Since I myself was a teen in high school, I have been a fan of John Marsden's 'Tommorrow' series.
I have religiously collected and read all 7 books in the original 'Tomorrow' series and also collected and read the 3 final novels from the 'Ellie Chronicles'. When I say read, I mean over and over again.
I don't know what it is about the story, but every time I immerse myself in the books, I almost always end up reading all ten again in quick succession.
In my opinion, 'The Third Day the Frost' is by far the best and I was so excited to find the movie trailer on youtube and to learn the first three novels in the series are being made into motion pictures. These movies have been considered many times before, but have never gotten off the ground! Finally at long last someone made it happen.
I cannot wait to now watch all my favourite characters come to life on the big screen. Although I am also a little apprehensive. Like with all novels, sometime the movie does the readers imagination justice, other time it fails hopelessly. In this case with three movies scheduled and a possible series spin-off, I dearly hope they hit the mark.
Check out the trailer below, so far it looks pretty good.
And before the release date, do yourself a favor and devour the books first
Friday 25 June 2010
A workbook for Fiction Writer's
Here we are, the end of June 2010, the begnning of the new financial year (happy EOYFS!!) and as promised a new chapter here at Elysium.
'The Writing Book' by Kate Grenville, a workbook for fiction writers everywhere is now open beside me. This book contains ten chapters, I anticipate over the next twelve months to cover these chapters and indulge in learning for the sake of learning, writing for the sake of writing and creating for the sake of creating.
As always the exercises and advice will be directed toward bringing 'ELYSIUM' closer to completion. I have spent the last few weeks imersed in inspiration and ideas, now to harness these ideas and put them to good use. I always work best with guidelines and deadline, as of July one I will dedicate these pages to the chapter of Ms Grenville's book. If you would care to join me, please, follow along the yellow brick road, meet all the characters of Oz and celebrate the glorious day I can click my ruby reds and land a publishing deal!!
For the month of July 2010, chapter one. GETTING STARTED - The whispering voice of advice.
In respect to copyright, I will not document any of Ms Grenvilles wise words here on these pages, if you wish to participate, please purchase your own copy.
I will however post my experience, discoveries and perhaps the best and worst of any completed exercises.
Until July one...
'The Writing Book' by Kate Grenville, a workbook for fiction writers everywhere is now open beside me. This book contains ten chapters, I anticipate over the next twelve months to cover these chapters and indulge in learning for the sake of learning, writing for the sake of writing and creating for the sake of creating.
As always the exercises and advice will be directed toward bringing 'ELYSIUM' closer to completion. I have spent the last few weeks imersed in inspiration and ideas, now to harness these ideas and put them to good use. I always work best with guidelines and deadline, as of July one I will dedicate these pages to the chapter of Ms Grenville's book. If you would care to join me, please, follow along the yellow brick road, meet all the characters of Oz and celebrate the glorious day I can click my ruby reds and land a publishing deal!!
For the month of July 2010, chapter one. GETTING STARTED - The whispering voice of advice.
In respect to copyright, I will not document any of Ms Grenvilles wise words here on these pages, if you wish to participate, please purchase your own copy.
I will however post my experience, discoveries and perhaps the best and worst of any completed exercises.
Until July one...
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Thursday 10 June 2010
Today I sat behind trusty ol' Burgundy for two hours, with the intention of studying and somehow, I achieved zilch, zip, zero.
In my defense, I was working..just not on the things I was supposed to be working on.
As you may already know, I set myself the deadline of March this year to have 'Elysium' draft four finished and rested for 6-12months. I achieved this, much to my relief as on March 1st I commenced full time study, and I needed the head space to concentrate on Uni rather than Elysium.
Now the first unit's I ebarked on in this final year of my Literature degree were Narrative Fiction and English 210. As luck would have it, these two unit's are wonderfully inspirational for a would be writer and therefore made the transition from full time writing to full time study an easy one.
What they did not do however, was grant me the free head space away from 'Elysium' that I so desired. Instead, every note I made, every novel I read,and every assignment I submitted was tainted. Tainted with thoughts of how to progress with 'Elysium'draft 5!!!
This you would think is a good thing, and indeed it was, but now I find myself dying to start on draft 5, but alas I cannot, as the next semester has already started. The two unit's I am studying do not lend themselves so well to creative writing. Public relations and Styles and Genre's Journalism will indeed be interesting and of much use to me, however 'Elysium' has no place in the course of study.
As you can imagine this has left me in a bind, but I have come up with a solution.
During the course of my love affair with literature, I have purchased many a writing book to inspire and motivate. Many years before I had the freedom to embark on Uni I purchased Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' and although I flipped through it and kept it on my bedside table, sadly I never managed to work through it's wonderful pages.
Now last semester I found to my delight that Grenville's book was on our reading list, but sadly once again, I did not get a chance to adequately work through the entire range of motivating exercises Grenville's book details.
The solution to my conundrum then, of not being able to start on 'Elysium' draft 5, but being full of motivation to write, is to commit one afternoon a week to a chapter per month of Grenville's book. This I am hoping will keep the light that I accessed last semester alive, it will see me through this bleak time of living outside of 'Elysium' and hopefully inspire as many noted as my previous semester's work.
If you are interested in joining me, get a copy of the book, and check the blog monthly. I will post the chapter I plan to work on at the beginning of the month, invite a discussion about it during the month and post my findings at the end.
And now, I must be off, the girls are awake and the boy needs to be collected from kindy.
Happy reading...
In my defense, I was working..just not on the things I was supposed to be working on.
As you may already know, I set myself the deadline of March this year to have 'Elysium' draft four finished and rested for 6-12months. I achieved this, much to my relief as on March 1st I commenced full time study, and I needed the head space to concentrate on Uni rather than Elysium.
Now the first unit's I ebarked on in this final year of my Literature degree were Narrative Fiction and English 210. As luck would have it, these two unit's are wonderfully inspirational for a would be writer and therefore made the transition from full time writing to full time study an easy one.
What they did not do however, was grant me the free head space away from 'Elysium' that I so desired. Instead, every note I made, every novel I read,and every assignment I submitted was tainted. Tainted with thoughts of how to progress with 'Elysium'draft 5!!!
This you would think is a good thing, and indeed it was, but now I find myself dying to start on draft 5, but alas I cannot, as the next semester has already started. The two unit's I am studying do not lend themselves so well to creative writing. Public relations and Styles and Genre's Journalism will indeed be interesting and of much use to me, however 'Elysium' has no place in the course of study.
