NaNoWriMo

Have I gone mad? Well, at least the kids think so. For I have signed up for NaNoWriMo - which is an event   that requires participants to write 50,000 words (a novel) in the month of November. I think it would be far less painful to grow a moustache and just sign up for Movenber. But really, it will challenge the procrastinator in me and will still my busy mind that, at the moment, has two novels vying for attention while I walk the dog at 5.30am every morning. So if I break it down, I only have 1,666.66667 words to write every day. Or if I take weekends off, I will have to write 2,272.7272727 a day - that's probably a bad idea because I know I will forget how to write when it comes Monday morning. So here I go ... I wonder if the title counts, and oh, they have to be DIFFERENT words? Hmmm. ... My story began when Melbourne was not even Melbourne at all - it was Port Philip Bay, New South Wales. (19 words already!)

Redfern Now - At Long Last

This post isn't about books but it may as well be. It's about arts, culture and understanding ourselves as Australians. I can't wait to tune into 'Redfern Now' a groundbreaking and historic program starting on ABC 1 this Thursday night at 8.30.
For the first time ever, we have a program written, directed and produced by indigenous Australians. Most of the actors too, are Aboriginal faces you will recognise, although the trailers appear to have some well-known albeit token white faces. I'm keen to explore how this makes me feel - to be the minority for once. And I urge you all to watch, listen and feel - without judgment, without blame - just watch this show.
Leah Purcell says it's "a bloody good drama" told from a "blackfella's perspective" - a storyline that "all comes back to love". LOVE people - and doesn't the world need more of that precious commodity?!
'The Sapphires" star Miranda Tapsell says 'Redfern Now' is not about hating, or blaming - but it makes her feel proud that "for the first time, indigenous people are creating their own identity in mainstream television".
Dare I say, it makes me feel proud too, and I'm a whitefella. That's not to say, I won't feel shame too. But, regardless of where you sit on the issue of race relations in this country, tune in. Because Thursday night will be history in the making.

Hi Ho Hi Ho .. when "work" gets in the way of real creativity

Most writers are well-accustomed to the fact that the thing we love to do most in the world doesn't pay very well. Personally, I am very lucky my husband/patron/household treasurer is happy for me to keep plodding away at creative writing. But, I still struggle with the feeling that I should be "working" more, by which I mean "earning" more. So, I recently jumped at the chance to do some corporate writing - writing that actually pays. Quite well. I have been given the task of researching and writing about several African countries for an international recruitment firm. My info will be put into brochures for potential employees, clients and visitors. Thus, I am now an expert on Tanzania and Angola, but dragging the feet a little on Nigeria. I can't seem to get past the fact that my husband was offered a post there when we had a newborn and a two-year-old - needless to say, we didn't feel quite up to the adventure back then. Tanzania got me really fired up - who wouldn't want to live there with Mt Kilimanjaro, the Masai Steppe, Ngorongoro Crater and the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar? I was just about ready to learn a bit of Swahili, stick the kids in boarding school, and head off. Even Angola looked exciting .. but Nigeria? Isn't it the home of  internet fraudsters? Not to mention, a government which rewards writers critical of the regime with the death penalty? And a swift and deadly strain of malaria? I am sure I'll find something positive to say about this West African nation, 12th largest oil producer in the world, and tipped to have the highest average GDP growth in the world between 2010 and 2050 ... There I've started already.

To the desk, to the desk as BWF closes

It's back to the real world now that the Brisbane Writers' Festival is over for another year. I never did run into that lady from West End who I seemed to see every year in the Queensland Terrace on a Friday morning. I hope she's still out there somewhere enjoying good books.
For anyone who has ever considered volunteering at the festival - do it! I have had the best, most stimulating, wonderful five days.

But now that's it's over, I have work to do. I hope I can find the time and discipline needed to get my thoughts into stories - good and worthy ones. And I hope this year brings more publication and writing rewards.

Brisbane Writers' Festival Starts with a Bang

At last! The Brisbane Writers' Festival has begun with some good news for Brisbane barrister and writer, Simon Cleary, who last night won the People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year with his novel Closer to Stone. You may remember Simon as the author of The Comfort of Figs set around Brisbane and the Story Bridge.

