading, writing and inspiration
Once again I have quiet for a few days. Last week was noisy, but nice. I revel in quiet in my house. In fact, I feel the need to keep working rapidly because I know this time may not last forever.
I am reading Veny's book The Dirty Beat. It is rivoting. I am half way through and I only started yesterday. It is great to read something that I can't put down, some books I find exceedingly difficult to read. I went to the book launch of The Dirty Beat the other night, that was enjoyable.
I thought I would post up a picture of the forest in my backyard - because as it is getting warmer I am going to write more of my novel from my back veranda which looks out over this beautiful forest with black cockatoos cawing and wallabies standing to attention in gaps in the foliage.
5 Sept 2007
Silence, listening, reading...
This post is going to be a little rambling, as sometimes my posts are. I have not had silence for weeks and maybe months and most people in their daily lives do not have a lot of silence. I think writers need more silent times than other people. These are the times when we are thinking, creating, dreaming and hearing the voices of our characters or seeing our characters lounging on their couches, or arguing with their partners, or crying or laughing, basically, and weirdly, they are living.
I love this quote from Kate Eltham from the QWC (I am loving what she writes on the covering letter every month, I never used to read them and now I always read her musings.) which says:
"... writers who understand. They understand that I'm staring vacantly out the window because I'm thinking about my story, and not because I am a bit funny in the head. They understand that it is normal to have conversations (out loud) with my characters when I'm driving to work. They understand because they, too, are writers." (July QWC Newsletter).
Hemingway talks about listening to Gertrude Stein rant and rave about other authors and writing, even though he didn't agree with her. He just listened anyway. Listening is a lost art, I think. People exchanging ideas and politely listening until others have finished.
An inheritance that I hate the most from television, videos, games, music, modern culture is the way we don't listen to each other anymore. It's like our attention span is zero! That is what I notice about the current situation. However, there are people who listen well and these people are less exhausting to be around. I like to hear about other people's lives and stories. We will not learn anything if we lose this art altogether. It will just be about our own opinions and views on the world and there is not exchange of relationship or ideas. There is nothing interchanged between the people in conversation unless they both listen at some point to one another.
I had a great trip to Brisbane on Monday, in which I met with my friend Jenni Messina. We chatted about writing our novels, our occasional impatience with the process and our writing styles. It was wonderful to be with another person who feels the same as me and listen to her experiences and finding they were similar to mine. This is always good.
As a side point: I was extremely chuffed by Veny's comment about my chapter from my novel that it was: "extremely evocative."
I love this quote from Kate Eltham from the QWC (I am loving what she writes on the covering letter every month, I never used to read them and now I always read her musings.) which says:
"... writers who understand. They understand that I'm staring vacantly out the window because I'm thinking about my story, and not because I am a bit funny in the head. They understand that it is normal to have conversations (out loud) with my characters when I'm driving to work. They understand because they, too, are writers." (July QWC Newsletter).
Hemingway talks about listening to Gertrude Stein rant and rave about other authors and writing, even though he didn't agree with her. He just listened anyway. Listening is a lost art, I think. People exchanging ideas and politely listening until others have finished.
An inheritance that I hate the most from television, videos, games, music, modern culture is the way we don't listen to each other anymore. It's like our attention span is zero! That is what I notice about the current situation. However, there are people who listen well and these people are less exhausting to be around. I like to hear about other people's lives and stories. We will not learn anything if we lose this art altogether. It will just be about our own opinions and views on the world and there is not exchange of relationship or ideas. There is nothing interchanged between the people in conversation unless they both listen at some point to one another.
I had a great trip to Brisbane on Monday, in which I met with my friend Jenni Messina. We chatted about writing our novels, our occasional impatience with the process and our writing styles. It was wonderful to be with another person who feels the same as me and listen to her experiences and finding they were similar to mine. This is always good.
As a side point: I was extremely chuffed by Veny's comment about my chapter from my novel that it was: "extremely evocative."
22 Aug 2007
Hemmingway came down to Melbourne with me...
I have recently picked up A Moveable Feast by Hemingway and I am enjoying it immensely.
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." (Ernest Hemingway to a friend in 1950).
It is so easy to read his first person style. It flows well and is very relaxed not like some of Hemingway's short stories that can be aggressive and abrasive. But this little book is enjoyable and also very powerful. I loved Paris when I was there in 2001 just after September 11, it was as if nothing dramatic had happened in the world and nothing would touch that city.
It is amusing to read about Gertrude Stein criticising Hemingway's style of writing and saying that he was of the Lost Generation. It talks about how Hemingway and his wife deal with their poverty and about their everyday lives and about the fisher people on the Seine River. It is candid and charming.
"Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. This was the only true sad time in Paris because it was unnatural...Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again...When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed."
There are other observations of his relationship with his wife and how they spend their time and money. I can really relate to what he is talking about. He seems like a friend of mine, someone who understands how an artistic person feels about life.
It is unlike any other Hemingway I have read. He is a free spirited and generous person in this book. It is refreshing to hear about his life in Paris with authors such as F Scott Fitzgerald, Joyce and others. To me it is a gem of a book, beautifully and soulfully written.
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." (Ernest Hemingway to a friend in 1950).
It is so easy to read his first person style. It flows well and is very relaxed not like some of Hemingway's short stories that can be aggressive and abrasive. But this little book is enjoyable and also very powerful. I loved Paris when I was there in 2001 just after September 11, it was as if nothing dramatic had happened in the world and nothing would touch that city.
It is amusing to read about Gertrude Stein criticising Hemingway's style of writing and saying that he was of the Lost Generation. It talks about how Hemingway and his wife deal with their poverty and about their everyday lives and about the fisher people on the Seine River. It is candid and charming.
"Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. This was the only true sad time in Paris because it was unnatural...Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again...When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed."
There are other observations of his relationship with his wife and how they spend their time and money. I can really relate to what he is talking about. He seems like a friend of mine, someone who understands how an artistic person feels about life.
It is unlike any other Hemingway I have read. He is a free spirited and generous person in this book. It is refreshing to hear about his life in Paris with authors such as F Scott Fitzgerald, Joyce and others. To me it is a gem of a book, beautifully and soulfully written.
21 Aug 2007
Present Tense...
Recently I wrote a short story for an ABC competition. I decided after researching tenses, to write it in present tense because I thought it made it more exciting and immediate. Present tense is not used very often, normally past tense is used for narrative but in a short story it can be a useful technique to create a sense of suspense and energy.
