Tag Archives: inspiration

Writing Excuses – Gender / Age Swap

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I’ve mentioned before that I’m a massive fan of the Writing Excuses podcast. For Season 10 they’re doing things a little differently, with writing exercises at the end of most episodes, rather than simple writing prompts. I’ve found these much more engaging, and have actually found myself working with them more than I ever did with the prompts.

writingexcuses

As part of the exercise for Episode 2, we had to take a short synopsis we’d created in Episode 1 and do a gender / age swap on the characters. This led to a massive lightbulb moment.

I would say that I love to write strong female characters, largely because we still live in a world where we have to use terms like ‘strong female characters’. Anyhoo, I found myself merrily swapping until the third character when I thought ‘no, I’ll keep this as a man otherwise there’ll be too many women’.

Feel free to internet slap me. I did to myself.

Of course, in writing down my original little synopsis, at no point did I think to myself to hold on, there were far too many men going on here. In my defence, it was a piece of historical fiction, so I do have the weight of history behind me when making women secondary in the key moments. Yet in an entirely fictional realm, I had automatically restricted the characters, and the only female in the story was about as dynamic as a Disney princess. Not one of the newer ones either. One of the ones that do the cleaning until their prince comes and they can finally live out the rest of their mundane lives in a better frock. Whoop!

Completing the swap, the synopsis now actually seems much less mundane and prosaic; something I could actually consider building up into something bigger, rather than just a simple writing exercise done for fun. The question of why these characters weren’t the ones that presented to me intuitively is something I will have to dig deeper within myself to try and understand. I’m hoping the awareness at least will mean I pause for a moment next time and ask myself: am I just following the well-worn path that society and history has already conveniently laid out in front of me?

You can access the writing excuses podcast here. It’s well worth checking out.

The majesty of Doubtful Sound, New Zealand

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a tbt for the Antipodean part of the world, so I thought I’d take a quick trip down memory lane to Doubtful Sound.

As this time last year I was landing in Christchurch for my writing sabbatical, the one thing I wanted to do most was make sure I travelled down the southern island to visit this unique part of the world.

Doubtful Sound (and it’s neighbour, the better known Milford Sound) is pretty much as far south as you can get in the world without setting foot in Antarctica. Not always easy to get to, it was a place I couldn’t reach the last time I was in New Zealand because that would have required all kinds of snow chains and adventuring in a campervan that I wasn’t quite ready for. This time I managed to get there during late Spring which meant the destination itself was the focus, and not the hair raising attempts to get there. Which is good, because the place itself is so remote and peaceful, those were the feelings I wanted to take away with me.

Doubtful Sound

 

The weather wasn’t the greatest, but as it is one of the wettest places in the country, the fact it hadn’t rained for nearly three weeks was being considered a drought. Of course, given our gift of making rain happen, we soon brought the spell of good weather to an end as we set sail into the low hanging mist.

Doubtful Sound Boat

 

The thing about the Sounds in New Zealand is that they have very little top soil, with the hard bedrock of the mountain being just below the surface. This means that even a moderate amount of rainfall causes the steep mountainsides to erupt in an abundance of waterfalls. Despite the cold and wet, as night began to fall we took some kayaks and went off to see these up close and personal. The silence was astounding. There were only fifty or so of us within miles and no other manmade sound.

Waterfalls of Doubtful Sound

If there is any possibility left for peace and quiet on earth, I think this is where I would always like to find it.

For anyone thinking of travelling to this part of the world, I would definitely recommend it. Having spoken to a lot of people, Doubtful Sound jumped to the top of the list over Milford Sound, which is a bit more of a commercial operation. To fully experience the qualities this part of the world can bring, the fewer the numbers with you the better. You can get all the loud hijinks you want later as you travel back up to Queenstown.

My Top 5 Podcasts of 2014

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They say you become an approximation of the five people you hang out with most. Given that I’m a writer who works from home three days a week, that would be two actual other people, followed by me, myself and I. Luckily, I listen to a lot of podcasts. Yet I know a lot of people don’t, so here’s a few reasons why you should.

