Exiled Writers: A Sob Story

Many writers have written their greatest work sitting at a desk at home or at their office, or even in a café.  Some of the greatest however, have written while in exile, far from their cosy desk at home.
For example, Dante. And Aristotle. And also Victor Hugo and Leo Tolstoy.

I was emailed a link by the owner of this site telling me that the readers of my blog could possibly be interested in this article about 5 Famous Exiled Writers (and other articles). I was interested in the article and thought I would share it. Mainly because the email was extremely nice and neither pleading nor threatening and demanding. I get how it is to want more readers for your site and every little helps, so the link for that article is below.

5 Famous Writers That Lived in Exile

Why I Don't Edit

Someone commented a while ago on one of my poems about how the meter of the last line was longer than the rest and so stood out in a bad way, just giving advice on how to edit it. The thing is, I don't edit things I post on my blog. There are few reasons why. It is not that I am insulting my readers and saying you don't deserve the best, it is that you are important to me.
Say someone spends years learning the violin, painfully screeching out each note, causing their family to clap their hands over their ears and run and slam doors to block it. They play the same song over and over. And over. And over. They finally get it right and at their recital they play it. Their family has heard the song so many times they hum it in their sleep, they have resolved to never ever buy their kids another violin, and they have a special drawer for earplugs.
Even for that, who applauds the loudest at the end of the song?

Do you see?

Also, I think blogging is a stream of consciousness. It is different to other media. Just like Twitter has a "science," so does blogging. Most bloggers are honest creative people. I am just being honest by sharing things straight from my head, without editing them.
The truth is, I don't edit. At all. Anything. And I know it is silly and ignorant and stupid but here's the thing...So many people have told me writing is good, that it deserves praise, that I believe them. Truthfully, when I look back at some of my writing it seems so horrid that I think it would have been better not to write it at all. So I listen to those people and think it is good. I send it off almost as soon as I am done writing it. Then it has no chance to slowly change over time to something horrid in my eyes, because someone indifferent has already said it is good. It is like a safeguard, not editing.
I do edit some. As I write, if things sound off I fix them, if a word is wrong, I change it. It is not that I don't edit full stop, just that I don't do that thing where you put in  drawer for two weeks and "come at it with fresh eyes."
I know it's stupid.

Nostalgia

As I go back and label old posts, all the way back to September 2009, I can't help but giggle.

So many memes, so many stories, so many poems. And my most often used label is 'murder,' 'suicide,' 'death.'

Ah, the memories...

Another thing is looking back at all my old Magpie Tales. This is week sixteen, can you believe it? I was so naive when I stared it, such long stories, needing so much work. I think I am better now {I hope}.

And....I'm back!

Firstly, I haven't been blogging for five or so days, because of my Summer Exams (that's my excuse anyways). But I meant the title more like a "I'm coming back to myself."
Recently, all my posts have been fiction, but, while it's brilliant and all, that doesn't really say anything about me, just that I write good (only kidding, write well). I was reading over my previous posts, like from August 2009, and I was thinking, you know what, I really like my voice. I like to read my own writing! As a reader.
That's just a bit weird for me.
I was at a party on Saturday last, lots of writers and musicians which was great. Anyways, it was suggested that I do book reviews on the blog, because people like other people's opinions about stuff before they buy it.
I thought I dunnno, meh... Then I thought it over again, and I thought hmmmm, nice idea. Then I thought, well...I don't buy all that many new books (none). Then I thought, well who cares, right? It's my blog, and I am in charge, and I say I like the idea.
And since I already had a book review....


EDIT: MM has informed me that technically it's not my blog, it's our blog. "But you know, Aoife, if you want it that way, I'll just crawl in a corner and die back off."
Okay okay, so it's not my blog. Make it yours too MM; post something enlightening or entertaining :P

Two Authors...One Blog...Why...HOW?

Seeing how a few people seem to be a little bit confused about how this blog works, having two authors and all, I thought I would attempt to explain in a little more depth.
Well, since my mother (MM) and I are writers, a blog is a good promotional tool. I started this blog for her and for me, way back when I was a total amateur about blogging.
We each post under different names (or are SUPPOSED too...take note MM), so you can tell us apart. Failing that, we each have individual 'voices' as people do, so sometimes one can tell by the tone of the post who wrote it.
However, MM has written seven posts, and those of you who read her post (that looked sort of like a poem) about her hands were treated to her first post since 30 August 2009. On the other hand, I have recently reached my hundredth post, so its fairly obvious who is the real contributor to the blog. MM, as she said, doesn't have a lot of time to post, while I have more, which also means that I post more.
Finally, we don't collaborate on posts (though we often critique and definitely do read each other's posts) but we sometimes get an opinion before the post is posted.
Hopefully that clears things up a bit.

:/

I suppose an apology and an excuse are possibly in order...

You know how life catches up...

Not that I could have picked a worse possible time to have an unplanned hiatus, counting down to one hundred posts, about to post another Magpie Tale, etc. etc.

So as an apology and a 'hope this makes up for my hideous lack of commitment and disregard for everyone' I am going to post not only Magpie Tales #3 plus the number four in my countdown to 100 posts, but ALSO, another post (which is non-fiction but could possibly be described as creative/literary non-fiction)!!!

Soon to be 100 Posts #10

In ten more posts (aka ten more days...hopefully), I will have reached my one hundredth post.
While I could hope for more readers/followers, I am pretty satisfied with my achievements to date.
My blog will be one year old this July, and I am glad that it has not taken me that long to get one hundred posts, even though the blog was supposed to be daily.

