Tag: Yard Sale

New Ideas

A Literary Yard Sale?

carolyncordon

Sometimes I get ideas, you know … And as a writer, getting ideas is a good thing, yes? Well, up to a point certainly, but what if the idea is taking away from writing time, of more truly is distracting the writer from writing.

That is what is happening to me at the moment. I had a great idea, or at least one that seems like a great idea, a community building idea, and I have been working hard on this idea for the past week or so, and I haven’t been doing much in the way of actual novel writing.

So today, whilst in the middle of promoting my ‘great idea’ I had a brilliant idea – I would hold a reading of my published words at the event that is my ‘great idea’, and it may be the first time such a thing has ever happened. I could be wrong on that one, but I can probably truthfully say it hasn’t ever happened where I live.

This ‘great idea’ I’ve been working on is a Township wide yard sale, where as many houses in my township set up a stall and sell things from their own yard. I’m hoping for at least ten households will get involved, because that would mean the local Primary School will get fifty dollars from the fee to take part. If every household got involved, wow, that would be awesome, there are at least forty households in Redbanks, where I live.

So forty households times five dollars that’s two hundred dollars to the school. Not a bad donation … My little township, while a nice place to live, is lacking in any real feeling of being a connected community. Small groups of people are friends, but there isn’t anything everyone there is interested in.

Could this yard sale that takes in all of the township be the catalyst for bigger and better times for Redbanks? Who knows? I just know that if it does happen, I played a part in it, and that feels like a good thing to have spent my time doing. And hey, maybe I will sell some copies of my own books, and get to sign copies for the buyer/s, that would be a great thing!

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New Ideas

Building My Community, One Step At A Time

carolyncordon

Writers, especially those who have no high range publisher holding their hand as they write, have to find ways to fund their writing, if they are going to be able to keep on writing.

I am a self-published writer, a freelance writer and a volunteer member of the community. I edit the local newsletter, and am able to use it that to further various of my other community outlets. I, of course, am mindful that I need to keep things in the Town newsletter relevant to as wide a range of residents as possible.

At the moment, my novel writing is taking second place to a community project I am promoting, and in fact organising. I am interested in working on building a greater sense of community in the township I live in, a small place around 60 or so kilometres from Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.

Now I am not a great shopper, buying high fashion, at high prices, I am happier buying a much loved item in the right colour and style, and I usually find such things at op shops, and garage sales. I am also pretty terrible about having a tidy home, because I have far too many ‘things’.

I’m a big ideas kind of person as well, and when I get one of my ‘big’ ideas, I love it if and when I can get started on the idea straight away. If I have to hang around waiting, I get bored sometimes, and want to move on to the next big thing.

So I am thrilled to be working at the moment on my new big idea, taking actions required, and getting the word out to see who else wants to be involved. I am taking all of the steps needed so I can run a fantastic Yard sale for the whole of the township I live in, Redbanks. Well, for as many of the residents who I can get interested, anyway.

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(This photo was taken at my place in Redbanks, where I live. Can you see the dancer, just above the (real) tree? Cloud images can be so inspiring!)

I’m hoping to get the Mayor of Adelaide Plains Council involved, and already have one of the councillors interested in it all. The writing related thing about it is that I have written in one of my other blogs about it, earlier today, and used images of two of my self-published books in the blog post, and said copies will be available for purchase at the sale.

I hope I can have some information about my writing group available there too, and it would be fun to have some of my writing friends there too, if they interested in being there. I want to know more about the people living around me, why they moved here, what they do, what they like. I love people, and if I can help them dispose of their unneeded treasures, and make some money too, that will be great.

As I indicate in that other blog post, I will be collecting the fee from those who get involved in it, and giving the money to Mallala Primary, the local Primary School. I’m so excited about this, I hope the weather will be fine, but if it rains, well at least I tried!

Any hints and tips from people who know about these things would be very welcome!