Firstly, there is a whole heap of them out there, so you’ll be able to find something to suit your mood. Secondly, because there are so many, if you have a niche interest, with a bit of hunting around, you will find one about your odd subject of choice. If you don’t, you can always start one yourself. There’s even podcasts on how to make podcasts. See what I mean? Plethora of information. Finally, in order to get you to listen, people essentially give away a condensed version of their content for free. This is a great way to try before you buy, especially in the world of business, where conferences and books can cost a fortune. Go on. Give it a try.

So, without further ado, here they are (with twitter links to their creators/presenters):

Top podcast of 2014

The Pen Addict with Myke Hurley & Brad Dowdy

See what I mean about a niche interest? My long-held secret crush for pens and notebooks finally blossomed into true love due to these men. Which sounds much nicer than calling them the pen-pushing enablers they really are. The shows are always fun and informative, and for anyone who does a lot of longhand writing (or drawing), just knowing some of the best pens out there can make your life so much easier. They do the hard work so you don’t have to. Plus, they are a super nice pair of guys following their dreams, which I always admire (you can check out Brad’s Nock Co pen cases here. They are awesome – my Hightower goes everywhere with me).

Top Businesses Podcast

This is Your Life by Michael Hyatt

I’ve put this under business, but it is so much more than that. Michael’s tagline is that it is a podcast about intentional leadership, but I think it goes much deeper. It certainly deals with brand and platform, alongside how to be a better leader, but it is not actually all career specific. A lot of what Michael focuses on is the principles and ethics which lie beneath these decisions, and in a cut-throat world where a lot of people will do anything to get one foot further up the ladder, it is a refreshing reminder that honesty and integrity on the things that really matter. It is about achieving your goals and ambitions in the right way, not ‘at any cost’.

Top Writing Podcast

Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Taylor and Mary Robinette Kowal

In my humble opinion, anyone who is – or wants to be – a writer should be listening to this podcast. I’ve actually been listening to it for years, but during my little writing sabbatical at the beginning of the year I was able to go back and re-listen to many of them to get the really good stuff out. For a podcast which is only 15 minutes long, it is amazing that they manage to get so much useful information into an episode with four people talking. Each of them brings a different perspective to the topic, meaning that even if one person’s tips and tricks don’t work for you, there is a good chance that someone else’s will. Also great if you like reading in general, comics and occasional buffoonery.

Top Getting Up Podcast

5AM Miracle with Jeff Sanders

Now, you might not think that ‘Getting Up’ is a category, but let me assure you it is. It might never have been called that before, but early rising has been a hot topic in 2014. I’ve been getting up at 6am to write for years now. I’ve not made it to 5am yet, but I think 6 is a pretty reasonable compromise. It’s not easy, even when you’re getting up to do something you love. Jeff’s podcast is a good way of not only finding that motivation, but also tips and tricks to make it easier once you’ve dragged your sorry backside from under the duvet on a cold, dark Monday morning. Covering productivity and healthier living, this podcast has matured greatly over the past twelve months and it has been great to follow Jeff’s journey through this.

Best Health & Wellness Podcast

Jillian Michaels with Jillian Michaels and Janice Ungaro

Another misleading header, as although this podcast started out as health and fitness, it has now grown into having a nice catchup with friends talking about whatever the topic of the day is. And that is just fine with me. Janice gets a mention here because although she’s technically the producer, she has become the other half of this comedy act. The thing that I love the most about this is that Jillian talks with complete honesty – there is no hiding behind the PR company here. It’s like sitting round in a coffee shop with a bunch of friends that you know are slightly crazy but you love them anyway. The serious stuff gets slipped in there somewhere along the way without ever sounding too preachy.

So that’s my roundup. It’s been a good year for consuming audio material and seriously, if you haven’t tried podcasts before, then go find one. Free and easy, just like libraries. What do you have to lose?

Notebooks of 2014

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I have written a lot this year.

I reached that conclusion when I looked back over the notebooks I have completed over the past 12 months. Yes, all of these books are full (other than a few pages at the end sometimes). I clearly have a problem. One that I have zero intention of seeking treatment for.

