Back to the editing cave

I'm moving to Bilby Creek. Not literally, because I haven't been able to find it on the map, anywhere in the world, let alone in Australia. But my mind, heart and soul need to migrate to the town, to inhabit the place, to breathe the same air and drink from the same glasses and prop up the same bar as the Bilby Creek folk.

Party time in the real world is over. I have my mojo back after the Festival and a writing consultation last Thursday. I met with the head of a writer centre to discuss my writing, and he was impressed with my synopsis and sample pages, told me to edit it and send it off. So with that encouragement, I have to pack my laptop and pen and paper, and mosey on down to Bilby Creek to spend some time with Chloe and Luke.

If you see me hanging out at My Space or on Blog Explosion, tell me to git back to Bilby Creek. Hopefully there'll be cold drink waiting for me at the bar.

Tomorrow, I have to go back to the real world. Back to work, holiday is over. But I still want my head to be in Bilby Creek so during my teabreaks, at lunch, and after dinner, I can jump back in, and keep the editing momentum going. And yes, I haven't had a Coke now for 2 weeks. Yee, hah!

Fun items for writers

I've been spending a lot of time on cafepress.com - browsing the marketplace, window shopping so to speak. I've found some fabulous original designs for writers, so I shall be highlighting a few of these on Write on Track.

Write Side Out has combined the horror of the rejection slip with a stylistic B-grade movie poster: after all, it is every writer's nightmare.

For more original writers for items, check out the links in my sidebar, titled 'T-shirts for writers'. Whether you're churning out a bestseller, letting procrastination get the better of you, or your muse is out to lunch, you can find the merchandise to express your current writer state. Have fun browsing!

Byron Bay Writers Festival

I'm back from Byron Bay Writers Festival with writing mojo, and hopefully, editing mojo, ready to go!

The buzz is always fantastic, the writers are inspiring, and just the fact that I'm spending four days straight with my writing buddies is so stimulating.

The only thing I didn't enjoy this year was the weather. Friday was glorious but Saturday and Sunday, the wind roared and the rain poured. My Chickollage t-shirts were hidden under layers of clothing, desperately trying to stay warm, and not on display as planned. Oh well, spring and summer are still to come and I have some great new t-shirts to wear.

Each year, we share a cabin at the Byron Bay resort. In previous years, we've had eight gals in a two storey cabin with only one bathroom between us. With 9 gals going to the festival this year, we decided to have two cabins, which would've been fine, except it was completely open plan. One big room with beds, bunks, lounge and kitchen all in together and then a separate bathroom/closet with the toilet and shower in a tiny little alcove. So it was a good thing that we all like each other. But a bit harsh on the larks who wanted to sleep from 9pm while the owls were partying. Next year, if we have two cabins, we will separate the larks from the owls - it's just those pesky people in between who can't make up their mind whether they are larks or owls, will be the problem.

On Sunday afternoon, I captured this photo. I don't think I have ever seen the moon near a rainbow before. How cool!

Sunday afternoon, I spent in the bar with Roby, testing out the Vodka and Lime, while we wondered if there would be a party or not that evening. We then went to the last session, 10 years of the Byron Bay Writers Festival, where they honoured Jill Eddington for the amazing work she has done running the Festival. Then we saw them in the distance. At first we thought they were school kids in wild and zany feathered costumes with drums, jumping up and down, trying to keep warm. But the drums started beating, and the wobble boards wobbled, spinning their strange vibrations into the air, and they marched towards us, we realised it was a bunch of hyperactive adults, having a ball. And then the party really started...

Still coke free.

I am on Day 4 of being coke-free and surprisingly I haven't had a caffeine headache yet. Maybe it's because I'm not trying to do this while coping with customers, and team leaders and work. When I feel tired, I can just rest.

So I have tackled some of the 'to-do' list. The sample pages of my manuscript have been sent, I have printed off some gorgeous business cards, I have put together the main pages of the 2007 diary, and I have updated my blogs. I didn't win lotto - so, it looks like I will be back at work in two weeks time.

I have joined Quickflix. Living out in the country, I don't want to hire DVD's from the shops in town, and then have to drive for half an hour and back to return them if that's the sole reason I'm going to town for the day. So yesterday, I watched two episodes of Six Feet Under (season 4). Another one this morning, two more to go and I can post the discs back. I am amazed at the variety of DVD's Quickflix have - I have stuff in 'my queue' which I've been trying to get from local shops for years.

