Quote Of The Day

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

- Napoleon Hill

Interneteria - week ending 27th Nov 09

@ The Gutsy Girl's Guide To Success, by Molly Hoyne.

@ Gorgeousness! Five New Yorkers Who Wear Only One Colour All Day, Every Day.

@ Tricks For Success In The Writing-Life Balancing Act, by Jade Blackwater.

@ Took me a shameful five minutes of reading before I realised this wasn't real...

@ Lolarious: Photoshopping contest that puts delicious toppings on everything!

@ Some interesting articles about blogging: Ten Things Blogging Has Taught Me and Why Nobody Cares About Your Blog.

@ Pip of Meet Me At Mike's shows us how to be creative with your gift-giving this Christmas: 287 Links To Ace Craft Projects!

@ How To Be Productive Without Becoming A Productivity Freak, by Dragos Florin Roua.

@ And lo, the real reason the Internet was invented is finally here!

On What I'm Working On Atm.

Last week, I decided to sit down and form an official list of all the ideas currently flickering around in my mind, waiting impatiently to be written. I ended up with sixteen dot points - projects of varying size, scope, excitement to compose and importance to complete.

I must admit that seeing the amount of writing I had inside my head scared me. So I started work on shortening that list straight away!

Instead of my usual tactic - burying my head in the offline, slaving away over my multiple Word docs until I had something shiny to present - I thought I'd discuss the details of what I'm working on atm here at the blog. I don't know if it will be interesting reading for anyone else (but sure hope so!), but I'm certain just talking about these projects will help me as a writer, to clarify what is going well, what needs to be worked on, what it is I'm trying to say in each piece, and so on...

One. An article for the next issue of Yoke Zine. I've been thrashing about, on and off, writing the piece for the last few weeks. I really like my idea for the article - my past and opinions on dating musicians - but articulating all my wide-spread, emotion-stained thoughts on this subject is proving akin to squeezing blood out a stone. In the end, I've had to ask the editor for a proper deadline for this article - the pressure of such usually provides a decent cure to my personal brand of writer's block.

Two. An article based on the theme of "tabula rasa", for the debut issue of a zine created in collaboration with some online friends of mine. I've known about this article for yonks now, but I still haven't properly started it yet - I think because all of us organising the zine are procrastinating on our individual contributions! But as soon as I'm done with the Yoke piece, all my article-writing energies will be firmly focused on this.

Three. A review of a young adult book for lip Magazine. Again, an article with no specific deadline that I probably should've submitted weeks ago. Naughty Rachel! (But in my defence, it took two reminder e-mails and several weeks to get a book to me to begin with.) The piece only has to be about five hundred words, but the title I was sent is one I wouldn't choose to read myself - and as somebody whose review-writing experience is none too expansive, I'm still playing around with my phrasing and such, so that the review isn't overly coloured by bias.

However, I'm hoping that if this review does end up published, it will give me the chance to be familiar with the lip editorial team, and perhaps write something in much more my style for a future issue of their fine publication!

Four. An one-act play, for submission to a theatrical showcase associated with the Mardi Gras Festival (in February 2010). The awesome thing about this project is that I don't have to hand in a finalised script - the organisers are looking for drafts only, which can be further worked on to best fit in with the final concept of the production.

The project brief asks for stories on "love, sex and death". My submission will be a script that I actually started (and abandoned) almost two years ago now; about a woman and the one night stands she's had in the wake of a heartbreak. Am pleased to report that this piece is almost finished - I only have three more scenes to nut out before I can sent it off!

This draft is due the same day as...

Five. An application for the Australian Theatre for Young People's Fresh Ink program in 2010, which is a year-long series of developmental workshops for young aspiring playwrights. The program also provides the opportunity to have your work produced by the ATYP. I wouldn't get paid for my participation, but it would be a wonderful chance to work on my playwriting skills, and to pick the brains of some most esteemed professional playwrights, acting as mentors.

I have to submit five pages of an original script with this application - I haven't decided whether I will include pages from the aforementioned Mardi Gras project, or one of the other drafts I have whiling away in my hard drive. I suspect a script on one night stands might be a bit too racy for this purpose! :p

. . .