2014 Notebooks

At about this time last year, I discovered the bullet journal system by Ryder Carroll. I’ve talked about implementing it before. I freely admit that I don’t use the system in its entirety, and I have changed the way I’ve used it over time, but the basics are fantastic. For anyone who wants to capture ideas in a notebook, then it is the best way to do it I’ve ever come across. Throw in my discovery of Field Notes and I’m one happy lady.

My plan for 2015? To keep going. One day I hope to look back on these and remember a life lived to the full. Isn’t that what we all want really? The places I’ve travelled, the people I’ve met. In those pages there are story ideas, snippets of conversations, journal entries and simple to do lists, all of which mark the passing of time and the movement of my own story. It may never mean anything to anyone else, but it does to me.

The best city on earth: Sydney

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Sydney Opera House

Given the events of this week, it seemed a perfect choice to do a Throwback Thursday to Sydney. Sydney was my home for a while a few years ago, and a place I’ve once again visited in the past six months. In fact, as I sat here twelve months ago, the plan was to be living in Sydney right now. So the siege this week was something I saw with the detached sense of someone who wasn’t there, but could quite easily  place myself at the scene mentally.

The ‘I’ll ride with you‘ hashtag, appearing so quickly and easily during the events, reminded me of why I love Australia (and Aussies) so much. While much of Europe takes its typical approach to these sorts of things – I’m thinking the approach that always seems to lead to war – and America certainly isn’t much better, Australia instead embraced the theory of mateship that it knows itself for. No one needed to feel unsafe because of the actions of a madman. We’re all in this together. Not send them back to their own country or they’re all coming over here and stealing our jobs/benefits. It is a different culture. A different world. One which is far away, but always in my heart.

This is how it looked when I first saw it and digital cameras were very much in their infancy. There is something about being in Sydney that is so unique – there is no way you can confuse it with any other part of the world:
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Sydney is my favourite city in the world. I’m not a huge fan of cities. I never dreamed as a kid of wrapping up all my possessions in a knapsack and leaving home to find my fortune with the big lights. But Sydney gets so many things right it’s hard not to fall in love with it a little bit more every time.

Sydney Water Views

Of course, the fallout from one madman’s events will continue to land for a while to come. I just hope that the people of Sydney are able to continue with their first response of compassion and understanding as the grief rolls through.

It’s no understatement that my time in Sydney went a long way towards shaping who I wanted to be and what I wanted from my life, in terms of quality, writing, experiences and relationships. And this summer, when I walked back to Manly Wharf, it was a place that still felt like home…

Manly Wharf

Review: Field Notes – Ambition Edition

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I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Field Notes Ambition Edition is one of my favourites. It was this edition that has finally made me a colors subscriber.

Presence of hedgehog makes it even better

Presence of hedgehog makes it even better

They have been pushing the boundaries of what they could do with Field Notes over the past few editions, so I was wondering just how far they would be able to go with the winter release. There is a fine line between genius and crazy and part of me has been dreading them crossing it. Instead, by going with the three different types of notebooks in one pack, I think they’ve managed to hit a sweet spot.

The memo book itself is a lovely colour (wine) and more importantly for me, uses grid paper. I love grid and the form factor and size makes it perfect for an everyday carry bullet journal:

Field Notes Memo Book

Secondly, and a sensible one for the time of year, I can certainly see the appeal of the 56 Week date book. They’ve also avoided actually dating the pages which, given the fact that anyone who regularly buys Field Notes is likely to work through their existing pack before opening the next one, means it is not rendered immediately useless if that doesn’t happen until March:

Field Notes Date Book

Finally, the ledger book. Now, this one causes me a bit of a dilemma. I really like it, but I’m not sure how to use it. Not in a way that is anything other than a regular notebook, which almost feels a bit of a waste. I’m not that into sport, and all my financials are done on a spreadsheet. If anyone has any suggestions then please let me know, as I’m struggling a bit to come up with something creative.

Field Notes Ledger

After the brightness of Unexposed, I love the muted colours of these books. They work with the gold trim to create a old school sense of style which I’m very comfortable with. Also the sound of that trim cracking as you open the pages for the first time is intensely satisfying in a way that only notebook addicts will understand. I can see them coming out at work without causing any raised eyebrows (Unexposed was about as far from corporate as you can get without spitting in the eye of your CEO).

