Storytime

Yep, that time of the year when folks everywhere are panicking and asking 'so what do you want?' As a gardener there a million things I dream over. Oh and ah over. Drool and imagine over. As a writer, it gets a bit more difficult. I have pens, in fact a LOT of pens. The really cute and quirky ones magically disappear and I'm left with those 'buy a packet of 20' ones that still work. When used. Notepads and notebooks are always nice to receive. I have a few writing friends who I envy because their novel ideas are neatly put into these A4 notepads. They have images and pictures, they have maps and terrains marked out. I dream of someday doing this. But what to get me as a writer?  How about a place to write...perhaps a cabin in the woods? Hmmm actually I live in a log cabin, in a forested area. A place by the beach so I can wander the shores while dreaming of my characters? This could be a contender folks! Watch this space... Actual...

I just spent a glorious few days away with a writerly bunch of folks. My writing group and I headed off to Sorrento for a writing retreat. It was a very typical wintry few days. We had wild winds (branches down and lights flickering), rain, lots of rain, very cold, hail, and more rain. But there were moments when the rain settled to a drizzle or an almost stop and we ventured out. The writing retreat is never a straight forward - go to your corners and write. NOW! There is the settling in period, the which room is yours, what's for dinner, how have you been etc but then there are the discussions. About life in general, but more specifically the writerly life. We discuss our goals and aims for the year, we chat about works in progress. We read and reread our work. We edit, we discuss. Sometimes we do find a corner of the kitchen table or set up on a chair in another room and write. It's amazing the stillness that comes over the house then. It's an ...

I do like to work to a schedule - or a plan. I like to be organised. Have an idea what I'm doing when. I work part time and for a long time my writing day was Wednesday, a day off. Simple. I would run a few errands in the morning, write the latest on this blog then spend the afternoon writing. Then it wasn't working. I found myself doing a bit of this.... I began to look after grandchildren more.  This, of course, is something  I LOVE ...but it does take away from free time writing. I also began to do this... Volunteering at Pakenham and District Toy Library. It's a great service, lovely bunch of families that come in...but once again it's chewing up the spare hours. Then there was this... Another grandchild, a grand son this time and of course we are so in LOVE with him. This meant (as with other grandchildren) lots of visits to ooh and ahhh and to offer a hand, shoulder, whatever is needed for the new parents. So my Wednesday's w...

to go away with your writing group. In no particular order.... 1. LIKE MINDED SOULS. It is just great to be with a group of people who get what you do. They know why you scribble down ideas on napkins, or listen to conversations. Understand when you sit silently in contemplation of a plot line. Why you struggle to find the exact words to describe something, stare mesmerised at the sea. They understand because they do it too.  2. BOOKS. It's always a chance to talk about books. What we are reading, what we heard was great, what we tried to get into and failed. Books are passed around. Are oohed and aahed over. Blurbs are read, storylines picked apart. We pass books on, borrow books, recommend books. There is always talk and chat about books.  3. WORKSHOPPING. It's a chance to get those pieces read and commented on. Chewed over, talked about some more. Time for some one-on-one chats, for group discussions. Over the years at these retreats we have seen m...