As you can imagine this has left me in a bind, but I have come up with a solution.
During the course of my love affair with literature, I have purchased many a writing book to inspire and motivate. Many years before I had the freedom to embark on Uni I purchased Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' and although I flipped through it and kept it on my bedside table, sadly I never managed to work through it's wonderful pages.
Now last semester I found to my delight that Grenville's book was on our reading list, but sadly once again, I did not get a chance to adequately work through the entire range of motivating exercises Grenville's book details.
The solution to my conundrum then, of not being able to start on 'Elysium' draft 5, but being full of motivation to write, is to commit one afternoon a week to a chapter per month of Grenville's book. This I am hoping will keep the light that I accessed last semester alive, it will see me through this bleak time of living outside of 'Elysium' and hopefully inspire as many noted as my previous semester's work.
If you are interested in joining me, get a copy of the book, and check the blog monthly. I will post the chapter I plan to work on at the beginning of the month, invite a discussion about it during the month and post my findings at the end.
And now, I must be off, the girls are awake and the boy needs to be collected from kindy.
Happy reading...
Literary Competition
'Tonight as I strolled along the foreshore to the Wall, the sky was ablaze with stars. Below the living world slept peacefully. Curled up next to Dan, only Faith rested fitfully. It was cold, spring was still new. The flowers may have blossomed but the chill night air remained. Her belly was swollen, fit to bursting, 'Dan.' she whispered. He stirred then rolled over, snoring, 'Dan, the baby is coming!'
Dan was awake immediately and together they prepared to leave for the hospital, totally and utterly unaware of the unrest here in Elysium.' (Excerpt, 1st draft 'Elysium - the winding path')
Why oh why are opening scenes so hard to get right the first time? I have pictured this opening line in my head for months now, I have played around with the idea on many sleepless night and taunted and teased my self incessantly about putting pen to paper on the second installment of Elysium. Finally, feeling confident enough to sit in front of trusty old Burgundy, I thought I had the scene down pat, nothing could stop the eloquent flow of words...
I was wrong.
Let's back track a little and I'll explain myself. Now if you've read the previous 15 posts, you will know I am on the epic journey of a novice novelist, from first draft to published. Currently I am awaiting the return of the fourth draft of 'Elysium - the road home', from numerous friends and colleagues who are oh so kind in offering their valued advice before I attempt the fifth -and hopefully final before professional edit - draft.
I promised myself I would shelve 'Elysium' for at least six months before committing to the fifth draft. Having worked on it solidly (between uni study and child rearing) for almost 3 years now, both I and 'it' where in need of some space. However, now 3 months down the track, as you may imagine, I am getting a little anxious. I miss 'Elysium', I miss spending time with Angel and Joslin, Chelsea and Sara, Khai, Wynn and the rest of my lovely world. I miss strolling through Elysium Fields, smelling the freshly mowed lawn and spring blossoms. I miss Elysium Common and Central, the Archives and the Wall. I yearn to swim in the river and climb the mountains and sip tea at the table with Nan and Pop.
So I bravely ventured into the unknown world of a sequel. Don't get me wrong, I have always though there was more to Elysium than one novel, however I always imagined I would have the first novel finished, published and loved by all, with the second and third already commissioned, before I made a start on the next instalment.
Once again, I was wrong.
Can you see a pattern here? Yes, I do often have to reconsider my preconceived notions of what the future may bring, as can be seen. I am now fully committed to the formulation of a story and mapping out a plot. As can be seen by the example above, I have the opening lines alive inside my mind. The story is already unfolding, as we speak new characters are dying and being reborn. Joslin is about to return home, but wait...
What is the unrest I speak of, what is happening in Elysium that my words struggle to convey?
That, my dear friends, is for now locked inside my overactive imagination, the story still belongs to monkey mind. Monkey Mind is the term I give my ever swirling, overflowing, erratic imagination when it has a great idea but cannot yet piece all the little bits together. The monkeys take hold of a thought and swing from their tails, thought to thought, tree top to tree top, maddeningly cackling to themselves while I try desperately to catch up.
And on that note, I will leave you all maddeningly trying to catch up with my ramblings. I am off to once again tackle the opening scene, I just have to project it up onto the cinema screen of my mind and the words will come...they will...I'm sure of it...almost positive...
Wednesday 9 June 2010
Blog Post #15 - 25th Feburary, 2010
Have you ever had that moment, when you may have just accomplished the greatest thing of your tiny significant (if only to you) life and there is no one there to celebrate it with? I would imagine if you are a writer or creative genius of any type, you may know exactly what it is I am talking about.
Here I sit, behind my trusty laptop, my husband would say my best friend, and the sad fact is, she (yes, it is a she and no, it's not because I am also a she, she is burgundy in colour and sleek. I do not know many men who are burgundy and sleek. Okay so I don't know any women that are burgundy and sleek either but she's a girl, trust me) so where was I? Oh yes, so here I am, alone with my laptop, having just completed Elysium, draft four and do you know what the first thing I did was?
If you do then may I suggest you get some professional help because seriously, kissing a laptop computer and doing a little jiggy waltz type dance around the room with it is seriously disturbed.
But that is just what I did. Then I blurted out my great jumbled news to all the world via facebook. Then I jumped on line and started blogging. Next I imagine I will twitter the news. And that is where I come seriously unstuck. Does anyone out there give a damn?
I am over the moon, hysterically happy, I seriously could climb tall mountains and leap small buildings (or something like that) but the sad fact of the matter is, it is just me and my laptop, doing a sad little dance, talking to cyber space and celebrating on our own.
And that is the beauty of our world. I am alone but I am not, millions could celebrate, no one could weep. I know not but it's okay, because I live best inside my head. So there you have it, draft 4 is complete, ahead of schedule and the search begins for the editor of my dreams (preferably a darling free agent who can't wait to get their grubby hands on the next golden child of the literary world. If you're out there, please, send me a line!).
Now off I go to tell some actual real people, I'm sure my husband and kids, mother and father, friends and family would love to hear the news.
Over and out.
Here I sit, behind my trusty laptop, my husband would say my best friend, and the sad fact is, she (yes, it is a she and no, it's not because I am also a she, she is burgundy in colour and sleek. I do not know many men who are burgundy and sleek. Okay so I don't know any women that are burgundy and sleek either but she's a girl, trust me) so where was I? Oh yes, so here I am, alone with my laptop, having just completed Elysium, draft four and do you know what the first thing I did was?
If you do then may I suggest you get some professional help because seriously, kissing a laptop computer and doing a little jiggy waltz type dance around the room with it is seriously disturbed.
