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Newcomers, Trying To Learn, Can Make Mistakes

carolyncordon

The Non-Joys Of Writing, Then Accidently Deleting An Article …

Ah, it was such a great article this one. It went with a piece I’ll be presenting to the monthly writing group I attend, that I’d been asked to present a short workshop for. I knew what to do, and easily put together something, using material used for a previous workshop, for a different group.

So I did that, and then decided to share it online, but take it further, in the hope of attracting some interest, and so ultimately money. Money isn’t the reason I write though, it’s just a little bit of fun, if or when it comes. I write and share simply so others may learn from my words, or at least get something good from reading them!

This online site is a new one, I’ve just begun writing for. I’m enjoying it, and still exploring how it all works. Today I learnt how quickly one can make their work just disappear, poof! up in smoke! Well metaphorical smoke, not real smoke, so it wasn’t life threatening.

But it is so frustrating, to write something brilliant, and then lose it. It might not have actually been brilliant, but I think it was, and as it’s disappeared, nobody can prove me wrong … There was a bit of futher talk in it, about the Poetry Form I created about fifteen years ago, and there was a photograph at the head of the article, with a brand new poem in the said poetry form, about what was in that image …

But it’s all gone now, and while I have a hope it might simply be off in the online word of checking things and gaining approval, and it could appear again perhaps tomorrow, I don’t believe that to be true … Maybe I’ll put that particular image up on a blank page and try to write the poem again, or at least something like it …

Or maybe I could go back to the website, and search, looking back at what I’d been doing there, and find it again? Worth a try, right? Excuse me, I’ll do just that, and report back.

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Back again and soooooooo happy! The article was there! It’s ‘awating review’, so neither in draft, or submitted. And I guess that means it will show up as being published after it has been reviewed. I hope so anyway.

In the meantime, I’ve copied the poem I wrote, and read it again. It’s is ok, but not as wonderful as I’d thought. I still think it will look nice though, printed out on a piece of A4 card, with the image. So I might do that later on, for who knows what purpose. Just to have it in that format I suppose. It could be useful if I were to do another workshop on Cordonostic poetry, which is what the workshop I’m doing Thursday is all about. Or I could print it out, and take it with me on Thursday to show, and read from then, as well as the poem on the workshop notes.

This is the seagull I took a pictrue of, that inspired the particular poem I thought I’d lost. I took the photo recently at an event I attended at St Kilda, South Australia. I’m happy with the photo, and am more than happy to share it!

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Launch Of Covid-19 Related Anthology

carolyncordon

Things are moving ahead! Today I saw the completed version of the front and back cover of the Anthology I’ve been working on, and it looks fantastic! This Anthology is “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”. I put the word out in various places, including this blog, and in the responses came, from may different places in the world, but mostly from my own country, Australia.

I have this book with the printer I’ve used previously for printing my own books, a printer close to where I live and travel to often. They do good work. I have a friend, a fellow member of my writing group, who also uses this printer at times, when appropriate.

I’d asked for both poetry and prose creative writing and received a large variety of different works, some serious, some funny, and others in between. The quality was great of almost all of what was received, and it was difficult to turn down most of what was received …

I’d quite early decided I was going to raise the money to print this book, and give free copies to each of the contributors. So I’ve been saving my money to be able to fund this work, which is completely a work that suits my wanting to help others, in any way I can. Doing good is a thing that warms my heart, and suits my heart and mind well …

So my next job, is to wait … But it will only be a short wait, and then, once I get the email from the printer, I will pick up these books, and gloat about how clever I’ve been, and how wonderfully good it all looks! Then after that, I will give a copy of the book to the Mayor of Gawler, who wrote the foreward of this book for me!

And then. once that has been done, there will be another wait, which will end once we get to the day this book will be launched, on the final day of the Gawler & Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery). It will be a fine day indeed, with a variety of people in attendance, including a goodly number of contributors to “Plague Invasions”. These people will be given their own copy of the book, whilst there, and what fun that will be, for them to meet with other contributors!

So 25 July is going to be a fine time to think about how we’ve been going with this pandemic, and be glad we can meet with other people again! That’s as long as Covid lets us …

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Why haven’t I Tapped This Resource Much, In The Past?

carolyncordon

I’ve finally written about the animals in my earlier life, and enjoyed it, putting the resulting article, here, on this site, Vocal, a new one for me, and perhaps one to spend more time at, depending on how it goes.

Finding new places, or exploring ones already used are both good ideas, if you’re a freelance writer, and love to share your words with a wide variety of readers … And of course, if you can get some cash, I mean, ‘monetise your writing’, all the better.

This new site, Vocal, is one I’ve seen the name of previously, but I didn’t look any further into it, until I noticed a friend (Hi Marie!), was now using it. So I thought, oh well, Marie had introduced me to Medium another writing platform that pays, in its own way, so what the heck, and had a try.

The experience of getting signed up was easy enough, and If people like my words, and give me tips, or like my writing, the wealth will flow in! haha. There’s a bit more to these things than just that though, there is the task of letting other people now about what you’re doing, marketing your words, in other words.

And as a shy and retiring writer, (it’s true, honest!), the idea of getting my word out about my words is never the easiest part of all of this. My ideal world would be one where a dedicated secretary or assistant would take on this publicising my work/words task, and I could go on just tap, tap, tapping away on the keyboard, producing my worthy writing, and perhaps reading such words at events organised by that same secretary/assistant.

