Category: writing opportunities

Arts, inspiration, New Ideas, starting a business, therapeutic writing, writing opportunities

Moving Forward, Slow & Sure!

carolyncordon

I know what I want to do, and I know many of the people who can help me as I go. Having goals is one thing, but with action, a goal is just a decoration, amounting to not a lot that is very useful in terms of ‘doing business’.

The goals I’ve set for this year though, ones developed after reading a recent Journaling topic given by Nan Berrett on the Facebook page ‘Your Journaling Journey’ will be guide posts to assist me as I go through the necessary steps to make my business the best it can be!

The ten ideas I came up with in response to this prompt topic cover a variety of things, some of them concerning my business others more personal things, but it all blends into creative things for 2025!

This Journaling Journey has brought up many interesting thoughts and ideas, and I definitely want to continue with journaling once this 30 day program is all over.

This is part of our gate, which forms a part of the Redbanks RUST & FOUND Art Installation, which is going to be one part of the business I am going to start up early this year, if all goes as I want it to! I’m excited about this new direction I’ll be going, it feels like I’m finally doing what what my life has been leading me to!

So slow and steady wins the race, and I have my eye on the prize, which is to have a respected business doing a variety of creativity-connected activities that will bring in a reasonable profit for me (eventually).

This year is for setting it all up, next year though, let that be the year it takes off in good ways!

I’ve made some money from my writing over the years, but now, with many more things to do, I ‘m expecting more! An I nervous about starting a new business at my age? No! I’m almost 62 and that is the perfect age to do this!

So I’ m not nervous, I’m excited. Bring it on, I’m ready to make it all happen! Many thanks to the people who’ve been helping to get to this position, especially my Support Worker, Tereza, and my husband Graham! You are both great, and have helped me to be great too, or more than that, I am Awesome!

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!

covid 19, writing opportunities

An Anthology is ? Pages …

carolyncordon

I don’t know if there’s a ‘rule’ on how many pages an anthology is, or should be. And if there is such a rule, I’m not going to follow it. I am creating an Anthology, with the help of lovely poets and writers who are sending me their words.

The title of this book, is “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”, and at the moment it is 76 pages, in total. I know there are at least three more pages being worked on now, and hopefully there’s another page of two, these are from members of my writing group, some of whom have already submitted work, and had it accepted.

So if I add those pieces to the current total, that would make a book of over 80 pages, but only just. I’m certainly happy to have received so many wonderful words, but I want more. I want to hear from someone who’s had to cancel things, sport, theatre, school, business, whatever. If it relates to Covid-19, it deserves a place in this book.

A friend of mine has declared this work to be a needed historical record, or words similar to that, and he is a man of much knowledge, and I respect what he says. And so the anthology will be more than eighty pages, how many more could I or should I expect it could be? I put the call out for responses to this Covid-19 crisis we’re currently working through, in a variety of different ways, and I put a closing date of 31 July for accepting submissions.

Shedding light …

Reading the variety of words that I’ve received so far has been wonderful, and it’s been humbling. The honesty in the words I’ve read has been soulful and I hope those who need it will find comfort in reading their words in this book, and the words of others living through the same thing, in a similar or quite different way. We all do things in our own way, and there is no one way for anything in life, really, and certainly not for getting through what could have been tragic circumstances.

If you have words you feel you need to write about all of this, because they’re filling your brain and you can’t even think straight, write them down, a story shared, can be a healing thing. And of course, if you’re happy with what you’ve written, and think the quality is good enough, feel free to submit them for possible inclusion in the “Plague Invasion” anthology Send them to kittycordo@gmail.com and see what happens. All contributors of accepted words will receive a free copy of the book, and will be able to puchase further copies if they wish to, at a reduced cost.

Words are shared, so knowledge is learned …

writing opportunities

What is a Writers’ Lock-in?

carolyncordon

A writers’ lock in is when a group of writers all get together for a set period of time, and they write! Simple, yes? Yes it can be, if the group has a place available that has tables and chairs, and with food, drinks, and toilets available. Such a place is where my writing group meets every week.

It’s a hotel in Gawler, the Prince Albert Hotel, where the Adelaide Plains Chapter and Verse group catches up for our meetings at 4-6 every Thursday afternoon, and again on the last Sunday of every month, for the Gawler Poets at the Pub event, which has been going for over twenty years.

And every now and then, our group holds a Lock-in, and today is the day again, hooray. Personally, I have several writing projects I wish to work harder on, and not be bothered by chores at home, so today will be a great day for working on those projects, I can knuckle down and write, knowing that the other people there with me are doing the same thing, on their own projects.

The vibe in the room will be all about getting our words written, that’s it. There will be some talking too, of course, because that’s what humans do, but it won’t be lame rubbish nothing talk. Or hey maybe some of it might be, but that can help with the writing too, to have a joke too, so the pressure level doesn’t get too high. And there might well be some things the executive of the group needs to work on, and this will be a good opportunity for that too.

We’re very lucky to have this great hotel to work in,and work with, and they’re very lucky to have us there too. We have food and drinks there, and bring other people in too, when we have our events at the P/A. Many people have commented on what a lovely hotel it is, very historic, and with fine food, and a great range of drinks.

So I know the Writers’ Lock-in will be starting when the hotel opens at 11.30am, and will go through to 4, for our usual group meeting, and then there might be dinner after, for those interested in that. I hope to get lots done, but even if I don’t dramatically improve my work count, I will definitely get some sort of a start on all three projects.

If you live in or around Gawler, and you write, why not come and join us, you’ll be most welcome!