Thanks of course go to Mr Brad Dowdy, the Pen Addict himself, for getting me interested in Field Notes in the first place. You should check out his website if you haven’t already. Without him, I would be emotionally poorer (but certainly financially richer…)

Boys Books or Girls Books – Who Cares?

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Having read yesterday about the young girl who asked a publisher to change a book because it was ‘for boys’, it made me think about my own Christmas shopping experience at the weekend. Specifically, Toys R Us *shudder*.

Now, I’m not going to find fault with them particularly, as they merely stock the toys that are made by various companies. But it was the first time I’d been in a toy shop in years, especially for such an extended period. The one thing that struck me was the amount of toys that were still ‘for girls’ – invariably in a garish pink – and others that were for boys (emphasis on farts and gore). I did, happily, see one science set with a cartoon girl on the front, but it should be noted, it was one in a very large number.

I get it, I really do. It sells. We live in a material world and that no longer just applies to Madonna. But it was somehow just really disheartening. I was looking at the really cool stuff and then getting a disappointing sense that it wasn’t for me. If I feel like that in my thirties, when quite frankly I don’t actually want to play Transformers*, then what message are we sending to young brains?

Luckily, my parents had the good sense to buy what I wanted and not force dolls and pink on me. Besides, I can remember it like it was yesterday. *ahem*

By the power of Grayskuuuuuuuull

By the power of Grayskuuuuuuuull

More importantly, they certainly didn’t make that mistake when it came to books. My sister, happily a my-little-pony-style-girly-girl who definitely went super pink when it came to toys, also got the gender neutral treatment when books were given. A good story is a good story. Books of facts and games are informative and fun, regardless of how you happened to be born. Books of adventure could be for us just as much as fluff and nurturing. And I get the distinct impression, looking back with my adult hindsight, that neither parent wanted us to grow up to be damsels in distress. They wanted us to be independent and successful; secure in ourselves.

So I guess I wanted to say a big well done to all those parents who are trying to bring up their kids to consider all the options because, sadly, you’re still fighting against the same tide my mom and dad were thirty years ago.

*This may or may not be the truth

My original 1980s Optimus Prime

My original 1980s Optimus Prime

NaNoWriMo – Head Down, Keep Going

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For a lot of people still chugging away at NanoWrimo, this is the hard part. So I just wanted to write a very quick post of encouragement for those who are starting to believe the finish line will never arrive.

For those of you who have only written a thousand words every day – you are awesome. You have taken the time to write consistently and that is something that most people really struggle to do. Even if by the end of Nano that means you’ve only written 30,000 words, then who cares? You’ve still achieved and that is a great thing, even if November 30th appears and you’re still slogging away.

Or as Douglas Adams puts it:

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

nanowrimo-logo

There will be some people who did great in the beginning then had a few rough days and now want to give up. That is completely understandable. Bad days can knock your motivation, enthusiasm and self-belief. Now is the time to stand up, try on your superhero pose and start again. Take anything, a line, a scene, an interesting character, and start writing. The beauty of Nano is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Or even averagely good. It just needs to be written down and out of your brain.

For everyone else at all stages in between, the advice is the same. Keep going. The sense of satisfaction at seeing that progress bar hit the 50k for the first time is quite memorable. You might even find that you want to keep going when it is done. There are an increasing number of published novels out there that were NanoWrimo monsters to begin with, which is something to keep in mind.

Remember:

If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
– Somerset Maugham

Now, go do it!

 

Why join a writing group?

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I’ve been to several writing groups over the years, starting with my very first one when I was still at college. My dad, for a while, helped out with some adult learning and spotted a flyer for it at the local library and encouraged me to go. Over the years there has been quite a mixed bag and I’ve encountered all of the ones I talk about below.

My least favourite writing group is one full of pretentious arty farty types – think middle aged men in cravats –  who think they are qualified to give scathing literary critiques are required because they actually believe their eye is as good as a booker prize judge. They once had a letter printed in the back of the local newspaper and can crush the fledgling writer in their very palm. Which is good, because they haven’t got anywhere and they don’t want anyone else to yet either.