But as is obvious for many reasons, this is not an ideal world, so I have to take on the spreading the word about my words role, as well as writing them, and editing them, them sending them places to get published. and make money.

I’m not reliant on my writing efforts, to have food and shelter, fortunately, and I’m sure, or at least hope, if I was, my efforts would be far more successful than they currently are … But I have books published, and I sell them, sometimes, so it’s not totally pathetic, just a bit of play money, in some ways though, apart from a couple of bigger monetary sources available to me, when I get three bigger lots of money, one is Educational Lending Rights for a book, a school reader, I wrote a long time ago, that was published and is in many libraries in Australia and elsewhere.

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Well I have in fact used this theme a little more, and written more on the subject of ‘dogs’ as well as one other post on Vocal, which was a poem I’m quite happy with, I think. You can take a look here.

If you like it, why not reward me, with a payment, haha, or at least tell me what you thought, anyway!

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Words & Books, and More Words & More Books!

carolyncordon

Writer, Poet, Blogger, Editor, I write things, because words are my main tools for what I love to do, to write, and to speak, and if I’m speaking in public, for a purpose, words will be written, probably to properly say what I really want to say.

And this year is definitely a year of words, and books for me! I put out a call for words to be written and sent to me, and I know have a book on its way to being printed, so it can be launched and then provided to all of the wonderful people who’ve sent in their responses as requested. This book, and anthology of both poetry and prose is a fine look at what creative people thought on, regarding Covid-19, from the serious to the ridiculous, and all things in between.

This book will be launched during the Gawler and Adelaide Plains Festival of Words (Recovery), and this Festival is another perfect storm of words, with writers, and poets doing thier thing in a variety of ways, in a variety of different places, taking words to the community!

And today, I’ll be talking with a friend and one of the things that will be mentioned is another book a book that may well be written, and then published next year, with a launch, perhaps, because, well who doesn’t like to celebrate a new book come into the world?! I love book launches! This book with be the fourth in a series of books begun way back, when my son was at Primary school. He’s now a grown man, working for a living, with his own house … Wow.

And of course, there are the things I do regularly, a writing group meeting every Thursday, Poetry reading every month, and the Festival, an annual event held in July, with the seventh such Festival happening this year 22-25 July. What fun, what lovely words!

And there will be workshops run for that Festival, and I hope attendees might end up writing their own new book, and have a book launch, so I can attend, and feel joyful for having been involved in that new book coming into the world, a precious time for sure!

And of course there are also books in the library, where I visit every month or so, to find some more books to read, then take back again, free of charge. I love libraries, and I’m glad to live in Australia, where our library system buys books, and loans them out to readers the way they do, it’s great!

Yes, I love words, and I’m so glad there are many people in the world who love books too! Do you love books? If you do, leave a message to tell us about it!

One of my books, and a brochure, all about multiple sclerosis, which I’ve written about, raising funds and awareness about my chronic illness …
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The Book I’ve Edited Looks Fantastic!

carolyncordon

Yes, I caught up with the printer, and the man who created the front cover, and it looks fantastic! This book will be ready well in advance of the programmed launch date, and that feels like a good thing, no, a great thing!

When I decided I wanted to make this book, Plague Invasion Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19, I wasn’t sure of my abilities to do such a thing, calling for reponses from people all around the world. But those responses came, and they came, and putting them together in satisfactory way pleased me greatly!

And I was thrilled that the printer, who I’ve used before, liked what he saw in this book! So it’s on the way to being made beautiful, with all of the right things in the right places! It is so thrilling to have managed such an important book, and even though I will be out of pocket intially, I expect, with actual book sales, I will cover all of my costs, and start to make money.

Of course, if I factor in all of my own time, and the time of the various writers involved, that would paint a different picture of it all, but writers write for the love of it, and then, as I have, they may move into the ‘editing’ role, again for the love of it. I gave a lot of my life to this book, and I’m happy to see it looks like a worthy book indeed.

The front cover captures the craziness of this Covid time we’ve all been going through, and I have been thrilled to have given this role to a young man who has been studying Graphic Design at university, and from the way he was talking to the printer today, he knows what he’s talking about, and I was impressed when I was listening to them talking about ‘bleeds’ and ‘bleeding’.

My mystery writer mind listened in, and I wondered about the possibility of such a conversation being heard and misunderstood in one of my novels in the future! But I have lots of other bits of writing to work on, and that idea may have to wait until another time.

I was doing my ‘Writer in Residence’ thing again today, and enjoyed in very much again. Even though I didn’t get much money in my tin there, I did work at raising awareness, to some degree, talking to one of the regulars there about Multiple Sclerosis. Later on, I went to Gawler, where the printing business is, and doing some more fundraising, and awareness raising there, or I tried, anyway.

There will be another opportunity for that again later in the week, and on Monday next week too. After that, I will be taking my money raised to the MS Society SA & NT, to see how close I was able to get to my target of $1000. I fear I won’t hit that total, but I’m glad I’ve been working at it anyway, confident that I did the best I could with it.

So today was a great day for me, and I hope for another great day again tomorrow, when I do a Zoom meeting about ‘branding’, and perhaps some more of my novel written!