But that is just what I did. Then I blurted out my great jumbled news to all the world via facebook. Then I jumped on line and started blogging. Next I imagine I will twitter the news. And that is where I come seriously unstuck. Does anyone out there give a damn?
I am over the moon, hysterically happy, I seriously could climb tall mountains and leap small buildings (or something like that) but the sad fact of the matter is, it is just me and my laptop, doing a sad little dance, talking to cyber space and celebrating on our own.
And that is the beauty of our world. I am alone but I am not, millions could celebrate, no one could weep. I know not but it's okay, because I live best inside my head. So there you have it, draft 4 is complete, ahead of schedule and the search begins for the editor of my dreams (preferably a darling free agent who can't wait to get their grubby hands on the next golden child of the literary world. If you're out there, please, send me a line!).
Now off I go to tell some actual real people, I'm sure my husband and kids, mother and father, friends and family would love to hear the news.
Over and out.
Blog Post #14 - 15th Feburary, 2010
Ah the bliss, draft three put to bed for a (figuratively) long winter's sleep. She finished with a grand gesture of epic proportions, she has taken a curtain call, bowed down to our feet and called it a night. As she exited stage left however a coughing fit overcame her, she gagged up a wad of loose leaf and snuck out the back door before anyone could protest. Am I making any sense? No I am not.
At this point the fact that I don't make sense matter's not. What is important is that the much awaited, final edit before the final professional edit, is upon us. Yup, you heard right, Draft 4, here we come.
This one should be easy ( I say now at day 1). All I need to do it find my voice.
An authors voice comes naturally right?
We smooth out the inconsistencies, iron over the slips, press flat the bumps, sail on calm waters to the end of the ocean. Ay, easy!
So why does the challenge of getting Draft 4 also done by the deadline of March 1 seem absolutely, ludicrously, insanely, eat your brains for breakfast, seriously out of the ordinary crazy?
Oh right, because it is. Thanks.
I best get back to it then.
Until March 1, as Dora the explorer would say, Adios Amigos
At this point the fact that I don't make sense matter's not. What is important is that the much awaited, final edit before the final professional edit, is upon us. Yup, you heard right, Draft 4, here we come.
This one should be easy ( I say now at day 1). All I need to do it find my voice.
An authors voice comes naturally right?
We smooth out the inconsistencies, iron over the slips, press flat the bumps, sail on calm waters to the end of the ocean. Ay, easy!
So why does the challenge of getting Draft 4 also done by the deadline of March 1 seem absolutely, ludicrously, insanely, eat your brains for breakfast, seriously out of the ordinary crazy?
Oh right, because it is. Thanks.
I best get back to it then.
Until March 1, as Dora the explorer would say, Adios Amigos
Blog Post #13 - 10th January, 2010
With 2009 behind us and the personal deadline of Draft 3 complete by Christmas behind me (and sadly to say not met) I am looking forward to 2010 with inspiration and motivation. Have set self a new deadline of March 1, 2010 for final draft completion and must say am feeling confident. Have finished mapping out the new plot for part 2, tightening up the climax and strengthening character profiles and now I'm ready to tackle. With two full days free of kiddlings up my sleeve and a two month break from uni I have the time and space to really knuckle down. Not to mention a two month visit from my beautiful, wonderfully supportive mother (who is just as keen to see the finished product as I am) so that should mean another day or two a week free to really hit the home stretch. The floors have been vacuumed this morning so that should tide me over for housework for at least another 6 to 8 weeks but now to find a way of convincing my hubby that 2 minute noodles for dinner five nights a week are a good thing...
Blog Post #12 - 18th November, 2009
Okay this is a shorty but a goodie. The third draft has officially hit the half way mark. Phew!! This editing thing has been a hard slog, the hardest part of all has been the motivation factor. Going over and over and over and over my hard won words was mental torture but I have mastered the art of unemotional cutting. Vicious I have been, vicious I tell you. Actually, I got a little carried away and chopped way more than I planned and now I have a little more writing to fill in the gaps to do, but this time every word I write will be brilliant!
Before I go here's a little update on what's coming next.
I am still slogging away at my studies and still loving it however I am looking forward to a well deserved break over Christmas, I have exactly 13 weeks to do nothing but concentrate on Elysium, ah bliss. Okay, okay maybe I will have to participate in family life and keep up with all the usual festive season hoohaa but other than that, I will be focused solely on finishing the third draft. The plan is come January 2010, almost three years after starting , I will finally be ready to consider a professional appraisal/edit and then start putting it out there (does a little preemptive celebratory dance at desk).
Also on the agenda is some more research into matters of the afterlife. I have recently discovered a few life between lives regressionist's operating close to my home so I am planning on asking my lovely family for a hypnosis session instead of a Christmas present. Having a very christian oriented mother may prove a little tricky on this task but she does often surprise me. And of course I am continuing my reading on all things religion and spiritual.
Now that we're up to date I really must get to it. Love and laughter, Tanya xxx
Before I go here's a little update on what's coming next.
I am still slogging away at my studies and still loving it however I am looking forward to a well deserved break over Christmas, I have exactly 13 weeks to do nothing but concentrate on Elysium, ah bliss. Okay, okay maybe I will have to participate in family life and keep up with all the usual festive season hoohaa but other than that, I will be focused solely on finishing the third draft. The plan is come January 2010, almost three years after starting , I will finally be ready to consider a professional appraisal/edit and then start putting it out there (does a little preemptive celebratory dance at desk).
Also on the agenda is some more research into matters of the afterlife. I have recently discovered a few life between lives regressionist's operating close to my home so I am planning on asking my lovely family for a hypnosis session instead of a Christmas present. Having a very christian oriented mother may prove a little tricky on this task but she does often surprise me. And of course I am continuing my reading on all things religion and spiritual.
Now that we're up to date I really must get to it. Love and laughter, Tanya xxx
Blog Post #11, - 25th October, 2009
And so it goes, it is nearly the end of October and the editing continues. Am way behind on the plan but still making good progress. September ended up being a complete write-off due to wonderful family holiday and then not so wonderful week stay in hospital. Not me, my 2 year old, much more stressful! October is looking much better. Have polished off chapters 1- 5 and after once again spending a wonderfully inspiring weekend at a Steiner Conference I am feeling spiritually and artistically rejuvenated.
I was going to once again attempt NaNoWriMo however I think this year I will admit that I do not have the time. That being said I will not forget it all together, once Elysium is finished NaNoWriMo is back on the agenda (hopefully this means 2010 is the go!).
