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Comparisons: A Writer’s Worst Enemy
Everyone knows all about comparisons, sometimes we get brought up with comments such as, ‘Oh that’s not what your brother does, you want to be like him don’t you?’ Our parent’s didn’t know what we now know as adults. They thought that a little bit of healthy competition was good, and it is…but when it morphs into comparison, something has gone drastically wrong. As a writer it can be paralysing. It’s a damn good worst enemy. I am lucky enough to get a chance to read some brilliant work, before anyone else. My bestie and I like to acknowledge her as my critic partner, Peta, has given me a copy…
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Fully Awake Dreamer – Tom O’Connell
Today’s Dreamer is a writer who stumbled into my life when he entered a piece into the audio journal I was working on at uni (which is now my baby through my internship!) and someone who I wasn’t actually very close to until we started the back and forth commentary on our blogs! Amazing how things work out sometimes. He’s a really great guy and finally getting to introduce him to you all here! Tell us a little about yourself and what you write. I’m Tom O’Connell, a writer, editor and tea aficionado based in Melbourne, Australia. I once defined myself as a literary short fiction writer, but my tastes…
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The Bottom Of The Well
For weeks I’d felt like something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was having random chest pains from the stress at work and the stress of money. Or at least I thought I was. I took deep breaths and waited for the feeling to pass. I did meditation and had long hot bubble baths. But even still I felt off. On Friday, the day before my life changed completely I felt weird; disconnected; hollow. I mentioned this to my bestie and she tried to help me through it. I thought I was past it. Saturday rolled around and I woke up at 6:16am, a full…
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Sharing Sunday – A little message
It’s just ticked over into Monday here, so it’s technically not even Sunday. So as you’ve all noticed there was no Sharing Sunday. I had one lined up. I had all of the info from it but the unthinkable happened yesterday. I got a call and found out that my dad had passed away. It still doesn’t feel real saying that because he was my dad. I was joking with him on Thursday and he was in good spirits. He was always smiling, always happy and just…my dad. He’s the first person who taught me out to drive, who gave me lectures when I was bad, who shared stories from…
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Talking to Characters
So today is the start of a new week, one where I’m committing myself to getting back on top of my blog schedule. I was feeling burnt out because I was trying to do too much, again. I really need someone to come and clobber me over the head to tell me to stop doing that. I keep doing it. Damn. Today I had schedule time to do some rewriting of my novel before finishing up some B-School fun sheets but my creativity seemed to take a hold of the day and not let up. I’m totally okay with letting it do this. It’s been a while since I’ve been able…
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Writing Degrees and What I’ve Learned About Them
My love affair with writing began when I discovered just how exciting reading was. Thanks to John Marsden and his Tomorrow When the War Began series I enjoyed immersing myself in a world that wasn’t my own. It was also around the time that I was coming out of the worst bullying year in my schooling life (at the time, it got much worse once high school hit) and it was my escape from all of that. Escape from the pain of people teasing me and making me hurt. So when I picked up a pen and let it run rampant on the lined pad of my dolphin notebook I…
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Keeping it all locked inside or not…
I have to admit something. I used to be afraid of change. I used to be afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone, or letting my heart rate jump up to an uncomfortable flutter in my chest. It wasn’t until I made the decision I worked on for a year and half (I had to wear my tough as paxamadi Greek father) before I went the hell with this and booked the flight that would ultimately change my life. I applied to a writing course. The one I just finished. I met up with the head of the course and was accepted on the spot for a course I…