Storytime

When you write, there are really three basic components. 1. Write.  Sometimes this requires planning, sometimes not---you begin with an idea and you go for it. Let the words and characters and places fill you with wonder and interest as you madly scramble to get it all down. 2. Redraft. Hard work. Bit like a good casserole, you let it stew. Allow the natural juices work for you. Then you taste, season it, add some of this or that. So you leave your work, you re-read it. Often shocked at how appalling / amazing it is. You take out the first chapter, remove 3/4s of the story line, insert a new character, decide to tell it from third person and write it yet again. 3. Editing. All that nit picking. Is this the right word? That comma should not be there...fragment sentence....wrong spelling.  Have I spelt the main character's name the same way all the way through? In reality each of these three are divided into many many sub sections. At the moment I'm stuck on 1.4 ...

It's interesting...Mother's Day comes along (as it does each year) and we are bombed with advertisements. Realistically though how many boxes of chocolates, diamonds (to make Mum's day) or electrical appliances does a woman need....or even want? (Let's not even think about the poor mothers who receive a vacuum cleaner for their day!) And I won't mention all those retailers that insist Mum needs a pair of slippers and a new set of pyjamas.... When the children are young it's nice - and I use that word very carefully- to receive something that they have bought in a mad panic at the school stall. Usually a bar of soap with a fake flower or perhaps a very ill plant in a tin can painted bright pink.  These gifts are usually accompanied by a hand made card, usually strewn with glitter, bright colours and misspelt greetings--- but that makes them all that more beautiful. Sometimes there is breakfast in bed- I have always HATED breakfast in bed. Crumbs and sp...

Recently my daughter and three of her friends completed the Oxfam Trailwalker. A journey of 100 kilometres in 48 hours. It was intense. It was amazing. It was completely insane. As all good challenges go, there were preparations. The team trained and trained..they planned food drops by support crew....they planned appropriate clothing and medical needs. They began chipper and excited...although a tad nervous of what could / would occur. And so they set off.... They walked.....support crews met them, fed them, offered words of comfort and wisdom (well perhaps not exactly wisdom...more like encouragement)....and they walked some more... The trek took them from Wheelers Hill, to Lysterfield Lake, onto Ferntree Gully and then up, up and up to Olinda, over to Mt Evelyn, along the Warburton trail and the mind bending repetitive flats....to Woori Yallock and onto Warburton then the last sprint - up and over Mt Little Joe to Wesburn Park. After much walking, much cold and r...