Drowned Earth online Launch

Today is the day. After a year - a tumultuous year - the novella finally went out into the ether and the other 7 novellas in the series are all being launched today on FaceBook.

The launch is the culmination of an interesting journey from pitch, to first 1000 words and on to actually write the whole story. Then editing and more editing and then sending it off for the structural edit and getting those comments back to work on and finally a line edit to pick up as many of the mistakes as possible, which by this stage I can't see anymore, fixing those edits and sending it off to proof stage. Adding the cover and writing the blurb and now finally it is being launched.

The writers are an interesting group of people. I'll just share this link to Aussie Speculative Fiction
where you can read all about them and their novellas and explore what else is available and upcoming on their site.

I realise I need to learn so much more about the tech side of writing. Not having the skills or knowledge that would boost my readership, really does me no favours in this tech savvy world we live in. I struggled with the simplest thing - accepting or rejecting edits in a document. My problem is I just want to write the stories. I want to use my computer I don't want to know how it works. I want to drive my car I dont want to be a mechanic. I want to create stories, I don't want to be a secretary or receptionist with administration and data entry skills, I don't want to be an editor. I have some very good friends who are editors and they do a marvellous job of kicking my spelling and punctuation butt.

Anyway back to the novellas...my novella 'Salvaged' is a climate fiction 'what if'. When I read about the opportunity to write about a future where the world is submerged by 90metres and it was to be part of a series written by other authors, I though - hey I can do this. I was just at a point where I was ready to dive back into writing and really get into the swim of story flow. So I sent off a pitch in January last year. AND THEY LIKED IT, so they asked for the first 1000 words and I said 'What, but I haven't written it yet?'. I wrote the 1000 words in the nick of time and THEY LIKED IT! So they said 'you're in' and I was. Then a shipwreck occurred and the little flotsam from the ship wreck landed in my lap putting a very big commitment bundle in the way of writing. I managed to get a little research done and an amazing woman - Johanna - created some fabulous maps for me so I could see just what the coastline of Australia would look like if the seas rose by 90m.

Not a lot left of Melbourne as we know it and two huge inland seas.

 Most of the capital cities of the world would be gone, all the urban centric infrastructure would be decimated and populations would be drastically diminished.

Would we be better people? Would we be worse? Each of these novellas explores aspects of our humanity or lack thereof.

It took me a year to write 30k.
I lie, it took me a month to write a pitch and 1000w. 10 months to do very little writing wise and a little research, a few discussions, a synopsis for something unwritten, a few more discussions and a whole lot of life  going on. In response to a family tragedy I decided on December 27th 2019 to put my head down and think of nothing but the story and I began writing the other 29k. I asked for an extension of time on the 31st and sent the story off at the end of the first week of 2020.
The edits went back and forward over January and I swapped from 7th release to eighth and last so I could be the little red caboose.

Developing character voice

 
2.11 An exercise for developing character voice
....

Let’s try this with a character of your own: explore your character’s eating patterns, and then stress them. Rob them, arrest them, or make sure that their credit card is refused. Whatever it is, make sure that the character will have to struggle to extricate themselves from the situation. The character’s dialogue and action will combine to create the basic elements of voice.
Share your reflections on the exercise in the comments.
© University of East Anglia


Staring at a social media post about a female trophy hunter gloating over killing and eating an endangered giraffe. 
 
“I hate her and her cronies. She is the lowest of the low. There is no challenge in killing an awkward giraffe. Why did she eat it? Look at her, she has never missed a meal in her life. Rich sicko bitch should be sent out to be hunted by poachers.”

Throws crumpled paper at the screen. Twirls a fork slowly in a bowl of spaghetti bolognaise laden with grated cheese. Pushes the bowl away. 
 
“Who am I to talk? I’m a hypocrite. I condone brutality every day by my willingness to ignore the realities.”

Stands and turns away from the screen.

“I am as bad as she is. I’ve been pregnant, I’ve given birth. I held my babies against my breast. How would I feel if they were torn from me and slaughtered so someone else could use my milk? All those cows with dead calves just so I can have my cheese.”

Turns back to screen. Waves both hands like swatting at flies. 
 
“Eat your giraffe, bitch and gloat all you like, at least you are up front and honest about it. Not like me. I’m going to go back to pretending I don’t know what I know. I love cows I just don’t love them enough to stop drinking milk and I love cheese too much to give it up.”

Picks up fork and shoves overlarge serving into mouth. Tears on cheeks.

“I’m sorry cows.”

Introduction to screenwriting develop character outlines

2.6 An exercise to develop character outlines
When we start the process of character development it helps to create character outlines. Drawing on Michael’s article and the panel discussion, create an outline for a character from a film that you’ve recently seen or use it as an opportunity to develop a character of your own.

• List the character’s major actions. Start from the end and work backwards. (Don’t analyse how or why; just create a list of actions.) Saves a planet, meets his sister, graduates, develops leadership skills, joins military, lands on a planet in a stolen flyer/joyride-takes souvenirs, acting out grief from loss of father
  
• Analyse the list to reveal the character’s wants and needs. Is the character aware of what they want?
  Wants to find his father, wants to prove himself to his absent father, gain his mother’s respect/admiration, regain connection with his siblings.
  
