Twas the night before Christmas and in the house A creature was stirring, that cheeky small mouse The presents were piled up under the tree With credit available, it feels like they’re free!
But nothing is free, not in our time Five finger discount’s not real, it’s a crime And that little mouse, is thieving for sure Nibbling on goodies bought from the store
It’s a wee little creature, you might call it cute But the droppings it leaves, they’re not so beaut! What if Santa got sick, from mouse poo on his bickies And all of his reindeer got crook, went on sickies?
A terrible Christmas, caused by a mouse, Pooping on food it stole from my house! My very best Chrismas would be rodent free, With no little surprises from mousie, for me!
I hoped you liked my poem, I have much experience of unwanted rodents inside the house, more in the past, but still one in the house every now and then …
After this weird Covid crisis we’ve all had, all around the world, can we safely get together for a Christmas get together with family? I hope we can. I live in South Australia, not many world travellers around where I live, and Covid has stayed away, mostly.
But all it might take is one person not to be careful, and wham, Covid might strike. That frightening thought is there, hovering just out of sight. Famous people have caught it, and lived, well known people are being vaccinated, so they may go on living, health workers, and other essential others are being vaccinated …
And on various websites, and other social media outlets, other people are talking about risks, and who deserves or needs to be vaccinated, and who shouldn’t be vaccinated. When the time comes, if it comes, for me to make a decision about being vaccinated, I will go with the best thought out way, and go that way. Science, evidence, feedback from my medical people, that is what my decision will be based on.
I’ve looked at the most up to date words about my Multiple Sclerosis medication (Gilenya), and Covid, and it seems I’m not really any more at risk than the general population, so I will continue with my social distancing, and hand washing, and stay well, I hope.
But we have to make it through, and beyond Christmas and the New Year first, and hey, I still have some presents to wrap in time for Christmas Day!
I wish everyone best wishes for the festive season, and I hope you have a safe and lovely time!
As a so-called ‘novelist’ I am not writing my current novel every day. I’m not even writing more of it every second day … Life, as the title suggests, is a pest, and gets in the way of my novel writing. But life is certainly a pleasure too, and it gives me things to write about.
Any kind of writing is useful for a novelist, or wannabee one, which is a more truthful title for me, I’d think. I have part of a novel written, a third of it, and that’s it. So I am a wannabee novelist, or I could say I have a novel in (slow) progress. I am only human, and being only human is a good thing to be, for a novelist, because of course, humans, that’s what I must write about.
Whether my characters are aliens, dogs, or cows, they are really humans in another form. In my novel, there are definitely humans. The dogs in the story are dogs, not humans, although I can only give my human interpretation on what the dogs may be thinking, or with the reasons for what they are doing …
Anyway, life, that is the main reason for the slow progression of my novel-in-progress. Or really, to be truthful, I suspect the desire isn’t strong enough to break through, and I allow the bits and bobs of life interfere, and I do those rather than settling down to write more of the novel. Am I lazy, or am I just easily distracted?
Hmm possibly yes to both of those things, at times anyway. Or it may be I am afraid that I can’t actually write this proposed book, a Cosy Murder Mystery, a genre I haven’t written in before, until I came up with this idea for a series of such novels. Since then, I have written several short stories using some of the characters I’ve come up with, and using the same setting too.
I like these people/characters, and I like the town I’ve come up with. It’s fun writing about them, I just can’t get stuck right into getting this novel written. I have people who want to read this first novel, and I don’t want to let them down, but by not getting the first book written, of course I am letting them down, and I’m letting myself down too.
Boo hoo to that, poor me … But by confessing to my ‘sins’ regarding this, can I maybe shame myself into just getting the writing happening again. Well no, I doubt that is the way I should go, I need to be happy to be writing the best book I can, and I know when I do actually get some more of this novel written, I enjoy doing the writing.
And of course, I do have other things I have to do, and today, earlier, I was working on the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle, which is a newsletter I put together and publish every month. This newsletter and producing it, are things I am rightly proud of, I have been told many times by those I respect it is a good newsletter for the town of Mallala.
And I live in my house with others, my husband and our dog, and both have things they need from me, if I am to be a good member of the household, which of course I want to be. Because, as the headline for this blog post indicates, life is a pleasure as well as a pest. And being a good person is a huge pleasure, whereas being a good novelist is an unknown possible pleasure …
One of my reasons for wanting this Cosy Murder Mystery novel to work is because I like the idea of being well known as the writer of such a series. But of course without even having the first book written, I can’t be famous for writing such a series. And as I’m typing these words, I’m aware of the other things I want and/or need to get done today … Pest or pleasure, life and living have needs, chores, fun things, and responsibilities.
