Category: Writing

poetry, Story Ideas, Writing

Doing the Washing, Getting an Idea!

carolyncordon

Inspiration everywhere

Today was washing day – a fine day, with a bit of wind, some cloud, but lots of clear blue sky too. Yesterday was a day from hell, very strong winds from the north, picking up and carrying much dust from the dry paddocks all around the place.

It was lovely to wake up to a much more pleasant day today. I was involved in doing the washing today, sometimes Graham does most of it, sometimes I do, sometimes both of us do some, the other person doing the rest. It’s always my job to put it all away again, I’m not sure why, it just is.

As I was writing a Facebook post about doing the washing, with a photograph, I suddenly had an idea for a possible picture book. It involved the idea that the clothes we washed and dried, then put away again, ready to be worn another time, were actually alive, and had minds, and feelings.

How would they feel about being washed, hung up in the sunshine, then folded or hung up inside in the wardrobe. How would they feel about the various things that happen to them, how would they communicate with each other, and so on.

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Making Mundane More

This idea is in very early stages, but it feels like a lot of fun, and it may have a message that could be useful to pass on to young children about looking after their clothes, perhaps … Housework can do strange things to my imagination sometimes, there’s never a dull moment!

So what am I going to do with this idea? Am I going to turn it into a Picture Book, or not? The answer to that question is a thoughtful ‘Hmm, not yet’. At the moment, I have many, many writing things in various stages of completion, so won’t be working hard on this new idea, not yet.

I’ll go on thinking about it though, and when the time is right for this idea, I may well get it written and published. It’s such a fun idea to think about. Doing the washing is such a boring thing, sometimes. You wash the clothes, wear them a time or so, and then you have to wash them again!

 

But Wait, There’s More

Ideas are everywhere, and now that I’ve started to look at one housework chore in a fun way, what else could be a possible story idea? What about the shopping we buy, and bring into our homes? How might the ‘stuff’ we’ve had for ages feel if or when the various items are supplanted, their newness faded, and the interest from the human owners faded too?

image00000095In our household we’ve gone through various coffee making methods over the years, for instance. From instant coffee, to French Press (called Plunger Coffee in Australia, where I live), to the new Aero Press, which is our newest coffee method (similar to plunger coffee, but slightly different). What might the old Plunger Coffee device think of the new, quicker Aero Press? Would there be anger, fear, jealousy? We still use both, and I sometimes might have a cup of instant coffee too, from time to time. What might the coffee devices think about that one?

 

Making the Old New Again

See, thinking about various ordinary things can take you on interesting journeys. Books for children can be interesting that’s for sure – kids are more willing to think about things in fun ways, because to a child, everything, is a possible toy, or something to do new things with. Children haven’t had the ‘creative fun’ parts of their brains ground out yet, they are always willing to think about things in ways us old folk won’t bother with.

Being old, and having ‘seen it all before’ can lead a person to cynicism, and that can be dangerous if you’re a writer, or really for us all. If we turn our mind away from the fun possibilities in all of life, then life will be boring!

image00000084I certainly don’t want to live a boring life, I want to do fun things, and find interest in the things I do, all of the things, if that’s possible, and it nearly always is possible! When you can look at life and see new possible ways to do things, life can keep on being interesting to you, and hey, isn’t that what it’s all about, having an interesting life? I think so, what do you think?

Writing

My Next Non-Fiction Book

carolyncordon

Today, instead of working on my blogs, or my poetry collection, my poetry chap book, my children’s picture book, my children’s chapter book, or my two novels in progress, I spent my (non-Social Media) writing time today, on my next non-fiction book.

I haven’t been keeping track on the number of words I’ve actually written of this book, but I know that today I wrote somewhere between 500-1000 words for it. I am happy with that, and I may well write some more words on it later on tonight.

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This book is about some of my thoughts about various things that are important to me – family, friends, spiritual thoughts, health, Nature and other things. These are all of the things I think about, when I am simply sitting and thinking, contemplating not much at all, or everything, depending on where my thoughts take me.

This book, hmm, who would want to read this book? It won’t be funny, like my “Buster the Dog” books, and it won’t be all about anything at all, it will be about little bits of many things. Because that’s what life is, isn’t it, little bits of many things. I realise my situation is not the same as many other people, having hours of my day to sit around doing not a heck of a lot.

