First Sunday Club Update: February

I’ve been slack getting this post up – too busy with WYOAD and snack-talk – but over at Rebecca Sparrow’s blog, the deserving cause for this month’s $10 donation is Street Swags. This is another of those simple ideas that can make an enormous difference in someone’s life. As their slogan says, ’sleeping rough is tough’. If you’d like to see what it is Street Swags do and maybe help them in their efforts, head over to Rebecca’s blog for more info.

WYAOD: Report

I had promised that yesterday, Saturday 6th Feb 2010, would be the day I dedicated 8 hours to my writing as part of Moonrat’s ‘Write Your @ss Off Day’ challenge. Buoyed by a new comfy chair and an array of normally forbidden snack foods (like Tim Tams and chippies), I set to and had a very productive day, editing through twenty-one scenes (or about 24,000 words, of which at least 2,000 were written yesterday but countered by the 1,600 word scene I deleted as ‘no-longer-required’), but I didn’t make it to 8 hours. After about 6 hours of solid work (with a 1 hour lunch break) my back said ‘Enough!’ to the whole sitting at a computer thing and, while my tummy was full, my brain was empty. I went off and read some inspirational source material for a while (history of kung fu), then was forced to provide some hugs to kitties that felt I’d short-changed them by shutting myself away for most of the day. A thunderstorm rolled in shortly after that, so the primary writing ‘puter had to be shut down for safety reasons.

Still, I do feel I achieved a lot more than I normally do on a weekend, especially as I’ve given myself more time today as well to complete the 8 hour stretch. I’m definitely past the halfway point in the revision of Fall of Bitter Rain and with some momentum now to push toward the finish. There’s an unopened packet of biscuits in the kitchen that have already been designated as ‘motivational snackage’ for another WYAO event next weekend.

Many thanks to Moonrat and all the other writers around the world for providing much-needed inspiration. Cheers all!

Beneath every dedicated writer is a comfy chair

OK, that’s probably not true. It certainly wasn’t true for me until Sunday when TB bought me a new chair. It’s comfy. It tilts. I feel like Captain Jean-Luc Picard when I sit in it.

Did I just ’say’ that out loud?

Point is, the new chair is an important part of the preparation for this Saturday’s mission as part of ‘Write Your @ss Off Day’. Write a book? I will ‘make it so’.

A Day to Celebrate Writing

Over at Editorial Ass, the fabulous Moonrat is calling for writers to join in ‘Write Your @ss Off Day’. It’s not just about word count; some may not write at all. Moonrat describes it as ‘a day (8 hours) devoted to your writing – that can constitute a number of activities, but should be about celebrating your creation’.

Players get to choose their day of celebration from Friday 5th to Monday 8th of February. I’ve settled on Saturday the 6th and, in spite of Moonrat’s generous interpretation of how writers can mark their day, I will be taking the challenge literally. I’m going to dedicate the day to making a grand effort on my current Work-in-Progress, Fall of Bitter Rain. I will have to make a few preparations in the next week or so, lay in a few motivational snacks and ensure there’s plenty of coffee in store, get a long playlist sorted out on my iPod and make my chair a bit more comfy with extra pillows. I may not finish my revision of FoBR that day, but I hope to make a big dent in the job.

Inner Fan will be so pleased.

Don’t doubt self-belief

Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling and Fire, has a beautiful blog over at This Is My Secret. I had intended this post to link to Kristin’s recent post about the things a writer might consider when finding someone to read their early drafts, but instead found her latest post which talks about self-doubt and self-belief. Kristin was asked to explain how she keeps faith in a manuscript even when it seems to be a total mess and her reply is one worth reading. Here’s a snippet.

‘At every moment, writing is an act of self-confidence — the sheerest, most determined, most stubborn self-belief. You CAN have faith and doubt at the same time; the most insecure writer on the planet has faith that shines just as bright as her doubt, and she deserves props for that. It might be hidden deep, she might not feel it and you might not see it, but it’s in there, or she wouldn’t be able to write.’

Reading this set off a light in my head. I’ve said before that I don’t know how to quit writing, that the thought of giving up makes me cry, but I didn’t make the connection Kristin describes; that every time I sit down and write, I’m reaffirming my belief in what I’m doing. I have a loud and carping Inner Critic and often wonder why I can’t get my Inner Fan to be as vocal. Now, I get it. Inner Fan doesn’t get my attention by screaming at me or jumping up and down; Inner Fan just holds out a hand to the chair at my desk, invites me to put fingertips to keyboard, then sits back quietly to watch, hands folded on belly, a contented, possibly smug smile in place.

Aurealis: Vale and Excelsior!

