Author: carolyncordon

Wife, mother, Poet, Writer, Art Installationist, Stand Up Comedian, Dog Enthusiast. Spending most of my time being creative in a variety of sometimes quirky ways! I have suffered in my life, I have had wonderful things occur in my life. Concentrating on the wonderful things makes it easier for me to live a great life.
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Use Your Moments …

carolyncordon

Our life can seem impossibly complicated and busy, sometimes. We might have dreams of doing something creative, something to enliven our spirit, rather than our bank balance for a change. The moments of our life can be used in creatively!

I’m a writer, my financial stability is based on my spouse’s input, mostly, but with regular assistance from the government in the form of the disability support pension, and an annual payment relating to Electronic Lending Rights for one of my books. These things don’t equate to a huge amount, but it all helps, and it allows me to do my writing, without having to worry about making money in an actual job, working for someone else.

But as a member of a household, I have a level of obligations, chores to perform, things I have to do. But I make sure there is time for my writer’s life too, because being a writer, is an important part of who and what I am. I produce books, I help others work with their own words.

There is much I want to accomplish, and I am getting there, step by step. At the moment my personal writing projects are writing my first Cosy Murder Mystery, and also putting together a new Poetry Collection based on thoughts about my new pond. The novel is progressing, as is the poetry collection.

Writing about these things is another way of keeping true to what I’m doing, putting the word out to others, so I know if I ‘slack off’, I will be seen doing it, and it serves to keep me on task. At the moment, it’s working. I know I will write at least 500 more words of my novel today, hopefully a lot more. And I know I will get more poems about my pond this week, and every week, until there are enough, working toward having the collection ready to be launched by the end of July this year.

I am able to spend hours working on these things, sometimes, but I am also aware of the little bits of time, when a thought may come to me, that I write down, where I can take it further when I can, when I have done enough of the most important things. My phone has many of these little notes, and I can then go back and use them to broaden out other things, slant them to fit into something else.

Moments, looking out of the window, wondering at the way the branches of the trees are nodding in time to the speaker on the television, right at now, the breeze a strong one, and the importance of the TV person’s words also a strongly held words. I’m sure there’s a poem in that, or perhaps a small thought of the protagonist of my novel …

Moments are times to write ideas such as these, snippets, thoughts, ideas, curious things. And out lives have many moments. Watching television may hold our attention, but the ad breaks, these are moments that may add to our writing, but adding to those snippets and things I’ve mentioned. When cooking a meal, there may be more moments, waiting for the water to boil, and the pasta to cook. Moments.

Life is an ongoing thing, when you look at it as a whole, but it is also a combination of many, many moments. And in our lives, we can waste so many of those moments, by sitting vacantly, being present but not really taking in anything. these are moments you can grasp and use.

Make every moment mean something!

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Book Sales Potential?

carolyncordon

There are many ways to get book sales, but unfortunately, nobody knows what they are!

So goes the joke, but the truth has some elements of the joke there too, and if you’re a struggling writer, trying to sell copies of your book, it isn’t so funny. I’m currently about to begin a gig as Writer In Residence, at a cafe in a small town, not that far from where I live.

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Carolyn Cordon, Poet, Writer, Editor, Blogger, Writer In Residence

I am thrilled to now be the Writer in Residence at Gallery 14 in Hamley Bridge, sharing my own words, and helping others create their own words too. I will be there on Mondays (not Public Holidays), from 10.30am, starting on 1 February. My role at Gallery 14 will be to chat with people about my words, whether published works or current works in progress. I also intend holding writing workshops too, if there is a demand for it; I just love sharing words!

In any quiet moments, I will be working on my own current works in progress – a Cosy Murder Mystery novel (‘Winds of Death At Talloola’ the first in a series), and a new poetry collection (‘Pond-erings’) which is poetry collection about my new pond, and thoughts that come to me about it.

As a writer and poet, with eight published books (so far), I know how good it feels to share my words with others. And in my roles as a creative writing workshop presenter, and Poetry Competition Coordinator, which I’ve been for over ten years, I love giving others the opportunity to do the same. When you have me involved, beautiful words can happen!

Contact me:

Phone: 0418 806 490 

Email: kittycordo@gmail.com 

Blog: www.carolyncordonwriter.wordpress.com/blog

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That is the flyer I’ve created, and will soon give copies of it to the cafe where I’ll be doing my stuff, on Monday mornings from 10.30 (except for Public Holidays). I hope it might bring interest to what I am doing there, to my books, to the cafe, in terms of more business, and to sales of my books, of course. I’ll have copies of most of my published books with me, and hope to go home with fewer books than I went there with!

I was there the other day, and actually sold a book I’d brought along to a member of parliament who came into the cafe, and that was a good omen, I think. I’m going to accept it as one, anyway. I don’t really believe in such things though, I’m quite New Agey Woo-resistant in many ways.

As a joke regarding that, I posted this Twitter post to see if anyone would comment on it, because I wondered about the question, and because the question is a legitimate topic to write poetry about for that poetry collection – “Ponderings” I mention in the Tweet:

“Currently thinking about my Vibrational Frequency, and wondering whether a poem about the way I feel, or don’t feel it increasing as I sit by my pond, may assist in something enormous, like book sales of the poetry collection I’m currently working on. New Age = $$$$ right? Haha!”

Will this little Tweet lead to sales, who knows, but I was once told something like – you can never advertise your event too much, or something like that. The person who told it to me has spent many years in Theatre, selling the shows he was putting together, and he really knows his stuff. (thanks Martin Christmas poet/photographer/wonderful creative person) I love your work!

