Month: July 2020

covid 19, Uncategorized, writing opportunities

First Idea, Isn’t Necessarily Best Idea …

carolyncordon

Today was a day to visit, rather than a day to write … I did talk about my writing project though, when I visited my Mum, and she is thinking about what she may write if she actually writes something for the anthology I’m currently working on. I’m not demanding she write for me, but she knows I will be happy to receive something, if she does write it.

I’m not a demanding kind of person, asking, with no pressure is more my style, and that is working well enough for this Anthology I want to publish. The idea of having lots of different sesponses from a range of people, all about Covid-19, and the crazy times it has brought to us all, seems like a great thing, and I’m thrilled with both the quality and quantity of responses received, so far, and there’s still a few weeks to go until the submission closing day.

This image is a silly front cover image that occurred to me when I first started work on this project:

First idea, not best idea!

Having ideas, and being prepared to drop them when better options come along is an important thing in writing, and in life too, isn’t it? So when I was able to speak with a young man with artistic abilities far better than mine, and saw he was very interested in assisting me with the front cover of this book, I was thrilled. I’m sure the front cover of “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19” is going to be much better than the photograph as above, that was my first idea.

When I had the idea for this book thought, that I put out the word for submissions for an anthology about Covid-19, and gather them all into a fabulous and historical book, well, that first idea is still a fabulous one, no need to change it. It has grown, though, and the format has slowly came into being, and without being too overly prideful, I think it’s going to be a great and interesting book.

We’re living in times not many of us have ever had to deal with before, and different people have different thoughts and ideas about this time. We went from silly toilet paper things, to more nuanced ideas about community, politics, and a great number of other things. I look forward to getting this book finished, and launched.

I feel like this was a task I had to do, and while I know I’m not the only person with the idea of writing something about this time, I feel my book will be one of the books to show a wide range of the responses of people to this strange time.

So I’m still collecting more submissions, and if you’d like to have your work considered, this is what I’m looking for:
Poetry – up to three poems of up to thirty lines
and/or
Prose – up to three pieces, of 400 words or more, with a total of prose of up to 3,000 word.

If this interests you, please send work to me at kittycordo@gmail.com – I’ll let you know promptly if I would like to use your work. There is no payment for works accepted but accepted contributors will receive a free copy of the book, and extra copies required will be at a lower cost. I will sell copies out for free, to Australian contributors, and with contributors from other countries, will ask for postage to be paid for.

As I said, I hope this is interesting to you!

Cozy Mystery, New Ideas, Story Ideas, Uncategorized, Writing, writing exercise, writing opportunities

Finding Things to Write About

carolyncordon

It’s a strange time right now, strange, and disconcerting even. Lock Down, comes and goes, then comes back again, and we are all learning how far away 1.5 metres is, or if we don’t others might well tell us to back off!

And even though the writing project I’d imagined would take up the rest of my writing life isn’t really actually happening now, I’m still getting lots of writing done, some of it fiction, other parts non fiction, and the writing ideas are arriving often. It seems that everywhere I look and every new thing I see, gives me new things I could write, or write about.

So finding things to write about is seemingly not a problem for me, certainly not at the moment. And I’ve been getting ideas for the novel series I have on my list of writing projects to get back to, when my brain decides it’s actually time to do that. The novel series is a series of Cosy Murder Mysteries. I have a main character, I have a lovely little town where the murders happen, I have quite a few people who live in and around the town. And I have a bad guy who is going to get murdered too, at some stage of the series.

Today I began a novel writing exercise that relates to my series (the ‘At Talloola’ series, where Meredith Webster is the amateur sleuth, finding the killers, when the cops aren’t doing their job). The writing exercise is one more or less of my own devising, or maybe something I once read somewhere else. I used the homework for my writing group from last week, to get something written to strengthen my novel series.

The homework is to use this as a writing prompt – ‘I wish I could hear …’ So I twisted the homework and asked Meredith the question, and then the two of us, Meredith and I thought we would ask another character of my ‘At Talloola’ series the question to see what she said. This is what it all looks like:

“Homework to hand up on 16/7/20

‘I wish I could hear …’ 


I wonder what Meredith wishes she could hear? I’d better ask her, perhaps tomorrow.