Am totally getting into my characters and have once again fallen in love with Elysium. Finally found a copy of Michael Newton's second book, Destiny of Souls, and once again am feeling amazed at the amount of similarities his studies reflect to my fictional Elysium. I cannot believe I only discovered his teachings after I had already completed the first draft of Elysium. Finding this voice inspires me to keep writing and creating a world that I truly feel could be our souls reality.
Stayed tuned over the next few weeks for a few select excerpts from the first 5 chapters of Elysium.
I was going to once again attempt NaNoWriMo however I think this year I will admit that I do not have the time. That being said I will not forget it all together, once Elysium is finished NaNoWriMo is back on the agenda (hopefully this means 2010 is the go!).
Am totally getting into my characters and have once again fallen in love with Elysium. Finally found a copy of Michael Newton's second book, Destiny of Souls, and once again am feeling amazed at the amount of similarities his studies reflect to my fictional Elysium. I cannot believe I only discovered his teachings after I had already completed the first draft of Elysium. Finding this voice inspires me to keep writing and creating a world that I truly feel could be our souls reality.
Stayed tuned over the next few weeks for a few select excerpts from the first 5 chapters of Elysium.
Blog Post #10 - 24th September, 2009
So here we are, nearly the end of September and the big manuscript slash and tighten is nowhere near being done. My heart is racing and my stomach churning. In the race against time I can never get ahead, there is always something else to do, someone else needing attention, or something more interesting to distract me.
I know I know, it's all about prioritising and not procrastinating but with so many balls in the air even the best jugglers amongst us drop one every now and then, right? You successful mothers, students, writers, friends, bosses, jugglers out there? The occasional ball hits the ground and rolls under the dusty sofa to be lost amongst the build up of junk for a few weeks, right?
I have a list of things to do that trails behind me as I walk and unfortunately I keep forgetting important things such as my God daughters birthday and returning friends phone calls. Because really it is our relationships that are important, all the rest of the stuff is superfluous. So what I should be racing against, instead of time, is the beating of my heart and the tears that fall.
For now however I need to get back to my to do list. First book flights for Christmas, then ring the day care centre and argue over fees, next organise to have the left hand side mirror on my car replaced (the garage jumped out and attacked me, taking my mirror with it!), finish reading Homer's The Odyssey, watch Beowulf and then read Gulliver's Travels before next Friday and proceed to write 500 words on each, spend time with mother before she leaves on Sunday, do last years tax, edit the 17 remaining chapters of Elysium, cash in a medicare rebate, reconcile bank accounts, prepare term 4 routine for playgroup and lastly make dinner. All this with the kiddlings still needing attention and care.
Pillow, scream
I know I know, it's all about prioritising and not procrastinating but with so many balls in the air even the best jugglers amongst us drop one every now and then, right? You successful mothers, students, writers, friends, bosses, jugglers out there? The occasional ball hits the ground and rolls under the dusty sofa to be lost amongst the build up of junk for a few weeks, right?
I have a list of things to do that trails behind me as I walk and unfortunately I keep forgetting important things such as my God daughters birthday and returning friends phone calls. Because really it is our relationships that are important, all the rest of the stuff is superfluous. So what I should be racing against, instead of time, is the beating of my heart and the tears that fall.
For now however I need to get back to my to do list. First book flights for Christmas, then ring the day care centre and argue over fees, next organise to have the left hand side mirror on my car replaced (the garage jumped out and attacked me, taking my mirror with it!), finish reading Homer's The Odyssey, watch Beowulf and then read Gulliver's Travels before next Friday and proceed to write 500 words on each, spend time with mother before she leaves on Sunday, do last years tax, edit the 17 remaining chapters of Elysium, cash in a medicare rebate, reconcile bank accounts, prepare term 4 routine for playgroup and lastly make dinner. All this with the kiddlings still needing attention and care.
Pillow, scream
Blog Post #8 - 7th August, 2009
To be omniscient (all knowing) or caged with the main character? To say you, she or me? So many perspectives, so many points of view. What is the best point of view for Elysium Fields. I have multiple characters, multiple plot twists and multiple perspectives. I am tempted to pull the whole thing apart and write four separate novels (which will help with the culling of the word count) but I hesitate. I know I can meld the points of view together into a beautiful, inspirational story, it's just the how.
I have found my main protagonist but now I need to decide if Angel Grace will tell her story from her perspective alone or will she share the limelight? Can she be an omniscient force? Or does she tell her part in the first person and then step back to tell the others in the third person?
Thinking I will play with some of her scenes, write them from both first person point of view and third person point of view and see which works. Sounds like a plan
I have found my main protagonist but now I need to decide if Angel Grace will tell her story from her perspective alone or will she share the limelight? Can she be an omniscient force? Or does she tell her part in the first person and then step back to tell the others in the third person?
Thinking I will play with some of her scenes, write them from both first person point of view and third person point of view and see which works. Sounds like a plan
Blog Post #9 - 24th August, 2009
So I have set myself the goal of having the 3rd draft of my novel, Elysium, finished by Christmas 2009. This effectively leaves me four months to edit out over 100,000 words, make lots of minor and two major plot changes and to rework the syntax. Am I setting myself up for a fall or could this be the most productive and creative four months of my life thus far?
Only time will tell.
First things first - this month I've printed a hard copy of the complete Elysium manuscript and I am beginning to pull it apart, bit by every little bit. I will physically remove scenes that are moot and slash unnecessary rambling and explanations. By the end of September I hope to have a considerably smaller, tighter manuscript. October I will focus on connecting the dots of the dessicated plot. November will see the reworking of the syntax and the plan for December is to tweak grammar, spelling and minor inconsistencies.
Sounds like a plan. Feeling better already. The manuscript has been hanging over my head, taunting and stressing me out for months. The task seemed so huge that I couldn't get started but now, by breaking it down into smaller portions I can get my head around it. I can do this, just need to take baby steps
Only time will tell.
First things first - this month I've printed a hard copy of the complete Elysium manuscript and I am beginning to pull it apart, bit by every little bit. I will physically remove scenes that are moot and slash unnecessary rambling and explanations. By the end of September I hope to have a considerably smaller, tighter manuscript. October I will focus on connecting the dots of the dessicated plot. November will see the reworking of the syntax and the plan for December is to tweak grammar, spelling and minor inconsistencies.
