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NaPoWrimo – Winning

02 Wednesday May 2018

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This is a short post to say I finished NaPoWriMo with thirty new poems. Congratulations to me and anyone else who decided to do the challenge.

Some are pretty good, others are a bit wobbly. I only had to catch up one. I went through the poems I had handwritten to put them onto the computer, I discovered I’d skipped a day somehow. Possibly there’s a poem hiding in a notebook or on a scrap of paper somewhere, but I haven’t found it yet.

I may post a couple of the poems here in the coming months, and I may put some into the next edition poetry chapbook. If you’re interested in buying one of the current chapbooks, for $1 (plus postage), let me know.

I’ve started to make the puppets for our new show, working on the cover image, venue selection and registration. We should have that all in place for the end of May. Well, not the puppets, they’ll take a bit longer.

I have a new idea for a story, it might be a novel or it might be a novella. It’s based on a character from another story. It’s set in the 80s so that will involve some fun/weird research. Once I get into the swing of it I hope the words will flow easier, right now they’re still a trickle.

Over half way to May!

17 Tuesday Apr 2018

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This is just a brief update post on what’s happening in April. Things have been progressing well in my world. So far I have completed my poem each day (not today but shhh) as part of NaPoWriMo and making good progress on the show for the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Firstly, the poetry. I’ve been writing everyday, which has been great. I’ve been hand-writing my poems, and then transcribing them onto the computer for posterity and editing (of which I have done little). So far most of the poems have been on the ranty end of the spectrum. There are one or two with potential to become something more polished. I wouldn’t show the raw poems to anyone, but as a way of getting some stuff out of my brain it’s been very effective.

I try not to judge the quality of my first drafts, but it’s a challenge to stay away from that judgemental thinking.

Last Sunday I attended a workshop run by one of the writing groups I’m a member of, the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild. We had well known author and all around champion human C. S. Pacat to talk about world building. It doesn’t sound much like romance at first but creating a sense of authenticity to the setting is important in any book, especially in fantasy or sci-fi.

The part of the workshop which really stood out to me was the idea of the creative phase versus the skeptic phase. The creative phase is when you write down every idea that comes to you. You ascribe no value to it. The skeptic phase is when you then go back and evaluate whether the ideas will ‘work’, if they’re practical, or derivative etc. Pacat said that these two types if thinking inhibit each other and doing them at the same time will not produce good results.

I’m very good at critiquing ideas as soon as they come to me, which is not very useful creatively. I’m sure it’s a skill, like any other, to allow yourself to ‘go mad’ in the first phase, and really hone in in the second phase. I aim to improve this skill set in future.

Secondly, Melbourne Fringe Festival registrations are now open. This means we’re de-prioritising script development to focus on venue selection and application submissions. I’ve also bought a bunch of materials to start making puppets, which is for later, but I’m excited to get started on them.

Alex and I attended a ‘venue speed dating’ event yesterday run by the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Artists and venues were brought together to meet. We spoke to a number of great potential venues, several of which I would not have otherwise approached.

It’s still all very up in the air and I can’t tell you anything more. Watch this space for an image reveal in a few weeks – Fleur and Alexandra are Out of this World and they’re coming to a theatre near you.

Things are chugging along happily for me, I hope things are coming along for you too.

NaPoWriMo 2018

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

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I did NaPoWriMo two years ago. In the last few months I’ve had loads of compliments for my poetry chapbook, My Body. No Apology, so I’d like to produce some more poems and make a follow up chapbook.

Much of the raw material from NaPoWriMo last time was not so great. I guess it’s all first drafts and they don’t always work out anyway, but surely one or two will be useful.

I’m not very good at having a daily practice; I get distracted with the band and other projects. I do write faithfully every week, particularly on my days that I don’t work.

I’m just coming out of a particularly busy period at work, preparing for our yearly external evaluation. As a result of doing some extra work, and being part time, I will have eleven days off, including the Easter long weekend, so I’m going to write. In addition to my poem a day, I’ll be finishing some additions to my manuscript from last November.

The manuscript will go into a Box Set with a number of romance authors. It will be released as a collection of short novels/novellas, and we’ll be self-publishing them at the end of the year. More on that as it gets closer.

During that time off work, I’ve rented a little cottage in country Victoria for a few days of walks by the lake, coffee, and catching up on my reading pile. Bliss!

I’m constantly inspired by the productivity of other writers and artists and I know once this stressful period in my day job is over my energy for creation will be back in full swing.

Is anyone else planning to spend April doing a poem each day? Let’s be writing buddies.

The End of the Dirty Thirty

30 Saturday Apr 2016

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April is National Poetry Writing Month, or NaPoWriMo. I decided to do it this year, sort of on a whim, and then I forgot till 5 April, so I was four behind! I’ve caught up and now have only today’s and two more to finish the ‘dirty thirty’, as my friend calls it. I’ve decided that since I forgot, I’m allowed to go a couple of days over and finish on Monday.