• Describe how the character thinks and look at his or her basic psychology. Intelligent? Intellectually engaged? Cognitive Biases? Impulsive? Cautious? : Physically fit, slender, brown curly hair, dark eyes. Intelligent, impulsive, thoughtless of others -changes to empathy, strong connection to father – changes to respect for mother and uncle, develops leadership and protectiveness of ‘his’ people, friendly.
  
• Describe the character’s superficial affect. How might a casual acquaintance describe them?: Fun but conservative. Party boy with a conscience. Smart without being a showoff.
  
• List any important physical characteristics.
  

This is just an outline, so stick to that format and make lists; avoid long prose descriptions.

Share your outline on your blog, link to it in our comments area so other learners can view and comment on it.

Do also review and comment on other people’s outlines and thoughts on the experience.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/screenwriting

NYC Midnight short story challenge 2019 round 1 Heat 18 - Action/Adventure / An eclipse / A fugitive

 Eclipsed

“If I make it out of here Mike, our friendship is over!”

Winny gritted her teeth and pulled herself further up the hill.

She reached for the next sapling, sandals slipping on the dried grass pulling her back down and tearing off another glittering fingernail. She cradled her hand under her body for a few minutes while the pain receded and pressed her face into the grass. The scent of dust and rotting plant tickled at her nose and throat. She listened a little longer to the insects chirring around her.

“Ew, ants!” She sat up abruptly and brushed away the offending bugs. “Did I mention I hate you Mike. I told you and told you. I. Don’t. Do. Nature.”

Winny reached for another sturdier sapling. “But Oh no, you wouldn’t listen. Dress for the outdoors Win. Sure outdoors by the pool, outdoors at a party on a nice grassy lawn.” She pressed her back to the upper side of a tree trunk and tried her phone again. “Not even emergency calls? Really? How can there be no signal on the side of a mountain?” she clicked a selfie. “No one will believe it’s me in a forest”

The terrain levelled out for a few meters before the next incline. Winny pressed her hands to her knees and caught her breath. The bird calls and insects quieted as the heat rose. Sweat wreaked havoc on her carefully applied makeup. Another nail broke off and she stuck it in the bark. Tears sent dark runnels down her cheeks. “Maybe I can use the nails as signposts to find my way back?” she wiped the back of her wrist across her face and stared at the dark streak. “I should have worn my super dry mascara, didn’t know I would need it, did I? Damn you Mike.” Her voice turned to a sneer, “I know this great place to see the eclipse, I know the way, I don’t need directions, the GPS doesn’t work out this far – and look where it got us Mr. Control freak. Ow!” sucking on yet another nail she bent to pick up the glittering painfully ripped off expensive acrylic and wedged it in the tree back. “Here’s me climbing a mountain in my catwalk shoes and designer silks, and you unconscious in the care of a mad man at the bottom of the hill. The limp seemed real but he moved awfully fast for a wounded man. Shit!” The designer sandal strap snapped. Winny squatted neatly in her pencil skirt to inspect the damage. “The other will go too.” She sat elegantly on a log and rolled down her pantyhose. Ripping with her teeth to start a tear she slid her sandals back on and tied the nylon around and around ending in neat bows on both. “Rustic but elegant” she smiled and patted the bows. She began to swing her legs over yet another log, holding her skirt against her bottom and rolling into a standing position. “Oh this is ridiculous, I will never make it back by sunset.” She began to tug at the seam of her skirt but it held firm, as a well-made garment should. “Sorry Nan, only you and I know the truth. A shop bought one would tear easier.” Clenching her jaw she gave a mighty tug and the seam gave way, allowing her legs to move freely. “That’s better. I don’t know why I ever decided to date you Mike.” She stepped around a huge tree, avoided some nasty brambles and grabbed the trunk of a smaller tree to haul herself up the next bit of hill, “We were good as just friends, sort of, but we’ve both changed since we were kids.” The next fallen tree was easier to leap over. “You owe me a new skirt.”

The climb grew steeper; the sun rode relentlessly to its peak, the moon hovering close in the clear blue sky. “This sun is giving me freckles, I can feel them forming. I should’ve put on my SPF50+ foundation. Damn it!.”

Winny’s breathing grew laboured and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. “I need a breath mint, or water. Water would be good.” Her monologue slid between cracked lips. She held her phone up to the hot blue sky like a benediction. “Or a couple of bars, so I can call for help? No? Water then, that’d be good.” A sound she had been hearing but not listening to, tugged at her awareness. “A water feature out here?” Changing direction brought her to a trickle squeezing out of a crack in an enormous rock and dripping into a tiny pool before soaking back into the earth. She ignored the floating bits and scooped up a palm full of chilly refreshing water. “There are no bugs, there are no bugs, just close my eyes and drink.” She washed her face and reluctantly wet her hair then took a deep breath.

“Just keep moving, just keep moving, Mike is counting on me and the old man seemed desperate for his pet. I can do this.” She waved her phone around like a baton to emphasise her points, “He could’ve just asked, I would’ve gone to get his pet if he just asked but he had to go and hurt Mike and then make that threat.” She slapped her phone into the palm of her hand, “Stop it Win, no use crying about it. What was that?” Standing still she listened for the sound again, “Did I actually hear some –“ her heart rate ratcheted up as a snake slithered through a sandy patch close to her feet. A tiny moan full of fear and tears escaped her. Adrenaline flooded her muscles but she forced herself to back slowly away from the serpent before stumble running further up the hill as fast as her legs would carry her.