Having my husband as my carer, who does most of the housework, as well as yard work, makes my life simple, and easy, and I thank him very much for that, often. Him doing basically everything for me should mean that I can do all of the writing I have on the drawing board, shouldn’t it? Sadly it doesn’t work like that. I let things slide by me, and they go on not being done.

And then , with bit of luck, I get on with things, and do a big few sessions with the writing, and get it all done, and then the book is there for me to send off to be published, or printed, depending on which way I’ve gone this time. Self publishing doesn’t scare me, I have more self published books than those published by an actual publishing business.

The important thing for me is that I have a book, a particular book ‘out there’ in the world. Books, words, writing, these are all important to me. One day perhaps I will write the next big thing in literature, with a mainstream publisher, and I’ll be out there, touring the country and beyond, doing author talks and book signings.

It would be lovely if that book is one of the two novels I’m currently working with, but I don’t have a feeling that is going to be the case … This non fiction book, that’s the one I’m liking the most at the moment. But things can change. I let my muse, my head, lead me to where I can get my interest levels up and I’ll sit down here in my writing spot at home, or sometimes at a particular hotel in Gawler, the Prince Albert Hotel, where my writing group meets every Thursday afternoon.

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I feel comfortable in both of those places, so the words can come, I feel creative with my pen, or my keyboard, when it’s going well, the words flow easily, and it feels exactly the thing I should be doing. One day, perhaps I’ll get organised better, and actually begin writing more often, normal working hours even, but I don’t feel that is the way it will work for me. Who knows though?

I have dreams of going away somewhere, where somebody will do everything, and all I have to do is work on my writing. Really though, I already could have that, if I really wanted it. Housework done for me, mostly, and all I have to do is let the dog out and back in again, feed her, lots of days, simple tasks. Our, help with doing the washing, sometimes, and always putting the washing away.

It embarrasses me really when I look at it like that, I should have these books written and sent out to get them published, it looks like I’ve been completely slacking off, doesn’t it? But living my life like this means I don’t feel stressed, and I know how I feel if I’m feeling stressed out, and it’s not a good thing, not at all. So I’ll keep cruising along in life, blogging, writing, engaging with my friends, my peers, my family, and books will come along in their proper time …

If you’re a writer, how do you manage your writing time?

Public Speaker, Writing

3.5% Famous – Aiming Higher!

carolyncordon

In my previous blog post, I wrote about fame. I was going to post some more about the subject, hoping to bring some more insight to the subject, but you know what? I’m struggling to find much in the way of insight here.

I am known to my family and friends, obviously. The people who live near me know who I am, and may or may not know that I am a writer – I expect most of them neither know, nor care about what kind of books I write, or what the content of my blogs is all about.

Certainly some of my neighbours, and people living in the town close to the townlet I live in, know that I and the editor of the monthly newsletter I publish and distribute around town and beyond, every month. And I’ve been on the ABC, talking about things I and members of the writing group I lead, are doing, and so some people will have heard me doing that.

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That’s not fame though, not like authors who are published by big publishers, who give them thousands of dollars in royalties, and take them on country-wide speaking tours … The closest I get to anything like that, is to drive myself to the radio station I’m a volunteer presenter at every fortnight or so, and they’ve interviewed me a couple of times, when I’ve self-published another book …

I do still get royalties for a book I had published by a children’s educational publisher, quite a few years ago. My most recent payment was possibly the smallest one yet, but my book is still out there, being sold. I also have books in (school) libraries, and have received payments from that. That isn’t fame, but it’s being known, which is kind of the same thing, in a way, isn’t it? I think it is. 

At the moment, I have a book I’m reading off and on, by an English person, Caitlin Moran. The book is cleverly titled “Moranifesto”, and is full of amusing and thought provoking things.

One of the thing she writes about there is fame (how coincidental is that?), and she says she is 35% famous. Based on what she writes in her book, I suspect I am around 3.5% famous …

I’m thinking about possible ways to lift my percentage, so that’s a start, well it’s better that sitting on my bum thinking about nothing … I’m going to be seeing some friends tomorrow, and if I remember, I will ask them for some ideas about possible ways I could up my fame percentage … The three people I am thinking about all have higher percentages than I currently have, I would think. We’ll see how those discussions go.

In the meantime, I will post this to my Author Website/Blog, and see if I can get more that a couple of people looking at it, and maybe even leaving a comment … I do enjoy writing though, so it’s not like sitting here on this sofa tippity-tapping away on the keyboard is an onerous task for me, I love doing it.