Anyway, I read some information about tenses and
From Nicks Writing Blog: http://www.mywritingblog.com/writer/2007/07/tense-in-fiction.html
"And finally, if you write in the present tense, you need to be very careful when referring to events that occurred in the characters' past. In ordinary, past-tense narration, we use the pluperfect tense to introduce such "flashbacks":
Novels are better to be written in past tense, especially for a novice, that is the advice I have read.
Anyway, just some thoughts on tense that I thought was interesting.
Anyway, I read some information about tenses and
From Nicks Writing Blog: http://www.mywritingblog.com/writer/2007/07/tense-in-fiction.html
"And finally, if you write in the present tense, you need to be very careful when referring to events that occurred in the characters' past. In ordinary, past-tense narration, we use the pluperfect tense to introduce such "flashbacks":
Mary smiled and sipped her tea, remembering when they first met. It had been a cold November morning...I never knew about pluperfect tense but there you go. Very interesting.
Novels are better to be written in past tense, especially for a novice, that is the advice I have read.
Anyway, just some thoughts on tense that I thought was interesting.
17 Aug 2007
Bob Dylan in Melbourne
Hey everyone
As anyone would know that reads my blog I am always talking about Bob Dylan, amongst other people. When I found out he had been in Brisbane last week and I didn't know about it, I felt completely demoralised. I had been getting updates from his website about tour dates however I noticed the other day how one of them had been deleted as if it was spam, so obviously the one telling me when he was in Brisbane was deleted.
Anyway, long story, I am flying to Melbourne on Sunday to see him on Sunday night. I missed his 1997 show at Byron Bay and since then I have really gotten into his music. I believe he was here in 2003 as well.
I may go down and be disappointed but I have always wanted to see him in concert. A lot of people come away disappointed but I am prepared for this. It would just be good to see him in person on stage.
Anyway, I am very excited and thankful that I am able to do this. I will report back about this experience if anyone cares to read and even if they don't.
As anyone would know that reads my blog I am always talking about Bob Dylan, amongst other people. When I found out he had been in Brisbane last week and I didn't know about it, I felt completely demoralised. I had been getting updates from his website about tour dates however I noticed the other day how one of them had been deleted as if it was spam, so obviously the one telling me when he was in Brisbane was deleted.
Anyway, long story, I am flying to Melbourne on Sunday to see him on Sunday night. I missed his 1997 show at Byron Bay and since then I have really gotten into his music. I believe he was here in 2003 as well.
I may go down and be disappointed but I have always wanted to see him in concert. A lot of people come away disappointed but I am prepared for this. It would just be good to see him in person on stage.
Anyway, I am very excited and thankful that I am able to do this. I will report back about this experience if anyone cares to read and even if they don't.
26 Jul 2007
Daisy Chains - my collection of short stories...
Hello everyone
As some of you know I have published a small collection of short stories. The book is available in
Description:
Take a journey from
"You don't expect your life to change forever on a balmy, September evening walking to the ATM to get money for dinner. But mine did." One Beautiful Night.
Each one of these stories is a little gem. Intriguing, and too the point. The author doesn't waste her words as she describes the action and scene. Very well written.
Anne Rogers, Australia.
"The stories pulled me in straight away and I couldn't stop reading them until the end. Very compelling," Karen Eggleston, Australia.
"I've finished reading your book and I enjoyed the stories very much. They are well written and I lived with the characters. They were the right length and the endings were subtle enough to keep the reader interested." Michael Acton, UK.
"I especially liked the bit of a twist in the first story, Forward Thinking, I loved it. Maybe the idea of giving one's life to a greater cause spoke to me a bit, I'm not sure," Joseph Picard, Canada.Anne Rogers, Australia.
"The stories pulled me in straight away and I couldn't stop reading them until the end. Very compelling," Karen Eggleston, Australia.
"I've finished reading your book and I enjoyed the stories very much. They are well written and I lived with the characters. They were the right length and the endings were subtle enough to keep the reader interested." Michael Acton, UK.
"I loved reading this book. It struck me as original and interesting. I especially liked the Forward Thinking story." Kris Wynn, Australia.
17 Jul 2007
Third Year of the Novel
Well, another Year of the Novel day has happened and this particular session was really what I needed to kick me into gear. It is always very motivating to hear other people say they have been writing religiously every weekend etc and to realise that I have not been utilising my time the way I should be.
At the moment I have some time and I am really enjoying using it for writing.
YON Number Three was great. We had a little field trip outside where we were to stalk someone and write down characteristics of them and also, create what we wanted their inner world to be. This was fun and also very good to do as an excercise. I often find myself doing this naturally, if I'm sitting at a bus stop or at a coffee shop, I like to imagine what the people are talking about, where they are going, what they're thinking, are they happy? Many things. So this excercise was good and the girls I went with were fun.
A glass of wine (only one) and a walk, what more can get your creative juices flowing? I enjoyed having conversations with the people in the breaks, discussing their projects and their lives to some degree. The
What Veny taught was excellent as well. It is always very
For example; I had been thinking about how I needed to put more detail into my novel, more beautiful detail as in the sensual details, sight, smell, sound etc and that was what he was talking about. Making sure that we use detail and make the novel a sensual experience. Of course, I have read this before and learnt it through courses but it was just what I had been thinking was lacking in my novel in the past weeks.
Veny also talked about "Verbal Sensitivity" which is constructing beautiful phrasing and making the story "sing". This is also something I had been thinking about in my work. I always want to do this. This is what we want in art, to read, see, hear something beautiful something that takes us out of the everyday and maybe even (if we're lucky) we can taste the Divine...who knows?
I love imagery, and "cadence" which is what I have written above my desk. Cadence - I need to read through my stories and chapters and writing a lot more to "hear" how it flows or doesn't as the case may be. I have long known and wanted to improve this in my work. I know that sometimes I have achieved a good melody with my words, but I think the writer is always wanting more of that and to make it better. The endless quest.
Also, he talked about "originality and accuracy" being original and not copying other's styles. I believe that even if we do attempt to copy other people's styles if you are a true artist you will be totally original anyway. For example, when I researched and read Van Gogh's letters to Theo a few years ago, he was saying how he was copying all of the greats of Dutch painting. The paintings he said were imitations of these "masters" but they were nothing like the masters, because I got to see what he was imitating and his drawings but what you could see was his individual stamp on the work. Something only he could've achieved. This amazed me and made me less afraid of that learning period where we study others and try to imitate, but hopefully we are doing our own thing really. Bob Dylan did this with Woodie Guthrie, while Bob was discovering his own voice he was seen as almost a Woodie Guthrie impersonator, because he mimicked everything down to his clothes, the way he stood and sang. However this was only for a time and now who in all of pop music history is considered one of the most original artists that has ever been if it is not Bob Dylan.