The line where the trees ended and the cliffs began finally came in sight. Winny spotted the cabin where the old man had said it would be. A rough path of shale and rocks made walking difficult in her damaged sandals but she stuck her arms out to the sides and managed to stay upright. “Well those dance lessons were good for something.”

Winny smoothed her skirt, brushed a few twigs from her hair and lifted her hand to open the door but froze at voices coming from inside.

“When the bastard comes back, I’ll take him out for this. He’s wounded so he can’t be far.” The voice squeezing through a nasal blockage had an edge of revenge in it.

“Our orders are to bring him back in one piece.” This was not a voice to argue with.

Winny stepped back and bumped into something immovable.

“You lost Miss?”

Winny looked up over her shoulder and up again into the face of the uniformed bulk behind her. He held a gun almost as big. He dropped the end of his cigarette and crushed it slowly into the dirt.

“Easy to get lost in these parts; can’t be too careful out here.”

She squeaked as the bulk reached around her to open the door.

“Visitor boys.” An enormous hand guided her into the shaded room.

Another man in uniform also carrying a gun leaned close enough for her to smell cloves. His was the inarguable voice.

“You’ve lost a caterpillar honey.” He pointed a gnarled finger at her face and Winny frantically explored her cheeks and forehead.”

“Nooooo.” she patted her clothing and futilely searched the floor. “Nooooo, I just had them done. A week they said. One day is not a week. I am going to demand my money back...”

“Who sent you?”

A dagger of fear danced down Winny’s spine. Gasping like a goldfish on a bench, Winny tried to fill her lungs with a calming breath. Trembling ran along all her limbs and her extremities held no warmth in spite of the sunburn inducing heat of the day.

“Speak up or I’ll find a nice little cliff to drop you over.” The flat nose of the nasal voice hung on a too small head above an over muscled body. Same uniform, more guns.

She waved her phone around, noticing the number of weapons adorning the three very large men in uniforms, and one other door.

Winny gripped her phone and felt crazy calm slip over her.

“No reception up here either? This is sooo unacceptable.”

Winny lifted the corners of her mouth into her most engaging smile. She knew it was engaging because all the feedback was positive, well most was but who cares about haters and trolls right? She directed the smile at the man with the voice of authority.

“I am so lost and it would be just great if you could point out where the car park is. You are rangers, right? You look like park rangers. Can you help me?”

The man looked her up and down in the slow way the other man had crushed his cigarette.

“The fluttering eye thing probably works better when you have two caterpillars sweet heart.” The bulky man pointed out.

Winny blushed and cupped her remaining eyelash in her hand.

The man chuckled, it sounded like rocks rattling in a sack.

Winny took a selfie and squealed. “Oh no! I’m a mess, can I use your bathroom?”

She ducked through the other door without waiting for a reply and locked it behind her. She turned on the rusty tap over a cracked yellow hand basin and watched brown sludge gurgle and slop down the drain.

“What am I going to do? I’m so scared and those guys look seriously dangerous. I am never going to speak to you again Mike. Maybe I won’t get the chance? I’ll never laugh at you waving your arms around like your Nonna when you get mad, never get to argue with you over which movie we watch, never…oh get a grip Win, what if’s won’t get me out of this place.”

“Out here girl, we want to ask you a few things.”

Win noticed a basket in the corner. A hum came from inside it.

“The pet?” She squatted, reaching to open the basket but pulled back at sudden pounding on the door.

“Get out here now or we’ll break down the door and drag you out.”

Winny grabbed the basket and climbed onto the hand basin, squeezing her hips through the tiny window, dropped the basket then lowered herself to the ground. Grabbing the basket handle she sprinted for the trees, slipped on a rock, slid down the embankment, hit a tree, levered herself around it, tumbled into a prickly shrub, tore her last nail off, and ran. The nylon unravelled and she lost her sandals. Heart pounding, mouth dry, breath rasping from her lungs, feet full of thorns she barely felt as she ran with the eerily soft tread of three large deadly pursuers close behind.

“Give us that basket!”

The bellow pushed her. A nail shaped glint in the bark of a tree guided her adrenaline fuelled brain which way to go.

“Stop, girl. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

She pivoted around a sapling, narrowly avoided a grasping hand. A leap over a fallen tree gave her a tiny advantage .

Something weird was happening to the light but she barely noticed it in her headlong flight, with pain in her sides, fire in her thighs, slipping and skidding downhill.

“Stop!” the inarguable voice threw a command at her. She ignored it.

Another gleam of a nail in the grass led her on; a trail guiding her.

The basket thumped heavily against her hip. No further noise had issued from it.

The easier going of a track gave her an energy boost. She sprinted.

The wounded man stepped into her path.

He lifted a large and very solid branch and swung it. She ducked under his arm.

Thwack! The sound of timber hitting flesh and the heavy thud of a body landing sounded behind her.

Her long legs found a stride and she pumped them for distance.

“Win?”

She almost missed the sound.

“Win!”

Skidding to a halt, she dropped the basket, gripping her knees to stop herself falling. Her stomach made nasty threats. Her lungs protested. Sweat sluiced her camisole. The trembling returned to her legs and arms. Head hanging low behind a leaf festooned curtain of sweat clumped hair, she squinted into the gloomy light.