Writing and talking, playing words, that is certainly one of the funnest things to do, for me. If you ever need a speaker, look me up, I’m 3.5% interesting, and can be quite funny too, and at the moment, my speaker fee is low!

Writing

Watching the Screens

carolyncordon

On my television screen are couples dancing on ice, zooming effortlessly, creatively on their ice skates, swirling around, waving arms in unison, throw, catch, zoom, zoom! Beautiful, and so elegant!

On the screen of my laptop though, there is nothing as creative and beautiful happening. Nothing creative at all, really. I have been zipping from Facebook to Twitter, and back to Facebook, then back to Twitter, leaving a caring comment here or there with my friends on Facebook, and cutting, even scathing, comments on Twitter. I know people, real people, see my words, because they comment on them, or give a heart or thumbs up, or tweet them, as they feel appropriate.

But, given the fact that I call myself a writer, poet, etc, where are the signs of my own elegant proofs of my talents? Nowhere to be seen. I have two novels I could be working on, and a poetry chapbook I’d like to have published, as well as the beginnings of a longer poetry collection, a better one than the one I most recently submitted to a publisher, that was quite rightly rejected … I can and will do much better than that effort!

But at the moment, I’m flaffing about, doing nothing that could be called creative, and really, it may not even be of interest to any other person – (except for that word back there, “flaffing” don’t you love it!?) My screen is indicating it isn’t an actual real word, judging by the squiggly red line underneath the word. That’s fine though, I am going to use “flaffing” because it beautifully describes the languid and useless way I’ve been wandering around today, and wondering about things too.

My poetry, my novels, oh and that non fiction book I’ve begun too, will they ever come to life as published books? Well, no, not if I don’t manage to go from wondering, to actually writing, there is no way that can happen. Writers have to actually write, if they wish to be published.

Thinking about the two screens I’ve been looking at today, the action on the TV screen was far more interesting than the action happening on the sofa, where I am currently sitting, writing this blog post … The only action happening here is when my dog Missy, lying on her own sofa, moves her ear, in response to a sound; or me, when I get up to make coffee, and then reach over to take another mouthful of coffee.

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I’m hoping this third cup of the day may finally make something creative happen in my head,  but in reality, I suppose I’d be better off if I opened one of my creative writing files and just started writing more of that novel, or the other, or one of my poetry things, or the non fiction one.

Filming me writing wouldn’t even be as interesting as watching grass grow, because at least outside, there would be birds flying around and doing the things birds do all day. Getting food, nesting, flying, flying, and flying. If the growing grass got too boring, you could point the video camera at the birds, for sure. Sparrows, starlings, maybe crows, honeyeaters of a couple of different kinds, it’s all happening outside, as well, of course, as the grass which grows, and grows.

The skating has finished now, there seems to have been a bit of uproar regarding a low score one of the couples received, I’m not sure, I was only watching the zooming skaters in passing, not intently or anything like that. All I know about ice skating anyway, is how it feels when you crash to the ground, which happened to me when I was a lot younger than I am now. I bruise too much to ever want to be a skater. And I don’t like being cold either.

Anyway, enough of this wandering and wondering, I am going to actually look at one of my writing-related projects, and see if I can add anything useful to any of them. Seeya later!

 

Writing

Finding Meaning through Writing

carolyncordon

Life, it can be a trial at times, but of course it can also be a wonderful thing too. When the bad times are there though, it can seem like there will never, ever be those good times again.

Some of us have worse things come into our lives, than other people have.There should be no blame laid, without knowing all of the details in a person’s life, you can’t know how or why every bad thing happened.IMAG0576 (1).jpg

Sure, some of our decisions can be wrong ones, but sometimes it can be hard to see any other way or ways to go. Options aren’t considered because there needed to be an immediate decision, with no time to look around, just act right then, no time for thought.

If we do get the chance to look at life, and decisions, the important things, the things that matter the most, that’s when we can begin to make better decisions, ones that speak to the issues we actually care the most about, instead of making a rushed decision that may serve us ill in regards to what we truly want to happen.

Knowing what we want most, what we believe in, what makes our heart sing, what we most do not want to happen. These are things that will come out if we give ourselves time to think on them, write them down, explore them, and look at the consequences of what you do or don’t do. close-up-court-courthouse-534204

Through writing about our lives, we can get a better understanding about these important issues we have, what our beliefs are, what are the most important things to us, why we do what we do, what could we do differently, for a better result?

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Answering these simple questions, could have profound results, give it a try, surprise yourself …