Poets Meet Painters Launch

Photo from anaduncan.com

This is the sculpture 'Crest' by Ana Duncan. It is what inspired my poem 'Fishing,' which won first prize in the schools section of the Millcove Gallery Poets Meet Painters competition. That and my experience of fishing from a boat instead of a pier for the first time a couple years ago.
I noticed that a lot of the short-list and winners had drawn on their own experiences and memories for their poem but yet had a clear link to the artwork they were inspired by. I think the artwork more inspired reflection and thought on the poets' own experiences than created a new scenario in the poets' minds, which is what I had imagined would happen. But then, the relating of our own thoughts, experiences, and memories is rather the definition of poetry.
The launch of the Poets Meet Painters anthology was a nice event. It was raining, unfortunately, but most of the audience was covered by the tent that was set up outside. Copies of the anthology, water, and wine all seemed to sell very fast. Amazingly enough, everyone was there on time, even early, which the gallery didn't expect. And small wonder, with the Irish sense of time!
What I found most interesting was that the artists of the pieces were there. Last year only a few were in attendance. Ana Duncan said that 'Crest,' and her series of similar works were inspired by the struggle between man and the sea. I found it interesting how I managed to pick up on that with my poem, which details a fishing trip out on the sea. Most of the artists were able to reveal that they had been inspired by similar themes to those that inspired the poets.
This competition and event is growing fast people. I suggest you get writing for next year's competition!

To see more of Ana Duncan's work, her website is here.
For details of the winners, photos, and to purchase the Poets Meet Painters anthology for a measly fiver plus postage, the Hungry Hill Writing Website is here.

I'm Back

I am just beginning to relax into the warm bath of summer. Finally free of exam stress and worries, and my creativity is blooming again at long last. Last Friday I threw out (by that I mean recycled) three years' worth of copies and pages and school-related things I no longer require. It was wonderfully liberating. Best of all, I found amongst them so many scribbled pages of words and ideas I had long forgotten. It was a little sad to see how much I used to write, how often I used to just let the ideas flow and forget about making sense and having a plot. But then, now I have so much free time to fill with writing.
Slovenia was absolutely amazing. I only spent about two days there (one full day and two halves), but we did so much, I had such a great time. I cannot express how brilliant it was. Well, I suppose I could try. We ate at a farmhouse and the food was the best I had ever had, and home-made apple juice and meat reared there and lettuce grown there and tomatoes that tasted of sun. And the caves we visited in the only other karst region of the world besides Ireland. And flying over the Adriatic so clear, even from 30,000 feet, and the Alps dappled in snow and wind farms in the Channel and English farmhouses and stepping out into London sunshine (sort of). And driving through Italy and weather so warm while storms raged at home and sitting out under a balcony draped in vines sipping cold water. And the music festival where they played traditional songs and even the teenagers waltzed. Wow. I cannot wait until we go back (sometime...)

Sign

So I finally have a minute of time so I decided to say: I am still here.
It even seems hopeful that Sunday will be creatively fruitful.
In the meantime...
This is an interesting sign.

Take a Break's Young Fiction Writer of the Year Competition

In exams, it is common practice to like a poet/poem when asked to give an opinion about it because it is easier then disliking it. If I don't like something I don't want to say I do even if that gets me a better mark. But that's the thing. Surely getting a better mark is better than telling the truth? After all that mark is how you will eventually leave school and get a job and once you are out there it doesn't matter if you "lied" on the exam.
Writing for a market. I get how some writers write different genres and will write one for a women's magazine and another for an anthology. It makes sense. But say there is a competition hosted by a magazine. Do you write the genre the magazine publishes? Fine, you do. But if it really has little to do with the magazine? Like Take a Break's Young Fiction Writer of the Year Competition. Take a Break isn't about young writers. Take a Break also doesn't publish SF/F.
I entered a SF/F story to the competition for two reasons. One, it was one of the I had within the word count and two, I liked it. Better to enter something than nothing. I happen to know that last year's winners all wrote the same kind of stories (mainly), and that those stories were basically what Take a Break publishes. Yet I didn't write a story for the competition. Because that is not how I write. I can recognise and admire people who can and do write for a specific publication, but I prefer to write first and tailor after, instead of following a pattern from the beginning.
I believe I am an artist and as such, instead of making my art so it will be recognised I want people to recognise my art. Do you see the difference? And it seems to work, as long as I don't need to earn money from it.