“Down here.”

He was under a shelter of woven bushes with a bandaged head and a makeshift pillow of leaves and grass. Winny dropped.

“I don’t think I can ever get up again.”

Limping footsteps approached.

“Oh God will he hurt us now?”

She managed a defensive crouch in front of Mike.

“I don’t know what good I can do, but I’ll try.”

“That’s the scrapper I remember.” Mike’s voice cracked.

“Don’t start Mike; I’m not that girl anymore.”

Wounded man held up his free hand.

“I won’t hurt you girl, I’ve risked everything and I need your help, again.”

Winny managed to stand.

“Why should I help you again? You put us in danger.”

“You were never in any real danger but I will be when those three wake up. I need you to keep this. ”

He nudged the basket gently.

“The car park is about ten minutes’ walk that way.”

He pointed in a direction about 45 degrees south of where they had been heading.

“If you go now, you can watch that eclipse you were so set on.”

He looked up at the sky and back at Winny.

“I’m going away for a long time because of that.” He indicated the basket with a jut of his chin then smiled, “and it needs someone gutsy to look after it. You’ll be perfect; you’ve a good heart and courage. You’ll need both.”

He nudged the basket almost tenderly, then turned back in the direction he had come from.

Winny helped Mike stand up. He gripped his head. She began to walk away, her arm firm around his ribs. She looked back at the basket.

“Did that just move?”

“Just leave it Win. It’s not out problem.”

“It moved. I can’t let a thing just die in a basket in the forest.”

She ran back to the basket. Something was definitely moving. She grabbed the handle.

The light slipped away as they reached the car.

Winny glanced in the mirror at the basket secured in the back seat then carefully peeled off her remaining eyelash.

“Do you think they will come looking for me?”

“Win, I think you should take whatever that thing is to a zoo.”

“I’ll drop you at Emergency.”

Mike slammed the door harder than necessary. She didn’t look back.

A line of sunlight rushed toward the car, rolling back the almost night.

“The eclipse really was pretty.”

GDPR and other important things

GDPR...um okay it is a lot of important information and it is complicated and it protects the rights of people in the EU to control their personal data and I have until the 25th of May to comply with it if I wish people from the EU to feel welcome to read my blog if they so desire. Now my little blog only has four followers and you know who you are and at least one quater/quatre of you are in the EU therefore I want to comply just for you.

In a nutshell,  I have to tell you who I am, tell you what data I am collecting and why, how long I will hold on to that data, who I share that data with, how people can find out what data I’ve collected about them(I didn't know I did this so I am curious too), how people can tell me to delete their data, and who they can contact in case they have questions.

I guess I need a permanent disclaimer situated somewhere clear and easy to find but first I am going to do a whole lot of discovering what this all means and how to do it. Being a little bit tech challenged I shall first ask my brains trust then read a heap of other blogs and sites. Here are a list of some of the ones I am skimming the headlines of before a deep dive into knowledge acquisition. 



1 Randy Ingermanson - "the Snowflake Guy"   tries to get his head around it all    https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2018/05/13/gdpr-authors-part-1/
2. EU GDPR INformation Portal  These guys have FAQs so go right to the source really  https://www.eugdpr.org/
3. HelpNetSecurity seem to be working on a five step plan   https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/04/19/gdpr-compliance/


 There  are a huge number of sites helping explain the whole thing and I am sure I will figure it out before the 25th of May 2018  

 If I don't come up for air in the next few weeks...........

I have to tell you who I am: Artist, writer, parent, foster carer, chef, teacher and eclectic eccentric. I am not sure I have my contact details in a contact detail space but that can be arranged. If you are reading my blog it is likely you already know who I am, or you are a scammer in which case I will laugh at the comments you leave, but on the off chance you are a complete stranger interested in something I tagged which came up in your websearch then I promise to have a contact thingamejig somewhere on here by the 25th.
I have to tell you what data I am collecting and why: statistics via the inbuilt analytics tool(visits per time, origin of visitor by country), comments in the comments section,email addresses if you want to share them with me, whatever name you happen to share with me and I collect it all because I like number graphs, I like to know who reads my blog, I like interacting with people who read my blog
I must tell you how long I will hold on to that data, - until I shut the blog down or someone shuts the blog down or the www shuts down and we all go back to writing letters on paper with a pen.
I have to tell you who I share that data with, - myself
I must tell you how people can find out what data I’ve collected about them(I didn't know I did this so I am curious too), I assume by asking me via an email.
I have to tell how people can tell me to delete their data, - send me an email although I do not know how to delete random numbers from the statistics but I am totally willing to delete comments and email addresses where required and I can always ask my brains trust to delete other stuff.
and who they can contact in case they have questions: me because it is my blog and I am the only one who uses it.


today is the 17th of May 2018 

Killing my social media for a minute

Back in May (Fri 19/05/17) the Moorabool Writers' Craft group launched it's second anthology of stories.Nineteen writers and poets contributed work and I created the cover art.

Life has been busy since then with COMMITMENTS(non story telling stuff) and some writing. I wasn't getting enough story telling down on paper so I killed my super procrastinator - SOCIAL MEDIA! It lasted a week and my output of story was enormous. Unbelievably enormous so I realised that if I could just discipline myself over the social media thing I could have it back.

