Tag: Public speaking

Cozy Mystery, Public Speaker

Excited About My Writing

carolyncordon

If a writer isn’t at least a little bit excited about their writing, is their really any reason to write? I’m talking about those of us who write for pleasure, rather than people who write reports for a living. People who do that could well still get a buzz out of writing a good report, but it may not live up to the huge boost of the writer who sells their first book.

Getting published is a huge rush of excitemnt for sure. Sharing our words with other, interested people, is a boost too, though, one that I definitely find exciting even after having done it for many years.

This writing prompt thing for all of February though, that’s something else entirely, sharing my love of words, and assisting other writers to come up with now ideas, brand new pieces of writing. Fabulous February I’ve been calling it, and I’m havng a good time with it, giving the writing prompt every morning, and then I’ve been using the new prompt myself to being a new piece of writing into the world!

Well eventually I will, if not straight away. When a poet is working to put together a poetry collection they need all of the inspiration and writing prompts they can find! And I am that poet, for sure. My poetry collection has a title, and it has some poems, it just needs more of them!

I’ve begun putting some of my brand new poems into the collection, and I’ve been thrilled at the way some of my new words fit in with the words already there. By the end of February, may there be at least twently more poems, to go wih other poems I have to include.

I’ve been looking through various places I have around the house with bags and folders, all with poems, pieces of writing that haven’t made it into anything yet, for one reason or another. Some of them where needing a little more work, others simply were misfiled, to be found later, perhaps edited a bit, made better, and woohoo, more poems to go into my new collection!

I also have a different writing project going on at the moment, and this is something I’ve been thinking about since last year, and was working on, but disaster struck, in the form of a broken ankle. This led to a brand new book, more poetry, this time a small collection, in the form of a chapbook, with 21 poems all about my broken ankle.

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So writing these poems was what I worked on from early October, until the book was published and launched in December. The book launch was certainly a good time, selling copies of my brand new book. But that excitement’s done now, time to go back to what I was working on, when my focus suddenly and painfully changed.

And what that project was, was the writing of a series of Cosy Murder Mysteries, all set in a fictictious town, which is modelled slightly on a town I know quite well. For this project I’ve used the same town and characters of something else I was working on last year, something that wasn’t working the way I’d hoped.

That other piece of writing wasn’t giving me a real buzz, not all of it. Working with the characters was good, exploring the town was, it was more that the genre of that book wasn’t working for me, it wasn’t something I read much myself, if at all. I wasn’t excited by it.

The idea of writing a series of Cosy Murder Mysteries, that certainly floats my boat! I can see myself in twenty years time, the beloved writer nearly fifteen mysteries in the ‘At Talloola’ Series with sleuth, Meredith Webster. I’ll be 76 then, and still working my way through my list of book titles, and I hope giving talks and workshops all around Australia, an internationally too. Haha, you gotta have a dream cos if you don’t have a dream, how’re gonna have your dream come true. (clumsily plagarised lined from that movie, you know the one)

Anyway, by then, Meredith will be living with her adviser in police matters, Travis, who by then will be the Mayor of Talloola, and Meredith will still be coordinating the town of Talloola, but as a retired lady of leisure … as well as still doing her samateur sluthing thing …

So that’s my career as a writer sorted out, and Meredith’s career as a fictional amateur sleuth sorted out too. There will be lots of things going on in my life and hers, “At Talloola”!

inspiration, writing prompts

From Small Things …

carolyncordon

I’m quite excited about what the month of February might bring – a little work for me, in the posting of a new creative writing prompt on this blog, every single day of this month of February, as well as the birthday of my super dooper bestest ever best friend, also known as my husband, Graham.

I hope that by the end of the month, I, and anyone who wants to come along for the ride, will have at least 29 new pieces of creative writing, that one hopes, might go on to become something more than just the small thing it began as. From a single writing prompt, may come an entire novel! Or, as in my case, the improvement of a poetry collection, that goes on to be published!

If you’re reading this post, and are excited about what may happen for you, for this month, I’d love to hear about it, please feel free to leave a comment, and we may begin a worthwhile discussion about writing related things – hopes for our writing, ideas about how to improve what we write, anything. We are writers, and we write – may our words bring worth to us, and to all who read our words!

I have dreams, I have ideas. If anyone reading this blog is interested, I love to give workshops to small groups, especially those who aren’t really sure about the scribbles they do, when they feel the need to get the stuff in their brain out, and onto the page. This writing can be rubbish, at times, but it can also be wonderful.

