Over Christmas and New Year I took a few weeks’ break from the intensive writing I did in the latter half of 2010. It certainly drained me emotionally and physically. Now I am steadily getting on with other writing projects. Most writers I know or have read recommend that once you have finished a major writing project, have a short break then get on with the next project. This is especially true if you have submitted a book manuscript to a publisher.

I haven’t yet submitted my thesis paper (a children’s novel) to a publisher, but submitting it to the examiners is similar, I guess. I could spend every day sitting by the phone waiting for a call from my supervising lecturer telling me of the result. That wouldn’t achieve anything, nor will it hasten the process. I will hear in due course, probably in the next 3 or 4 weeks. In the meantime, I’m getting on with other projects.

Some writers make the mistake of sitting by the letter box, or checking it every few hours, waiting for a letter from their potential publisher. That will not make an acceptance (or rejection) letter come any faster. Get on with the next project while you are waiting.

So – how am I using my time?

1. Birding: I’ve been doing a little birding which is my favourite hobby. You can read about it on my blog called Trevor’s Birding. This site shows hundreds of photos of our beautiful Australian birds.
2. Photography: I’ve just treated myself to a new camera and I’m having fun playing with it. Over coming months you’ll see the results here and on my other two sites.
3. Reading: I’m aware of the ever increasing heights of the piles of unread books and magazines in my office and bedside table, and I’ve been steadily working my way through them. My reading during my studies was very focussed on what I had to read, not what I wanted to read. That will change.
4. Swimming: Now that the weather has improved here in South Australia I’ve been making good use of our swimming pool. Having a solar blanket heats the water to very acceptable temperatures, even first thing in the morning.
5. Writing: My writing has not been totally neglected, and after the Christmas break I’m steadily getting back into it. At the moment I am concentrating on writing articles for my web sites. I’ve written many of them for my birding site mentioned above, as well as for another site called Trevor’s Travels. This one is about my travels here in Australia and overseas. Then I am planning a series of articles for this site about writing, so stay tuned.

Sounds like my holiday is over and I’m back to writing again.

Good writing.

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, South Australlia

“It’s never too late to be what you could have been.” George Eliot

Do you want to be a writer?

I have – ever since I was eight years old. I dabbled in writing stories and poems in high school but then became sidetracked in teaching for 35 years. Teaching was always my second choice. All through my teaching career – a reasonably successful one I might add – I continued to consider myself a writer but could only devote serious time to it during holiday periods.

My writing received quite a boost when I bought my first computer in the late 1980s. All through the 1990s I built up a considerable body of writing and had limited publishing successes. I always considered that I would begin to write full time and very seriously when I retired. In part, I have succeeded in that goal. For the last six years I’ve written thousands of articles on my three blog sites. I’ve also written many short stories, poems and a novel for children.

The point of all this?

I agree with the Eliot quote above. Last month I celebrated my 63rd birthday. I’ve just completed the requirements for my Master of Arts Creative Writing degree. The novel I’ve just written will be submitted to publishers in the new year. My best writing years are still ahead of me. It is never too late.

Five years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of having a university degree. It is never too late.

Five years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of writing so much, but now I’ve written nearly two and a half million words. It is never too late.

Five years ago I could only dream of making money from my writing, but now have a steady income from my writing, especially  blogging. It is never too late.

Five years ago I had very few readers but now hundred of people around the globe read my words every day. It is never too late.

Good writing: it is never too late to become a writer.

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, South Australia

Christmas Greetings to all of my readers.

I trust that you have had a wonderful day with many blessings and much joy. I spent a quiet but relaxing day with my wife, daughter and mother in law. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch and we didn’t eat too much. The weather wasn’t too hot and I even managed a little snooze in the afternoon, the book I was “reading” resting peacefully on my chest. Late in the afternoon we had a lovely hour chatting to our son, daughter in law and grandson in Sydney via the wonders of Skype. It was amusing seeing our 2yo grandie showing off all of his new toys.

I haven’t posted many articles on this site this year. Now that I’ve completed my Master of Arts Creative Writing degree I will be able to bring you many more interesting and helpful writing hints here on this site. Stay tuned for many exciting events here in 2011 and beyond.