I just completed the Comics Book Masterclass  and I am buzzing with excitement about combining my art and stories. I was inspired by creating my first ever graphic short story for the Words of Wynham writing competition in which I short listed. My little story is titled "The secret dreams of Mum' and the judge gave me some excellent feedback. The story is good but the art looks like a first draft beside the incredibly brilliant digital art of the other participants. Still my black and white pencil art held its own telling the story. I knew I needed more so I signed up for Julie Ditrich's courses.

Someone pointed me in the direction of the Sticky Institute and suggested I consider Zines. If you think zine is half a magazine you best go look them up like I did. I am doing zines!

Anyway I am glad to be back blogging. Hope you missed me. <3

Grammar things

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

I quite like grammar things especially handy charts. The problem is I either run out of ink too soon or run out of walls to stick them on. I really need a studio. No I don't need a studio but I would like one with great big whiteboards and magnets so I can story board all my stories and not have to pack them up all the time. A studio with a big padlock on the door to keep fiddle fingered curiosity at bay. I could put my red pen in a place and it would still be there when I come back from the domestic duties.

Knowing my luck I would misplace the key and have to get a locksmith in to charge me an arm and a leg to open my great big padlock.

It looks like I shall stay and write and create art right here in my overly cluttered bedroom with two desks and fourteen shelves and a very serviceable floordrobe with my bed tucked in the corner with the teetering piles of partially read books on it.

When I chase the skirts of JKR's financial success *clears throat meaningfully*,  that is to say, when I have achieved a certain level of financial success from my creative endeavours, I shall acquire a dwelling with a suitably large room so I can just sleep in my bedroom and all of this creative stuff can move out. Promise!

Ps thanks to the graphic making clever person for this poster.

Accessability

Today I am learning about accessibility for my site.
This may just be my own personal little babble blog but I believe it is important to make it accessible to anyone who might want to visit.
To that end I am going to attempt to make what I share here, comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

I may not get it right but I will try.

I downloaded a thingy that speaks to me. It is a robotic electronically generated voice that won't shut up and babbles every time I move the cursor. It drives me crazy so if it is supposed to be the program for people with sight challenges it must drive them crazier. I can turn the thing off - they need it to access the ether.



Colour choices are a important
Sound needs to be thought about
Sub text, subtitles, documents, images, other graphics all need to be labelled apropriately


Apparently my blog is almost as difficult as breaking into a Swiss bank account to leave a simple comment and I don't know how to fix it? I have tried several things, I googled the help files, I asked in forums but still it is not working and I do not know what to do? Sorry dear willing to comment but cannot-ers.


I shall keep working on it.

a magpie

'Accessibility benefits everyone'

some links...
Australian Government Accessibility
W3C
Vision Australia
Wikipedia
The Kernal ( a few years ago)
Media Access Australia
United Nations on Accessibility
Internet Society2012 but still relevant
Huff Post has something to say on the matter
Council of Europe 

Puffing Billy

THANK YOU LOUIS

29/06/17

Yesterday, toddler-boy and I went on a train trip. We wore scarves and gloves, beanies and two jackets. There are no windows on Puffing Billy and the temperatures in winter are quite chill for Australia.

Nanny and toddler boy in front of the train engine

Louis, who is now an official volunteer with the Puffing Billy team, invited us along as his guests. Thank you Louis.

Louis the volunteer

 I haven't been to Puffing Billy since I was a child so I had a child's delight in rediscovering the fun of travelling very slowly up a tree covered hill in Dandenong Ranges.

up the hill and around the bend

I mentioned to Louis that it would almost be faster to walk but getting somewhere fast is not the point of Puffing Billy. If I had been a little less svelte challenged I would have eagerly sat on the window ledge with my legs sticking out. Toddler-boy was happy to do so while the train was stationary at the platform.

Toddler boy sitting on the window ledge

 We stopped at Lakeside for an hour and a half and had lunch by the lake (yes there is one) with a few colourful companions.

Rosellas at lunch

You can look at all the professional photographs and read about the mountains and the train on the official sites if you follow the links but here on my blog I am just going to tell you I had a fabulous day.  Thank you Louis and the Puffing Billy team.

A night in Ballan

24/06/2017
Tonight was the celebration of an idea.

 Ballan, the tiny town with a big heart, has hosted the Black Lite Black Nite festival for the past week,

 A small but dedicated group of artists, many of whom belong to the wombat regional arts group  decided to create a community event in Ballan to get people together. Many other creative organisations from quilters to writers and plenty of eager children from the local schools, made some quirky fun and beautiful pieces of art for the festival. I contributed a few pieces as an individual artist and as a member of the Moorabool Writers Craft group.

The art was created with a view of having it glow under UV light and the local businesses enthusiastically supported the display of art in their windows.

The town lit up. Many people came from far and wide to see the window displays including myself who dragged one of my sons and grandsons out into the chilly winter evening, well rugged up to go and see.

As a contributor I was invited to attend the final night celebration at the Mechanics Institute Hall in the main street of Ballan and what a lovely night I had. 
I was greeted at the door by Carmel, who I have only met once, with an enormous smile and a hug and a genuine desire to see that I was ok. She made me feel very welcome. As a stranger in town on my own it is a bit daunting to step into a hall full of people who have known each other for years but I sat at a table with a local couple who also made me feel very welcome.

