Storytime

Recently I took the other half out for his birthday treat (a few months late but heh some things can't be rushed). We went to Veu de Monde . It was an amazing experience. Offering some of the best views of Melbourne (even on a scorching summer's day when a brown haze covered the sky, our city still looked wonderful). Even before we got to the food it was an experience. Glass of champagne to welcome us. Leather clad tables, with an assortment of stones and driftwood arranged on the top. We learnt that everything on the table has a significance, will be used at some stage during the meal. I must admit to drooling over the cutlery (gorgeous....can one have a cutlery fetish?) Then came the food. Small serves, beautifully presented. On the menu this is called - Barramundi, caviar, potato and lemon. If I had served these four elements, it would look nothing like above. I will admit that not everything was to my taste- but I tasted. I sampled. I explored fl...

Recently I've looked at a wedding venue or two (for baby girl)- and even though the date is a little way in the future, finding the right place is very very important. Not only does it have to sum them up as a couple, not too rustic, not too urban, not too city, not too country. It also has to make a great first impression and then a good lasting impression. It's something I endeavour to remember when I send my work out there. Having been on the 'other side', as in on the editorial committee for Page Seventeen  for several years, I know what I 'looked' for when considering pieces. When you read so many entries (in many years, hundreds) they have to stand out. First impressions count.... But that is not enough....it could be an intriguing title, great opening line....something that captures your attention and makes you want more. Should be easy shouldn't it? But I remember so many stories, articles and poems simply dropped. After this initial ...

Last weekend I went away with my writing group  for a retreat. During these weekends away we tend to write, read, workshop and talk writing. I, being a great procrastinator, also take walks and a lot of photographs. This weekend was no different. I wrote a little, I read a little, workshopped various pieces, took a few walks and even more photographs, edited quite a few poems from earlier this year and I thought. That was my real aim for the weekend, I wanted some serious time thinking exactly where I wanted to head with my writing. I don't want the scattergun approach. To attempt a dozen different styles and genres of writing. I wanted a focus.  I wanted to think whether I should spend my time writing poetry or short stories- whether to focus on young adult novels or adult novels....or perhaps junior fiction. Hence my need for some thinking. However...the more I thought about what I wanted to do, the more confused I got. I love poetry- love the ...

I had last week off work. Mainly because I was told I had too much leave accrued and had to take some...NOW. So I did.  My main aim for the week (apart from not thinking of work) was to read. I was going to hit that pile of books that wait patiently for me to get to them. In fact I thought my week would look a lot like this... That was the idea. However the first two days were lovely and sunny - so of course I spent them in the garden. I gave up books for trowels and trugs and...managed to get quite a lot done. Garden wise, but not reading wise. Then the weather turned and I did manage to catch up with a friend for lunch. And make a block for the National Year of Reading quilt that we are attempting to make at work. As this was my first 'proper' quilting attempt (I've appliquéd and crazy patchworked and even hand patched before) and I was using an 'idea' from the net, this took quite a few hours...but it was finally accomplished and has been sent on its...

Easter for me is about family. Okay it's also about chocolate, but mainly it's about family and usually I wander north east to visit my sister and her family. They live in a small country town where the pace is relaxed. Slow. Easy. There's not a lot to do. You can go for a walk (there are two directions- left or right), you can play Mario Kart on the Wii, you can play numerous games of UNO,....there's also much talking, laughter and catching up. And I admit it, I listen, pay attention to small details...and take notes. Over the years this has resulted in various stories, poems and settings for both a children's novel and a YA novel. Their old dog Zorro, no longer with us, is a central character in my children's novel and the countryside, the landscape...and certain aspects of the town are an integral part of my YA novel. I think it's because it is such a relaxed atmosphere that allows me to become attuned. When you are in your own home, with the const...

As writers we know that inspiration is everywhere. All we have to do is open our eyes, use our senses (all of them) and listen. However, with everything else that we do in our lives, sometimes, sometimes the ability to notice what is out there in the world disappears. For the month of February I was inspired by Tony Tulloch , (very nice person as well as a fantastic photographer) and decided that I would take a photograph for each day. Take a photograph of something that had grabbed my attention. The one above was taken on one of those very humid mornings, before the sun had broken through the fog. Some days were easier than others. Something, somewhere jumped out at me. Such as the photo below. The sign was there on the way to work one morning, gone that afternoon. Which of course raised the question...was he found? I made the decision to simply snap using my small point-and-shoot camera. There would be no major thought involved, no setting up of the scene, no waiting for t...

Facts are some of the most interesting (and useless) pieces of information. A CAT HAS 32 MUSCLES IN EACH EAR As I said, interesting but what good does it do us?...and of course we all know someone that will dredge up facts at a quiet dinner amongst friends or at a party. Throw them at us and then sulk when we don't give thunderous applause for now knowing the scintillating fact that- A JELLYFISH IS 95 PERCENT WATER . But sometimes when faced with a blank page, when a case of the dreaded writers block strikes, facts can be a starting point for a piece of writing. Could be a short story, a poem, even the basis of a novel. All you need is a fact that intrigues you, that sets you thinking 'what if'. EVERY PERSON HAS A UNIQUE TONGUE PRINT Hmm, the mind begins to swirl....a detective story where the tongue print is the key to finding the killer? Could they cut off a tongue in the same way they burn the fingers of victims - making it harder to identify a body? Do i...

