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Television writers acknowledged
I don’t normally watch awards programs shown on television. They tend to be long-winded, drawn out and frankly boring affairs. Of course, if I was in the running for an award of some sort, they’d be as exciting as.
I didn’t watch all of Australian television’s Logies Awards presentation last night but did catch the last half hour or so. I should have gone to bed as I was very tired, but kept putting off the effort of doing so.
What I did see pleased me. Not one but several of the award winning actors paid tribute to the excellent writers of various television series. Writers are far too often overlooked in such events, but where would they be without the writers first having the ideas for the story lines, and then doing the hard work of putting the plot, characters and setting and all the other elements of a good story together? Without writers – good writers – we’d have no television drama, no comedy series, no films and little entertainment.
I know it’s not an Australian series, but I’ve recently become a fan of the American crime series called Castle. In an interesting twist, the main character is a crime writer called Castle who helps a detective and the police solve everyday crimes. I also enjoy the gentle humour incorporated in the scripts.
Enough from me: I’d like to acknowledge the fine skills of the many wonderful television and film writers out there. Well done.
Imagine it and make it happen
Today’s quote about writing:
“All the things we achieve are things we have first imagined and then made happen.”
David Malouf, Australian writer
Imagination is a powerful, essential, elemental, almost organic tool of the writer. It is the driving force behind all writers, especially writers of fiction. Without our imagination our stories cannot take shape, the characters cannot come to life and the plot limps along until either the reader or the writer give it up as a hopeless cause.
But when the writer calls upon an active imagination, the story can soar to wonderful heights, the characters can develop vibrant, energetic lives and the plot grabs the attention of the writer demanding to be written. And when this happens the readers are carried along in that imaginary world of delights and the book cannot be put down. Hopefully it also sells many copies via word of mouth too.
But I wonder if David Malouf was actually thinking along these lines?
Was he instead thinking about dreams and goal setting? It doesn’t really matter for it doesn’t negate what I’ve already written. Dreaming big dreams and setting goals with our writing (and all other areas of life) can result in amazing outcomes. Without dreams and goals we tend to drift through life aimlessly.
Dream big – you might just surprise yourself.
I’ll give you a few examples:
- Imagine holding your first novel in your hands. Feel it, look at it, smell it.
- Dream about the day you sign a three book contract – and the satisfied feeling it engenders.
- Visualise walking across the stage to receive that literary prize.
- Plan and rehearse what you are going to say and do when you launch your first book.
On the last item my wife and I attended a friend’s book launch last year. My wife took detailed notes on what to do and how to run a launch – and she keeps reminding me of this. It spurs me on to get that manuscript finished and off to a publisher.
Dream big.
Make it happen.
Good writing.
Succeeding as a writer
I disagreed with a piece of wisdom printed in our daily newspaper today.
‘You can’t get to the top by sitting on your bottom.’ The Advertiser, Adelaide, March 27th 2010.
In many walks of life that aphorism is very appropriate: you can’t succeed unless you are willing to get up off your butt and get working.
I believe the opposite is true – in one sense – when it comes to success in writing. You can’t succeed as a writer unless you apply your backside to a seat and start writing. I guess the meaning is still the same; it’s just the way you do it that counts.
Many people are in love with the idea of ‘being a writer’ but are not prepared to put in the hard yards, the lonely hours at the keyboard, the frustrating wait to hear from publishers and all that other stuff that goes with being a writer. They want to have written, but do not want the many hours, days, months and years or dedicated sacrifice and hard work it takes to become a writer.
So I’d like to amend that proverb so that it is true for writers:
‘You can only get to the top as a writer by sitting on your bottom and writing.’
Good writing.
Cate Kennedy at Adelaide Writers’ Week
Novelist Cate Kennedy at Adelaide Writers Week 2010
Novelist and short story writer Cate Kennedy was one of the Australian speakers at this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week.
Cate is a novelist, poet and short story writer who has already achieved a significant body of work, wide recognition and a number of major awards, including winning The Age short story competition on two occasions. She is the author of the novel The world beneath and the poetry collections Joyflight and Signs of other fires. She also spoke at length about the inspiration for and the experiences which contributed to her travel memoir called Sing and don’t cry: a Mexican journal. This resulted from working in Mexico for two and half years during which time her yearning for Australia set her writing in earnest. Her collection of short stories called Dark roots was short listed for several literary awards in an era when writers are told that short stories do not sell.
I found her talk very interesting, especially on the way she goes about her writing. She claims that story telling is in her blood and has been especially inherited from her grandfather who told her many stories in her formative years. One particular anecdote about him had the audience laughing. Her grandfather and a good friend – both in their 80s – worked out a mathematical formula which would enable them – at a calculated speed – to drive from one side of the Adelaide CBD to the other without having to stop at traffic lights. Somewhere their calculations went awry and they ended up crashing and in trouble with the law. It sounds dry and humourless told here, but Cate’s skill as a story teller enlivened the crowd listening to her.
She encouraged the writers present to have fun with their writing. ‘Write what you enjoy reading,’ she said. ‘Draw on your life experiences. Write the best you possibly can and you will get published.’
Good advice.
Good writing everyone.
Related articles:
- Adelaide Writers’ Week - more articles from my archives.
Stephen Orr at Adelaide Writers’ Week
Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010
One of the interesting book launches during this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week was Stephen Orr‘s novel Time’s Long Ruin. Stephen is a high school teacher in Adelaide. He has had short fiction published in a range of magazines and journals and has had two previous novels published. They are Attempts to draw Jesus and Hill of Grace.
Time’s Long Ruin is set in Adelaide and deals with some of the darker elements of our society, including touching on the disappearance of the Beaumont children from Glenelg beach in 1966 and all done in a fictionalised form. I can’t give a review here yet as I haven’t read a page. I’m keeping it for a time when I can basically read right through. I will be interested in how he treats the topic as it could give me ideas on how to tackle the writing of a novel I have in mind.
Peter Goers launching Stephen Orr's book
The book was launched by the affable and outspoken Peter Goers, Sunday Mail columnist and ABC Radio 891 evening presenter. Peter did such a good sales job on the book that I raced to the Book Tent to buy it afterwards, and then joined the long queue to have my copy signed by the author.
I look forward to reading it.
Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010
Stephen Orr, Adelaide Writers' Week 2010