Tag: editing

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Writers Write

carolyncordon

Yes, that is what writers, do, they write. But they also edit, fluff around, and procrastinate, as well as thinking about words, editing their work, and various more difficult things regarding marketing of their work …

And they may do a variety of other things, housework, or course, paying bills, and other ‘normal’ things that all of us do at times, when we must. But today I have been a writer-in-residence, sitting with my books at a cafe, chatting to people. And I have connected with others on Social Media, most importantly using 5 random words offered for a five word challenge.

I used those five given words, to write some more of my novel, which I’ve been neglecting far too much lately. And I send that new piece of my novel to a friend, who I’ve been sending bits and pieces of my novel too, since she asked to read it. But the ‘progress’ in terms of story and word count are woefully inadequate …

But another thing I’ve been doing today is going through, and editing my poetry collection I wish to submit to a particular publisher as soon as I can. I went through twenty or so pages today, and hope to get through at least that many pages tomorrow, with the view to send this off before the end of the week, bearing in mind that this will be a shorter week, because of Easter. I’m enjoying my reading, and editing of this book, and hope the publisher will also enjoy reading it, and will accept it for publication.

I’ve also delivered a few more copes of the newsletter I edit, and spoken with one of the advertisers, with good results. I have other writing projects I’m working on, or will be soon, as well as another book I’m thinking about putting together, with a view to self-publishing it. And of course, there is the Covid-19 anthology I am hoping to have out to be launched in late July, at the Adelaide Plains and Gawler Festival of Words …

I’ve seen an early version of the front cover for that book – Plague Invasion – and I like the cover very much, eye catching for sure! This is a very important book, and I am hoping for good things with it, in terms of copies sold. This Covid time has been very trying, and this anthology will show some of the challenges we have all faced, so it can be read about in the future, and hopefully dealt with effectively if we ever need to deal with such a thing in the future, which it seems may well keep on happening. Not happy times, but being forewarned is to be forearmed …

And I have another book idea, a little chapbook, that will include illustrations as well as text. The text is mostly already written, I just need to extract it, and provid the illustrator with the it, so she can provide the pictures … I suspect I will be seeing this illustrator, who is the person who provided illustrations for three of my previous books. This new chapbook will include the same character as the previous three books mentioned.

This will be a fun little project, that may prove to be a winner in terms of sales, who knows? It just seems like a good way to use or more correctly reuse words I wrote for the newsletter mentioned previously. So how many books am I currently working on? I think that was five books, I’ve been busy, and will be even busier! Whew, it’s a good thing I like words, isn’t it?!

covid 19, inspiration

Fabulous or Flop?

carolyncordon

When you first get an idea for something, a thing that feels important, and exciting, your whole self can buzz with the thrill of it all, and your mind focuses on that thing as it becomes the most important thing ever, for you.

This is how this Covid-19 anthology felt for me, back around the middle of April, when I first got the idea for it, exciting, and feeling like it was almost a calling, something I had to do for the greater good, kind of thing. So I put the call out for responses to Covid-19, and have received enthusiastic comments, which told me I was definitely onto something big. And then the amazing words began arriving.

So, certainly, the beginning of this has been fabulous, the writing received so far has been pretty fabulous too. There’s still plenty of time for more great writing, both prose and poetry, to come to my inbox, and surely the anthology will be a fabulous thing indeed, won’t it?

Well right now, it looks that way, lots of pieces of writing are making there way to me, and I am gradually putting them into a document that will become the book. I have various bits of writing promised to me, and I am continuing to promote this anthology and requesting submissions. And this morning I had a phone interview with the editor of one of the local newspapers, and I have hopes that that may well bring me more words to help to fill the pages.

The sky’s the limit!

Yes, the sky is the limit, the world is out there, the whole wide world, and people all over the world are living with this virus. And they’re thinking about it too, as I am, and some of them are writing about it, for this anthology. I thank them for that, and hope that the writing brings them some feeling that they have some kind of control over things, even in this strange world we have right now …

This will book number nine for me, and my first book that may become an important historical book … I have written non fiction before, but those were more personal books, while this anthology is something that reaches out far beyond me, and my life. I hope it might become a record of the time the word slowed down, went slightly mad, and then settled down to think more deeply about life, what it was, what it could be …

I’m sure many books will be written about this time, and I would love this anthology to become one of the most important books of this time, an anthology containing the various stages of this pandemic, the ridiculous parts, the scary parts, the boring parts even, and many other phases.

