2013 - Year of the Writer

I'm declaring it for all of us

For my Insecure Writer's Support Group post, I'm taking my insecurities and creating myself a resolution list from them. So for 2013 I intend to:

• Edit - I've signed up for Year of the Edit, a course offered by the Queensland Writer's Centre. Editing can seem seem like an overwhelming task, fixing a story, the structure, character motivations... it always scares me a little when I begin. But to be honest, once I get started, rewrites are my favourite part of writing a novel because that's when I find my themes, motifs and hidden plot lines. I have at least four novels to edit this year.
• Improve my writing - This is always on my list, but this year I'm focusing on grammar to strengthen my writing. I'm working through workbooks and have a great friend who's very clever when it comes to grammar.
• Create Classroom resources - I do this anyway when I go to schools and run creative writing workshops or discuss my book. I'd like to make free classroom resources relating to my novels available by creating professional PDFs and putting a link to them up on my website. 
• Increase income/reduce expenditure - I've got a few big goals I'll need to save for. One of my goals is to have a weekender shack somewhere (beachside or national park area) that can double as my writer's retreat. 
• Read more indie novels and more Australian authors - I have so many friends that are indie authors, I'm ashamed I'm not reading more of these releases. I'm aiming to make every second book I read either Australian or indie. That should help me get through lots more without missing out on any mainstream traditionally published foreign books I may just be dying to read (like the next Spellman's book). I'm also going to submit a lot more Amazon reviews of the books I like.

In our family we also make a wish for the new year. It can be as big or wild as you want, and usually is something we couldn't possibly achieve in the one year, but it's nice to have high goals. Mine is for us to buy a property, but I do think it'll take more than a year of saving. Still, it'll help me stay focused on my saving resolution. What would your wild wish for 2013 be?

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Curing the NaNoWriMo Hangover

K.M. Weiland's new book launched today: Dreamlander

It's a great read for fantasy lovers, I've reviewed the book on Goodreads and Amazon. 

Just 99c, check it out!:

December's here and NaNoWriMo is over. Long live NaNoWriMo.

In my pre-NaNo post I listed 8 things to give up to get those 50k words. I didn't go completely without. I did stay away from television for the first few weeks and haven't watched very much since then. My fav' shows at the moment are Castle, Bones, Justified and The Walking Dead (okay the last one is a love/hate relationship). I did give up a lot of social media time. I was almost non-existent on Twitter and Google+ and I only wrote one blog post. 

My days revolved around the word counts. All I could focus on was the 50k prize. And I did it. I finished the first draft of Undead Kev and have almost finished Warracknabeal Kids. Now it's over, I've taken a couple of days to shake the daze from my tired mind and it's time to get on with things. Here's a list of my plans for December. Did you take part in NaNoWriMo? How do you plan on recovering from the crazy?

• 3 pages - before NaNo my routine included writing three pages longhand first thing in the morning. These pages can be garble or clear story ideas. It doesn't matter. You can use the words to plot or just to dump all thoughts crowding your mind and blocking your creativity. I gave up my 3 pages during November, but I find it a refreshing way to start my writerly day.
• Meditation - visualisation techniques and guided audio recordings help me to clear my mind and plan my words. It's just 5-10 minutes out of my day but really sparks the creativity.
• Short Stories - novel writing has exhausted me over November. I'm taking a little break and concentrating on short stories for a while. 
• Blog - I can't wait to get around and visit blogs again. I'm gonna be a blog-reading machine!
• Reading - I decided to try some books off the high school reading list. Finally got around to reading Catcher in the Rye and now I'm working my way through some Steinbeck classics.
• Educating - Learning grammar rules via Grammar Girl, workbooks and my good friend Denise Covey (a grammar guru).

I know many NaNoers are jumping right in with their editing. I'm going to take a little break and look at  editing in the new year.

I've also got my Christmas tree up - what do you think?

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Pirate's Kidnapped my Imagination

Today I woke up at 4am with a burning desire to return to something left dusty and waiting for so long (no not that). OK it may be that I awoke so early because after having dental work done on me yesterday, I ended falling asleep before my kids bedtime.

I have housework to do, I have three pieces for uni to write, but I need to do something for me. I want to return to The Pirate Girl (yet to receive a better title) and start writing again. I suspect that my friend 'Inky' may have something to do with this (all budding authors should check out her site, I've never met anyone who gets more words on page within their deadline).

I've been quite fortunate in my life to have an enjoyable one, with most 'bad times' serving as life lessons or inspiration. When I want to try something in life, nothing significant has ever blocked me; this is probably why I've an eclectic career background. What I value most in my career (and indeed my home life) is feeling like I am making a positive contribution, feeling needed.

I desperately want to teach young people because I can identify a need amongst students. This is why I was a little disappointed to find out I will be prac teaching at a college this semester. Give me the troubled kids, the naughty kids, the ratbags that have been convinced nobody wants them there. Let me show them I do want them there and I value what they have to offer. I guess part of me wants to mother the students, and I'm sure that's the last thing they want. So I will get enthusiastic about attending a more high-brow school and see what I can offer these students, maybe I will learn from them.

But for today I want some me time. Time to do what I enjoy most: write. Here is the opening to The Pirate Girl, which I expect to span three novels aimed at 10-13yr olds (and maybe more).

The ocean is a wild and untameable beast. She is cruel with a passion and has been known to snap a ship effortlessly, while playfully pulling her victims down toward her belly. No man can overcome her, but there are men who attempt to endure her. The brave, that seek to prove she will not stand in their way, the desperate, so afraid but with no other option than to sign their soul over to the sea. And then there is another kind of man who takes on the bitter salt air, ferocious winds and forceful swells. This is the man that loves her. It is her darkness, the defiant stand she takes against anyone who tries to control her, even her sweet promise of death appeals to him. As you would expect, these men mostly travel under the flag of a pirate.

And yet, one small girl, off the coast of Ireland, in the year 1542, shared the same uncultivated passion for adventure and mischief and saw the sea as her friend.

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