Storytime

I've been thinking a lot lately about my writing...in particular my India travel piece. Of course that is what I hoped would happen after attending the travel writing master class with Claire Scobie....which is all good. Although one comment she made relates to making your book not merely a travel diary. So no- It's Tuesday morning, hot, bit breezy and today I travelled from A to B...there was a slight hiccup at C due to the train being late but it was quite a nice journey. She does suggest using physical descriptions of the people you meet on your way. Now I don't tend to describe my characters. There may be an allusion to an age or ethnicity...sometimes a mention of hair colour but Claire wants more. Bring these characters to life so the reader can meet them as well as go on the journey with you. I do so admire Raymond Chandler for his descriptions.... 'From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something mad...

For me, the first draft is  fun. I have an idea, I begin to write and blah...yes blah...out it comes. Sometimes in dribs and drabs...sometimes in a sudden rush....sometimes it dries up till putting down the word a is traumatic (it might be the wrong word after all!) And yes there are times when the first draft doesn't actually eventuate...the idea peters out before the story is told. Or if I'm more honest, I lose my excitement. But once it is written...and left to percolate, hopefully for at least two months...then it is time for the hard work. The second draft. I find this very boring and horrid because I am not a planner. I am more a seat-of-my-pants kind of writer. I'll begin with an idea or an image, sometimes only a vague character...and the Nanowrimo novel that I wrote a few years ago began with the thought 'what if all I had known about my mother was a lie.' I had no characters, no plot, no plan....just a phrase and I wrote blindly from there. ...

Another weekend..another writing workshop. Yes, how spoilt am I? This weekend it was the workshop run by Writers Victoria   and my writing group, Lazy River Writers.   It was led by the energetic Archie Fusilo ...and had the group focusing on writing for children in the middle grades. It was a great day...Archie has written widely...from children to young adult... to adult non-fiction...and he was glad to share his experiences and his knowledge. Mainly though he told us to remember the children we once were. You can't write for children as an adult trying to be a child. That won't work. You have to think back (and for some of us that was quite a long time ago)...and find that child again. What was I like at 8, 9 and 10?  What were my interests and hobbies? Where did I live?  Who was my family?  Then I began to think....what did I want to do/ not want to do/ favourite colours/ favourite foods/ favourite television shows /...

Every now and then I feel the need for a workshop. It's just the kick up the pants to get me inspired again when I'm feeling jaded...pushes me to move forward. On Saturday I went to the Moving on masterclass with Clarie Scobie in lovely, and actually sunny and warm, Ballarat. (big thanks to other half who managed to coincide visiting friends and his bees with this particular day and was a willing chauffeur) I really got a lot out of this workshop...mostly because it was something I really wanted to know more about. I want to write the story of the Rickshaw Run that my husband and I did last year (wow, was it really only last year? It feels like it was a lifetime ago) and hoped this class would give me the tools to make it into something not only interesting but publishable. Claire gave us titles of books to read, authors to peruse...she gave us writing exercises and feedback...pages of notes and encouragement. Once again we were told to write -  we first must ...

Yes. Once again the school holidays are done and dusted. Once again we were busy--crazy busy. (which of course is excellent for the library, just hard physically...and mentally... on those that work there). So many people came to borrow, to read, to take home DVD's, to play console games. Dare I talk about console games? Lovely sunny days, warm days, and the console games were booked solid from morning to night. And at any mention of 'it's a beautiful day out there, wouldn't you rather be playing in it?' ...was met with a blank stare. From children...and their parents. What was encouraging were the numbers of children borrowing books. Lots of books ...piles of books...bags of books. Simply to get them through the next few weeks. Great sight. It was also nice to see everyone's creativity with the school holiday program. There were budding pirates complete with parrots---big machines, diggers and tractors, being created---live entertainment with st...

Yep...hard to believe but it has been four years (and two days) of writing stuff each week. And except for some times when travelling and having no access to the internet...I have indeed written something each week. I'm not saying I've written amazing, jaw dropping, world shattering pieces. I've simply put down what I've been doing or thinking...really it's how I try to figure out this 'writing' thing that I do. And hopefully it resonates with a person or two, even if every now and then. I have written on a variety of topics or themes over the years... from books I've read to where do ideas come from....from doing Nanowrimo in 2011 (and yes that novel still sits there, glumly staring at me) to editing...from writing that synopsis to the unreliable narrator...from books for young adults to the winter blues. I have chatted about why libraries are FANTASTIC ---and frankly could talk so much more on this subject. A tad bias perhaps, but let's f...

Recently I decided, in a fit of creative madness, to make a quilt for a special someone. Now I've never had proper instructions on how to make a quilt of any description. When my children were younger I made them each one for their beds...dark green and black for my son....my daughter had a pale one with pastel hearts...and I remember a fishy one at some stage. Back then I was sewing a lot and really just interpreted what I wanted to make. I don't sew very much any more...at all...so this time round it was a huge learning curve. More along the lines of what could go wrong, what does go wrong, and what I thought would only take a few days turned into almost a month's worth of battling threads and materials. There was a result..thankfully. And if you don't look too closely, it's kinda okay. What always intrigues me is that when you do pick some fabrics, cut them into pieces...any size, any shape...then stitch them back together again...is the variety. In...