Don’t try to understand me by the books you can see here, only some of them are my books …

I put that photograph there to show the reality of my world, there are lots of books in it … Books are excellent things to have in your life, whether or not you read each and every one that is there with you. Glancing at them, flicking through them, or merely existing in the same room with them, they are all important things. I certainly hope the book I’m currently working on, the anthology “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19”, becomes a book that many people have in their homes.

Whether put away neatly in a bookcase, or piled up on a table near the sofa, having this book in your home will be a reminder about the time all of us went a little bit crazy in a variety of ways. Whether it was binge buying toilet paper, or locking ourselves away, barely ever venturing out, of deciding to invite the whole world into their life (to join together to write & anthology), madness hovered at the edges, at least, of our closed in Covid-19 lives …

At this stage, this idea is still very much at the forefront of my mind, feeling fabulous. The actual book is getting more and more words added to it, from the wonderful people who’ve responded to my calls for submission of words about or in response to Covid-19. And you know what, with all of the awesomeness there’s been so far, even if the book didn’t get printed, it wouldn’t be a flop.

And given the simple way it’s being put together, and knowing I have enough money to print, and send off, enough copies to get a copy to all of the contributors, well that means it an’t not happen, unless I for some reason was unable to get to my laptop. And even that wouldn’t make the whole thing a flop, because if I couldn’t get to my laptop, that would have to mean something fatal had occurred … so the options more truly are fabulous or (shh) fatal … And we don’t want to think about that option.

So fabulous, that’s what this book is going to be, absolutely fabulous! Thank you to all of the wonderful people who’ve been along this journey with me, it’s fun, and I hope to catch up with, or meet, many of you at the launch of “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19” – that event, planned for early 2021, will be absolutely fabulous too!

poetry

Tanka & Other Japanese Forms

carolyncordon

I was pleased today, to see that the poetry prompt for the #poemadayfeb event was the Tanka form of poetry. I have spent many years trying to perfect the writing of Haiku, and the similar style of Tanka, and am still trying to perfect them.

I suspect this will continue for the rest of my life, knowing that managing to write one good one, certainly does not mean you’ve ‘got it’! In my life, I think I’ve written a mere handful of fine Haiku, and I’m not sure I’ve every written a Tanka I would call fine …

But today, I am going to do my best at writing a good Tanka, because I’d like the poems I put up here to be all good poems, of various forms, and following the various given prompts for February 2019. A Tanka has a syllable count of 5/7/5/7/7 syllables, or fewer, and a Haiku has a syllable count of 5/7/5 syllables, or fewer. There is a lot more to these poetic forms, but that would be for another blog post …

This has been a wonderful month for me, I feel my poetry is really getting to a higher level, to some extent, and I am ever so grateful to Kathy Parker, Paul Kohn, and Laura Greaves for putting these words together for poets to use as prompts. The more I write poetry, the better I feel I am getting, and the more inspired I am feeling about my writing in general.

Yesterday I wrote my #poemadayfeb poem, and another poem, and the text for a picture book too, all in one inspired day. I don’t know if that picture book will ever become an actual book, but I like it, it’s a sweet little story about friendship, and I’m wishing I could draw well enough, to finish it off!

I’m going to have a bit of a go at doing illustrations for this picture book, just to see how it would look, and whether it might work. That’s a task for me, after I finish this blog post, by posting the Tanka I have now finished writing. It is based on what I heard this morning, and what I remember from other times. I’ve written it down here, and fiddled with it for about ten minutes, still not completely happy, but happier than I was, so it will have to do.

That’s the thing with writing, there’s still something else you might do to make it better, but editing has to stop somewhere if others are going to read your work, and having written that, here it is:

Tanka for the 18th of February, 2019
________________________

Gentle breeze blowing,

wind chimes, and sparrow song,

bring peaceful moments,

before my husband brings home

a cacophony of sound …