I’ve had some fun writing every day, but some days it was a struggle. I think there are a few poems that are just terrible, and will probably never see the light of day, but there are others which work quite well.

I took day 11, which was to order the titles of books in your shelf into a found object poem, and day 12, which was about tea and being a grown up, to my writing group today. A lot of people liked the book titles one, and there was a bit of a mixed reaction to the other.

I found it interesting that one member of the group, a woman who is in her eighties if she’s a day, commented that one never really feels like a grown up. This idea that you’re bluffing your way through life apparently persists. I keep thinking it will go away, but I don’t think it does.

I’ll have to think of something for May, perhaps a music challenge. Anyway, to wrap up NaPoWriMo for the year, in a way, I present day 11 and day 12.

 

Book Spines

Pretty things
In My Skin
Lost Souls
Mutants
Oblivion

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Books from my shelf

The Broken Shore
The Big Sleep
The Dark Half
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Oblivion

Perfect Phrases
Leaves of Grass
Crack Down
Junky
Bleak House
Oblivion

 

Tea and Anxiety

Warm and liquid and brown.
Well sort of tan I guess.
Swish you around my mouth
Feel you sliding down my throat
To warm my belly.

Ah, you’ve been such a friend.
Not as much caffeine as your cousin
Coffee, who makes me jitter and shake.
There’s no anxiety with you.

There is a bit of an aftertaste
Sometimes, when I’ve finished my sip
There’s something that lingers
Like something you’ve forgotten to do

So often I feel like I’m failing
At being an adult
At fulfilling societal expectations
Which is hard because I don’t want to
Fulfil expectations.
But you can’t help feeling that pressure can you?
Ah well, at least there’s always tea.

NaPoWriMo + MICF

08 Friday Apr 2016

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In my last post, I mentioned that I was thinking of doing NaPoWriMo, that is, National Poetry Writing Month. The idea is that you do one poem every day in April, and then you have thirty poems, and some good habits. I did it in 2014 and enjoyed the experience, even though the poems were of very mixed quality.

Only I forgot that I was going to do NaPoWriMo until Tuesday (5th). So I was like ‘Ah, crap!’. I’ve caught up a little bit but still three behind.

I forgot because I was all distracted by the Melbourne International Comedy festival. I’ve seen a lot of shows. I like seeing lots of shows. I like seeing the different stuff people do. I like having an excuse to go up to performers after they get off stage and gush at them in the hope of getting a nice hug. Sometimes it even works! WOO! Bart and Nicole, I’m looking at you!

Here’s a brief list of shows I have seen and can recommend:

Mel Buttle’s Up to Pussy’s Bow: Mel’s from Brisbane and she’s obsessed with Gumtree. Stand-up. Very good.

Luisa Omielan’s Am I Right Ladies?: Luisa is from the UK, she does stand-up with dancing and a killer soundtrack. Excellent.

Velvet: Not sure if it technically counts as comedy, it’s a cabaret/circus/variety show. It’s expensive but boy is it worth the entry price! Sexy glittery good times!

Hannah Gadsby’s Dogmatic: It’s a journey through Taylor Swift lyrics and Hannah’s no woe life. Stand-up with intellectual weight. Many lols. Loved it.

Wil Anderson Fire At Wil: The title doesn’t work in America, so get into it here. For reasons why Malcolm Turnbull is a comedians nightmare and other political stand-up hilarity.

Michelle Brasier’s Space Tortoise: What could be better than a singing, dancing tortoise who wants to be a cosmonaut? Not much. Amazing.

Bart Freebairn’s Unlimited Comedy Battle Spirit: Making the everyday absurdity funny, and making absurd hilarity everyday. Weird stand-up also featuring very tight pants. Gold.

Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night: For those late nights when you just want a bit of a flavour of some other shows. Also featuring Ali’s glorious vocal stylings and the Omnichord.

Peter and Bambi Heaven’s The Magic Inside: It’s a magical cabaret show with so many costume changes the mind boggles. You’ll never look at fruit and veg the same way again. Brilliant.

Juan Vesuvius’s Calypso Nights: Juan, Two?: This one requires a bit more work from the audience, but if you’re concentrating you are rewarded with some high-level lols. There are also some excellent physical slapstick gags. Defies classification. Get it in ya!

Becky Lucas’s Baby: Lazy-Feminist-Lady-Stand-up extraordinaire. May or may not feature actual baby. Bloody good shit here.

Andy Matthew’s Plenty: A curling, twisting, beautifully curated narrative journey through existential dread, death, and quantum physics. Makes you think hard. Makes you laugh. Good stuff.