My highest compliment was paid to me the other day. Someone who read my collection of short stories, said to me:
"I really liked your collection, I thought it was really original. Especially the middle eastern story."
Originality is the biggest compliment for an artist because they know that they are doing their own thing. Really my highest achievement would be to be considered completely different to anything that's going on. We can only dream. However, I lived on that compliment and it still makes me feel good now. (You've got to take what you can get...hey?)
Thirdly, he talked about intelligence and using our wit to make our stories interesting, amusing and to question the way things are. This is also something I love to do through my writing. I remember reading "The Lives of Girls and Women" in Year 9 at school, being taught by my lesb
I have also, interestingly enough, started to think about the humour topic as well for my novel.
There is fortunately a lot of humour that I can draw into my new novel idea and before the session I was thinking about how I can incorporate this to make it more fresh and interesting to read. So this was another area, where I went "yes, I have been thinking about this...excellent."
Anyway, consequently I am very motivated in the last few days to keep moving forward with my novel.
However, there has been one snag due to the antagonist, whilst present in memories and phone calls, is not physically present throughout the whole novel. This is a large problem that I will have to address in some way...difficult, but I am ever so grateful that I am doing YON because at least I know where I am going wrong, otherwise I would be labouring in the dark. I am very glad I can see where the problem is and that I can change it before I go too far. I am very happy to be doing the YON and Veny has been extremely helpful with certain issues with my novel. Also, the people are wonderful to spend the day with, funny, attentive and interesting.
16 Jul 2007
Setting goals for my writing!
Hello everyone
Anyone who has been reading my blog would know that I am trying to move forward in any way possible, to develop my work further and hopefully take advantage of opportunities that are available to writers.
So, this post is simply about making short term goals: I have written a few and I have posted them above my desk. I think it is useful for everybody in any of the artistic disciplines to set short term achievable goals, because otherwise you sit at home with no movement forward. Only getting bogged down in the fact that nothing is happening.
These are the assumptions I am working on. I find when I am doing something, even if it is approaching a publisher or someone else, and even if I get rejected - I still feel better because at least that day wasn't wasted. I tried and got rejected. It's better to do that than to waste your life, thinking you'll fail and never making any forward or pro active steps.
Every knock back means that you hopefully learn something, if only it is to persevere. This sounds like a pep talk, but it's sort of for myself.
Anyway, I hope everyone who is labouring to produce art will be encouraged to keep going, setting small goals and just continuing on. Thanks for reading.
Anyone who has been reading my blog would know that I am trying to move forward in any way possible, to develop my work further and hopefully take advantage of opportunities that are available to writers.
So, this post is simply about making short term goals: I have written a few and I have posted them above my desk. I think it is useful for everybody in any of the artistic disciplines to set short term achievable goals, because otherwise you sit at home with no movement forward. Only getting bogged down in the fact that nothing is happening.
These are the assumptions I am working on. I find when I am doing something, even if it is approaching a publisher or someone else, and even if I get rejected - I still feel better because at least that day wasn't wasted. I tried and got rejected. It's better to do that than to waste your life, thinking you'll fail and never making any forward or pro active steps.
Every knock back means that you hopefully learn something, if only it is to persevere. This sounds like a pep talk, but it's sort of for myself.
Anyway, I hope everyone who is labouring to produce art will be encouraged to keep going, setting small goals and just continuing on. Thanks for reading.
6 Jul 2007
Year of the Novel and Writers Groups
Hello everyone
Next week is our third Year of the Novel session, I am looking forward to it.
It is very useful as we learn so much about the creation of tension through conflict and how to structure this tension etc. I have been so spurred on by simply talking to other writers. I am looking forward to our third meeting, to seeing the same writers again and bonding over our efforts or non efforts since we last talked.
I am also wondering about a writers group. The hardest thing with writing is not having peers, people who can tell you where you are in the scale of things. All of the famous authors and indeed artists of many types had peers and famous ones at that, that were able to tell them where they were and how to improve themselves. So my question is, how do I get into that situation?
Hemmingway was friends with F Scott Fizgerald (I think), Mary Shelley was married to the poet Percy Shelley, Van Gogh hung out with (somewhat famous at the time) impressionist painters like Gaugain and Manet and others. Bob Dylan immersed himself in folk music and lived in Greenwich Village and met the right people. He met his idol, Woodie Guthrie, was given a guitar from Johnny Cash and knew various other people. I realise I am not as talented as these people, especially Hemmingway, I am not comparing myself to any of these artists. However, the concept is there that along with their talent they also were able to build on this and make it even better. But, even having another writer with similar desires would probably be beneficial to my work. Venero, in last time's session said he had a friend who had similar writing goals and they set each other tasks for one year. This kind of spurring on would be great.
I realise I am not in the league of the above artists, but I do want to try and develop as much as possible the skills I have. So anyway, I am seeking out a writers group hoping this can help.
In a way I have answered my own questions, I need to go to more events and eat, sleep and breathe writing. Does anyone else feel this way?
By the way, I saw this website recently that showed you if you have a life span of 80 years how many seconds you have left and the timer was ticking away furiously, counting it down. It disturbed me a little and I got off the website. However, since then I have had this feeling about death and about how we have little time really, to do things with our lives. Nobody really knows how much time we have. It makes me think many things, about my spiritual life and about my writing. So I am trying to move forward every day. To progress in many ways, and writing being one of them, every day.
Good luck with whatever you put your hand to and think a bit more deeply about life today...
Next week is our third Year of the Novel session, I am looking forward to it.
It is very useful as we learn so much about the creation of tension through conflict and how to structure this tension etc. I have been so spurred on by simply talking to other writers. I am looking forward to our third meeting, to seeing the same writers again and bonding over our efforts or non efforts since we last talked.
I am also wondering about a writers group. The hardest thing with writing is not having peers, people who can tell you where you are in the scale of things. All of the famous authors and indeed artists of many types had peers and famous ones at that, that were able to tell them where they were and how to improve themselves. So my question is, how do I get into that situation?
Hemmingway was friends with F Scott Fizgerald (I think), Mary Shelley was married to the poet Percy Shelley, Van Gogh hung out with (somewhat famous at the time) impressionist painters like Gaugain and Manet and others. Bob Dylan immersed himself in folk music and lived in Greenwich Village and met the right people. He met his idol, Woodie Guthrie, was given a guitar from Johnny Cash and knew various other people. I realise I am not as talented as these people, especially Hemmingway, I am not comparing myself to any of these artists. However, the concept is there that along with their talent they also were able to build on this and make it even better. But, even having another writer with similar desires would probably be beneficial to my work. Venero, in last time's session said he had a friend who had similar writing goals and they set each other tasks for one year. This kind of spurring on would be great.
