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Posts Tagged ‘a writer’s life’

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KABOOM!!!!

A CRACKER & GILLY MYSTERY – Book 4

CHAPTER 1

Oh, Ooh, Kablooie, We’re in Trouble Now Boys

Kablooie, and from the shops side of the beach to above Pyang Avenue, from the Surf Lifesaving club to the Bowling Club, the lights went out, the stars and moon in the sky the only light to be seen.

‘Run to the beach, geez, run.’ Cracker pushed his two mates toward the beach where even the minimal light from the moon failed to pierce the night darkness.

Trann and Bone needed no persuasion and leapt in to full speed. Unfortunately, the boys hadn’t been given clear enough directions and they crashed into each other and fell to ground in a sprawling entanglement of arms and legs.

‘Stop mucking about you fatheads. We could be in serious trouble. Run that way!’ pointed Cracker, ‘Duck down when you hit the sand and hide under the lee of the beach.’

The three boys fled to the beach where they found a deep depression which would conceal them from even the most determined searchers.

After a space of three to five minutes three heads appeared and looked back at the electricity substation that, as a result of one arrow fired into the night had unexpectedly turned the boys night of adventure, by exploding in a fizzing, sizzling, spark flying nightmare.

‘Keep calm,’ Cracker ordered. “We go home and say nothing. Meet back here tomorrow at eight, ok?’

Not quite meeting each other’s gazes, the three boys hi-fived and went their separate ways.

 

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It’s thirty something degrees today and we decided to go for a swim at the local dam, Carcoar Dam for those that know the Bathurst/Orange area of NSW.

What we didn’t count on was people wanting to buy our books – and our writing courses.

The problem was our vehicle.

And me.

Before I launch my online writing courses I read that I needed three of ’em and so I’ve waited.

And procrastinated.

And missed an opportunity  to upscale my business, damn it!!

A lady named Darlene is heading around Australia with her hubby and three kids.

And they all wanna write.

And they saw my vehicle.

And.

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Found ‘Money + Mindfulness, Living in Abundance’ by Lisa Messenger in a newsagency at Coffs Harbour. Now all I have to do is wrestle it off my daughter.

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In ‘Novel Writing, a Writers’ and Artists’ Companion’ Philip Pullman says, ‘Don’t make plans. A plan is not a map, it’s a straitjacket. Your imagination needs the freedom to roam wherever it wants to go, and if you constrain it the book will suffer.’

And I have to agree.

There is so much advice around now in the Indie Publishing world that says outline your novel, fill in the blanks, press ‘publish’, and you will make thousands. Alas, there is little written about the creative process itself in comparison, a process that takes time, lots of it, sweat, lots of that too, and tears…in order to to trust your imagination and give it the freedom to roam you have to step back at see where it takes you…and nobody can sell you anything to make the process any easier.

Remember, the best things in life are free. All they take is time, hard work and tears…there are no shortcuts.

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halfway down the stairs is the stair where I sit

there’s no other stair quite like it

it’s not at the bottom it’s not at the top

like Winnie The Pooh

it’s the stair where I stop

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My Island Girl

When to use a pseudonym:

1. When a famous romance writer has the same name as you.

2.  When you are about to publish a romance novel and someone famous already has your name and fame.

3.  When you’re trying to flog a literary fiction novel using your own name.

4.  When you’re trying to flog a literary fiction novel and a famous romance writer already has your name and fame.

5.  When you’re a middle-grade fiction writer who also writes romance.

6. When you are a teacher and all your students know you write middle grade fiction and you don’t want them to read the steamy parts.

7.  When your co-author thinks you’re working on the rewrites of middle grade fiction book number three and you’re slacking off doing rewrites on a romance novel that will cause you total humiliation if your students read it at Writers Club tomorrow.

Lucky we writers have huge egos and don’t care what anyone thinks, except the famous author with the famous name the same as yours, and the co-author who is also older brother and is bossy, and a gaggle of students who are gunna snigger when I walk around the playground for the next two hundred years.

Publish and be damned…

Melinda Hammond

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My new SCBWI magazine arrived today and my twelve year old immediately started taking pics with her photo apps (about a dozen of them)…my question is how can we, as writers of middle grade fiction, not pay attention to what excites our audience?

In my case, as I continue to put together my Instruction Manual For Young Writers, I’m being forced by my daughter to consider the visual appeal of writing for young readers. What can you and I learn as writers from an app addicted young generation??

imageWell, the first thing for me is to learn how to use all the apps😇😇🐥…but don’t worry, my twelve year old has promised us a guest post to teach us the basics.

Hmmm…and I thought I was the teacher in this family…

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Sometimes, in order to step into the future we need to let go of the past….

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But it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to hurt…

 

Sometimes, as writers, we make choices, and sometimes those choices aren’t easy…but in order to be in touch with our souls we have to let go of our  practical selves.

And run with our intuition…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A simple budgeting tip for writers:

USE CASH

(it’s amazing how hard it is to part with)

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