The very new Ballan CWA put on free soup and cup cakes in the supper room and it was so delicious I had two cups of soup and three cup cakes. They were too good to resist.

The CWA also had a raffle to raise funds for homeless youth.Guess who won the first prize? Yes me!
I won a beautiful handcrafted huggle rug made from preloved clothing and stitched with love. I spoke to the creator of the rug, Symone Barry, and she told me she was launching herself into a new career, reinventing herself as an artisan of hand made works that hold a story for each piece of fabric she puts into them. I was so excited to win this beautiful piece and hugged it to me, however another person had had her heart set on it so as I left I gave it to her and wished her happy birthday. I hope she loves it. 

Symone Barry thank you for the beautiful rug. I had a triple dose of wonderful tonight, first speaking to you about your craft, wining the rug and then gifting it to a stranger.

As for the rest of the evening, there was plenty of toe tapping live music with a variety of bands. I found myself smiling all night with the friendliness of the locals, good food, good music and a fabulous cause to support - community.  Well done Ballan and thank you.

Good Graphics equals Good Blogging

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

The best laid plans of chickens usually end up scrambled

Best laid plans....mine were to be organised and regular and on time and professional and instead I had toddler troubles and tummy bugs. Coughs, sniffles, temperatures and plumbing problems have a tendency to derail even the most meticulous plans.

The highlights of the holidays...

 The toddler recovered and lovingly shared his illness with the rest of the household. This knocked out almost two weeks of the holidays. So much for getting lots of assignments finished.

 The fast food franchise next door, renovated, and added a powerful flood light that turns our bedrooms, and front and back yards into permanently glowing spaces. The upside of this is I never have to switch on a light when walking through the house after midnight.

 Toddler delighted in the choc fest side of the Easter weekend.

I created lots of art for the Ballan Solstice festival to be held in June. It should all glow in the dark but so far it doesn't. I discovered I needed to look for UV active paints. Glow in the dark and phosphorescent are leftovers of the disco era and were scary in content,  apparently, according to the helpful paint guy I found in a distant hardware story. I have ordered some invisible security paint that glows under UV to highlight the art.

I am back to classes and falling a bit behind in reading and missing deadlines. I need to reoganise myself and catch up. Cheer me on crew. <3

The last week of term

I have two weeks of solid hard work to do over the mid semester break, especially if I am going to come close to mastering the meta language of our language. Thank fully Mike is making it start to make sense. I hope he never reads my blog because the dangling and misplaced things he would find here are sure to give him nightmares. They will disappear as the year progresses I am sure.

It has been a sleep deprived week with a sick toddler and so much to do however I am managing and my brain is loving me.

I have to play around with the photo manipulation program on my computer and design a logo. I have an idea in mind and as soon as I work out how to do it, you will see it here on my blog.

So a short, short blog this week.

Have a wonderful week all.

The Blog Decision

 There was not much of a decision to make about choosing a theme/genre for my blog. I already consider this a lifelong learning blog. I do love to learn.

So week four or is it five, flew past. I am so glad I scheduled my calendar to remind me to blog.

I gave a short talk on Creative Non Fiction, had my research proposal approved, signed up for the state library and Trove, and checked the online resources at both and at several local libraries with which I hold a card. I checked a final edit on the anthology I have three stories in and created the cover art for.
Okay stop checking, it is week four...I spent today in court and I am three weeks into four of an OWL.

which, as the logo clearly states, is an online writing lab. Short short courses that will fit into any budding writers lifestyle.

I don't write romance with a lower case or capital R, I write relationships into my works but the relationship is not the focus of the story. The Romance Writers of Australia organisation is a marvelous one to belong to no matter what you write. Take a look at some of their short short courses and squeeze a little writing polish into your busy life.

I finished A Sparkling Guide to Gripping Goal, Motivation & Conflict with CT Green, last month and this month I am taking Bring your story into focus: why ‘show don’t tell’ is a layer cake  with Sandy Vaile.

I know what you are thinking "This woman is insane, a diploma and short courses, insane!" and you might very well be correct but I am fairly likeable crazy apparently. 

Another task this week in Writing for the New Media was to look at other blogs and see what I liked about them, plus write up a report on them, and then implement some of the things I like into this blog. Apparently I need the little linking icons for my other social media so I will put them in soon. I suspect my blog will change a bit over the next few weeks as I experiment.

Please let me know what you think of the changes and feel free to suggest things that would make landing on my blog easier for you.

Have a great week <3

                                                                              Dance!

Four weeks have flown

Next week I have to make a decision about this blog. What genre is it? Well it is a bit of a babble about my learning and my writing so I am thinking it fits into lifelong learning. Is life long learning a genre though or just a theme? That is probably the question I need to answer first.

Academics will tell you they dislike Wikipedia and other encyclopedia because they are too generalised but I love them as the doorstep to more specific knowledge. Thank you 'pedia' put together-ers. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about lifelong learning.

So fourth week of my new direction and I am feeling good. Stressed, tired, overworked but really good. My brain is having a party.I am managing to jog a little up the first flight of stairs. Stepping firmly up the second flight and shuffling the last after a break on the landing. This is an improvement on the first week.