I realise I am not in the league of the above artists, but I do want to try and develop as much as possible the skills I have. So anyway, I am seeking out a writers group hoping this can help.
In a way I have answered my own questions, I need to go to more events and eat, sleep and breathe writing. Does anyone else feel this way?
By the way, I saw this website recently that showed you if you have a life span of 80 years how many seconds you have left and the timer was ticking away furiously, counting it down. It disturbed me a little and I got off the website. However, since then I have had this feeling about death and about how we have little time really, to do things with our lives. Nobody really knows how much time we have. It makes me think many things, about my spiritual life and about my writing. So I am trying to move forward every day. To progress in many ways, and writing being one of them, every day.
Good luck with whatever you put your hand to and think a bit more deeply about life today...
13 Jun 2007
Raymond Carver short stories
Hello everyone,
Has anyone read any Raymond Carver short stories? They are unbelievably simple, straight forward and plain. To the point where you wonder is he brilliant or something else? However, I think he earned his reputation rightly, for being completely understated and amazing.
For a writer like me (and I know Peter Carey told me, he writes short chapters because he has a short attention span) his stories are spot on. They are dramatically short! Only three or four pages long and they end in an abrupt manner. However after you have finished them, you realise his brilliance, and how he has achieved stunning characterisation without being obvious or overstated!
He reminds me of Hemmingway (a journalist), and it comes from my journalism background as well, that through his minimalistic style he still achieved some of the most powerful imagery ever created in short stories. That is in my opinion. Anyway, I feel as I read Raymond Carver further inspired to pursue what I think is becoming some kind of voice for me. A simple, straight forward, hopefully not overly flowery style that still makes people feel empathy and understanding for others as well as making them think about life in some way! I also just want to tell a compelling story...
You know when writers mention finding your voice, I think mine is slowly revealing itself to me. Becoming apparent!
Does anyone else have this experience?
Being on lulu.com as well has been very interesting and exciting as well. Good on all of those websites that support writers and their endeavours, of course I know they are making some money out of it, but still. I am glad there are sites that we can utilise.
Has anyone read any Raymond Carver short stories? They are unbelievably simple, straight forward and plain. To the point where you wonder is he brilliant or something else? However, I think he earned his reputation rightly, for being completely understated and amazing.
For a writer like me (and I know Peter Carey told me, he writes short chapters because he has a short attention span) his stories are spot on. They are dramatically short! Only three or four pages long and they end in an abrupt manner. However after you have finished them, you realise his brilliance, and how he has achieved stunning characterisation without being obvious or overstated!
He reminds me of Hemmingway (a journalist), and it comes from my journalism background as well, that through his minimalistic style he still achieved some of the most powerful imagery ever created in short stories. That is in my opinion. Anyway, I feel as I read Raymond Carver further inspired to pursue what I think is becoming some kind of voice for me. A simple, straight forward, hopefully not overly flowery style that still makes people feel empathy and understanding for others as well as making them think about life in some way! I also just want to tell a compelling story...
You know when writers mention finding your voice, I think mine is slowly revealing itself to me. Becoming apparent!
Does anyone else have this experience?
Being on lulu.com as well has been very interesting and exciting as well. Good on all of those websites that support writers and their endeavours, of course I know they are making some money out of it, but still. I am glad there are sites that we can utilise.
28 Apr 2007
Is there any quiet, anywhere?
Hey everyone
A bit of a rant today. I was thinking about quiet and how in our industrialised society we have a lack of it. Radio, television, IPODs ( I have one) the gym even has television playing while you work out so we won't be bored for a minute (or to have time to think), we drive everywhere, go to shopping centres and hear advertisements incessantly, attend classes or jump our of planes or do anything rather than sitting and contemplating. There is something manic about how we live now.
I don't think there is anything wrong with doing all of these things. A balanced life exists with adventure and activity and relation with each other. But I find myself sitting impatiently waiting for my daughter's cross country to start and I wonder - why has waiting a few minutes become so disturbing? Patience and taking things a little slower, is a big challenge. We do have lots of demands on our time. And I do.
Two children, a PR business and doing the accounts for our business, trying to run everything that needs to be done for kids and having a husband as well. I am very busy.
However, I just know deep down, there is a need for more quiet. Catch some moments, don't be afraid of silence, or waiting. Writing has to be done in quiet, or at least sort of quiet. I can't really achieve the quiet thing for my writing, but at least I can think about it on my walks.
I do grab some moments and they have to be quick with all I have to do.
(As an aside: I am reading this book written by the man who started the novel in one month idea and he believes that busy people can get more creative work done. I don't know if this is always true. Look at Van Gogh who focused totally on his work for 10 years and how much he achieved, it was phenomenal. In the last 90 days of his life he completed a painting a day. However, I am hoping this is true (that people busy with life can achieve creative work) because like most of us we have to work for a living.)
Back to the quiet issue as Bob Dylan says (I can't remember right now which song), "they'll take your mind away from contemplation".
Even in places like church - there is little silence, in the place that was meant to retain the sacred and provide a place for people to contemplate and be quiet, there is a sad lack of this as well.
You see, wide ranging rant.
Also, I have gone back to my novel again and decided to try and just write intuitively. Does anyone know how to write back story? That is my problem currently. My goal is to keep on going to finish a draft. There is something in the writing that teaches us.
This morning I read a Hemmingway short story - The Nun, the Gambler and the Mexican (I think that's what its called) the narrator says that one of the characters didn't like to think much at all, except when he was writing. He relegated this sort of exercise to when he was writing, probably pretty true of Hemmingway himself, considering how he chose to live his life.
Do you think this post was rambling enough? Anyone's thoughts are always appreciated.
Next post I might talk about - some writing software I have had a look at. I can't recommend it totally, as I have not looked into the opposition to the product. But stay tuned.
A bit of a rant today. I was thinking about quiet and how in our industrialised society we have a lack of it. Radio, television, IPODs ( I have one) the gym even has television playing while you work out so we won't be bored for a minute (or to have time to think), we drive everywhere, go to shopping centres and hear advertisements incessantly, attend classes or jump our of planes or do anything rather than sitting and contemplating. There is something manic about how we live now.
I don't think there is anything wrong with doing all of these things. A balanced life exists with adventure and activity and relation with each other. But I find myself sitting impatiently waiting for my daughter's cross country to start and I wonder - why has waiting a few minutes become so disturbing? Patience and taking things a little slower, is a big challenge. We do have lots of demands on our time. And I do.