Nicole Henriksen is Makin’ it Rain: Ever wanted to know what it’s actually like to be a stripper? This show is Nicole getting real vulnerable with bonus nudity. Epic.

So um, yeah. I’ve been busy eating up all the art! If I come up with a poem that’s any good I’ll put it up here. Otherwise I’ll try to pack in a few more laughs before the MICF closes on 17 April. Big love!

Comedy Festival – GO!

25 Friday Mar 2016

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Last night was the first night of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF). I went out to see two shows; Mel Buttle’s Up to Pussy’s Bow and Luisa Omielan’s Am I Right Ladies?

Two beautiful, strong, funny women. I bought this awesome Bumper Book for Boys, published in 1938, from Mel for 35cents. I’m looking forward to seeing more MICF shows over the next few weeks, it’s such a fun time to be out in Melbourne!

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Bumper Book for Boys, it’s going to look great in my flat above a shop in Fitzroy North. I’m not a hipster, I swear.

I’m also giving consideration to doing NaPoWriMo again. That’s National Poetry Writing Month, the idea being that you challenge yourself to write a poem a day for the month of April. I did it two years ago and I quite enjoyed it, although the standard of the poems that came out varied wildly. I don’t know whether I’ll have the time to do it properly, with the comedy festival and the band and the new job and the life modelling and the trying to organise and write our Fringe show, but I might as well give it a try.

If you’re out at the MICF and you see me, say hello! If you have recommendations for shows, tell me! If you want to do the poem a day challenge I’d love to hear from you, it’s always nice to know that there are others out there who are attempting the same stuff I am!

Swapping one challenge for another

01 Thursday May 2014

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April was the month of poems, May will be the month of photos.

I started the National Poetry Writing Month challenge one day late, but managed to complete the month with 30 new poems under my belt. I’m the first to admit that their quality is not consistent in any way, there were days where I’ve written a potential masterpiece, and other days where the drivel I came out with embarrasses me to look at. None the less, I plan to print out all of the poems from the month and take them to a nice coffee shop somewhere and read them over, a little bit like I did with my novel manuscripts. I’ll also have a think about editing them but that might have to wait a few weeks so I can come back to them with fresh eyes.

Given that the April poetry challenge is over, a good friend and fellow blogger, Katharine, suggested that I take up a new challenge, Fat Mum Slim’s Photo a Day challenge for May. So that’s what I’m going to do! I’ll try to post all of the photos here on my blog, probably only once a week due to life commitments (study in particular is hectic at the moment) along with social commitments and work and writing and yknow, stuff! Plus I don’t know whether you all want to be bombarded with my (potentially not very good) photography all the time.

In other news, I’ve been feeling pretty up beat of late. I’ve made a few important decisions regarding the second half of the year which have changed my head space for the better, and I’ve met some amazing new people who fill me with inspiration and energy, which is nice.

So, with that, bring on the photos! Feel free to sign up and photograph with me!

Photo a Day guidelines - by Fat Mum Slim

Photo a Day guidelines – by Fat Mum Slim

Dudley

13 Sunday Apr 2014

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This is my contribution for Day 12 NaPoWriMo – maybe it’s a found poem, maybe it’s blank verse, maybe it’s comedy or maybe it’s just an exploration of what happens when you replace words with Dudley.

Dudley 

Dudley outbreak in local school!
New Dudley flavoured Tim Tams.
Would you allow a Dudley in your house?

Dudleys take on Pope at Vatican audience.
What do we want? DUDLEY! When do we want it? NOW!
Smoke Camels, for that rich Dudley flavour.

My Dudley brings all the boys to the yard.
Is your child up to date with their Dudley shots?
Money can’t buy you Dudley.

Roses are red, violets are Dudley.
Dudley convention a hit!
Ask your doctor if Dudley is right for you.

Archaeologists find Dudley in carpark.
Abbott announces Dudley plan.
I can’t believe it’s not Dudley!

Dudley: have you had yours today?

NaPoWriMo – One to Sixteen

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Last night I was thinking about William S. Burroughs and cut-ups, so today’s poem was created by writing sixteen lines, some of which had something to do with each other, others are more like observations of my surroundings. I numbered each line and then used a random number generator to re-arrange the lines into the poem.

One to Sixteen

Let the world remember us
Librarians shush as I walk through
White fellas are always the most important
Or leaves of a sick plant
White fellas are always the most important
My shoes clomp along the street
I carry an umbrella
Other colours have to wait in line
Because it’s raining today
Nothing means anything if no one experiences it
White fellas are always the most important
Peek around corners for inspiration
Some people have purple hair
Without us making our marks so deep
Ella has a favourite restaurant
Locked doors peak interest
Librarians shush as I walk through
Her eyelashes are like feathers
Breathe in, breathe out