I am cringing in Editing 2 because I feel as if I am drowning in information but I also feel that the tutor/teacher Mike is going to get me through it and I will emerge greatly enriched and better prepared in my writing.

I am being more habitual about this blog for New Media and looking forward to creating a logo and webpage where I will link this blog and I am keen to learn how to use the photo manipulation program on this laptop I am typing from.

Creative non fiction is skilling me up for several non fiction projects I have in mind and I am excited about that 'big kev'. Once I have my extra extra tech day with my good friend Mica I will even know how to utilise all these library cards to access their online interface. (see what I did there Geoff? Of course you didn't, :) )

Industry Overview is of course vital. Many a rejection is in my folder because I did no do enough research in targeting my submissions. Writing a game plan is vital in any business and being professional means getting business sense. So I am writing a plan and  planning to publish!

Mists and Thimbles is proving extraordinarily stimulating in terms of story ideas. I loved reading fairy tales, myths, folk tales and legends when I was young but have not visited the pantheons for a long time. It is lovely to be back amidst the magic. I love that science is also still investigating the far past. There are many an archeological discovery that add some truth to the legends. Try this article about Sutton Hoo  

I am popping in this short video because I had to work out how to do that for my new media expectations. Let me know in the comments please,  if it works.

Advanced fiction is my final subject for this semester and I am so pleased I am enrolled in it. I have been working on several novels for a few years now in between, kids, dogs, domestic drudgery, life, the universe and everything and thought I had two close to complete, but now I see they are about as finished as the buildings in Huff post's (and they are even more worserer than encyclopedias) list of seven unfinished monuments. I managed to write scene cards for one manuscript and discovered a whole host of discrepancies in my narrative.

On that note, I shall wind up my post and leave you with a sunset (taken by me on my phone).
For my fellow students, how are you enjoying your studies?
For my fellow travelers, do you consider yourself a lifelong learner?


ps deliberate misspelling of words is deliberately aimed at my dearly beloved deliberate grammar tyrants. <3 You know who you are.

The thrid week - I should have known better

Publication Puberty Blues

One of the adages bandied about in the writing community is "If someone asks you for money up front to publish - you are being ripped off".

I managed to avoid having my wallet heavily skimmed over the past few years but I sure as heck didn't make any money as the pile of publications with my writing and art has grown. Sure, some of the publications were raising money for good causes and I am a sucker for a good cause but I have had to pay for a copy of most and have not had the budget to acquire some and I won copies of others in competitions where they were offered as prizes, I have only once been given a copy of a publication and that was a small writing group.

Too many  small press like to groom the little hopefuls(like me) to "do it for the experience", "it will get your name out there."

I am no longer doing it for "EXPERIENCE".

That term makes me very angry. So many people offer the dubious thrill of experience as the payment for artists/writers/musicians creativity. The creative person is expected to pay their rent and electricity bill and put food on the table with "EXPERIENCE" while the person taking the creative work makes plenty of money from the hard work of others. There are far too many sharks in the waters folks, quite a few wolves in the woods and plenty of naive, gullible, bright eyed creatives out there losing a lot of money for the thrill of seeing their name in print.

 I should have known better.

 I should have valued myself and my work.

I should have known that I am entitled to be paid for my work the same as a surgeon, a mechanic or a gardener would be, even fast food teenagers get paid and so should I.

I should have learned my industry the easier way.  Through study and research.

It takes a long time for the pay cheque to come for a writer, which can be disheartening, and having something - anything - published can be a big, albeit temporary, boost to the self esteem but in the long run it isn't worth it to throw away your treasure to the sharks.

I have learned some valuable lessons over the past few years and come through relatively unscathed and now I know that what I create is worth being paid for. 

 Editing

Guess what, there is a serious typo in my title. It is there to remind me that I need to practice my copy editing skills.

I feel out of my depth with the meta language of our language but, just as with my other language studies, slowly but surely and with plenty of practice, I will acquire the knowledge to know the function of the words in sentences and it will take my writing to a higher level. It might even help me with the cases in the other languages.  Cheer me on gang. <3

Do you have a 'rip off an artiste" story you could share with me? Tell me in the comments.

Writing for new media task

Here I go uploading some images and text into my blog because this year is all about proving I have the skills to do these things. I am also listening to a podcast on 'fake news' which will run in the background as I type and upload. In today's media savvy world I guess I need to have all these skills in peak efficiency. I am sure my kids would laugh at my Neandertal level of skill but I am trying. \

So first up. Here is an image of Julian Assange.

Here is a cut and paste of the text we were given in our zip file for this assessment task - ' Julian Paul Assange (born 3 July 1971) is an Australian computer programmer, publisher and journalist. He is editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, an organisation which he founded in 2006. Subject to extradition to Sweden for legal proceedings, he was granted political asylum by Ecuador in August 2012. He has remained in Ecuador's London embassy and, as of February 2016, he is unable to leave without expectation of arrest.

In February 2016 a UN panel issued a non-binding legal opinion that Assange had been subject to arbitrary detention and should be allowed to walk free and be given compensation. The findings were rejected by UK and Swedish prosecutors, as well as UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond.' (I need to find where this image and text came from so I can cite them properly but for the moment I am going to say they came from a zip file for students)

Here is an image of a family who may or may not have accessed medical grade marijuana for their child's health issue. Any medication administered under the supervision of trained medical practitioners can have beneficial outcomes.