So I don’t know anything about my vibrational frequency, whether it is too high, too low, or too in the middle. The poem I write may be too flippant, too serious, or too in the middle too, who knows. But I’ll have many Mondays at Gallery 14, in Hamley Bridge to work on this poem, and the many others needed to make a poetry collection. I’m looking at it being a short collection, a chap book, which is a handy little size for a poetry collection, cheap to produce, light to carry, and if sold at $5 each, I’d still make a profit, if I sold enough of them.

And if I don’t sell enough of them? Well I hope other book sales will help even things out … Because this book will be a skinny little book filled with interesting poems, it will be easy to carry copies of it around with me, wherever I go, selling copies of the book for the cost of a cup of coffee!

Because everywhere a writer goes, is a place where they may find a keen buyer of their books. If you carry your books with your, you can whip one out, talk about it, smile nicely, and find another sale! I’ve done this at poetry readings of other poets, at writing group events, via my mother’s Retirement village where she lives, and a variety of other places. having a book there ready to go to it’s new home is the best clue to getting book sales.

Of course, there is the world wide web out there, but to be honest, I prefer to meet the potential buyer, chat with them, and then sell then a signed copy, where I’m able to strengthen the connection by writing something relevant, and personal inside the book. Connections are king!

Every moment might be a book selling moment! I wonder if my vibrational frequencies have increased, as I’ve been writing this blog post? Who knows, I don’t even know what they are. Any information would be most welcome, just don’t expect me to give you any money for it! Cheers and thank you!

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Opportunities Are Out There!

carolyncordon

Today I went to a cafe I’ve never been to before, with a new friend, I’d never been anywhere before. I had no expectations about anything happening, but hoped for at least a good cup of coffee, and something nice to eat. But I’ve had good writing related things happen in a cafe before, and so I went with a few of my books, and the idea the cafe may be open to some kind of writing related event.

The Cafe owner was lovely, and after having a deep and meaningful talk about important things, my friend and I went to talk with the owner about me doing ‘something’ there. And yes, that something may well end up with me having a Writer in residence gig at the hotel!

I’ll talk with my support worker about all of this tomorrow – she knows this cafe too, and I hope for good times to come, all because I was prepared, and I was ready to discuss possible options. Wonderful times may come!

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Novel Or Poetry Collection

carolyncordon

Why not both? At the moment, I have two major writing ‘things’ happening. The Cosy Murder Mystery is the most important one, and is coming along mostly OK, with a bit of a slowdown over the past few days, because of other things. The second thing is a poetry collection, with the title of Pond-erings. The title tells you what one of those ‘other things’ is, a major development in our pond, in the form of ten fish,

This pond and these fish have attracted my attention, but I’m going to work hard to get the novel back on track tomorrow, so I can send the 500 words to my reader, (thanks Michelle!) again, as I said I would do every day in January. I was going so well, then for a few days, zero words sent to poor Michelle! I sent fewer than 500 words on Sunday, but at least I sent some more of the novel-in-progress.

And today I’ve sent another 600 plus words to Michelle, yay me! I’m also thinking about a new poetry collection as well, and so am looking at things at our pond to gain inspiration. The working, and possible final title of this collection is Pond-erings and it will contain poems written at, or about, our new pond.

So sitting by the pond, listening to the birds, looking for fish (are there still any little fish down there, anyway?), and watching the sky reflections on the pond, these reflections will be in the collection, and more. I hope it ends up being a fine little collection, a chapbook, so only up to thirty pages …

This means I’m both writing a novel, and putting together a poetry collection, and blogging too, this feels like just the best life for me! I love words, lots and lots of words!

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Blog Post On Another Of My Blogs

carolyncordon

I have a few different blogs. I am interested in a few different things. When I began blogging, I loved it so much, I went a little crazy, beginning different blogs on different subjects … That was on a different blogging platform, Blogspot. Then I decided to going WordPress a try, and even though it seemed much more difficult to use that Blogspot, I kept at it, and now I actually prefer WordPress over Blogspot.

Then I began a few different WordPress Blogs, and sometimes went months or even longer without any new posts. Then though, I finally began what I know consider my most important blog, this one. I am a writer, a worker with words, and so this writer blog is the one that is true to the most important things I consider myself to be, a writer. Words are my tools, and my product.

Anyway sometimes I actually put relevant poems on one or other of my blogs, and I try to do the thing I’ve always reading I should do, and that is to put links on my blogs, so try to raise my visitor numbers, and the whatever else it does. To be honest, that side of blogging is the least interesting part, even though I certainly like it when I see someone has visited a site and left a comment.

Connecting people is the most important part of blogging for me, I just love people! Anyway, here is a link to my blog about having Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The blog is Mick, Jane and Me, and the post is about answering a challenge to write an ode to a person’s cleaner. I have a cleaner, because of my MS, and writing a poem for that cleaner seemed like a lovely thing to do, for my lovely cleaner!

So I’ve done the correct thing and put in a link, and I’ll put a link to it on my Facebook page, and maybe write a tweet about it, and the link, and so on and so forth. In the olden days before things were ‘online’, I guess we wrote letters about interesting things to people, and newspapers, magazines, journals, and things … And it took ages for the mail to get out, and not just minutes, to pen a tweet and send it on Twitter …

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

But finding good people, and doing what you can for them is still important, and writing a poem for my lovely cleaner feels like an excellent thing to do!