Good writing

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, South Australia

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, South Australia

I’m sorry I haven’t updated this site much in recent months. I have been extremely busy working on finalising my Master of Arts Creative Writing thesis paper. This paper consisted of a 40,000 word novel for children (ages 10-12) and a 10,000 word exegesis essay on the writing of the novel.

Last week I finally finished all the last minute editing and proofreading. I had it professionally printed (3 copies) and bound. With a sense of relief I handed it up to my supervising lecturer who organised to have it sent off to two examiners. Now I have a 6-8 week wait to find out if I’ve passed my degree. I am quietly confident of passing because all three of my supervisors approved the final draft, noting that it had improved vastly from earlier drafts.

I found the rewriting phase both fascinating and frustrating. It was frustrating because right up to the final draft I was making changes. Considering it was the 17th draft that I submitted, that’s an amazing amount of rewriting. On the flip side, however, it was fascinating to observe the effect of all those changes. Towards the end of the process I read the whole manuscript aloud several times. Despite being too close to the story, even I could tell how much it had improved in the final stages. Other readers were very positive in their feedback concerning the changes.

One of the most significant changes I made after the 6th draft was to totally rewrite the whole novel, changing it from the third to the first person. This was more difficult than I first imagined because remnants of the earlier third person persisted for several drafts. Eventually all was ironed out and the story is much stronger for the change. Being inside the head of the protagonist is so much more immediate and intimate, perhaps even confronting at times. His unique voice comes over much stronger now.

Now that I’ve submitted it for marking I am going to give myself a few weeks break before preparing the manuscript for sending off to a publisher. I am mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted at present, so a short break – with lots of reading – should refresh and recharge the batteries.

I might even get to add a few more updates on this site in the meantime.

Good writing.

Now I have another hurdle has come my way: illness. Sure, it’s only a head cold with lots of sneezing, a dry throat and the beginnings of a nose like a tap that cannot be turned off. It is the season for colds and flu here in Australia, and we’ve had some bitterly cold weather of late but that doesn’t bring much comfort in the midst of the discomfort.

I am trying to edit my novel for children, now in its 7th draft. Concentrating on the editing process is challenging enough; having a head that feels like it’s stuffed full of wool doesn’t help the process. I guess I should sit back, relax and get better as quickly as I can. Then I’ll be able to fully concentrate on the task in hand.

Can’t help wishing for someone to take over for a few days so I can relax and recover. In another life – when I was a classroom teacher – I wouldn’t hesitate to get a relief teacher in to take my place, knowing that would not only hasten my recovery but also be fairer to the children in my class. They deserved to have a teacher who was least willing to be there, be reasonably competent and certainly not sneezing all over them. Where are the relief writers? Never mind.

One thing about blogging is that you can write posts ahead of time, scheduling them to appear over a period of days or even weeks. I often write blogs in blocks of time, writing 5 – 10 in one day and scheduling them to appear at set intervals. During that time I can then go on with other writing tasks. This time however, I don’t have any scheduled to appear here. Sigh. (I do have some on my other blogs – see sidebar for links to them.)

I’d better get back to that editing.

Good writing – and good health.

I am on a much needed holiday visiting my son and daughter in law in Sydney. It is also a great opportunity to get to know my grandson a little better too, and at 19 months he is cuteness personified – and that’s a completely unbiased opinion of course!

One of the things I did before leaving home last week was to write and pre-post a series of articles to appear on my other two blogs (see the side bar for the links to them). These will be appearing every few days while I am away, so I don’t have to worry and can relax. Unfortunately I didn’t get to write a complete series for this blog. I just ran out of time.

I tend to write blog posts in spurts, sometimes writing 5 to 10 or more in the one day and scheduling them to appear at later dates on a regular basis. In this way I get into a rhythm with my writing, totally focussed on the blog and the needs of readers. After I have several weeks’ worth of posts scheduled I can then get on with other writing – like my novel – and focus solely on that. Some people can attend to many different tasks in the one day. Others like the variety but I think I write best when I am totally focussed on the one task. I tend to be more productive that way.

Good writing.

1. Illness
2. Holidays
3. Television
4. Family
5. Full time jobs
6. Hobbies
7. Lack of motivation
8. Lack of ideas
9. The internet
10. _________________ (inset your own prime distraction).

