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A very busy time of writing

No Comments »19th November, 2008; Category: Master of Arts course, The Writer's Life

I am nearing the end of the second semester of my Master of Arts in Creative Writing course. With only nine days to go the pressure is really on to get all those assignments finished and handed up.

I’ve been writing a 4000 word short story over recent days. It currently stands at about 900 words, so there’s a fair way to go. I’m not concerned about it because I spent a great deal of time thinking about the plot and jotting down an outline. I still have to get the words down though. I also need to have at least a thousand words ready for the workshop I am leading the day after tomorrow. I’ll get there – but will take some effort.

I’ve also been working on the major poem for this term. The requirement is 100-150 lines of free verse. Sounds easy – until you go to think of a topic that can be sustained for that many lines. I put the finishing touches to it a few minutes ago and then printed out copies for the workshop tomorrow. I ended up with 140 lines called ‘Chaotic Kathmandu’ relating a few experiences from a visit several years ago to that fascinating city.

I’ve also been working on two journals over recent days. One is due tomorrow and the other next week. We are required to submit our rough, handwritten copies – in journal format – of all of the poems we have written this semester. Earlier this evening I put the finishing touches to that one too. The other journal is for the prose writing unit and that is almost finished as well. Both of these I’ve worked on steadily throughout the semester, so it’s no big deal near hand up time.

Several weeks ago it was my turn to present a tutorial paper. This was a discussion of the work of the Australian poet, Bruce Dawe.  I received the paper back today: another distinction. That makes 15 out of 15 so far. Can I keep up the pressure I’ve put on myself?

Happy Birthday to me

2 Comments »16th November, 2008; Category: Events

I almost forgot to wish myself Happy Birthday!

(Sounds of wild cheering, delirious laughter and the occasional boo.)

Yep. Another number clicks over on the calendar. Another year older and wiser… well, older anyway.

Funny, I don’t feel any older than yesterday.

Had a great day yesterday. For my birthday my daughter took me to see the play “Ying Tong: a walk with the Goons.” This is an hilarious stage adaptation of the very popular BBC Radio show called “The Goons” starring Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. The actors did a superb job of imitating the wacky range of voices as they appeared in the original show. They also managed to include most of the common catch phrases used in the original.

My daughter knew I’d enjoy the show. When she was growing up she recalls everything in the household stopping at 11:30am every Saturday morning so that I could listen to the show. In total, I now have copies of over 140 shows, either on tape, LP record or in script form in books.  It would have been great to have had the shows filmed, but you can’t get the wood, you know.

Never mind, any more excitement and I would have been deaded, you know. What, what, what, what? (He’s not very bright – only 4 watts.) Look – he’s fallen in the waaaa- ter!

Goodnight folks.

That was the Goon show.

A rotten time to get sick

No Comments »6th November, 2008; Category: Master of Arts course, The Writer's Life

Oh, no!

I have a terrible head cold.

It started Monday evening with a roaring sore throat.

On Tuesday I was really miserable and the throat became worse.

Yesterday the sneezing started – every five minutes. And then the nose started running and the head aching. I’ve been going through tissues faster than a dozen girls watching a romantic comedy or a family of spinsters at a wedding.

I guess that there is no really GOOD time to be sick, but this has to be a rotten time for me. You see, I have seven assignments due in the next three weeks. This is for my Master of Arts in Creative Writing.  All I feel like doing is sleeping it off. At least I managed to get quite a large portion of a novel read today. I have to read it before next week’s lecture. Good thing it was interesting – at least the first half was, but it’s taken a turn for… I’d better not give away the plot. Bit silly saying that, actually, seeing I haven’t mentioned the title.

I’ve been reading The Well written by well-known Australian author Elizabeth Jolley who died last year.  Sssssh – don’t tell me the ending – please.

In reality I have been really blessed with NOT having any sore throats or colds or the flu for over four years. I’ve been clear of all that since retiring from classroom teaching. When still teaching I’d pick up some bug every four to six weeks or so. I was beginning to suspect that I was allergic to children, school, work – or all three. So I really can’t complain.

Still – this sneezing is taking it out of me – probably the best place too – so don’t stand too near.

Good (achoo!) writing folks!

Opinion: about money and elections

No Comments »5th November, 2008; Category: Opinion

One would have had to be in a coma, blind, deaf or in total isolation not to be aware that something momentous happened in the United States today. Elections are fascinating and boring all at the same time. I can’t help wonder, though, that in the present economic and political climate on a global scale, that the real winner today was someone who didn’t become the new president elect. We all know what a difficult time there is ahead for Obama and his colleagues. I don’t envy his job at all.

But that wasn’t why I wanted to write this piece.

Something snapped in my head on Sunday. Someone at church outlined the terrible state that exists in the poor African country of Zimbabwe. Our church has been an active participant in providing drinking water wells there. I immediately thought of the hundreds of millions of dollars – or was it over a billion dollars – that the candidates spent collectively on the right to become the next president.

I think that is obscene.

Even half of that money, if spent on food alone, could save tens of thousands of people from starving to death in Zimbabwe. This story could be repeated a thousand times over around the globe. What about the enormous amounts of American money being poured into the war effort in Iraq?

I’d say that we’ve really stuffed up our priorities. Where is compassion? Where has common sense gone? What are we doing for the billions of people who merely exist from day to day?Think about it: most people in Australia, the United States and Europe spend more each day on a pet than many families of the world have to live on for a week.

What I am writing: a writing journal

No Comments »3rd November, 2008; Category: Journal Writing, Master of Arts course

Over the last few days I have been focusing on expanding a journal I am writing for one of the units in my Master of Arts in Creative Writing Course.

This journal is for the Creative Writing: Prose unit. In this unit we have a set text book called Writing Fiction by Australian writer Garry Disher. Most weeks we have a chapter to read which links to the topic of the lecture. We also have a unit reader consisting of short stories gathered together by our lecturer Rosanne Hawke. We are expected to read one or two of the stories each week. We then discuss the techniques used by the writers of the stories. In our journals we are expected to  respond to the text book and the stories, commenting on how useful we found each one.

Each week we also have writing activities in the workshop part of the lecture time. This is a very valuable exercise because we have to write on a set topic or theme or a set activity and it is under the pressure of time, usually no more than ten minutes. We are then expected to share these short pieces in a workshop situation. The feedback from the lecturer and fellow students is often very valuable. We are expected to include some of these writings in our journal, commenting upon the activity and including any second drafts if done.

While this journal may not appear to be actually writing fiction as the unit title suggests, it is still a very valuable assignment. It has forced me to consider each element of the lecture and the writing activities, and analyse how useful each one has been. One of the interesting things about some of the writing exercises is that I now have a resource of more than a dozen (I haven’t bothered to count them)  short stories which can be developed from 100 – 150 words into longer stories of 2000 words or more. They are great short story starters.  All I need now is the time to do that! With seven essays and assignments due in the next 25 days it will be heads down getting everything finished and submitted.

Good writing.

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