On the last Monday of the month, I'll be posting a poem or two
Journey’s End
Ragged black wings
circle above the hopes mangled
underneath tyres. Food for the crows.
XXXX
Gravedigger
Shovel struck earth
ripped soil open, prepared bed
for those sleeping.
Missed Last Months poem? Read it here
Other recent posts you may have missed
Poetry news - 3 Horrors Accepted
Writing resource - Why I Love A Good Freewrite
Monday, 30 May 2011
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Poetry News - 3 Short Horrors Accepted
I recently received the happy news that 3 of my very short horror poems - River of Life, The Tree, and Maniac have been accepted for publication in late June. I'll post full details nearer the time so you can all swing by and have a read.
I feel like a writer again.
I feel like a writer again.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Row80 - Check in 8
My Goal: To continue prep work for two novellas in progress.
Big fail on the goal front, kind of ground to a halt. Although I had a bit of a revelation with my novella Shroud yesterday, it needs to be a novel. The premise is too big for a novella and the horror isn't in there enough. I think I tried to compress the story too much rather than letting it be.
I've been thinking how to best bring the story up to where it needs to be and one possibility is to explore a couple of my minor characters or use two parallel time lines seeing as one viewpoint character was around with the antagonist way back when.
I'm completely overwhelmed now with the structural problems and a novel is a whole different ball game so I would only be happy pursuing the traditional publishing route....
.... and if Shroud needs to be a novel, my second wip Clown needs to be a novel.
Big fail on the goal front, kind of ground to a halt. Although I had a bit of a revelation with my novella Shroud yesterday, it needs to be a novel. The premise is too big for a novella and the horror isn't in there enough. I think I tried to compress the story too much rather than letting it be.
I've been thinking how to best bring the story up to where it needs to be and one possibility is to explore a couple of my minor characters or use two parallel time lines seeing as one viewpoint character was around with the antagonist way back when.
I'm completely overwhelmed now with the structural problems and a novel is a whole different ball game so I would only be happy pursuing the traditional publishing route....
.... and if Shroud needs to be a novel, my second wip Clown needs to be a novel.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Writing resource - Why I Love A Good Freewrite
What Is Freewriting?
Freewriting is allowing yourself to write freely for a set period of time.
What do I need?
I generally use my word processor but the good old fashioned notebook and pen is just as effective.
How Do I Freewrite?
When do I find freewriting useful?
If I'm stuck doing the research and prep work for a new novella and I'm resisting starting the first draft too soon, I find I'm itching to write so I use freewriting as a way to write without jeopardising my current project.
I also find freewriting a good source for discovering new story seeds or images that can be weaved into a poem.
The other bonus to freewriting is it has produced answers to big questions or solutions to huge annoyances in my private life.
What happens next?
Further resources:
Some other ways you can use freewriting
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_freewrite.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing
Feel free to share your thoughts on freewriting in the comments section
Freewriting is allowing yourself to write freely for a set period of time.
What do I need?
I generally use my word processor but the good old fashioned notebook and pen is just as effective.
How Do I Freewrite?
- I usually go for a minimum of ten minutes
- I usually start with the first word that pops into my head
- I keep writing even if I'm stuck repeating the same phrase or writing absolute nonsense. My own freewrites tend to bleed from one random thought or idea into another.
- I Ignore spelling and grammar mistakes.
- I just write
When do I find freewriting useful?
If I'm stuck doing the research and prep work for a new novella and I'm resisting starting the first draft too soon, I find I'm itching to write so I use freewriting as a way to write without jeopardising my current project.
I also find freewriting a good source for discovering new story seeds or images that can be weaved into a poem.
The other bonus to freewriting is it has produced answers to big questions or solutions to huge annoyances in my private life.
What happens next?
- I add the date, time and duration to the document. It's not really necessary but I like adding this info to all my writing.
- I correct the spelling mistakes, I hate those squiggly red lines.
- I use my word processor's highlighter function to highlight any phrases or images I think could be developed into a story or poem and sometimes I've been given a sneak preview of a potential character.
Further resources:
Some other ways you can use freewriting
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_freewrite.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing
Feel free to share your thoughts on freewriting in the comments section
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
ROW80 - Check in 7
My Goal: To continue research for 2 novella's in progress.
Still chipping away at the research which has been sending me in circles although I was eventually able to confirm that a character's occupation was possible in my selected time period.
Also realised I'm completely behind on reading, and behind on studying and am itching to get back to writing although I'm trying to resist the urge until the research is done so perhaps I should do some freewriting or work on some poetry. My routine has gone somewhat kaput over the last week.
It's the mid round blues for me at the moment.LOL
Still chipping away at the research which has been sending me in circles although I was eventually able to confirm that a character's occupation was possible in my selected time period.
Also realised I'm completely behind on reading, and behind on studying and am itching to get back to writing although I'm trying to resist the urge until the research is done so perhaps I should do some freewriting or work on some poetry. My routine has gone somewhat kaput over the last week.
It's the mid round blues for me at the moment.LOL
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
ROW80 - Check in 6
My Goal : To continue prep work for two novellas in progress.
After committing myself to 'Clown" I became wooed by "Bridge" and am currently going through the research and character sheet stage for both projects.
After committing myself to 'Clown" I became wooed by "Bridge" and am currently going through the research and character sheet stage for both projects.
- Protagonist sheets for both projects are half done.
- Locations for both stories have been decided on.
- Began location research for Bridge
- Wrote about 444 words on the 1st chapter of Bridge
- Scribbled scenes for both projects on index cards
- Both Bridge and Clown have been designated a display book and allocated a folder on the macs desktop.
Also apologies to the rest of the ROW80ers as I'm finding it increasingly more difficult to keep up with everyone's check ins and to carve some saneness back into my available time I may become socially inactive until nearer the end of round 2.
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