I was lucky to take part in a BWF workshop conducted by Simon today: 'Weaving Fact Into Fiction'. Simon is a lovely guy who imparted encouragement and words of wisdom including where and how to research, realising when you've done enough research and finding ways to weave it all into fiction. Nice to know, in this age of information at our fingertips (hooray for google, wiki and trove), it's often better to talk to people about their experiences to get the emotion and idiom in eye witness accounts. Could be a bit tricky with my research into Melbourne in the 1840s, but still. Glad I did my homework - researching the history of Brisbane City Hall - as I may continue a story I started today on the haunted clock tower lift. I also met some lovely people in the workshop who, going by their stories today, have big futures as writers.

On Thursday afternoon, I collected Australian of the Year and Nobel Prize Winner, Peter Doherty and his wife Penny from the airport and listened to Peter's fascinating talk on Sentinal Chickens at UQ which was a real treat for me.

Other highlights from the festival on Friday were listening to Patrick Gale, Richard Fidler in conversation with Gina Perry who has written about the infamous Milgram shock machine experiments of the 1960s, meeting Chris Cleve and Jeet Thayil and then Poetry in the Red Chamber, Parliament House, with Jeet, Jan Wagner, Chantal Spitz, a.rawlings, Ouyang Yu, Nicholas Powell and Les Murray.

On Saturday, I met a wonderful lady, Peggy, who at the age of 93 has just won her first poetry prize. An inspiration! Is listened to Robert Dessaix interview his dear friend Drusilla Modjeska (I've been a fan of Drusilla's since reading The Orchard at uni), contemplated What Makes Us Happy with Kathleen Noonan, Peter Lantos, Bev Aisbett, Tanveer Ahmed and Mind Gardener Martina Sheehan. I was fortunate to be venue manager for a talk by young adult fantasy writer Kate Forsyth, and then got a behind the scenes peek at the design behind Gary Crew and Ross Watkins' book The Boy Who Grew Into a Tree (can't wait to read that one to the kids).

Even though I "worked" as a volunteer for four days at the Brisbane Writers' Festival, I think I'm way ahead in terms of value. On Sunday, I was the venue manager at an industry masterclass presented by Australian Writers' Marketplace and gained invaluable tips on how to get an agent and/or publisher - basically for free!

A Wonderful Tool for Short Story Writers

Something that has helped me in the past, and will probably help my writing process well into the future is a daily blog I receive called The Write Practice by Joe Bunting. I will never have writer's block again thanks to Joe. If you are an emerging or even an established writer, I urge you to investigate this as a valuable tool.
People ask me why I write short stories. Joe sums it up well when he says:

"There’s something magical that happens when you finish a story. 

§ You can get published.

§ You can get feedback.

§ You can experience every aspect of the writing process, not just the first draft stage.

All of this leads to becoming a better writer faster. You also begin the process of building a writing career and a platform for your fiction.

I think that’s why so many great novelists through history first published short stories. Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, Ernest Hemingway, and even Stephen King didn’t start out writing novels. They built their craft and their careers with short stories."

Australian author and one of my favourites, Peter Carey, also started his writing career with short stories. When making the jump from advertising exec to writing, he would answer the inevitable "so what do you do?" at parties with "I am a writer" to the point where he actually had to became one. Other Australian writers who have produced fabulous short stories are David Malouf  ('Towards Midnight' from Every Move You Make is brilliant!), Kate Grenville Bearded Ladies, Tim Winton The Turning and Peter Goldsworthy Gravel. Cate Kennedy and Amanda Lohrey are also well-known short story writers. And if your tastes lie overseas, then look no further than Somerset Maugham (UK) and Alice Munro (US).
So, why do I write short stories? To hone my craft (every word counts!), for more instant gratification (competitions) and because I can't help myself - I see short stories everywhere. Not that it's easy. My writing teacher, Isabel D'Avila Winter, said most writers spend about 10 hours editing each page (that's about 250 words). Sometimes, I edit and revise my stories 15 times before I think they're polished enough to send off. So next time you read a cracker of a short story, just remember, they don't come easy. Not that I'm complaining. Short stories just appeal to the perfectionist in me.
I'd like to give a plug to Joe Bunting's new ebook:

It explains how to research, write, edit and submit to literary magazines.
Let’s Write a Short Story! is available as a PDF or for your Kindle or Nook reader. It’s also available on letswriteashortstory.com
Happy writing.

'Why Don't Elephants Smoke?' success

I have just received the exciting news that my short story 'Why Don't Elephants Smoke?' will be included in the 2012 volume of Award Winning Australian Writing (Melbourne Books). Will post more details when they come to hand.