Well, Brisbane gave the Aurealis Awards a big send off last night with a memorable ceremony and lively after-party. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners, and the fabulous, generous people who made the event happen. The event will move on now to a new home where, like a writer moving to a different town, the change of scene will bring new inspiration and perspective. Onward and upward, Aurealis Awards; Brisbane bids you farewell.

Talk about it

When I run into a problem with a character or plot, I brood about it. Options fly about in my head like fruit bats after a big feed on partly-fermented mangoes, blundering into trees and each other, bickering, flapping and making a mess. Nothing clear emerges. Decisions are not made.

For the ideas to straighten up and fly right, I have to talk about them. TB is the human equivalent of a brainstorming whiteboard or sheet of butcher’s paper that I use most often (lucky him!) and, over the years of conversations in the car on the way to work or a Sunday drive, he’s learned that his job isn’t to tell me what option to take or how to fix my problem. He’s learned that he’s there to listen, to make the right noises; by letting me talk, he knows my brain finds the answer I need.

Sometimes, I don’t have an understanding companion I can talk to; I have to talk to myself. This would draw unwanted attention if I actually talked aloud, so conversations with myself are in the form of journal entries (strangely similar to this blog, but with more swearing). I let the ideas take form as I type. Decisions are made. The chaotic circling of unresolved thoughts are culled and ordered. Progress on my book resumes.

It might be a writerly thing, that I have articulate my thoughts before they make sense, or it might just be that I’m an odd little soul who likes the world best when words take over. Either way, it’s something I always seem to forget. I’ll spend a week chewing over my plot/character problem before being lured into a conversation by TB or my notebook, have my epiphany and brightly announce that I should really talk about these issues more often because it would save a lot of time.

Duh!

Got Sarcasm?

So; someone has invented punctuation for sarcasm now. And here I was thinking the winking smiley face  said it all. ; )

Stationery Love

Although I completed QWC’s Year of the Novel course in 2005 with the very motivating and generous Kris Olsson, I decided to do it again this year online with Kim Wilkins for three reasons:
1. Writing courses inspire me (so much to learn; meeting other writers and sharing; homework).
2. I’m keen to learn about the techniques Kim uses when writing a novel.
3. I’m curious to experience a year-long course of this nature by online means.  

New Notebook = Love

It’s not all virtual. To my great joy, one of the first suggestions Kim made was that we should have a notebook for this novel. A real notebook, not an e-version. It’s not to be used for all the little notes and reminders that pop up day-to-day, or even for other writing ideas that come along; it’s just for the novel that will be written this year. While Kim did say it didn’t need to be super special or pretty or inherently imbued with the gravitas one believes the task of writing a novel should have, the stationery-lover in me took this as an ideal excuse to go looking for something nice.  

Now, I’m pretty useless when it comes to keeping a diary and I don’t know that I can prevent myself from writing unrelated notes in the notebook I’ve bought. I have doubts about whether a notebook will work for me. I have big, scrappy handwriting. I make mistakes just writing an address on an envelope. I hate having a lovely new notebook then immediately ruining it by writing untidy, misspelt garbage in it. However, I am enrolled in YoNline to learn; I will try all things suggested to me.  

When I saw this notebook in a bookstore, I knew it was the one for WiP#3, the novel I will write this year (once I’ve finished the revision of WiP#2). The cover is in keeping with my oriental-inspired world. The spine is bound only with string so the notebook opens completely flat; no fighting with it when you’ve got a pen in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. It feels nice to hold; a little exotic, a lot old-fashioned. It’s perfect.  

Right up to the moment I start writing in it.

Squeeeee! Soundgarden are BACK!

OK. Trying to be calm. Taking a deep breath… Squeeee!

Yes, it’s official (I hope); Soundgarden are reforming in 2010. It may be they only intend to tour a bit this year, then remember why they broke up in ‘97; I may not get to see them live; I may not get a new album out of them to listen to over and over again; but I live in hope!

There are very few albums I can listen to when I’m writing. Some are too distracting, others send out the wrong atmosphere. Soundgarden is just right. I don’t know why, but I’ve had Badmotorfinger, Superunknown and Down on the Upside almost on a permanent loop in my writing space. If I listen to these albums when I’m not writing, I yearn to be at my keyboard. The only break in the Soundgarden landscape has been courtesy of Led Zeppelin, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl, or combinations thereof, such as the fantabulous new supergroup Them Crooked Vultures – bliss! Faith No More is also on the playlist and have also reformed recently; big love to all the Aussie FNM fans who’ll be catching the band live next month (lucky bastards ).

Even better, Soundgarden reforming means my love for them is no longer old-fashioned, blast-from-the-past. It’s now. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Kim. You inspire me. You are awesome!