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Sometimes you can match the rubbish up with something else, give it bit of a polish, and it can become something far larger than the individual parts! Dare to dream, dare to write, dare to be your most fabulous self! And remember to tell people I helped you! Haha.

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An image I took recently, when there were so many very important things going on, that I knew I had to capture images of, but I felt impelled to take a photograph of the ground at my feet, and in that image, are so many individual things. Stones, pebbles, sticks, leaves, sand, dirt, and who knows what else. There’s the toe of my foot, and part of the chair I was sitting on, and a tiny piece of the pants I was wearing …

Is it, could it be, inspirational, who knows, but right know, at this very moment, I’ve begun thinking about the series of Cosy Murder Mystery books I’m thinking of creating, and maybe this image could have been taken by my amateur sleuth, Meredith, and it turns out to contain a vital clue to the question of ‘Who done it?’

Inspiration, what a lovely word it is. If I can inspire more loveliness in February, how awesome that could be, would be, should be! I ask of all to help the awesomeness manifest, for the month of February! Let this blog be inspiration for a more awesome world, filled with the awesome creative writing from February!

 

Public Speaker, Writing

Who Am I? What Am I?

carolyncordon

If you ask me who I am, I probably won’t give you the same answer that I may have given you fifteen to twenty years ago, and I most likely will have to think about the answer I actually give you these days. Twenty years ago, I probably would have said, in answer to the question: I’m Jake’s mum.

And of course, whether naming myself that, in answer to the question of ‘Who are you?’ is an interesting thing to think further on. I am Carolyn. That is who I am. But I am also Jake’s mum, for sure, I am proud to be the mother of this fine young man I carried into this world.

But I’m Carolyn Cordon, writer and poet, as well as President of Adelaide Plains Poets writing group, Editor of the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle newsletter, and a former dog breeder, breeding dogs with the Kennel name of Holkschter Kennels. I’m a former Public Servant, a onetime (failed) dog food promoter, and a couple of other smaller jobs, including the Mallala and Dublin Towns Coordinator, a role I enjoyed, but one I suffered many sleepless nights because of.

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The writer and poet jobs, have been with me off and on for the most years, and they are pretty well always happening every day. Writers and poets don’t really turn off after work in the afternoon, because our workplace is inside our heads, thinking, whether we’re doing it consciously or not. And my role as the Editor of the Crossroad Chronicle is one that happens on the weekend too, sometimes, if a community event of note is on, for instance.

Writers and poets, as well as editors, are always looking for the next big thing to write about, hoping to put together something of interest to their audience, through a story of whatever kind is relevant to their role. And I am another thing as well, I am a blogger, with a few different blogs, of differing subject matter. So – gardening, dogs, writing, child abuse, multiple sclerosis & stoicism, these are all things I blog about, so I am open to anything relating to them all, all of the time, because, well you never know what might happen in this brain of mine, when  things are in there swilling around!

I have a main character from my unfinished novel, Meredith, and even though I am probably never going to complete that novel, I still see things and think, yes, that’s something Meredith would think, or do, or have happen to her. Meredith is with me, whether I want her there or not. I brought her to life, and I’m not going to abandon her, even though she probably would like me to get her story moving along some more …

All of the things that happen to me, may happen to Meredith, or some other person in that novel or in my next poetry collection, or they may come up in the next issue of the Mallala Crossroad Chronicle, or one of my blogs. I am who I am, a wearer of many hats, and doing of many things. Life is full of things, good and bad, and I can use them all in various ways, in my life.

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And of course, I am a Public Speaker, looking for more work in that role, so I am looking for interesting, informative, amusing things to speak about too. Life truly is a basket of things, isn’t it. Thinking, writing, speaking, being, they all blend together in great ways for anyone and everyone who are interested and are paying attention!

Anyway, the question of Who I Am, is tied up to the question of What I Am, always. Do you have many roles too? And how do you respond to the question?

poetry, Writing

Festival Fun!

carolyncordon

The Adelaide Plains Poets writing group, has been running a ‘Festival of Words’ for the past 5 years. This is certainly a thing to be proud of, and the fact we have made a profit every year, gives us one more thing to be proud of.