Sounds like a plan. Feeling better already. The manuscript has been hanging over my head, taunting and stressing me out for months. The task seemed so huge that I couldn't get started but now, by breaking it down into smaller portions I can get my head around it. I can do this, just need to take baby steps
Blog Post #7 - 6th August, 2009
One of the things that I enjoy most is reading stories. I could lose myself for days in the written word and I often have, more often than not when I really should be doing something else. GUILTY!
One of the other things that occupies my time is my pursuit of a paying job that I love. Writing novels will one day fill part of that void, but meanwhile I have decided to combine both my love of reading and my pursuit of the dream job. I am launching myself as a paid reader!
Manuscript assessments/Manuscript appraisals
Sounds great doesn't it. I get to sit around and indulge in great fiction. Live my fantasy life and get paid to do it. Of course it's not as easy as that.
But none the less, it will be pretty close.
thebookspaces Manuscript Assessment and Appraisal service offers assessment/appraisal on short pieces of writing (2000-5000) for a small fee of $50AUD. This assessment will be in the form of a detailed report aimed at structural editing. Structural considerations will include plot, character development, dramatic tension, theme, voice, pace, point of view, description and dialogue. If the original manuscript assessment/appraisal is satisfactory application can be made for longer novellas/novels.
A manuscript assessment/manuscript appraisal is a great tool to use in the later stages of writing. Once you feel your piece is almost complete but would like an honest, considered and educated opinion before sending it out to agents and publishers (or competitions) consideration from a manuscript assessor/manuscript appraiser is well worth the small fee. A third party assessor can see from fresh eyes the minor (or major) inconsistencies in the writing. See appraisals for more information
One of the other things that occupies my time is my pursuit of a paying job that I love. Writing novels will one day fill part of that void, but meanwhile I have decided to combine both my love of reading and my pursuit of the dream job. I am launching myself as a paid reader!
Manuscript assessments/Manuscript appraisals
Sounds great doesn't it. I get to sit around and indulge in great fiction. Live my fantasy life and get paid to do it. Of course it's not as easy as that.
But none the less, it will be pretty close.
thebookspaces Manuscript Assessment and Appraisal service offers assessment/appraisal on short pieces of writing (2000-5000) for a small fee of $50AUD. This assessment will be in the form of a detailed report aimed at structural editing. Structural considerations will include plot, character development, dramatic tension, theme, voice, pace, point of view, description and dialogue. If the original manuscript assessment/appraisal is satisfactory application can be made for longer novellas/novels.
A manuscript assessment/manuscript appraisal is a great tool to use in the later stages of writing. Once you feel your piece is almost complete but would like an honest, considered and educated opinion before sending it out to agents and publishers (or competitions) consideration from a manuscript assessor/manuscript appraiser is well worth the small fee. A third party assessor can see from fresh eyes the minor (or major) inconsistencies in the writing. See appraisals for more information
Blog Post #6 - 2nd August, 2009
One of the things I love most about writing is how, just when you've given your writing up for lost, an inspirational voice can come from out of nowhere. Elysium had stagnated, writing was slow going. I had lost my main character's voice, somewhere along the way my protagonist had split into multiple personalities. No one was narrating. The main characters I once loved were now weak, my Heroines lily livered. I was beginning to despise my writing. I had tension, I had climax but still the writing didn't feel like home.
Then I watched 7 Pounds, Wil Smiths latest movie release. And I was blown away! So subtle, so clever, so powerful. Inspired to write just as brilliantly I lept from the couch and opened up the laptop.
Elysium did not have a narrator, the story was told by several main characters, but no one was observing the whole!
What the writing needs, what Elysium needs, is a main character, a heroine, a protagonist. I thought I had never had a narrator, I thought I'd missed the main character. I thought the re-write was going to introduce whole new protagonist. But I can see clearly now. Elysium always had a main character, a protagonist, a heroine. Angel, my sweet Angel, sitting in the sidelines, unobtrusive but integral to the discourse. Angel, my protagonist, my heroine, my main character.
Now that I have found her Angel can use her voice, she can narrate, observe other characters, supply authoritative direction, meaning and substance. Angel will tie up all of the loose strings and bring Elysium home.
Angel Grace, narrator, heroine, protagonist, pleased to meet you. I can't wait to hear your voice.
Then I watched 7 Pounds, Wil Smiths latest movie release. And I was blown away! So subtle, so clever, so powerful. Inspired to write just as brilliantly I lept from the couch and opened up the laptop.
Elysium did not have a narrator, the story was told by several main characters, but no one was observing the whole!
What the writing needs, what Elysium needs, is a main character, a heroine, a protagonist. I thought I had never had a narrator, I thought I'd missed the main character. I thought the re-write was going to introduce whole new protagonist. But I can see clearly now. Elysium always had a main character, a protagonist, a heroine. Angel, my sweet Angel, sitting in the sidelines, unobtrusive but integral to the discourse. Angel, my protagonist, my heroine, my main character.
Now that I have found her Angel can use her voice, she can narrate, observe other characters, supply authoritative direction, meaning and substance. Angel will tie up all of the loose strings and bring Elysium home.
Angel Grace, narrator, heroine, protagonist, pleased to meet you. I can't wait to hear your voice.
Blog Post #5 - 28th July, 2009
If I had started a count of how many times I was re -writing my opening scene, I would not be surprised if the numbers were in the hundreds ( well one at least). Why is this proving to be so hard?
The original opening scene, the scene that actually inspired the step from messing about to actually writing the novel, that scene was once my favourite piece of writing ever.
Now it's on the scrap heap under a mountain of rewrites and disgraceful prose!
Why? Because of this little gem of writing advice, that I read once long ago, in a more positive frame of mind.
Advice - 'The first sentence must capture your audience. The first paragraph must draw the reader in. The first page MUST intrigue, make reader thirst for more.' (a favourite author who I right now do not feel like naming because would rather throttle! sometime early 2000)
But wait there's more - 'Don't spell it out, only hint at what you want to write. Show don't tell. Entice without teasing.'
And another little gem - 'All the famous authors have great first lines.'
Very good advice. I agree.
Arrrrrggggghhhhh! (thumping head on keyboard in frustration)
Okay, now that's off my chest back to it
The original opening scene, the scene that actually inspired the step from messing about to actually writing the novel, that scene was once my favourite piece of writing ever.
Now it's on the scrap heap under a mountain of rewrites and disgraceful prose!
Why? Because of this little gem of writing advice, that I read once long ago, in a more positive frame of mind.