Two children, a PR business and doing the accounts for our business, trying to run everything that needs to be done for kids and having a husband as well. I am very busy.
However, I just know deep down, there is a need for more quiet. Catch some moments, don't be afraid of silence, or waiting. Writing has to be done in quiet, or at least sort of quiet. I can't really achieve the quiet thing for my writing, but at least I can think about it on my walks.
I do grab some moments and they have to be quick with all I have to do.
(As an aside: I am reading this book written by the man who started the novel in one month idea and he believes that busy people can get more creative work done. I don't know if this is always true. Look at Van Gogh who focused totally on his work for 10 years and how much he achieved, it was phenomenal. In the last 90 days of his life he completed a painting a day. However, I am hoping this is true (that people busy with life can achieve creative work) because like most of us we have to work for a living.)
Back to the quiet issue as Bob Dylan says (I can't remember right now which song), "they'll take your mind away from contemplation".
Even in places like church - there is little silence, in the place that was meant to retain the sacred and provide a place for people to contemplate and be quiet, there is a sad lack of this as well.
You see, wide ranging rant.
Also, I have gone back to my novel again and decided to try and just write intuitively. Does anyone know how to write back story? That is my problem currently. My goal is to keep on going to finish a draft. There is something in the writing that teaches us.
This morning I read a Hemmingway short story - The Nun, the Gambler and the Mexican (I think that's what its called) the narrator says that one of the characters didn't like to think much at all, except when he was writing. He relegated this sort of exercise to when he was writing, probably pretty true of Hemmingway himself, considering how he chose to live his life.
Do you think this post was rambling enough? Anyone's thoughts are always appreciated.
Next post I might talk about - some writing software I have had a look at. I can't recommend it totally, as I have not looked into the opposition to the product. But stay tuned.
19 Apr 2007
Does a dog help you write a novel?
Hello everyone
I read somewhere if you are an isolated writer that you should buy a dog and have the canine provide some peaceful support of your pursuit.
So I bought one. Not for this reason, but because I love dogs and have always wanted one. The only problem is I have to take her out for ablutions constantly and feed and worm and bath and clean up poos and take her to the vet, so not a lot of creative activity is going on.
I have lots of other responsibilities as well.
However the other day I finished a really short story of 600 words at the park while we were playing with our dog - so that counts.
Anyway, here's a picture of her, just for the sake of it.
15 Apr 2007
Mourning The West Wing
Well, West Wing has only one show to go until it is finished. I have been meaning to blog about the greatness, writing wise, of The West Wing for a while now and I feel I should do it before it leaves Australian television. As a tribute thing, maybe. (I realise this has already happened in the US.)
I started watching it - when it started on ABC (I think it was more than 18 months ago, but I could be wrong) - I watched a couple on channel nine but I had the ads on commercial television. When it arrived on the ABC it was like an oasis in television. A literary sanctuary for me!
It is in my humble opinion the best fictional television show ever produced. It is so well written, the dialogue is witty and clever, subtle and real - yes quick, but that makes it really good because you have to follow it and find out where it is going. The characters never turn into schmulzville - they are sensitive yet not over the top.
Some have criticised it - calling The Left Wing, but I think it showed Arnold Vinick the right wing candidate as a decent person, a fair and balanced character who had great motives and an outstanding character.
For me, I like to think of it as "literary television" and if I was employed by a magazine I would write an article on this, (being a journalist, maybe I should).
However, I will mourn the loss of The West Wing - it was a light in the darkness of mindless, unintelligent, senseless, gratuitous television. It was for me a literary sanctuary where I could see some great characters, watch some complicated and engaging plots and marvel at the writing and acting ability of those involved.
I don't know why they are not continuing, but - maybe they think it had its life. Anyway, I will stop now, because I do not want to be considered loopy about this.
If anyone else has a similar opinion on west wing, please drop me a line, I'd appreciate it.
I started watching it - when it started on ABC (I think it was more than 18 months ago, but I could be wrong) - I watched a couple on channel nine but I had the ads on commercial television. When it arrived on the ABC it was like an oasis in television. A literary sanctuary for me!
It is in my humble opinion the best fictional television show ever produced. It is so well written, the dialogue is witty and clever, subtle and real - yes quick, but that makes it really good because you have to follow it and find out where it is going. The characters never turn into schmulzville - they are sensitive yet not over the top.
Some have criticised it - calling The Left Wing, but I think it showed Arnold Vinick the right wing candidate as a decent person, a fair and balanced character who had great motives and an outstanding character.
For me, I like to think of it as "literary television" and if I was employed by a magazine I would write an article on this, (being a journalist, maybe I should).
However, I will mourn the loss of The West Wing - it was a light in the darkness of mindless, unintelligent, senseless, gratuitous television. It was for me a literary sanctuary where I could see some great characters, watch some complicated and engaging plots and marvel at the writing and acting ability of those involved.
I don't know why they are not continuing, but - maybe they think it had its life. Anyway, I will stop now, because I do not want to be considered loopy about this.
If anyone else has a similar opinion on west wing, please drop me a line, I'd appreciate it.
29 Mar 2007
Beach house escape
Hey everyoneI have just returned from a holiday on the Northern NSW coast, a little town just outside Yamba. Our view was the dark green of the national park and rolling white waves breaking in vivid magnificence not too far away.
We stayed in a gorgeous bungalow wooden house filled with French antiques and interesting quirky things like a room outside with a looking tower and a rustic wooden cabin below with double bed and television.
It was quiet in this tiny town. Not school holidays yet. The pristine beach and the clear cool waters were virtually deserted. A luxury I revelled in, living in Queensland, I hate how there are crowds on every beach possible. We played and boogie boarded in the waves.
Apart from this I read Bob Dylan's Chronicles and loved it! It was great to read about an artist and how it all happened for him. In this little cottage with the wind whistling through the spaces in the wood - I could see myself writing a novel here. It was so still and serene - I lay out in the sun on the wooden deck. (I did get sunburnt by accident). I don't know if any of you have retreated to write a novel or anything as glamourous as that, I have not had the opportunity yet, but here - with the French atmosphere inside (and French surfing magazines as the owners were French) - made me feel as though I was living in my own little cultured oasis. A beautiful one, where you could have peace and write a piece of work you'd be satisfied with.It was great. As everyone always says, refreshing to get away. Especially with interesting reading matter.
