I am very excited to announce I will soon be working at the new Berkelouw Bookstore in Cronulla. Yes, somehow the manager kindly overlooked my excited ramblings at the interview and gave me the job. Hooray!The sound of corks popping!
Okay, so now, somehow, I have to survive being completely surrounded by books, lovely stationery and artwork, helping with author events and tripling my reading time. As they say, it's a tough job but some body's gotta do it. Ooh, pick me, pick me!
Ahem, if I can just stop jumping up and down for a sec, I also have to add that I will certainly continue to write and that I am really excited about the prospect of what an education this will give me as a writer: seeing what's out there, seeing what sells and getting to read more can only help. Not to mention meeting new people and seeing what people love to read.
Thankyou Universe!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Stephen King on Writing
There have been so many times I have heard Stephen King quoted on writing skills, that the other day I purchased my own copy of his book on writing.
I guzzled up the whole thing yesterday.Wow! Zap! Pow! ;-)
I learnt so much about writing skills and discipline. And, I learnt a whole lot about the man himself, about his life, and how he came to be interested in his writing genre. And since it was all told by him, it was a bloody fascinating read!
The book is divided up into parts. The first is called CV and is the story of his life growing up, both funny and traumatic, including his early love of writing and fascination with horror and science fiction.
The second part is called 'Toolbox' and literally discusses the tools used to write. The third is on writing itself and the last is the story of his experience being hit by a van in 1999, and his slow recovery from the terrible injuries he received. Oh, there is actually another final piece; a great little short story by the winner of a competition by Hodder and Stoughton and chosen by Mr King.
After reading this book, I had a bagful of gems on my lap and a deeper appreciation of my own love of writing. I could give you any of his quotes, but instead, if you love writing, in particular novels, I urge you to read his book yourself.
I will say that one of the greatest gifts I received from it was quite hilariously one thing I have been seeking in earnest of late- permission to do what I love. OK, I'm going to quote him after all:
'If you feel you need permission to do all the reading and writing your little heart desires, consider it hereby granted by yours truly.'
Thankyou Stephen, that's all I needed to hear.
I guzzled up the whole thing yesterday.Wow! Zap! Pow! ;-)
I learnt so much about writing skills and discipline. And, I learnt a whole lot about the man himself, about his life, and how he came to be interested in his writing genre. And since it was all told by him, it was a bloody fascinating read!
The book is divided up into parts. The first is called CV and is the story of his life growing up, both funny and traumatic, including his early love of writing and fascination with horror and science fiction.
The second part is called 'Toolbox' and literally discusses the tools used to write. The third is on writing itself and the last is the story of his experience being hit by a van in 1999, and his slow recovery from the terrible injuries he received. Oh, there is actually another final piece; a great little short story by the winner of a competition by Hodder and Stoughton and chosen by Mr King.
After reading this book, I had a bagful of gems on my lap and a deeper appreciation of my own love of writing. I could give you any of his quotes, but instead, if you love writing, in particular novels, I urge you to read his book yourself.
I will say that one of the greatest gifts I received from it was quite hilariously one thing I have been seeking in earnest of late- permission to do what I love. OK, I'm going to quote him after all:
'If you feel you need permission to do all the reading and writing your little heart desires, consider it hereby granted by yours truly.'
Thankyou Stephen, that's all I needed to hear.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Kate Forsyth Workshop
Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend a fantasy writers workshop hosted by the lovely author Kate Forsyth.
Trying to get to the NSW Writers centre from where I live is very complicated and makes me nervous, but with the very sexy voice of 'Sean', our new Tom Tom guiding me, it was almost a pleasure! Let's keep going!
The grounds of the centre at Rozelle are so lovely, that I was immediately ready to absorb as much info as I could get from the class. For $100- I got 6 pretty solid hours of Kate Forsyth's most excellent teaching, advice and experience which I must say was great value.
With 25 books under her belt and a tonne of knowledge, Kate had plenty to share with everyone. Among us were people wanting to write for children and for adults and as she has written both, I'm sure everyone got a lap-full of gems to take home. Kate covered fantasy genre, character, plot, setting, pace, story/chapter/sentence structure as well as giving advice on seeking publication. She also asked us what we were reading and is so well-read herself, she was able to recommend many books she felt we would enjoy. It was a very full day (we even bombarded her with questions while the poor woman tried to eat her lunch) but she was very gracious and generous the whole day. If writing fantasy is your passion, I would highly recommend a course with Kate Forsyth.
Trying to get to the NSW Writers centre from where I live is very complicated and makes me nervous, but with the very sexy voice of 'Sean', our new Tom Tom guiding me, it was almost a pleasure! Let's keep going!
The grounds of the centre at Rozelle are so lovely, that I was immediately ready to absorb as much info as I could get from the class. For $100- I got 6 pretty solid hours of Kate Forsyth's most excellent teaching, advice and experience which I must say was great value.
With 25 books under her belt and a tonne of knowledge, Kate had plenty to share with everyone. Among us were people wanting to write for children and for adults and as she has written both, I'm sure everyone got a lap-full of gems to take home. Kate covered fantasy genre, character, plot, setting, pace, story/chapter/sentence structure as well as giving advice on seeking publication. She also asked us what we were reading and is so well-read herself, she was able to recommend many books she felt we would enjoy. It was a very full day (we even bombarded her with questions while the poor woman tried to eat her lunch) but she was very gracious and generous the whole day. If writing fantasy is your passion, I would highly recommend a course with Kate Forsyth.
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