Sorry Meredith, I wasn’t listening, humble apologies. Oh, did I accidentally just make a joke? Haha!

No, seriously, I’m listening this time, is there anything you wish you could hear Meredith? 

Ah, an honest answer from the Mayor of Talloola … I don’t think you’re the only person who’d like to hear that!

So the mayor is an habitual liar, how does a person in your position deal with that? How do other people deal with it, I wonder. Maybe you and I can find out, Meredith. What do you think, shall we ask some questions, do you think? Carefully, of course. Who shall we ask first? 

Gert? Ah, a simple one, we both know we can trust her, she’ll understand what we’re doing, and why, I think. She’s a very astute person, is dear old Gert!

So Meredith and I went around to her place, but she wasn’t there. We were about to head off back to the council, when we heard her, calling out, “Miss Meredith, do you have a minute for a chat? It isn’t private, Carolyn can come too, of course.”

So we went over to the Talloola Museum, and followed Gert through to the sheds at the back, wondering what on earth was going on. Soon enough though, it was clear that whatever was going on, was not a pretty thing. There were scratches on the dirt in the yard there, like something heavy had been dragged along, either to, or from, the shed that held the old Talloola Fire Engine, which was a star of the Talloola Christmas Party held at the oval every year.

Gert didn’t say a word, and Meredith and I were too intrigued to break the silence … what was it that had been dragged? and had it been dragged to the shed, or from the shed?

We’d find out very soon, I think. My mind was flicking around all over the place,and my heart was bang, bang, banging away, in alarm, or excitement, or some such thing, for sure. I’d find out more, and then …”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As you can see from this little piece, my mind is definitely still thinking about that writing project, even though it hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind, it’s still there at the back. I thing Meredith and I are doing to have lots of fun over the rest of my life. as we work on catching killers in and around Talloola!

I have the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle that I’m always thinking about of course, looking for possible articles, and ideas for attention grabbing front page pieces. And there is the “Plague Invasion” anthology, which is rapidly approaching the closing date for submission of works for consideration. As the editor of this, I’m looking for poetry and prose that is written in response to Covid-19. Anything and everything. I received an interesting piece yesterday a bit of science fiction, but it is based on our possible true future, with pandemics, and referring to our 2020 one we’re living with right now. Fascinating stuff!

So much happening, so many writing options, and of course our writing group has just ended our poetry competition, and the judge of the junior section has done her part, and found some award winners for us. I look forward to hearing from the other judge (of the Open section), and then letting the winners know. There are things to be discussed regarding this, with other writing group members.

There will be more news about this on another occasion.

I’m also quite interested in putting together a non fiction book regarding my personal and philosophical thoughts on what life is all about … Life is a smorgasbord, and I want to write the menu!

inspiration, Writing

What is a Writer?

carolyncordon

A writer can be many things – a teller of stories, a truthsayer, an inspiration, a liar, an explainer, a teacher, a flirt, and many other things. There are many genres of writing, from poetry, to fairy stories, to crime fiction, to scientific jargon filled papers about things most of us have never even heard of. And of course the many millions of things in between.

Writers can say the things we’d like to say, but are too afraid of. They can also tell us why the things we’ve said are nasty and dangerous lies, and should never have been said. Writers pen their words, sometimes getting them published, if they can, to share with the world, sometimes (they say) just writing for themselves. Who am I to doubt them?

I can only go by how I feel about this, and I have to say that I certainly want my words to be read by others. If I was a writer for myself only, I wouldn’t be writing on a blog, like this, that can be read by anyone and everyone, if they happen to come across it. And I certainly hope many people to happen to come across this blog post, and go on to discover the others I’ve penned here, and on my other blogs.

I’ve been named as being an inspiration, for sure, and even though I humbly duck my head and blush at that, I wear the label with pride. Looking back at my life, there have been hard times – I’ve been a victim, but not anymore. I went from victim, to survivor, to striver, and now to thriver!