Only 2 days to Bryon Bay Writers Festival - how exciting! Looking forward to the great company, food and mental stimulation. How many new authors will I discover this year? Although my fundage is a bit tight this year, so much money has gone on medication - I could never have predicted this a year ago. Still, I keep telling my partner if he doesn't look after himself and eat properly while I'm away for four nights - I'll be shipping him home to his mum, and she can look after him.

Yesterday, I thought would be my first partner-free day of my holidays. Nope. Didn't happen. He didn't go to TAFE because he was feeling sick. I'm not sure he's ready for full-time study again at this point, although he doesn't want to admit it to himself. But he went today. It's so peaceful out here, lots of birds and the cat meowing, the occasional car. But that's it. Aah, feel the serenity!

On holidays

It feels so good to hang up the phone on Friday afternoon, walk out the door at work, and know you don't have to return for two whole weeks!

Yipee! And I've earned these two weeks.

But don't think I'm going to be sitting on my butt all day, stuffing my face and watching Ellen, Dr Phil and Oprah. I may spend some of it sitting on my butt, but I have much bigger goals to achieve.

• I have to polish 20 pages of my novel for an editorial consultation (that's due Monday but then the consultation is more than a week away, so I can spend some time on the rest of it).
• More collage poetry.
• Create some business cards for Chickollage and add some more designs (see above)
• Find some writing mojo at Byron Bay Writers' Festival - and eat, drink and have fun!
• Give up coke (the liquid, not the powder). This one was supposed to start today, but I weakened after several hours of shopping past the evil caffeine hour. But it's been 5 hours now. I wonder if there is a Coca-Cola Anonymous?
• write some more of Hold the Anchovies
• create a 2007 diary on Publisher
• take some scenic photos around the local area
• update all my blogs including the collage poetry blog, and Diary of a Mad Cat as Dorkus is feeling neglected
• learn the basics of Photoshop and Frontpage
• reconnect with some old friends and family

The other goal is to win lotto tonight, so I don't have to go back to work in two weeks, but I guess that one is completely out of my control!

Big creative weekend

Wow, what a huge weekend for thinking creatively.

On Friday night, eight of the NVWG members met to discuss and brainstorm our group novel. So far, nine chapters have been written over a period of two years. I have never worked in a collaboration on a novel before (although I have on performance pieces) so it is an interesting experience. And an interesting night - we ate and drank, and talked and laughed, and argued, and justified, and excused.

The problem at this point, is that the novel is too plot-driven without enough emphasis on character - each writer has added something dramatic to keep the drama going forward without enough attention to the present time of the novel, and its starting to resemble a soap opera. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here, and how long it takes to finish the story. I think we're signing up for the long haul.

Next morning, we held a workshop on how to conduct a workshop. I learned a lot of skills which I hope to put to good use some time.

And then we had the usual lunch at the pub, followed by the monthly meeting. We constructed some stories, with each word starting with a letter in alphabetical order. How hard is it when you get to XYZ? Maybe the trick is to start from the end of the alphabet, get those three tricky ones out of the way, and work your way back to it.

Here's my sad attempt:

After being crazy, David exhaled fast. God had invoked justice, Kingdom, loyalty. Madam, never overestimate piety! Quench real salty thirst. Ugly violent wicked xenophobes! Your zealot.

Doesn't make much sense but it was fun. So, what do you come up with?


This is one of my favourite collage poems so far - because we all know that there's no such thing, especially down at the local shop. This image is now available on T-shirts and stickers at my Chickollage store at cafepress. Can't wait to wear the T-shirt at the Byron Bay Writers Festival!!

No more free education

I went to a information session on a TAFE I.T. course with my partner the other day as he was enrolling. One of the teachers tried to persuade me to enrol as well - said they had husband and wife teams in the course before. I told him I had a full-time job so it wasn't appropriate but I had picked up a brochure about an Associate Degree in writing available externally through the Uni. The info session had made me think, and yearn to learn again. And for a couple of hours, I entertained the thought of enrolling in the degree. Until I checked it out on the uni website and saw the fees. It would cost just under $10,000 and that would take a long time to pay back.

There was a time once when Uni was free in Australia - there was no HECS, no HELP - whatever the heck they call it now - you only paid your compulsory student union fees. I marched in the demonstrations to keep university free but our voices were ignored. My final year of Uni cost me $2000 and was paid back years ago. Now an Arts degree is approx $4500 per year and the student union fees are voluntary?