So I am a little more inspired for my novel now. Have started thinking about my main character again. There is a great quote in the notes from the YON course that says: "If you're novel doesn't keep you up at night, then it won't keep your readers up either." Something to that effect anyway. It is starting to interest me again, maybe its because I had mental space again. Anyway - I think the pressure of the novel course is good too, because now we are getting down to talking about our novels and I am wanting to get back into it and use some of the things I am learning.
Does anyone else have any novel frustrations or triumphs? Thanks for reading. More later.
19 Mar 2007
Year of the Novel first workshop
Hello everyone
My first Saturday session of Year of the Novel was on the weekend. It was really great! The mini lectures we had were great about character, structure, narrative ideology, how to create characters.
We did a cool little acting session where we created a character in groups and we got to ask the player out the front various questions about this character. Needless to say there were stitches of laughter! A cross dressing man in a bikini, a womanising politician who said he loved a "good shag" and the King of the Bear Clan, Urs. It was very interesting and funny and we learnt a lot about all of the things we need to think about when creating characters.
Especially, mannerisms are a good thing to remember in creating a character.
It was really great to meet other authors, or would be authors. It was a tad depressing hearing how long it takes even for established authors to produce their final drafts of published novels. It was good to be reminded that the "pros" are still struggling with the craft even after they are well established for 25 years.
I am going to go through my notes and pick out some great quotes for you, in my next post.
We have exchanged email addresses and I think that will be really great to keep in touch with other writers in this sometimes frustrating and hard to continue process!
Having two children myself and having to work as a copywriter - to make a living to feed my children, I know what it is like to get distracted by life! Surviving and general living.
Anyway - more later. It was a great day. Highly recommended next time this course comes around if you live in Queensland or if the other states offer this kind of thing, just to keep some kind of focus happening the whole year round!
Happy writing or reading whatever your thing may be!
My first Saturday session of Year of the Novel was on the weekend. It was really great! The mini lectures we had were great about character, structure, narrative ideology, how to create characters.
We did a cool little acting session where we created a character in groups and we got to ask the player out the front various questions about this character. Needless to say there were stitches of laughter! A cross dressing man in a bikini, a womanising politician who said he loved a "good shag" and the King of the Bear Clan, Urs. It was very interesting and funny and we learnt a lot about all of the things we need to think about when creating characters.
Especially, mannerisms are a good thing to remember in creating a character.
It was really great to meet other authors, or would be authors. It was a tad depressing hearing how long it takes even for established authors to produce their final drafts of published novels. It was good to be reminded that the "pros" are still struggling with the craft even after they are well established for 25 years.
I am going to go through my notes and pick out some great quotes for you, in my next post.
We have exchanged email addresses and I think that will be really great to keep in touch with other writers in this sometimes frustrating and hard to continue process!
Having two children myself and having to work as a copywriter - to make a living to feed my children, I know what it is like to get distracted by life! Surviving and general living.
Anyway - more later. It was a great day. Highly recommended next time this course comes around if you live in Queensland or if the other states offer this kind of thing, just to keep some kind of focus happening the whole year round!
Happy writing or reading whatever your thing may be!
12 Mar 2007
Received Self Published Book!
Hello there!
Today I received my self published little collection of short stories. It was nice to see my stories published and presented with some images from my Europe travels in a book format.
Something you can keep. Also I found myself reading the stories from a new and fresh perspective. I was (does this sound vain?) actually drawn in by the stories because I hadn't read them for ages. Does that ever happen to you, where you feel like you are reading your story as if someone else wrote it?
There's this great quote from Bob Dylan where he turns to his then girlfriend in the early 60's Joan Baez and says when he hears a song on the radio, "Hey, that's a pretty cool song, who wrote it?" and she says to him, "you did, you mug." Apparently he wrote so many songs that he forgot some of his own songs, that were being covered on the radio. I AM NOT COMPARING MYSELF TO BOB DYLAN! I just thought it was a funny anecdote.
On another note, the Year of the Novel at QWC is on this weekend and I have homework before I get there! Woe, Veny, who's a task master. No, I think it is great to have homework, it means we will go there prepared and be able to learn heaps more from our time together.
So, I recommend some form of self publishing to keep your creative juices flowing (to use a cliche, sorry). It really helps to see your work in a final form, to help you (and maybe others, who knows, but that's not really why you do it) respect your own work and keep going for more publication goals. Until one day, people will read your more major works published.
I agree with Barbara from the Queensland Writing blog, we do not do this for money. Some of us do it to communicate to the world. We write to experience to reach out, to empathise and help others to empathise.
There are a myriad of reasons why people write. I don't write for money. Even though I am a journalist, that is how I get paid for my professional words, but creatively, I hope one day people enjoy, get something out of and benefit from my books or stories and thus I may eventually make some money. Money the necessary evil, to survive, who was it that said "being published buys us time to write" basically, money allows us to keep creating.
Anyway, thanks for reading.
www.blurb.com
www.lulu.com
Today I received my self published little collection of short stories. It was nice to see my stories published and presented with some images from my Europe travels in a book format.
Something you can keep. Also I found myself reading the stories from a new and fresh perspective. I was (does this sound vain?) actually drawn in by the stories because I hadn't read them for ages. Does that ever happen to you, where you feel like you are reading your story as if someone else wrote it?
There's this great quote from Bob Dylan where he turns to his then girlfriend in the early 60's Joan Baez and says when he hears a song on the radio, "Hey, that's a pretty cool song, who wrote it?" and she says to him, "you did, you mug." Apparently he wrote so many songs that he forgot some of his own songs, that were being covered on the radio. I AM NOT COMPARING MYSELF TO BOB DYLAN! I just thought it was a funny anecdote.
On another note, the Year of the Novel at QWC is on this weekend and I have homework before I get there! Woe, Veny, who's a task master. No, I think it is great to have homework, it means we will go there prepared and be able to learn heaps more from our time together.
So, I recommend some form of self publishing to keep your creative juices flowing (to use a cliche, sorry). It really helps to see your work in a final form, to help you (and maybe others, who knows, but that's not really why you do it) respect your own work and keep going for more publication goals. Until one day, people will read your more major works published.
I agree with Barbara from the Queensland Writing blog, we do not do this for money. Some of us do it to communicate to the world. We write to experience to reach out, to empathise and help others to empathise.
There are a myriad of reasons why people write. I don't write for money. Even though I am a journalist, that is how I get paid for my professional words, but creatively, I hope one day people enjoy, get something out of and benefit from my books or stories and thus I may eventually make some money. Money the necessary evil, to survive, who was it that said "being published buys us time to write" basically, money allows us to keep creating.