Ten Reasons Why I thought I Would Never Get 100 Posts...

#1 I have a short attention span, and not a lot of determination (depending)

#2 For the longest while, no one read my blog, and still hardly anyone does (never consistently)

#3 I have hardly any free time due to bad habits such as watching television, and going on the internet (Facebook, games, etc.)

#4 I thought I would run out of ideas of things to post about

#5 My posts were (are) very long...so I used up a lot of ideas in one post

#6 I posted infrequently...sometimes I went for amost a month between posts (good thing for a daily blog, eh?)

#7 I spent a lot of time reading other people's blogs and being envious of their followers/good posts instead of working on my own

#8 After a while, I got tired of the name of the blog, but couldn't change it (because of the url), so I didn't want to post

#9 I had loads of good ideas for posts, but always forgot them...even when I started making a list of them

#10 And lastly... I never thought I would get one hundred posts because I sometimes wasn't all that in to the blog, and I usually desert things that I'm not all that in to.

Time...

Sometimes I wonder if all this online promotion doesn't just take time away from writing. I mean, is there ever enough time in the day?

Don't get me wrong, I really like blogging (and I actually classify it as writing, because I do use creative thought while posting).
But how could one person possibly keep up with Blogger, Twitter, and Facebook? Not to mention if you had a YouTube account, or anything else.

If you spend time updating all of those, and writing, when do you go outside to get some fresh air? When do you eat? When do you take a break? What if you don't write full time!? When do you do your day job (or go to school in my case)?

There is just so much!

January

It's January already, and never have I felt like I have so much free time or so many things to do!
I have to (okay okay, WANT to) write a short story (though I do have a poem I could use) for a magazine for the fifteenth, and I haven't even checked the competitions lately, so I don't know if I'm missing out on anything, which is good (busy wise) but also not good (missed opportunity wise).
And I feel pressured to post (pressure of my own making, mind you), because I haven't posted since the seventeenth (I think) of December! Last year!
And I feel unprepared to go back to school (though I had no homework or such), as though I have forgotten something...
Another one of my irrational fears: that I'll be the only person arriving at school because I forgot the right day we were coming back. (Along with my other fear of being hit by an invisible car while crossing a seemingly empty road...you never know, it could happen!)


Note: Though all previous (wonderful) photographs were taken by me (except of course for the one at Cuisle, in which I was the subject), this lovely one was taken by MM, so good job.

September, September, September

Astonishingly, I have not blogged in ages. Well not astonishingly, quite normal and unamazing in fact, I should say.
Personally, I love pancakes. DD recently obtained a really good from-scratch recipe, and it has turned out beautifully. The key is sugar in the batter, something I have never done before. Well, usually we have them with berries (frozen usually, but last week we picked some blackberries off the side of the road!!). However, we didn't have berries. Well myself being the genius I am,-oh, excuse me, I forgot...it was MM's idea actually, she went picking in the fridge and found some jam. Blackcurrant-not good on toast because it is full of bits *shudder*. However, heat it up, and you get....blackcurrant syrup! That's right, syrup! And what a cheaper option than buying the fruit syrups in the shop, and a better tasting one too.
Not that I should be blogging about food in a writer's blog, but it's better than the alternative of not blogging at all.
Oh, so I should think of something writing related to blog about, should I? (Just in case you are wondering, I actually am talking to myself, there is no one in the room with me.) Well, I am going to two literary festivals next weekend. Luckily, I get Friday off to prepare. But honestly, what idiot decided to have all the literary festivals in the country on the same day?! So, I am going to the Castlecomer(link needs internet explorer to work) lit fest, then one in Athlone, for MM to write an article on it. So, should be nice and busy.
I am going to one of Roisín Meany's workshops in Castlecomer. I am writing a story for Writers Forum at the moment, and I do mean at the moment, Word is open in the other window now. First things first, after I post this I have to go back over all the other posts and make sure there is nothing incriminating or embarrassing, so I can promote the blog with no fear. And by the time anyone other than me reads this (MM and DD admitted they lied when they said they read it!), they will never know what it said before. Mmwahahahaha!

Blogging

I had a post planned and even began to write it, but then realised I shouldn't. It is ten past eleven, and I am getting up at six.
So tomorrow I will post it, entitled Fiji Water.
I wanted to make this short note as I am making an effort to keep this blog daily. So, what is it now? Well, it is interesting I shall say. I think that with more effort I could blog every day and not just about stupid things and fluff either.
MM has not posted again in a while, and there was a long period where I didn't either. I amn't pressuring her too much as she just doesn't enjoy it.
I only started the blog in the first place because I read in a magazine that it is good for a writer to have good promotional skills, etc. And a blog is a really good way to ensure people like your writing, plus it gives you publicity, blah blah blah. I didn't think I would like blogging, but I do, immensely.
And that is all I will post, because, though I want to post more, I am so tired my eyes can't stay open.

August Already

It's August already!
I haven't been posting, but I have a good reason why. I have decided that it is only worth posting if I have something worthwhile to say.
That means no more really short posts daily, rather longer ones less frequently. The 'daily' blog has now become just a figurehead name.
MM has not posted, though every time she is on the computer I remind her. I can't see what she finds wrong with it, though she is insisting it is "generational."
However, DD makes a very good point when he says there are lots of people posting who are of all ages.
I am happy at the moment because my story was published in Writer's Forum magazine, and my horoscope for August says to 'focus on the things that are going well and stop self-doubt', which I am prone to do. So I will focus on the writing, as that is obviously going very well. I just need a new story to send out.

If the next post is by me, and not MM, there will be trouble.