So my idea of furthering my education won't involve any more university qualifications. I will stick to the day courses at the community college instead.

I was a bit peeved that I had to cough up the enrolment fee for TAFE for my partner, but when you compare it to the cost of the uni degree, it seems like a bargain. And then when I consider the fact that he will be at TAFE, while I have two weeks holiday in August, and will therefore have time to edit, compose collage poetry, and whatever, it is worth every cent!!

Running on empty

I drive a 22 year old car. I bought it this year and it was a bargain, one lady owner who probably only drove it to the shops and back, judging by the mileage. I do at least 300 kilometres a week, and that's just to work and back, more if I go into town on the weekend, or go to writers' group meetings. My fuel guage doesn't work, which is not an issue because I always note when I put in petrol. So last week I put $20 in the car with the odometer reading ...007. An easy number to remember? So why on Tuesday morning, on the way to work, did I run out of petrol, only 125 kilometres later? It doesn't add up. Unless the petrol was siphoned out of my car.

It's not the only thing being stolen in the area. Whole bunches of bananas are disappearing off trees overnight. They are hot commodity after Cyclone Larry wiped out much of the Australian banana industry in March.

It was lucky that I ran out of petrol on the way to work, and not on the way home after doing overtime. The road can be almost deserted at night. I was about 2 kilometres out of my village, and about 4 kilometres from home, but with no mobile signal. I flagged down a driver heading back towards my house, and scored a lift. Dragged my partner out of bed, took a gerry can of petrol to the car, and then took it back to the general store to fill it up. I missed about an hour of work, and admitted when I arrived that my car problems were as a result of running out of petrol. But I won't be taking any more chances. I'll be putting more petrol in every second day to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Chick Manifesto

I have launched my Chickollage store at Cafepress with this Chick Manifesto & The Bitch Club.

Serendipity

I had 45 minutes to kill this morning before my doctor's appointment, so I decided to drop into a charity store and find some more magazines to mutilate and turn into collage poetry.

Not only did I find several magazines, I found Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, which I've been putting off buying, and a huge book on The Doors, which I'm sure will find a new and appreciative owner through ebay.

So, it was meant to be. Plus we scored a three piece cane lounge (frame only) for $25 from The Tender Center. We just need to get cushions for it and it's going to be fabulous for lazy days reading the paper on our back verandah. And the best news is, I didn't have to go to work. Love those rostered days off --it makes the 9 hour days worth it.

I really needed a laugh today. 9 hour day at work, and I think I did more talking than the customers, so at the end of it, I thought I'd lose my voice. And the 9 hours crawled...seemed more like 18 hours. So tonight, I decided to visit Miss Snark, and found her post on queries. Oh boy, I laughed! And for more amusement, I might pull out my manuscripts and read pages 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 and 89. In that order. We had a collage poetry workshop on Saturday at my writers' group meeting. I didn't feel very inspired. I don't think I can do the group thing now when it comes to creating collage poems. I like to let the words and phrases sit together, and form interesting combinations - and for me, that has become a solitude activity, and one that my subconscious continues to work on while my thoughts are preoccupied with reality. Our homework for the meeting was to write a 50 word story. I wrote a story about reality TV on Sunday, and the first draft was 86 words. I had to cut more than a third of the story. ON Monday, I took it with me to work and slashed and rewrote, and slashed some more, until eventually I have a 50 word story. I may try some more between now and the next meeting - it is certainly good editing practice.

A hit - a palpable hit!

Sorry, bit of Shakespeare coming out. Must be the R&J post I just posted on Chickollage. Anyway, what did I hit? My manuscript. Today, during my lunch break, I plunged right in from the beginning and made a start on the edit, the revision, the rewrite, the second draft - whatever you want to call it. And I wrote more words. And crossed out many. And I got deeper into the scene, into the description, the setting, into Chloe's head. And I felt that I had accomplished something. I'm going to forget about the overall story edit at the moment, and just do some layering, scene by scene, chapter by chapter. The big structural stuff can come later when I have larger blocks of time to dedicate to it.

The Bitch Club

This image is now available as a T-shirt, mouse pad or tote bag at my new Chickollage store!