I've been told that I write the same story- dark, sad, full of despair and betrayal- over and over again. Have even been challenged 'can you write a happy-ever-after story?' The answer is yes. My story in 100stories for Queensland is a love story. I wrote a poem for the mother of the groom to read at her son's wedding. I HAVE written stories and poetry with a sense of humour, that engage a smile or even a laugh or chuckle from the audience. But I do admit most of my stories (and poems) have a darker side. This is partly personality (mine) and the fact I am more of an observer than a participant. I find people intriguing, their interactions and the reasons behind why they do things fascinate me. And lets face it, the story of girl meeting boy and living happily ever after is boring. Throw in a few dragons, an evil guy wanting the girl for his own and a step-mother or two (wicked of course)- and we get a bit of interest. And I may write the same 'style'...

I'm always impressed when writers can put together a poem, short story, or even a novel set in the place they live. I read poems set in inner suburbs, tramping grounds of the poet who lives just around the corner. Short stories set in streets that are seeped in reality, down to the pigeons on the statue of some long forgotten founder that stares morosely to the west. I've written about where I grew up as a child, but where I live now? Perhaps I need to live in the gritty inner suburbs? The rambling countryside where the view is of cows and haystacks? Or in a small coastal town where life revolves around the weather? Perhaps I don't feel at 'home' where I live? I have attempted poems set in my suburb. But I find it so hard to get the right emotional contact. I don't want it to sound cool or mawkish, remote or seeped in purple prose. And don't get me wrong, I love where I live. It's a suburb with one general store cum post office, tennis court...

I"m a pessimist. Asked if the glass is either half empty or half full, I'm the one ready for a new drink because only a few drops remain in my glass. It is a hard way to live and I'm working on changing it. I read (and I can't remember when or where) about trying to find good things in your life,  to focus on ten a day. They don't have to be amazing, stand out significant things- just ten things that you noticed that day that added something special to it. For the past year or so, just before I go to sleep I think about five things that I noticed that day. Five things that added something special to my day. I have given myself rules. They can not be the same things night after night after night.e.g. my family are all safe and healthy. That's the easy way out. They have to be different each night and it doesn't matter how insignificant or minute they are. For example my five last night- were- and in no particular order- just the way I thought of them a...

2010 is nearly over. And what a year. I began 2010 reading I am Legend by Richard Matheson (which the movie is loosely based on, the book as usual, is so much better) and I'm ending the year by reading No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (another novel which inspired a movie). In between I have read over 60 novels - some I can recommend such as The Seal Wife - Kathryn Harrison, The Road - Cormac McCarthy , The Notebook- Nicholas Sparks and some YA novels such as The Winds of Heaven - Judith Clarke , The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman and The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins. Others - well some had the kernel of a great idea, some had great writing, some were inspired by a real event that did offer up opportunities- but I felt they didn't make a whole. Working in a library means I see what others are reading, I see what 'best sellers' are coming in - and I must admit a lot of times I am disappointed. But then again that's the fun of the library- you can ...

Mostly it's fingers to keyboard, but yes I am actually writing. YEAH! That was meant to be the idea for this week or so, a major push in the right (or should that be write) direction. :) After the YA Masterclass with Libby Hathorn on the weekend I felt inspired enough to go back to my YA novel - work on a chapter - and even think back to the verse novel I never quite finished. Surprisingly enough I'm still interested in my characters, still want to know the journey they take. I also am writing a poem a day for my nod to those doing the Nanowrimo - so here we are on day ten and I have ten poems down. Or put it more correctly ten ideas for poems. Some will never see the light of day, some I've already worked on and there was a bit of a theme for awhile. My daughter has left home, my baby, so there were a few poems based on the emotional roller coaster that entails. (including visits to hospital emergency departments, blood and stitches) For added inspiration I went to...

Sometimes it's easy - ideas flow, words run through your mind, twist and turn into wonderful phrases, stanzas and after time spent in front of the computer a poem / short story/ article/ chapter is created. Other times, the world gets in the way. That's where I am at the moment and it's in these moments that I give myself that kick-start to forward my writing and provide motivation. Firstly - this month is Nanowrimo - for those not in the know this is when - world wide- people are given the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in November. I have friends that did it last year and are doing it this year, encouraging me to give it a go. No. I don't need the extra pressure of finding the time (and inclination) to write like that. BUT ....I have given myself the challenge of writing a poem a day for the month of November. I have done this before- a poem a day for a month. I'm not saying each poem will be brilliant, or even good, but at the end of those 30 or...

Last weekend, a cold and rainy spring Melbourne weekend, I decided to abandon the garden and dive into spoken word. Not that there is much to do this end of the woods, or hills, or ranges, whatever the case may be....but there are two gigs that I do get to as much as I can, when work and life doesn't intrude. Saturday was Stoppingallstations at Nunawading. It's a lovely venue and Carole is a very welcoming host. There is an open section (offering a wide range of great poetry) as well as a feature each month. This month it was Tiggy Johnson. Tiggy's first reading came from her newly released collection 'First Taste' - and although I know these poems quite well it's always great to hear them again, read with such style and I love watching people's reactions especially to poems such as Concluding and Solitaire. Her second set was new poetry, mostly inspired by her major camping trip with the family around most of Australia. I was very interested to hear...