A side note of note: as an adolescent obsessed with the stage, my first "proper" foray into writing was playwriting - but it's been at least a year since I last tried to write a script, and at least three years (when I was at University, studying theatre) since I was actually able to finish a whole draft. My temp job at the theatre company has inspired me to pursue playwriting again, and I am muchly relishing returning to a format I can compose so strongly for. Dialogue and scene-structure has always come extremely naturally to me - unlike some other writing attempts of mine (which won't make any sense until it's all spewed out on the page), I can always imagine the conversations, movements and character arcs, with a wonderful crystal-clarity. It's satisfying and comforting - makes me feel like I haven't lost my creative skillz completely, y'know?

. . .

The list of writings that I have yet to start is slightly staggering; however, most of these other ideas are blog-related, so I have all the time in the world to work on them. Top of this pile to blog about are: my latest adventures in learning the ukulele; my reviews of How To Be Free and Serious Creativity (which I've at last started reading); my playing around with a writing "routine"; the next part of Here's Looking At That Blog Serial That's Taking Me Effing Forever To Finish; another photo-post; and a contribution to (Bambola's) Lovers' Diary.

Oh, and a post updating y'all on my current writing projects - which, yay! I can now check off the list :)

Quote Of The Day

Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.

– Samuel Butler

On Being Kreativ.

I am honoured to be bestowed a Kreativ Blogger award by Monster Girl:

The Rules stipulate that I list seven little curiosities about myself, and then tag seven other kreativ bloggers to do the same. However, I sorta suck at these things - especially since I started blogging so specifically about one aspect of my life - so I'm going to ask you, Gentle Reader, for your assistance:

If you could comment to this post with a question for and about me, I will answer the first seven. Those whose Qs get an A will be my septuplet tagged.

Advance thanks, lovelies! :)

Interneteria - week ending 22nd Nov 09

Lovely readers of old and new, much thanks for all the kick-ass comments and messages this last week. I pinky-swear promise that there will be actual bloggage here next week - the last five days have been insane-in-the-membrane busy, and it was my poor Middles that drew the short straw of neglect. But onwards and upwards - with an shot of productivity inspired by impending ending decade - I shall move on...!

@ Who I Am V. What I Do, by ever-clever Sarah Von.

@ Procrastination is... spending four-odd minutes watching this video :p

@ The Best Writing Tips Ever, by Amy Hertz. I am most intrigued by these meditative "mind writing slogans"...

@ Gapingvoid illustrates an apt portrait of writer's block.

@ An interesting article on the concept of inspiration as chance: Purposeful Creativity.

@ You Don't Need To Take The Leap, by Havi Brooks.

@ Some beautifully evocative b&w photos: In The Dark.

@ The Revenue Reality Of A Bestseller - America-centric, but still certainly thought-food.

@ Pampering Your Subconscious, by Andrea of a cat of impossible colour.

@ And for teh glee: I Like To Sing, by Keri Smith.

Quote Of The Day

Criticize by creating.

– Michelangelo Buonarroti

Interneteria - week ending 15th Nov 09

Hello again, lovelies! I'm ba-ack! I has Internetz once more, and I'm looking oh-so-forward to throwing myself back into the blogging schedule.

My apologies for the forced fortnight away; it seemed to hit at just the worst time too - awesome creative things cropping up in rl, and a bunch of wonderful newbs coming across my blog. But the time offline also allowed me to stew on some exciting ideas for not only my Middles, but my writing as well.

To celebrate my return, I've triumphantly complied a super-sized issue of inspiring reads for today's Interneteria. Happy procrastinating!

@ Firstly, beautiful Culieann blogged about meeting moi. Welcome to those of you who've found me via there :)

@ Q&A On Work With Elsie Flannigan, of Red Velvet Art.

@ Richard Dawkins on how science is actually an art.

@ Ah, heart! Everyone Everywhere, by Dallas Clayton.

@ The Power Of Being Personal On Your Blog, by Darren Rowse.

@ Hey Jude by The Beatles, in flowchart form!

@ Hayden Tompkins delivers the goods again with How To Use Your Calendar To Stay Motivated.

@ 10 Reasons Why It's Awesome People Don't Like You, by Lori Deschene.

@ The Greatest. Couple Costume. Evah.

@ Advice column answers on being artistically-inclined: I'm creative but don't know where to begin and My family don't want me to be a writer!

@ YouTube comment or e.e. cummings line?, by François Vincent.

@ Gorgeous designer gown made out of LEDs!

@ How To Make Time For Time, by Martin of TheUniversityBlog.

@ What in the weird?! Study shows eye movements can increase creative thinking.

@ Have I posted Engineer's Corner, by Wendy Cope already? If so, here 'tis again - one of my all-time fave poems.