The other side of that coin comes in the group that is too friendly. Great for building up confidence and self-esteem, but if all the feedback is positive then you never really improve. It might be less likely to make you cry, but it’s really no more beneficial than the one above.

All too common is the giant writing group, where you only have two minutes and forty seven seconds to read 800 words and get a whopping 2 minutes of feedback. One of those minutes is usually wasted on deciding on who goes first. Not exactly useful.

Found on the interwebz, contact me for credit

Found on the interwebz, contact me for credit

 

So, having run that psychological gauntlet, is it worth being part of a writing group? The answer is most definitely. But there are a couple of factors that have to be, like Goldilock’s porridge, just right.

The Right People

So you all love writing. Great. You have the sum total of one thing in common and you don’t even agree on that. It takes more than being a writer, but doesn’t automatically mean you need to have a heap of other similar interest either. What you do need is a group of people you like enough to trust. Sharing your WIP when it is a new thing, all yours, is an scary experience. If you fear getting shot down, or being given meaningless praise, then you’ll share the stuff that doesn’t matter most to you. You want encouragement, but also suggestions and help that is genuine. Trust will grow over time, but that means having the right people in the mix.

Genre

Make sure you’re not all writing in the same genre. This may sound counter-intuitive, but trust me, it’s not. Not because you might see the people in your group as competition – success can and should happen to everyone there if they deserve it – but because it dramatically reduces the group’s perspective. If you write literary fiction, being able to persuade someone who writes YA or SciFi will mean you have done more than just write for those who are already going to like it. That forces you to notice craft and really kick it up a level.

Experience

There is great value in having experience which spans from beginner to already published. A group of writers who have one or two rejections between them, have never networked, will by design have a limited perspective. Conversely, a group of published writers are also coming from the same perspective. A writing group comprised of people at all stages means that point of view can be handed up as well as down. No one there has an invalid opinion. Even if you are working on your first draft, you have the perspective that the rest of the group may have forgotten. Sometimes, this can be a handy reminder of why everyone is doing it in the first place. This mix, in my mind, is the most useful element you can have in your group.

Get these things correct and it’ll be smooth sailing. Of course, you might not get it straight away. Every group will evolve naturally over time regardless. But it stops writing from being a solitary experience, where the only people who understand are the people in your head. It will open your eyes to new worlds and perspectives.

My writing group now is a mix of all of the above and it is one of the most inspiring and motivation things I have ever been a part of. When I left for my spell in New Zealand, I felt its loss more than I probably should have done.

Anyone else had a similar experience? Do you know that annoying man in the cravat? Let me know in the comments!

It’s time for a Time Out

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This year has been a crazy and exciting year for me. I’ve circumnavigated the globe, changed jobs, become self-employed as well, and walked hand-in-hand with people who are going through things much worse than anything I have had to deal with.

There comes a natural point in which I realise I need to take a time out. It happens every year, usually much earlier than this, but putting it off any longer is futile. I need to unplug from the world, reassess where my life is going and how to make the most of the few weeks which remain before the end of the year.

Research is mounting up to show that not enough people are doing this. One of the leading causes of burnout, people are simply not stepping away from the world of work, the drama of their social lives, or even the constant bombarding of information from the internet. People are feeling overwhelmed and overloaded and it is pushing so many people down the road of unhappiness. Even the fact I’m sharing this in a blog post is indicative of the ubiquitous pressure to connect and share with the world at large. Don’t get me wrong, connections are very valuable and an essential part of life, but is this just the written version of the selfie?

For the past ten years (at least), I have put great faith in stepping away from it all for at least two consecutive weeks each year. Time to read, time to be creative and thing of new projects I want to tackle. There is nothing like being freed from your daily obligations to get the creative juices flowing. It has always been of great benefit in my work life too, allowing me to successfully cope with the pressure of day jobs which have been a vortex for my time and energy. Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case as much this year, which – hopefully – means it should take even less time to unwind and relax.

I have picked out my selection of books to read (fiction and non-fiction for variety), a couple of notebooks to both journal in and devise cunning plots, and a determination to remove that little wireless button from my life for a bit.

There may also be cocktails, but maybe not. That’s just part of the freedom to do what I want to do.