This is the collage poem I completed on the public holiday on Monday. I've known some 'crazy bitches in my time - this is dedicated to them. I quite like this one - black, dark and true. My partner finishes his TAFE course this week. Sigh of relief. He's not a writer and doesn't profess to be so each written assignment has been a source of renewed frustration. Much better at the practical stuff - the camera work, the filming. I'll be glad when it's over as well because my editing skills won't be called upon so much. I'm back at work again although a bit in limbo - may have to go back to the permanent position on Monday. Haven't been given the word as yet. Although my permanent team leader was preparing to put my stuff in storage today because he thought I'd be in the temp position a bit longer. I suppose I'll find out tomorrow. Don't particularly like limbo land.

Holiday is over

Well, I was right about the lack of holiday time to myself. I spent most of the week helping my partner with his DVD project on the Glenreagh Mountain Railway. Launch night was Saturday night, and just our luck, it poured all day Saturday. We haven't rain since we moved into this house. In fact, the situation had got so desperate, our rainwater tank ran out, and we had to fill it with town water. So we really, really wanted rain - just not on Saturday. But of course, it's a long weekend here -- and that usually guarantees rain. Part of the evening was to include a ride on the steam train, 'Steaming under the Stars', and that looked in jeopardy. Somehow the rain eased up, over a hundred people turned up to the launch, and enjoyed the film. The rain was light so Betty the steam train, was still able to do complete the planned outing. Sunday morning, we woke up to blue sky and it has been that way since. Murphy's Law! So now it's Monday of the long weekend, the last day of my 'holiday' - so I'm putting together some more collage poems, updating my blogs, and will tackle some of my editing. Then I'll have to work out an 'after work' structure to fulfill my writing goals and not spend all of my time on the net.

Holiday - NOT!

I have this week off work. It's supposed to be a holiday. And I had planned to spend the week editing my novel. As they say, all good plans... Saturday we spent the day running around town, trying to get the final cut for the doco that my partner is releasing next Saturday. Sunday I managed a day of general relaxation and watched the first disc of the Twin Peaks DVD set. Just love Kyle MacLachlan. Yesterday, I drove two hours to do my dad's accounts, a frustrating half hour or so trying to get through to the tax office, and two hours drive back. By 11pm last night, I was stuffed, and not prepared to play games with NBN Television, who for some crazy reason have decided to move the screening of Six Feet Under from 10.30 at night to 12.30 in the morning. As if 10. 30 is such a ratings giant anyway! Guess I'll have to wait for the DVD's of that one. Today, we went to see a diabetes educator, followed by a dietitian - at least I know I'm on the right track food wise. Tomorrow, we drive another hour so that my partner can sit a TAFE exam. Not sure how I will amuse myself while he's doing the exam but I'm sure I'll find something. On Friday, we have yet another doctor's appointment, but at least it's an early one, so then we'll come back home and finish off the work for the DVD release on Saturday. Saturday is the big launch. And then hopefully, Sunday and Monday, we will have some time at home - enjoying our garden, and sunshine. We'll see! So that's my holiday -- as you can tell, I'm getting plenty of R&R before I go back to work on Tuesday. Here's the BEAUTIFUL trophy I won! I remember when Anne first showed us the trophy (the day I took this picture) and we were all coveting it. I never imagined that I would be the one taking it home! Cool! Although I must say, I'm glad we don't have to write with quills anymore. Even typewriters - what tedium to have to type the whole manuscript again when you edit! Speaking of editing, I have to admit that I've been a naughty girl. All I've done so far is coloured in my manuscript - orange or yellow for dialogue (depending on which highlighter was working at the time), green for description or action, and pink for interior monologue. It sure looks purty! But I can also see pages of almost one colour, which immediately indicates that it needs work. I want a good solid block of time to sit down and read the whole thing from start to finish and do a good structural edit before I get into the nitty gritty, but that time is eluding me, and the internet has sucked me once again - oh well, at least I now have cute avatars of my main characters - Chloe and Luke, and their respective cats, Miss Lizzy and Snowball.

What do you mean I won?

Yesterday

Her brain was dead

Toast

- nothing unusual.

Today, the boss is yelling,

on the nose

out of control

A real tyrant

She's

haunted by

over-the-top

rumours

drama

secrets

the power clique

Everyone has had a say.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

She's a mess

hiding behind the nightmare

One mistake could ruin your life

but

after

a month of psychotherapy

she's brainwashed.

