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Writing it Out: Some Healthy Advice
Since writing the short story, I’ve been trying to get my novel back on track. I’ve been trying to set myself small goals. 500 words here, 800 words here. It seems that only in times of transit (I’ve been to Bendigo and I’m currently back in Adelaide for a few weeks) I’ve reached over 1000 words. I’m just not feeling the writing and I had been stuck on various bits of my novel and the words are just not coming out. I’m too hard on myself. I know that I am and it’s not something that is going to change. It’s just my nature but instead of actually forcing myself…
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Sharing Sunday – Robert J Browning (an excerpt)
I’m slowly dwindling out of writer friends to bug about Sharing Sunday. So I’m opening it up to you guys. Come and help me share some amazing stories. Send them to my mandi(at)dreamingfullyawake(dot)com with a little bio and you can get your story, song, anecdote showcased on here! Today’s story is by Jess, one of the first friends I made at NMIT! She’s pretty rad. I hope you enjoy her piece. It’s an excerpt from a collection of short stories. She wanted to explore the private lives, a side that is almost never shown in a short story. Leave her some love. Robert J Browning When Robert J…
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Museless
Now the title is something I find very funny for two reason. One I hate the way people talk about having a muse to write, you either write or you don’t there’s no waiting for it to happen (I’m an optimist at the best of times but writing is work, you have to show up for work!) and two the muse does not exist. Did you read that? It does NOT exist. It really doesn’t. Writing is something you sit down and do regardless of if the muse is there or not. Sure I’ve used the excuse a lot, I’m even almost using it now, but I’m proving to myself…
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Starting at the beginning
A few weeks ago I went to a lunch with some beautiful ladies from the Bright Eyed And Bloghearted course and I was initially very terrified. I didn’t know what to expect and my gut was telling me to pull out because it was afraid, but I went and had a lovely time. All of the ladies I met were beautiful and wonderful. How could I have thought of missing that? We were all chatting one of the lovely ladies gave me the best idea, she had sat down and drafted out like 50 topics she could blog on. I was like “How in the world could you have done…
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Staying Positive When It Comes to Rewriting
I thought that I’d have this down. I thought that writing my second draft would be easy. I thought I could stay positive when I started the rewrite. I was wrong. So, so, soooo wrong. I was cocky and expectant. I thought that by now I’d surely be able to finish it and be ready and raring to go for more edits. Did you know that only 5% of an a first draft makes it into the second? Five per cent. Do you know how terrifying that actually is? This novel has been a work in progress for 12 years from it’s conception as an idea I had in year 9.…
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Editing Etiquette
I’m not sure what everyone thinks about the etiquette that’s involved with editing, and while I’m not an expert, I do know that there is something that they did touch on, very briefly, in my classes, is that you need to have a good balance when it comes to editing and the marks and all that jazz. Why? Well you’re are supplying possible changes, not trying to overwrite it to make it your own. I’m finding this excessively hard now that I’m in the process of editing a full length manuscript. My friend tells me that they like all those adverbs and every book I’ve read, every workshop I’ve done…
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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…