Anyway, thanks for reading.
www.blurb.com
www.lulu.com
7 Mar 2007
Self Published on Blurb.com
Hello again everyone
I recently used www.blurb.com to design and put together a collection of my short stories. You know when you get sick of being rejected by journals and competitions and you think, "insert appropriate word here" I just want to see my stories presented nicely, together in a book, because you like them and think they are the best work you have done to date.
Well, I felt like this recently and stumbled upon blurb.com that allows you to download some software and design your own book. Then when you have finalised it and checked it and printed it out you can order the book through the website. Of course it is not cheap and you have to pay a courier from the US, but at this point I thought it was worth it for me.
Sometimes we need to see our work presented in a form where others can access it, purchase it even, definitely where it can be read in a nicely designed and attractive way. That was what I was craving.
I believe I will most likely do this with my novel I am working on at the moment as well. Maybe with www.lulu.com that has a bit more freedom of where you can put the PDF of your book etc. But for authors like me who have not been able to focus on their work seriously for a considerable amount of time (due to having to work for a living and support a family, at times) it is necessary to keep the creative flow happening.
If we simply write in anonymity then we do not value our work and thus it does not go out into the world and we do not discover the strengths and weaknesses of our work!
That's what I believe anyway.
Unfortunately, due to my recent moving and work commitments and family I have not put much time into my novel, which I plan, now that my time is bit more free, to rectify.
Sometimes we question whether our creative output is worth anything in the end. But we cannot deny our unquenchable desire to create. We can reflect the Divine when we create and that is why I wish to continue creating and why I think it has value in our universe, even though everyone seems to want to put a bottom line to everything!!!
Enough rambling from me. Happy creating.
I recently used www.blurb.com to design and put together a collection of my short stories. You know when you get sick of being rejected by journals and competitions and you think, "insert appropriate word here" I just want to see my stories presented nicely, together in a book, because you like them and think they are the best work you have done to date.
Well, I felt like this recently and stumbled upon blurb.com that allows you to download some software and design your own book. Then when you have finalised it and checked it and printed it out you can order the book through the website. Of course it is not cheap and you have to pay a courier from the US, but at this point I thought it was worth it for me.
Sometimes we need to see our work presented in a form where others can access it, purchase it even, definitely where it can be read in a nicely designed and attractive way. That was what I was craving.
I believe I will most likely do this with my novel I am working on at the moment as well. Maybe with www.lulu.com that has a bit more freedom of where you can put the PDF of your book etc. But for authors like me who have not been able to focus on their work seriously for a considerable amount of time (due to having to work for a living and support a family, at times) it is necessary to keep the creative flow happening.
If we simply write in anonymity then we do not value our work and thus it does not go out into the world and we do not discover the strengths and weaknesses of our work!
That's what I believe anyway.
Unfortunately, due to my recent moving and work commitments and family I have not put much time into my novel, which I plan, now that my time is bit more free, to rectify.
Sometimes we question whether our creative output is worth anything in the end. But we cannot deny our unquenchable desire to create. We can reflect the Divine when we create and that is why I wish to continue creating and why I think it has value in our universe, even though everyone seems to want to put a bottom line to everything!!!
Enough rambling from me. Happy creating.
28 Feb 2007
Ghost Writing
Hello
Recently my friend approached me to some ghost writing. So I said yes. It is a non fiction book about a couple's struggle with the health of their unborn child and how they had to make drastic decisions. And the ultimate triumph at the end and what we learn about ourselves through these kind of hardships.
I have enjoyed the process of writing, editing and providing some input as to how to put together the chapters and the flow of the book.
My fiction is on the back burner at the moment. But not forever, obviously. It is such a juggling act, but we all have to earn a living, don't we?
Stay tuned - the year of the novel starts in a couple of weeks.
Recently my friend approached me to some ghost writing. So I said yes. It is a non fiction book about a couple's struggle with the health of their unborn child and how they had to make drastic decisions. And the ultimate triumph at the end and what we learn about ourselves through these kind of hardships.
I have enjoyed the process of writing, editing and providing some input as to how to put together the chapters and the flow of the book.
My fiction is on the back burner at the moment. But not forever, obviously. It is such a juggling act, but we all have to earn a living, don't we?
Stay tuned - the year of the novel starts in a couple of weeks.
21 Feb 2007
Competition and Self Publishing
Hello again
After attending the Australia Council seminar I have received some good information about the whole process. Since then I have submitted a short story to the Alan Marshal Short Story Competition in Melbourne. I am crossing my fingers for this not necessarily thinking I will win, but hoping for a mention because in this comp some of the judges mention other stories that didn't win.
You can only hope, hey?
I received some editing from a woman from the Queensland Writers Centre which was good as well.
I have also been exploring an option of self publishing a collection of short stories. There are a few online publishers who allow you to POD. One is www.lulu.com and the other one I have found is www.blurb.com.
Both of them allow you to upload your book and you can order printed copies and other people can buy it printed from them or from Lulu you can download it as a PDF. I like how Blurb.com provided some layout software, however the price is slightly higher. I am weighing up the possibilities for which one suits what I want to do. I would like to try and get it onto www.amazon.com but I am not sure which way is best.
If anyone has had any experience of self publishing I would appreciate any advice you may have.
In less than a month I will be starting my novel course. I am very excited about this. I have written a synopsis of my novel and submitted it to Allen and Unwin as a long shot (but you have to try these things sometimes).
Anyway - lots of stuff is all up in the air but that's how I like it. If I don't put a few balls in the air I lose heart and interest (if I am honest).
I will keep writing, keep pushing different avenues and we'll all see how we go. It's exciting however that in our current day there are so many possibilities for artists, thank the good Lord.
Thanks for reading my ramblings, please feel free to offer any advice if you have some. Cheers.
After attending the Australia Council seminar I have received some good information about the whole process. Since then I have submitted a short story to the Alan Marshal Short Story Competition in Melbourne. I am crossing my fingers for this not necessarily thinking I will win, but hoping for a mention because in this comp some of the judges mention other stories that didn't win.
You can only hope, hey?
I received some editing from a woman from the Queensland Writers Centre which was good as well.
I have also been exploring an option of self publishing a collection of short stories. There are a few online publishers who allow you to POD. One is www.lulu.com and the other one I have found is www.blurb.com.
Both of them allow you to upload your book and you can order printed copies and other people can buy it printed from them or from Lulu you can download it as a PDF. I like how Blurb.com provided some layout software, however the price is slightly higher. I am weighing up the possibilities for which one suits what I want to do. I would like to try and get it onto www.amazon.com but I am not sure which way is best.
If anyone has had any experience of self publishing I would appreciate any advice you may have.