My life is one on hope, and action, and thought, writing things that may entertain, and yes, inspire others. Writing is what I do, I am a writer. I write poetry, prose, fiction, non fiction. My life, and what I see, hear, am told, and think about, these are all my writing prompts. Thoughts come from it all, and when the time is right, the writing comes too, at the right time. Most of the time, the right time is whenever I can sit down and write!

Writing, with green bling!

So what is a writer? A writer is anyone who writes, published or not, if you write, you are a writer!

Uncategorized

Stages and Pages

carolyncordon

Things have slowed down, with putting together the Covid-19 related anthology I’ve been working on, but I’m a bit excited (very excited, actually), to have another piece that may end up in this book.

The book will be called “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”, and it’s very close to being ready to prepare it for printing. I’ve spoken to the person who will provide the front cover image. I’ve spoken to the printer recently too, with hopeful results. Thing are progressing well.

I almost have all of the submissions needed for this anthology. There’s a broad range of works, poetry, prose, fiction, and non fiction, and I’m loving the words people has sent to me. If putting together an anthology is always this much fun, even when the subject matter is not always a fun topic, well, bring on anthology subjects, I may do another one, once Plague Invasion has been launched.

Hmm, an anthology about vegetables? Or perhaps Home Grown as a writing prompt …

No, I won’t think further about that yet, I’m busy on other things, although … No I’ll get on with the other projects already begun, and finish some of them before I get working on that idea. In the forefront of my mind anyway. There’s no telling where the back of my brain might go though, when I’m not watching!

I have to say, I think I’ve never had such a time of creativity in terms of my writing. In this Lock Down time, things are still happening. Online connections are safe and they’re fast, too. And ideas are flowing, a river of them, and all I need to do is catch one in my net, and get stuck into it! The anthology is the most important thing, but things progress at their own pace, and the times in between can be used on smaller things …

At the moment, this anthology is looking like 104 words, or so, with at least another six or seven pages of prose on their way (or at least I hope they are …). So there will be over one hundred and ten pages, and

Time lengthens, shortens, depending on stages and pages …

inspiration, meaning in life

Is Life Planned, or Random?

carolyncordon

Seasons come, seasons go, we know what to expect, and can plan for that. We sow our seeds, the earth and the sun so what they do, clouds bring shade and rain. Things happen, seeds become plants, become food and we thrive.

Or it doesn’t go that way at all, sometimes, the rains don’e come when we expect them to, no clouds, a blazing sun, viscious winds, the ground an empty womb, nurturing only starvation … Can we plan for such times, never knowing when they may come, or not with any certainty. Random is always the unplanned thing, that brings changes, ones we’d never expected.

Is this a bad thing, or good? Change from farming, sell up, move, become something else entirely, but holding within you all of the knowledge gained, watching, working with Nature and using such gained wisdom in new ways. Unplanned, random good coming from bad.

But really, the things are only what you name them, and many are too quick to name, write off, move on, forgetting the possibility of good coming from bad, and only remembering the bad, hating it, blaming it, reviling it, railing against it, making it the main focus of life. But that bad season, could have been a good season, if you’d learned from previous ‘bad’ seasons, and planned for whatever might come, rather than the planned thing you expected to come …

We plant the seed …

I’m not a farmer, I’m a writer. I’ve written about many of my life experiences, the ‘bad’ ones the most, particularly early on in my writing ‘career’. Abuse, illness, accident, they’re there, but the words that came from those remembered experiences have brought peace of mind, understanding, and even joy.

Abuse, disease, good things from bad …

Life has happened, in unplanned and random ways, as it always has and always will. Randomness is the truth of these things, that’s what I believe. Nature goes with what happens, plants release seeds and sometimes they fall on barren land, with no rain to nurture seed to plant, to food, to plenty. Animals, including this human animal we are, deal with what is there, when it’s there, working to provide for the ‘bad’ times in and when we can, if we think to do so.

These things are what happens, some of them shaped by us, or more likely by Nature, and we deal with them, as best we can. Or we don’t, forgetting what we should always remember, from what our random lives have shown us …