That is enough self-analysis, time to get back to one of my other things I need to do, and there will be a pleasure there too, as I’ll be getting myself another cup of coffee, to help me get on with the December issue of the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle … I’ve done the front cover, and many of the other pages are in their proper place, and it’s looking good, with Santa and the local Mallala Lion members from their recent Christmas dinner.
And on that note, I offer my readers greetings of the season, stay safe, stay well, and have a fine time!
As a writer, who has a small but vibrant group of fellow writers, connected by being members of a group, I feel super fortunate. I have heard stories of other groups which writers didn’t feel were at all useful, and I’m sorry for such writers. That’s why it is important to find a group that will work for you, and with you.
Writers can be slightly strange people at times, with some odd ideas, but if members of a group understand group members, and the reasons for their sometimes less than ‘usual’ words and actions, they can all be together, doing their own thing, and writing in their own way.
The writing group I’m most involved in, is the Adelaide Plains Poets Chapter and Verse Group, and even though the word ‘poets’ is in the group name, ‘chapter and verse’ are there too. I think this reaching out and including various genres of writing, and theme is one of the most important aspects of our group.
One of our group’s previous events …
We all use words as our main tools, all of us writers, and when the written word is appreciated, and used wisely and well, or at least as much as possible, then divergent forms can still work together, and get on well. At our meetings, we tend to focus on themes or prompts rather than just on a particular kind of writing.
This seems to work well for us all, and if we wish to share a part of our novel, for instance, one week, and then a poem the following week, it’s fine group members are happy to move from one form to another, because it is all about words, and putting thoughts and ideas, as well as stories and themes, together in the best way, at a particular time.
I feel another important aspect of a writing group is to have a range of writers, in terms of age, gender, writing experience, and life experience too. And given that, obviously, being open to different ideas is important too. We do our best on this point, and over the years, we’ve done relatively well with those who’ve wanted to be involved with our group, with only a few people who didn’t get on, and left us.
We’re all different, and the ‘try before you buy’ method of finding the best group for you is important. We try not to be judgemental, instead be accepting, but the integrity of the group is important, and because we’ve been together, meeting once a week for the group meeting, for quite a few years now, we know each other, as writing buddies, but as friends too. Many of us are involved in other things in and around Gawler, so know each other from those other groups and activities as well.
All of this leads to a strong group feeling, and a good level of trust in each other. When we are at our writing group, we know we can try out things we’ve written, and it will be considered, and if feedback is requested, it will be given. There is also the chance of helping each other in other ways too. At the moment, I am writing a novel, and one of our group members said she’d like to read small sections of my newest parts of my current novel, and let me know whether I’m going OK with it. She’s happy to read it, I’m happy to know what she thinks about it, perfect!
We’re friends and writing colleagues in other ways too, and having these interesting writers in my life has been helpful for me with my other major writing-related part of my life, putting together a newsletter about the town closest to where I live. Three of these lovely writers send me interesting articles for the newsletter most months, which helps them with writing credits, and it helps me too, as the editor of the newsletter. A win/win situation.
So if you are looking for a writing group, look for one that has a broad range of people you think you will like, as well as writers who you feel will like supportive to you in your writing. The most important thing is a sense of trust, and feeling you are comfortable with these people. Because writing can personal, and to have your writing trashed by other people can be an awful thing, and can make a writer wonder if they’re actually any good at writing …
If you’re in a group that makes you feel like that, I’m sorry for you, and hope you can find, or perhaps even start, a better, supportive one.
One day, I will be well known for the quality of my written words. One day one of those well known books I will have written will be about the wisdom that has come to me through my thinking and writing of those thoughts.
One fine day, I will also be known as the writer of a fun and entertaining series of Cosy Murder Mysteries. And also as a poet who writes the kind of poetry everyone can read and enjoy, not just University educated literati types – pompous poets …
One day my blogs will have thousands of followers, with hundreds of readers every day. One day, oh one fine day. I’m not there yet though. It’s a work in progress, but some of the different items have very slow, turtle-like progress, or even slower. But writing happens pretty well every day.
How fast does the Eucalyptus tree grow? As fast as Nature intends it to grow …
Yes, one day, tiny seeds fall from tree, and with rain and sunshine can grow into a tall tree, to produce flowers, then seeds, then drop those seeds, and so on and so on … Every word is a seed that may one day become a tall tree of a book, with leaves and flowers and seeds of worth.
Time and prompts, with coffee and food, happy times, sad times, times when my brain says, yes! I have to write that right now! And even times when my brain says, too dumb, can’t think, and I write anyway. So in this way I can make this day or the next, that One Day. I will write more, to produce the books I wanted to write ‘One Day’ back in the time that was before, and is still now.
Coffee, creativity …
One day can become this day, and even though fame is a shaky prospect, I will have tried my hardest, done my best, and will have books to show that my One Day, was a fine day.
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 