Exciting news! The writer's group ran a poetry competition and the winners were announced on Saturday at our AGM. I'm stunned! I won first prize with the poem above - Yesterday. And I won 2nd prize with Sex and the Single Girl. (see below) So I know I'm write on track. I will bring you a photo of the trophy shortly - it's a beautiful silver quill atop a wooden stand, donated by our life member, Anne.

It was strange because I had the digital camera out, ready to take a picture of the winner, and then my name was announced. I think they wished they'd had a camera pointing at me, because the look of my face was 'priceless.'

It inspired me because on Sunday not only did I design the DVD cover for my partner's documentary project, but I assembled another collage poem. My aim is now to have 50 collage poems collated and printed beautifully, ready for the Byron Bay Writers' Festival, because you just never know who you are going to run into.

Sex and the Single Girl 365 days of Men Oh my Lord! Serious Fun Throw Caution to the Wind and Shop Yourself Stupid Sussing out the bad boys/ wise guys / smooth-talkers / heartbreakers Mr Muscle Mr Right Now Mr Totally Wrong Too much mindless sex? Too much is never enough Guys with fear of commitment, inner demons, anxiety, paranoia Why worry? Just blow them away Laugh it off! Move on.

Back from Adelaide

I'm back from Adelaide. Working in a temporary position. Getting my head around my partner having diabetes. Doing an editing workshop but not much writing.


During the 18 days I was in Adelaide, I only had two days when I wasn't working. Nice money, but not much time to be a tourist! So unfortunately, no Barossa Valley, no Glenelg, no Hahndorf, no Port Adelaide. Next time, perhaps.

But I did do a lot of walking around Adelaide, and visited the Casino twice. And haunted a lot of shops - if you're after music or DVD's, I can recommend The Muses in Rundle Mall, and for a quirky little second hand store, check out The Market Emporium??? in a tiny alley off Rundle St.

So my photos are from Rundle Mall: the famous landmark affectionately called the Mall's Balls, and the cute little pig statues.

There was no culture happening while I was in town: the arts industry was recovering from the Adelaide Festival and Fringe Festival in March. Maybe I can get to be in Adelaide for work when the Festival is on!

Somewhere over the rainbow....

Sunrise from our weekend away.

A view from the backyard-- We get quite a lot of rain where I live, but when it's accompanied by one of these - how can I do anything but smile? I beat the rain home from my writers' group meeting and managed to see the magical five minutes that this rainbow was visible before it started to pour.

Still haven't managed to spend a great deal of home, and now I'll be going to Adelaide for three weeks right after Easter. I'm travelling for work so I'm not sure how much time I will have to be a tourist, but I'm sure there's a wine glass in the Barossa Valley with my name on it. Of course, the Adelaide Festival and Fringe Festival have both just finished, so the month of April is a cultural void on the Adelaide calendar as the arts world recovers. I'm sure I'll find something - a student production, some music gigs. Something has to be happening down there.

Chris Wilson - are you reading? Come and do a gig in Adelaide at the end of April. You have no tour dates on your website for April so perhaps you are free!

But while I am in Adelaide, I plan to do some more collage poetry and some editing of the film festival manuscript. Plus some general writing about Adelaide for future reference. Never know when I might want to set a story there.

I leave you with another photo from the lighthouse.

Writing Retreat

The excavation has been a success, so I can bring you some pictures from the Writing Retreat:

Excavating

Back from a fabulous weekend with my writing buddies with my head spinning full of ideas. Chickollage will be much more than first envisioned.

And we have settled into the new house - well almost! There are still quite a few boxes to be unpacked, my scanner to be excavated, my USB cable for the digital camera to be discovered. I guess it is like being on an archaeological dig, sifting through centuries of time for hidden treasure.

We picked the right day to move. It has rained almost constantly since...hence the boxes that remain untouched in the shed. And I’m working more hours in response to the cyclone that ravaged the north end of our country. Home is not quite home yet. To date it is still just a place to eat and sleep. Oh but what sleep! It is of different quality to the suburban slumber interrupted by the sounds of trucks and cars at all hours. Here we converse with the crickets and the birds greet us with squawks and laughs but the deep long hours of the night are peaceful and dark.

The time it takes me to travel to or from work now is full of wonder. This morning, the hills were smothered in fog, tonight I watched a glorious sunset and lamented that I did not have my camera with me. The countryside is so beautiful, I’d rather travel the curving backroad than the exhaust choked highway any day.