Advice - 'The first sentence must capture your audience. The first paragraph must draw the reader in. The first page MUST intrigue, make reader thirst for more.' (a favourite author who I right now do not feel like naming because would rather throttle! sometime early 2000)
But wait there's more - 'Don't spell it out, only hint at what you want to write. Show don't tell. Entice without teasing.'
And another little gem - 'All the famous authors have great first lines.'
Very good advice. I agree.
Arrrrrggggghhhhh! (thumping head on keyboard in frustration)
Okay, now that's off my chest back to it
Blog Post #4 - 17th July, 2009
My fifth grade class teacher is the first person I can remember encouraging me to pursue writing. As the winner of the end of year class writing competition Miss K's encouragement has spurned numerous journals, quirky flash fiction and rambling poetry. New Novelist (amongst other things) has managed to help me put that rambling into writing a novel.
Elysium Fields (editing 3rd draft) began as several short pieces of flash fiction that took on a life of their own. Once it became obvious I was writing a novel I started to hatch a plot. This is where I floundered and where New Novelist helped.
I have partaken in some form of reading and writing for most of my literate life. I was the person family and friends came to if they wanted something special written. I was studying literature and communication at university! But as I wrote yet another plot synopsis that went nowhere I came unstuck, writers block. Arghhhh.
So I went searching. I was already a member of several writers sites and familiar with all the good advice sites so this is where I started. And I searched, read, searched and wrote, blogged and read some more. Then, I saw it. A little widget that caught my eye. NEW NOVELIST, NEW NOVELIST, NEW NOVELIST it flashed. What the hey. Normally I ignore all advertising but I wanted something to move me. Maybe New Novelist would be it.
Now not to down play the writing sites and blogs I researched, these are all great and I still spend way too many hours a week reading my favourite blogs and they have helped me in countless ways.
But for $54.99 New Novelist is definitely money well spent.
New Novelist does not do the writing for you, it does not come up with the ideas for you and it most definitely does not offer up an instant novel. What New Novelist does do is help train your creative writing mind, it helps you to build on your writing ideas, structure a readable plot and develop well rounded characters and settings.
The software is a great starting point for a New Novelist. Now that I am writing my third draft I am again writing with my regular word processor, but I have also begun entering ideas for subsequent novels into the program and will begin writing them in due course. In time I imagine I will be confident enough to no longer need New Novelist as a starting block
but as a New Novelist, it has definitely been money well spent.
The Art of the Healing Story
07/12/20090 Comment(s) When I started writing my first novel, ELYSIUM (coming soon), I had no idea that it would turn out to be such a healing process.
As I have discovered this last week, there is a defined art to writing a healing story and these stories are truly inspirational in their simplicity. I can't wait to get stuck into my 3rd draft of Elysium and utilise all of the tips I have learned.
To explain. The source of inspiration for this blog has come from attendance at a Steiner Education conference. I have just had the most amazing week, creatively and inspirational. The week involved singing lessons every morning, 3 separate workshops and 2 different lectures per day, another singing lesson in the afternoon then followed by evenings of performance and sharing.
As you may have guessed one of my workshops was Writing Healing Stories and I was in writers Elysium! What more could an author of inspirational fiction ask for? (the relaxation massage at the end of the week did top it of!).
To put it simply a Healing Story is written with a purpose, typically to resolve disturbing behaviours. GRIEF is a good example. The process of writing Elysium was cathartic to me as a writer and an emotional being caught at a traumatic turning point. My 2nd draft has also proven to be healing for the two dear friends whom I have entrusted proofreading to.
Writing a Healing Story can come quite naturally, as did Elysium, however you can set out with a purpose to write a story which heals.
First take a behaviour which you would like to heal. Anything from teaching children to tidy up after themselves to dealing with a death, abandonment or molestation.
For the purpose of this exercise we will use abandonment. The story I will use as example, Mama Moon, is not my own writing(unfortunately) but it has a beautiful message and I think captures the idea of Healing Stories perfectly. It is about a child whose mother abandoned him to the care of relatives without explanation.
A basic construction tool for writing Healing Stories.
BEHAVIOUR - a disturbing pattern which would benefit from resolution.
METAPHOR(s)- are vital to story writing. They help to build imaginative connections for listeners. Playing both negative(obstacle, temptation) and positive(helper, guide) roles.
JOURNEY - The formative part of the story, an eventful journey will build the tension. It can lead the plot through the behaviour and out again to a balanced resolution. Use obstacle and helper metaphors to achieve this tension. Repetition, rhyme and song can also help to build the tension. It is helpful to remember not to lecture the point directly, leading gently is more conducive to healing.
RESOLUTION- is the restoration of harmony. The resolution should be positive and pro-active, not guilt inducing. Even though the resolution comes at the end of the journey it is helpful to think about this first. (Susan Perrow,2007)
We have our BEHAVIOUR, Abandonment. The next step is to decide what resolution is needed/desired. In this case the RESOLUTION is to rediscover a sense of self worth and love despite the abandonment.
Next think of METAPHORS that could perhaps represent the behaviours & resolution. In this case the author (Alison Brooking) used Mother Moon to represent the mother, Father Sun to represent the guardian left behind and a galaxy of stars to represent her abandoned child. As you can see a metaphor can be anything.
Now finally, the JOURNEY. In Alison's story the child star was close to mother moon, she helped him polish and shine himself so he could shine brightly on all the people and animals in the night time. Child star was eager to shine brightly and loved mother moon for helping him. One night mother moon did not appear and child star was sad, but then he noticed how dark it was without his shine. So polished and shined himself, with out mother moons help and encouraged his brothers and sister stars to do the same. Happy that he could still bring light without mother moon by his side he was encourage to keep shining and promised himself to keep going because in his heart he knew mother moon would return one day soon.
This is a very brief outline of the actual story but as you can see there are many representations of metaphors here that can help to heal. The light, polishing, shining are all positive metaphors for happiness. The cycle of the moon gives hope as well as causing an obstacle. In the full text there are many more metaphors such as father sun, moon beams, a child below which help to move the story along.
A trick when deciding on metaphors is to lable them, if you can, as obstacle, helper, transition. This will keep you on track and help you decide if the metaphor is appropriate. Follow each idea through to the end of the journey briefly to ensure you reach the resolution you desire. It may take a few goes (I'm still trying metaphors for a potty training story!) but do not be discouraged. Keep writing! Now this novice novelist is off to write her book. Good Luck with you writing.
Elysium Fields (editing 3rd draft) began as several short pieces of flash fiction that took on a life of their own. Once it became obvious I was writing a novel I started to hatch a plot. This is where I floundered and where New Novelist helped.