'In a ground-breaking session in the Federal Parliament, the Minister for Health, Sussan Ley, introduced the much-awaited Narcotic Drugs Amendment Bill 2016 (Bill), which proposes to introduce a legislative framework enabling the cultivation of cannabis in Australia and facilitating access to medicinal cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

The introduction of the Bill follows the announcement by the Commonwealth government last October, which foreshadowed amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (Act) to enable the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes, and facilitate the manufacture of medicinal cannabis products for use in accordance with the provisions of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.

In a heartfelt address to Parliament, Minister Ley said: “Deputy Speaker, many people have worked incredibly hard for this day. For the day that the National Parliament provides the missing piece in the patient’s journey when it comes to accessing safe, reliable, legal medicinal cannabis. It is a very proud day for many members and senators as I said who have worked hard. For those in the community who have advocated strongly, who have pushed, who have prodded, who have expressed their passion loudly and determinedly ... and others who treat patients who are convinced of the efficacy and the relief that is provided by these products, they should be recognised here today." '
(I cannot cite this yet but will come back to it - also a file from a student zip)

Finally here is an image of AWESOME Melbourne

(Cannot cite the photographer yet, but I will do so soon - once again a student file with no citation) Melbourne is my favourite city in Australia although I have been to most of the capital cities in most of the other states and I have had some wonderful experiences in those cities, Melbourne is definitely the city that makes my heart sing.

Now the podcast is over and we are being encouraged to look at and think about Post-Truth information and the way information is being disseminated and manipulated for mass effect. 'The truth is out there.' it might just be very, very difficult to find.

What do you think of 'Post-Truth'?

Returning to Study

Last week I enrolled in the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at VU.  Those of you who have been following my writing journey, since THAT health issue gave me the opportunity to quit the day job and launch myself into the life of a full time writer, will know I have been writing and engaging in all sorts of writing challenges, attending conferences and sending little bits and pieces out to ezines, anthologies and competitions. I started the PWE a long time ago but life tends to get experiential in my neck of the woods and my studies have oft been put to one side for other commitments. My writing has frequently been interrupted with such earth shattering needs as 'What's for dinner?' or 'Where are my glasses?' and frequently 'Can you drive me to...'

"No more!" I cried and ran to VU, keen to enroll.

"I am going to write full time if it means you all starve to death in my stead" I yelled at the Offspring (mine not the band).

"What have I done?" I gulped repeatedly as the mountain of course material grew and grew.

"At least I will get fit even if it kills me." I gasped and didn't actually speak as I pulled myself up the third level of stairs to the classroom, sucked in some Ventolin(TM) and stubbornly refused to use the lift.

My calendar has everything loaded and I have read some of the required reading.  I discovered I already have most of the  required texts after I rearranged my bedroom shelves so I am off the starter blocks and ready to go.


So what else have I been doing apart from attending classes and sorting my folder? 

It is day 11 of Christie Wilde's #14daysoflitlove  and I am going strong with the fun word prompts.

It was week four of the OWL I enrolled in and I met the deadlines of that too.

I have my questions ready for my ESL discussion group tomorrow night at 11pm.

I am creating art for the cover of The Moorabool Writers Craft anthology.  (We meet on the first Sunday not the third - the banner will change)

I completed some art for advertising the Moorabool Shire Literary festival coming up in May. I am also on the committee and attended a meeting and read a metaphorical, as opposed to metric, tonne of emails about it. The inaugural Peter Carey short story award will be happening there so check it out.

 Have I mentioned I also have a 2 and half year old and three adults living with me? I managed to pull the shower to pieces today and replace all the rubber grommets, did two loads of washing, chatted with visitors, made phone calls, tracked down an elusive text, washed dishes and bathed the littlest. I have watched a movie, listened to some music and read a few books so it appears I have been relaxing at some point until I tell you it was Emma the girl with the yellow bow, Emma and her cohorts doing that wiggling thing, The Wonky Donky and at least one Mem Fox


I announced that I was diminishing my procrastination on social media. The irony being that I am studying a subject which directly relates to writing for social and other contemporary media.

I am very excited though and expect to have several of my novels to second draft during this course.

It is now 2am and I suspect I should get a little sleep before tiny person wakes up and demands some vegemite toast.

Cheer me on everyone.

NanoWriMo 2016

Yes I am doing it again.

I will put up a word count widget if I work it out properly and I am aiming for a solid 50k.

This is what the month should look like...



you get the idea. 360,000 people worldwide are attempting to write 50,000 words this month which equates to around 18000000000 words if we all drag ourselves across the finish line.

It is estimated that only of us will make it to the finish line and only 5% of the winners will go on and edit their 50k and only 5% of those will actually send it off somewhere and of that number, only 5% will gain publication. This sounded intimidating when I first heard it but then I thought, hey I can be a 5% winner.

I wrote a LOT of words in my very first NanoWriMo in 2013 (104,000)and those words turned into two novels with characters I love and adventures twisted and convoluted and both novels have been pitched to editors at conferences and there has been interest shown so...

Apparently we all write total manure during the NanoWriMo month but as all gardeners will tell you, from good manure great things grow.