Successful writers keep writing despite the distractions. They find ways around the distractions and keep writing.

It has been quite a few days since my last entry here on this blog about writing. I’ve still been writing – just not here. Instead I’ve been busy posting blog articles on my other two blogs. These numerous articles will appear on those blogs over the coming three weeks while I take an interstate holiday. I’ll be playing with my 19 month old grandson. That’s very important to me. While I’m away the blog posts will keep on appearing, both here and on the other blogs.

Why not take a look at those other blogs? I’d love you to leave some comments too.

• Trevor’s Birding – about my love of Australian birds – complete with stunning photos of our beautiful bird life here in Australia.
• Trevor’s Travels – about my adventures here in Australia and in Thailand and Nepal. Complete with lovely photos of some beautiful places I’ve been.

Once Easter is over I will be very busy on two other projects: finishing the final draft of my novel and preparing to present four sessions at our church camp. I won’t have much time for blogging so I like to get the posts written and have them appearing regularly without having to bother about them. I often do this when I know I’m going to be away for a length of time, especially those times when I might only have limited internet access, for example,  when travelling.

There is another benefit. Writing a dozen or more blog posts in one day builds momentum, and before I know it I’ve written five or ten or more. You get in the groove and get very productive. I like that. You can do the same with writing a novel, editing some stories or doing that horrible administrative stuff that writers have to attend to from time to time – like submitting work to publishers.

Must get back to blogging.

Good writing.

Cue: the sound of wild cheering, strains of “Happy Birthday”  and the popping of corks drifting through cyberspace.

[Editors note: corks popping? Why wasn't I invited??]

Yes folks, this blog about writing is now officially 4 years old today. It has crawled, stumbled and staggered across the pages of literary endeavour over the last four years trying to say something significant – and sometimes just trying to say something.

At times I’ve shared some of my short stories, at other times I’ve published here a few samples of my poetry. Over the last two years I’ve shared my struggles, joys and frustrations while trying to complete my Master of Arts in Creative Writing, including the trials of trying to write a novel for my thesis paper.

This blog continues to grow and prosper – well, grow a little each day. Still waiting for the prosper bit. I try to post every day but often it can be several days between posts as the other demands of my writing life take up time and energy.

Thank you to all of my faithful readers.

Special thanks to all of you who have made the effort to leave a comment. I’d by mighty chuffed if you left a comment wishing the blog a Happy Birthday.

A extra special thanks to my son Sim’ who does all of the background technical stuff keeping this blog going.

Good writing.

]]> http://www.trevorhampel.com/happy-birthday-to-my-writing-blog/feed/ 5 http://www.trevorhampel.com/writing-a-novel-a-writers-journal-part-10/ http://www.trevorhampel.com/writing-a-novel-a-writers-journal-part-10/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:14:09 +0000 Trevor http://www.trevorhampel.com/?p=1182 The Frustrations of the Writer’s Life

It has been a long time since my last entry in this series of articles. I have been very busy finishing off my course work for my degree. Then I had a stay in hospital followed closely by my wife having a stay in hospital too. On top of all that, I have had a very serious bout of influenza over the last three weeks with nine consecutive days in bed.

Over recent days I have managed to get back into writing my children’s novel. This will be submitted in November this year as the major part of my thesis paper. I have been getting rather stressed out by the fact that my supervising lecturer would like to see a draft copy of the manuscript by the end of July. Eeek – that’s a week away. Losing much of the last six weeks has put me way behind. I am so blessed to have a very understanding and compassionate supervisor.

Her compassion is very welcome, but the novel will not write itself. In the coming three months I will have to work very hard to get this project completed. The only way to accomplish that is to plonk myself in front of the keyboard and write, write, write. One of the additional frustrations is that I have other projects on the go. I have another two novels and four picture book texts almost ready to submit to publishers, as well as numerous short stories and poems ready to submit or enter into competitions. I need a thirty hour day and a ten day week!

One very practical solution would be to stop blogging and get back to writing the novel. It’s all a matter of application and priorities.

Good writing.

• Writing a novel – a writer’s journal – a series of articles outlining the process I went through in writing a novel.