I have partaken in some form of reading and writing for most of my literate life. I was the person family and friends came to if they wanted something special written. I was studying literature and communication at university! But as I wrote yet another plot synopsis that went nowhere I came unstuck, writers block. Arghhhh.
So I went searching. I was already a member of several writers sites and familiar with all the good advice sites so this is where I started. And I searched, read, searched and wrote, blogged and read some more. Then, I saw it. A little widget that caught my eye. NEW NOVELIST, NEW NOVELIST, NEW NOVELIST it flashed. What the hey. Normally I ignore all advertising but I wanted something to move me. Maybe New Novelist would be it.
Now not to down play the writing sites and blogs I researched, these are all great and I still spend way too many hours a week reading my favourite blogs and they have helped me in countless ways.
But for $54.99 New Novelist is definitely money well spent.
New Novelist does not do the writing for you, it does not come up with the ideas for you and it most definitely does not offer up an instant novel. What New Novelist does do is help train your creative writing mind, it helps you to build on your writing ideas, structure a readable plot and develop well rounded characters and settings.
The software is a great starting point for a New Novelist. Now that I am writing my third draft I am again writing with my regular word processor, but I have also begun entering ideas for subsequent novels into the program and will begin writing them in due course. In time I imagine I will be confident enough to no longer need New Novelist as a starting block
but as a New Novelist, it has definitely been money well spent.
The Art of the Healing Story
07/12/20090 Comment(s) When I started writing my first novel, ELYSIUM (coming soon), I had no idea that it would turn out to be such a healing process.
As I have discovered this last week, there is a defined art to writing a healing story and these stories are truly inspirational in their simplicity. I can't wait to get stuck into my 3rd draft of Elysium and utilise all of the tips I have learned.
To explain. The source of inspiration for this blog has come from attendance at a Steiner Education conference. I have just had the most amazing week, creatively and inspirational. The week involved singing lessons every morning, 3 separate workshops and 2 different lectures per day, another singing lesson in the afternoon then followed by evenings of performance and sharing.
As you may have guessed one of my workshops was Writing Healing Stories and I was in writers Elysium! What more could an author of inspirational fiction ask for? (the relaxation massage at the end of the week did top it of!).
To put it simply a Healing Story is written with a purpose, typically to resolve disturbing behaviours. GRIEF is a good example. The process of writing Elysium was cathartic to me as a writer and an emotional being caught at a traumatic turning point. My 2nd draft has also proven to be healing for the two dear friends whom I have entrusted proofreading to.
Writing a Healing Story can come quite naturally, as did Elysium, however you can set out with a purpose to write a story which heals.
First take a behaviour which you would like to heal. Anything from teaching children to tidy up after themselves to dealing with a death, abandonment or molestation.
For the purpose of this exercise we will use abandonment. The story I will use as example, Mama Moon, is not my own writing(unfortunately) but it has a beautiful message and I think captures the idea of Healing Stories perfectly. It is about a child whose mother abandoned him to the care of relatives without explanation.
A basic construction tool for writing Healing Stories.
BEHAVIOUR - a disturbing pattern which would benefit from resolution.
METAPHOR(s)- are vital to story writing. They help to build imaginative connections for listeners. Playing both negative(obstacle, temptation) and positive(helper, guide) roles.
JOURNEY - The formative part of the story, an eventful journey will build the tension. It can lead the plot through the behaviour and out again to a balanced resolution. Use obstacle and helper metaphors to achieve this tension. Repetition, rhyme and song can also help to build the tension. It is helpful to remember not to lecture the point directly, leading gently is more conducive to healing.
RESOLUTION- is the restoration of harmony. The resolution should be positive and pro-active, not guilt inducing. Even though the resolution comes at the end of the journey it is helpful to think about this first. (Susan Perrow,2007)
We have our BEHAVIOUR, Abandonment. The next step is to decide what resolution is needed/desired. In this case the RESOLUTION is to rediscover a sense of self worth and love despite the abandonment.
Next think of METAPHORS that could perhaps represent the behaviours & resolution. In this case the author (Alison Brooking) used Mother Moon to represent the mother, Father Sun to represent the guardian left behind and a galaxy of stars to represent her abandoned child. As you can see a metaphor can be anything.
Now finally, the JOURNEY. In Alison's story the child star was close to mother moon, she helped him polish and shine himself so he could shine brightly on all the people and animals in the night time. Child star was eager to shine brightly and loved mother moon for helping him. One night mother moon did not appear and child star was sad, but then he noticed how dark it was without his shine. So polished and shined himself, with out mother moons help and encouraged his brothers and sister stars to do the same. Happy that he could still bring light without mother moon by his side he was encourage to keep shining and promised himself to keep going because in his heart he knew mother moon would return one day soon.
This is a very brief outline of the actual story but as you can see there are many representations of metaphors here that can help to heal. The light, polishing, shining are all positive metaphors for happiness. The cycle of the moon gives hope as well as causing an obstacle. In the full text there are many more metaphors such as father sun, moon beams, a child below which help to move the story along.
A trick when deciding on metaphors is to lable them, if you can, as obstacle, helper, transition. This will keep you on track and help you decide if the metaphor is appropriate. Follow each idea through to the end of the journey briefly to ensure you reach the resolution you desire. It may take a few goes (I'm still trying metaphors for a potty training story!) but do not be discouraged. Keep writing! Now this novice novelist is off to write her book. Good Luck with you writing.
Blog Post #3 - 1st July, 2009
Here I sit, staring at my computer screen for a third day in a row, and all I can summon is a blank. There's a best seller in there somewhere, I can feel it. My fingers itch to bang out vivid prose, my monkey mind swings from the ropes of my imagination, spilling forth insane chatter. So what is it that's stopping me from starting on my third draft of Elysium? Or picking up where I left off, 10,000 words into my first draft of They're Coming?
Is it fear of failure?
Nope because I know I have it in me to be a great writer.
Is it writers block?
Nu huh, I have pages, sheaves, VOLUMES of notes and ideas.
So....
Well, the answer is not leaping off the page, clearly I just need to stop fluffing about on here, or facebook, or twitter and just WRITE already!
Okay so here it is, I am embarking on my dream, I'm reaching for the sky, climbing out of my comfort zone and exposing my heart to the cold cruel world. Enough metaphor's? Do you want to come along for the ride?