This year, 2019, we are going to have a Festival over 5 nights and days, and venturing into new events and new venues, as well as the usual ones. It is getting close to Festival time, and I am proud to present our program, here:

http://festivalofwords.info/programme.html

This Festival is put on by a small writing group, but a group that is not afraid to take on challenges. We have a sub-committee who are doing great things, to make this Festival one that brings an exciting mix of word related events, written, spoken, with writing workshops, writing exercises, a Keynote Speaker of note, and a fun train journey!

And throughout the festival, friendship and food feature, at various venues in the Greater Adelaide Plains region. The event will be opened by the Mayor of Gawler, Karen Redmond, who has been extremely supportive of our group, and especially of this Festival.

The theme of this Festival is Location, and it is an interesting one again. We pride ourselves of the interesting themes we have for our Festivals. One of the important things our writing group does is to run a national poetry competition, which has the same theme as the Festival. The winners of the Poetry Competition are announced on the final day of the Festival, with the winning poems being read at the Gawler Poets at the Pub, with will be the final event for the Festival.

This Gawler Poets at the Pub event began more than twenty years ago, and is still going strong. There isn’t always a large number of attendees, but the quality of the poetry read is always high.

If you’re anywhere near Gawler toward the end of July this year, make sure you check out the Program, and find something interesting to do, you’ll be glad you did!

 

 

poetry

Creative Writing 5 – Poetry Presentation/Performance Poetry

carolyncordon

Another aspect of poetry

So today, we are going to explore ways to better present our poetry to others. Poetry in a book is heard by the listener in the way they read it. That reader may simply read word after word, after word in a monotone boring way. They may put lots of emotion into the words they read and hear inside their head and find the words exciting because of the effort they put into it.

What we are going to do is to present our poems in ways that will excite the audience, and I hope excite ourselves too. I’m sure you’ve all done some work in presenting things to an audience, but if you haven’t here are some ideas and clues on how to help make it an exciting event for the audience who is listening to you read your poem.

 

Poetry Out Loud!

We are going to firstly wake up ourselves and our voices. Stand up, make a little room for yourself. Spread your arms out to the left and right, slowly twist your body around, one way then the other repeat, repeat. Next, make fists, then spread your fingers out wide, repeat twice, slowly. Then shake your arms around while marching on the spot. OK, enough hard work, we’re ready to move onto the actual voice work.

In a clear and firm voice, say this:

La la la la la la la la la la Woohoo! Woohoo? Woohoo! Woohoo? Woohoo! La la la la la la

 

Give Your Poem All You Can!

A poem needs time to go from one person on to the next person, from you to your audience. Reading your poem slowly, and 2/3 speed or sometimes even slower, gives the listener time to properly take in your words, to think on the thoughts being presented.

You are now ready to read your own poem! Find an area in the room, imagine your audience and prepare to read your poem to your imaginary audience, putting into your reading all of the emotion your words call for.

Use your body too, hands, arms, whatever the poem calls for, gestures and so on as appropriate for your poem. In that same clear and firm voice, read your poem – clear – firm – slow – Don’t be afraid to really put on a performance, that is what we are doing here, performance poetry, and that’s what the audience is here for!

I want you to use your voice to wrap up your new poem, in love, with emotion and meaning, so any audience who listens to you read your poem, truly understands the great worth of your fine words!

I will present the poem I wrote earlier this week, that I brought along yesterday with the notes for that session. I did a little editing after I did a practise reading earlier today, and I hope I made it better. Reading your work out loud is always a valuable method for finding the places where your poem doesn’t quite flow the way you and the audience want it to.

 

Imagine me performing this poem, with actions and with emotion, giving my all, so you will feel my words in your head and in your heart.

 

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What is Freedom?

If the question blazes down on me like the sun,

blinding bright so I can barely see a thing

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question sticks in my throat, making me cough,

unable to say a single word at all

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question is like a flood of people

drowning me with their constant demands

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question is a weight on my shoulders

burdening me so I cannot dance and play

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

But if my life is full of love, joy and wonderful things

I am able and allowed to do, I no longer need to ask –

then and only then, do I truly know what Freedom is!

 

© Carolyn Cordon 2016

 

 

 

OK, know it’s your turn, slow & steady with emotion and meaning!

 

Thank you everyone, I hope you’ve found this useful.

 

Carolyn Cordon offers sincere thanks to Martin Christmas, Poet, Performer, and fine friend. He is the person who showed me how to perform my own work with emotion, and with heart, and he will be forever be in my heart too.