In less than a month I will be starting my novel course. I am very excited about this. I have written a synopsis of my novel and submitted it to Allen and Unwin as a long shot (but you have to try these things sometimes).
Anyway - lots of stuff is all up in the air but that's how I like it. If I don't put a few balls in the air I lose heart and interest (if I am honest).
I will keep writing, keep pushing different avenues and we'll all see how we go. It's exciting however that in our current day there are so many possibilities for artists, thank the good Lord.
Thanks for reading my ramblings, please feel free to offer any advice if you have some. Cheers.
14 Feb 2007
Australia Council Grants
Hello everyone
Has anyone out there in writing land applied for an Australia Council Grant and been successful in achieving funding?
I am attending a seminar put on by the QWC
in conjunction with the Australia Council to provide information on Thursday February 15, at the Metro Arts Building.
I have been looking into applying for a grant for my novel. Has anyone else done this? Is anyone else from the Queensland Writing Group applying?
Anyway, I will let you know what I find out at the session, happy valentines and happy writing.
Has anyone out there in writing land applied for an Australia Council Grant and been successful in achieving funding?
I am attending a seminar put on by the QWC
in conjunction with the Australia Council to provide information on Thursday February 15, at the Metro Arts Building.
I have been looking into applying for a grant for my novel. Has anyone else done this? Is anyone else from the Queensland Writing Group applying?
Anyway, I will let you know what I find out at the session, happy valentines and happy writing.
3 Feb 2007
Other stories I have written
Hello
I just thought I might post up a story I wrote recently and then another one soon.
I have only included One Beautiful Night as I am using the other story for something else. The PDF's are available below. I'd love to know your thoughts on these.
Thanks for your interest.
Cheers
Suzanne
One Beautiful Night
Click Here for a PDF
I just thought I might post up a story I wrote recently and then another one soon.
I have only included One Beautiful Night as I am using the other story for something else. The PDF's are available below. I'd love to know your thoughts on these.
Thanks for your interest.
Cheers
Suzanne
One Beautiful Night
Click Here for a PDF
29 Jan 2007
Participating in the Year of the Novel
Hello again everyone,
Barbara from the Qld Writing Group asked me if I was going to blog about participating in the Queensland Writers Centre Year of the Novel. I was going to when it started but I thought I might just introduce the idea now and let anyone interested know that I will blog about it in March.
I guess March is not that far away, is it?
On March 17 I will attend a whole day, lecture and discussion with other writers and with published author, Venero Armano on techniques and structuring a novel etc. etc.
It will be five sessions over the next year and I am very excited to be spending some time with other writers and with a published author, who reads a section of your manuscript and provides critique.
It looks like it will be a very rewarding process. It sure beats working on your own and not having a clue whether anything is any good, or even at times how to approach certain things.
Since I have been writing short stories for many, many years and reading about it and studying it, I feel I have some grasp on how to approach or structure a short story. However, with novels I have spent less time writing novels, (having only completed one manuscript) and I have only taken one course on writing a novel. So, I am hungry to soak all the information possible about novel writing as I can. This is what I loved to do with short stories and now I ardently desire the same with novel writing.
I have a full novel idea but the execution is always the challenge.
Has anyone else felt this about the jump from short stories to novels? They have different techniques but they also share a lot of similar techniques as well.
Anyway, bring on the Year of The Novel for me. I have been waiting for many years to get the time to sit down and seek to write another novel and now it is here. I am very excited. I will definitely be posting about how it is all going.
I can say, that my first chapter has been a challenge in itself and not perfected as yet.
Barbara from the Qld Writing Group asked me if I was going to blog about participating in the Queensland Writers Centre Year of the Novel. I was going to when it started but I thought I might just introduce the idea now and let anyone interested know that I will blog about it in March.
I guess March is not that far away, is it?
On March 17 I will attend a whole day, lecture and discussion with other writers and with published author, Venero Armano on techniques and structuring a novel etc. etc.
It will be five sessions over the next year and I am very excited to be spending some time with other writers and with a published author, who reads a section of your manuscript and provides critique.
It looks like it will be a very rewarding process. It sure beats working on your own and not having a clue whether anything is any good, or even at times how to approach certain things.
Since I have been writing short stories for many, many years and reading about it and studying it, I feel I have some grasp on how to approach or structure a short story. However, with novels I have spent less time writing novels, (having only completed one manuscript) and I have only taken one course on writing a novel. So, I am hungry to soak all the information possible about novel writing as I can. This is what I loved to do with short stories and now I ardently desire the same with novel writing.
I have a full novel idea but the execution is always the challenge.
Has anyone else felt this about the jump from short stories to novels? They have different techniques but they also share a lot of similar techniques as well.
Anyway, bring on the Year of The Novel for me. I have been waiting for many years to get the time to sit down and seek to write another novel and now it is here. I am very excited. I will definitely be posting about how it is all going.
I can say, that my first chapter has been a challenge in itself and not perfected as yet.
27 Jan 2007
Amazon Shorts Story Results
Hello
Thank you to anyone who voted for my story on Amazon Shorts Story Competition.
My story The Wall - was in the top 7 places out of the 600 or so entries in the competition based on votes and average. (I received 88 votes, 7.8/10 and 106 comments).
It turns out that the other story called The Wall won the editors pick! That was pretty funny, I thought.
I would recommend people entering these types of competitions. Even though it is very difficult to win, you receive comments from people all over the world and also you find out whether your story and your writing has resonated with people! I found it an extremely rewarding process.
I posted the story on many groups on Gather.com and received comments from people from many different countries. The great thing was it wasn't just people I knew or family, but strangers who read the story and really liked it!
Anyway, I found it an amazing, positive and confidence building exercise to see that you came in the top 8 out of hundreds of people was great for me.
Thanks anybody who voted and commented! I really appreciated it.
Suzanne
Thank you to anyone who voted for my story on Amazon Shorts Story Competition.
My story The Wall - was in the top 7 places out of the 600 or so entries in the competition based on votes and average. (I received 88 votes, 7.8/10 and 106 comments).
It turns out that the other story called The Wall won the editors pick! That was pretty funny, I thought.
I would recommend people entering these types of competitions. Even though it is very difficult to win, you receive comments from people all over the world and also you find out whether your story and your writing has resonated with people! I found it an extremely rewarding process.
I posted the story on many groups on Gather.com and received comments from people from many different countries. The great thing was it wasn't just people I knew or family, but strangers who read the story and really liked it!
Anyway, I found it an amazing, positive and confidence building exercise to see that you came in the top 8 out of hundreds of people was great for me.
Thanks anybody who voted and commented! I really appreciated it.
Suzanne
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