This writer is taking a leap of faith in gigantanormous proportions. I am embarking on a journey so common, so familiar, so usual that I hope there'll be millions of others out there that have skipped merrily down the same shadowed path. Full of good spirits and self assured confidence I'm sure I will trip up on the loose stones of rejection. No doubt I will have to navigate the crooked streets of delusion. Nonetheless, as those that have come before me I will endeavour to write. And from first draft to publishing, I will share my highs and lows.
Rain on my parade, storm my convictions and strike me down with enthusiasm, but I will write on. My gum boots will fill to overflowing, my socks will get soggy and uncomfortable and my umbrella is bound to collapse under the weight of it all, but there will be a light at the end of the page. The journey will be worth the effort. For out there, somewhere, is a publisher that is dying, positively dying I tell you, to publish my novel.
Today the sky is blue, only fluffy white clouds drift by and it is a pleasantly mild kind of day. The sun is shining and my bravado is in tact. A perfect day for a stroll down Novice Novelist Lane
Is it fear of failure?
Nope because I know I have it in me to be a great writer.
Is it writers block?
Nu huh, I have pages, sheaves, VOLUMES of notes and ideas.
So....
Well, the answer is not leaping off the page, clearly I just need to stop fluffing about on here, or facebook, or twitter and just WRITE already!
Okay so here it is, I am embarking on my dream, I'm reaching for the sky, climbing out of my comfort zone and exposing my heart to the cold cruel world. Enough metaphor's? Do you want to come along for the ride?
This writer is taking a leap of faith in gigantanormous proportions. I am embarking on a journey so common, so familiar, so usual that I hope there'll be millions of others out there that have skipped merrily down the same shadowed path. Full of good spirits and self assured confidence I'm sure I will trip up on the loose stones of rejection. No doubt I will have to navigate the crooked streets of delusion. Nonetheless, as those that have come before me I will endeavour to write. And from first draft to publishing, I will share my highs and lows.
Rain on my parade, storm my convictions and strike me down with enthusiasm, but I will write on. My gum boots will fill to overflowing, my socks will get soggy and uncomfortable and my umbrella is bound to collapse under the weight of it all, but there will be a light at the end of the page. The journey will be worth the effort. For out there, somewhere, is a publisher that is dying, positively dying I tell you, to publish my novel.
Today the sky is blue, only fluffy white clouds drift by and it is a pleasantly mild kind of day. The sun is shining and my bravado is in tact. A perfect day for a stroll down Novice Novelist Lane
Blog Post #2 - 29 June, 2009
the second draft of Elysium is complete and has been posted to my mother as a belated Mother's Day present. now it sits staring at me, wanting more but just not not knowing what exactly. you know that feeling you get, when you're bored and peckish? you want something to eat but you just don't know what? that's where Elysium is at. it needs something but I just can't work out what. so instead of wasting hours staring at the thousands of words that need tweaking on my computer screen I decided to do some much needed study. if I'm ever going to get my masters I really need to finish my bachelor first!
this semester it is Culture and Society. sounds thrilling doesn't it? actually I love studying, especially creative writing as I get to read twisted old versions of fairy tales. such as Little Red Riding Hood, who it seems in the original version ate her grandmothers flesh, drank a goblet of her grandmothers blood, did a strip tease for Wolf and then climbed into bed naked with said Wolf and was instantly devoured. hmm, not in the version I tell my children.
after consuming a family sized packet of Malteser's and working my way through mind numbing text whilst trying not to think about Elysium, I finally hit gold. why didn't I see it before? I have spent exhaustive hours talking to the ever patient and fellow writer, Meg, about what Elysium needs and had pointed out several times that the text is lacking something and here it is, in two simple sentences.
Direct Description vs Indirect Presentation.
that's the key. what I have done thus far with Elysium is Directly Describe the characters, what is happening and the detail. Eg: Chelsea had long blond hair.
what I need to do is Indirectly Present the detail Eg: Chelsea chewed a stray strand of hair, as it dropped from her mouth the texture resembled wet hay.
this should help with the visual imagery and, if I can manage it, may also help with cutting back on the word count!!! wish me luck.
this semester it is Culture and Society. sounds thrilling doesn't it? actually I love studying, especially creative writing as I get to read twisted old versions of fairy tales. such as Little Red Riding Hood, who it seems in the original version ate her grandmothers flesh, drank a goblet of her grandmothers blood, did a strip tease for Wolf and then climbed into bed naked with said Wolf and was instantly devoured. hmm, not in the version I tell my children.
after consuming a family sized packet of Malteser's and working my way through mind numbing text whilst trying not to think about Elysium, I finally hit gold. why didn't I see it before? I have spent exhaustive hours talking to the ever patient and fellow writer, Meg, about what Elysium needs and had pointed out several times that the text is lacking something and here it is, in two simple sentences.
Direct Description vs Indirect Presentation.
that's the key. what I have done thus far with Elysium is Directly Describe the characters, what is happening and the detail. Eg: Chelsea had long blond hair.
what I need to do is Indirectly Present the detail Eg: Chelsea chewed a stray strand of hair, as it dropped from her mouth the texture resembled wet hay.
this should help with the visual imagery and, if I can manage it, may also help with cutting back on the word count!!! wish me luck.
Welcome to Elysium - The Road Home
A journey from first draft to published by a novice novelist.
'Elysium' current status is, 4th draft awaiting final edit before professional advice is sought. Several trusted friends and industry experts are perusing the novel as we speak and I wait in a permanent state of agitation to once again resume crafting my fictional world.
From this point, mid 2010, I plan to update the blog monthly, with news of progress, competition and enlightenment, by way of introduction I have added here old posts from my original blog, please feel free to catch up. Or alternatively you could anxiously await the next post, where I promise to enlighten dear readers as to what 'Elysium" is about!
***
Blog Post number 1, 22 January 2009
Dusting off the shackles of old I have put 2008 behind me and now into the New Year and with it comes the death of our much loved family pet Rusty.
We miss you already old boy and I have written a lovely chapter dedicated to your sweet soul. RIP.
Having had such an emotional silly season has been beneficial to some degree as it has forced me once again to take a deeper look inside myself for inspiration and therefore opened up new avenues of thought to explore.
My current work in progress 'Elysium Fields' has benefited greatly from this new insight and I am once again excited about where the story is going, frequently as I have hacked away at the keyboard I have been surprised at my characters choices, it seems they have taken on a life of their own and the plot thickens as it twists down the road toward a conclusion.
I'm sure this is a normal experience for most writers, their characters hijacking the plot and riding off into the sunset, but it always thrills me a little to feel the character has a real life, albeit inside the depths of my own imagination!
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