P.S. I was happy to get in the post a few days ago a certificate from Take a Break. I got a special mention, which is sort of a short-list, below runner-up anyway which is what I got last year.
EDIT: Actually how it works is there is a first prize and two runners-up and then below that is the short-list (last year) and long-list (this year). I got confused by the absence of second and third place.

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.

NaPoWriMo...Day Five

Make poetry really personal. Give poetry, as you write it, a name. Possibly a gender. And a personality. Give poetry — how you view poetry, what poetry means to you, your poetry — a name. Now write a poem suits your view or vision.

Agana flows from the heart, unbidden

You can call for her, but not force her

Forced, she is cold and stiff as rock

Unbidden, she arrives in a spurt

of lifeblood, your essence bared

Agana is not a choice.

You have her or you don't,

and if you do, you must let her flow

even if it kills you

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!

Themes and Musings

When I am writing, I don't really have an intention. That is, I don't consciously make an effort to include any deeper meanings, nor do I (mostly) pre-choose a theme.

However, I find when I view my writing from an objective eye, it seems to be much better than I felt it to be whilst I was writing it.
Maybe I can pretend someone else wrote it (in fact, that IS what I do).

When someone reads it out, I pretend it is someone's else's work, and to my amazement, find that it is really good.

I think I have mentioned before, though no harm in saying again, that people seem to read deeper into what I write, and find themes and such. And I have said that I think perhaps it is my subconscious that includes these themes and deeper meanings, metaphors, etc.

Well, I actually like that. I think it is really cool, because it gives my writing so much more depth than I had intended. I can't seem to consciously write like that, though my last story did have an encoded message in the first letter of every paragraph (purposely).

Working on Words

DD helped me cut down a synopsis (for a competition) from 643 words to 500 words. He was astonished that it could be done. I felt everything that was in the synopsis needed to be there, and worked well in the first place. But we did it.

Which brings me to a point I feel I should make. The misconception that writing short pieces rather than longer ones is easier.
It's not.
Sometimes it is harder.

I'm not saying that, for instance, writing a short story is harder than writing a novel. However, it has been said that novel writing is much easier than script writing.

Sometimes when a short story word limit is 1000 words it's easier than if it was 5000. But equally, if it was 2000 that might be easier than 1000.

I just think that a lot of people (mainly people who aren't writers) think that greater length is to be admired much more than lesser length as far as word count goes. I think it is unfair especially in flash fiction for example, which is really hard to write and yet has a very small word count (somewhere between 50 and 300 words).

At the same time, if you write a novel and it is too short to be publishable, sometimes it is excruciating to lengthen it.

EDIT (JUNE 2010) I was one of the runners up in the competition.

Writers are actors. Except that they get to play all the parts.

They get to write the script. And direct it.

They get to cut a role, or add a new one. They can change a character's personality utterly, or keep it.

Writers are lucky.

Where I Have Been

Sometimes life overtakes work, even if that work is fun. So maybe that's not what happened to me, but at least it sounds poetic.

Today, we went to the library. When I had last gotten my work published, MM had given the librarian a copy, which she hung up. When we came in, the librarian told us that a woman had been in earlier, read the story, and had really enjoyed it. That was so cool!

And we went down to the beach, because a glorious fog had rolled in overnight and stuck around until early afternoon, and I wanted to get some good photos. We went down the nearest road, hoping to see Roisin (she's a horse). We saw her, and a pheasant! What a beautiful bird! It had a really red head, and a long tail, but it was quite skittish. I got some pics of it (and Roisin).

I got some pictures of a few spiderwebs, which MM has high hopes for, but I don't really think will work out too great. The auto-focus on the camera isn't great for macro, but I'm not expert enough to try manual focus without destroying settings that could be crucial.

Fact Vs. Fiction: What do You Change?

I have a question:
How much of a true incident would you change to make a fictional story? What if you wanted to keep everything?
But it could possibly hurt someone's feelings...but you want it to be published.
And they will probably never see it...but they could, and if they do it would be in a very embarrassing situation for them...but you are almost positive this wouldn't happen?
What if you can't think of how to change it to keep them unidentifiable even by those who know them?
But the story is brilliant, and every sentence (pretty much) helps move it along (either plot wise or characterisation).
What would you do?
Some writers would say don't try to get it published unless you can really change it to protect that person (actually pretty much everyone would say that).
But what if you don't write that many stories and your friend writes loads and she submits hers too, and she has already gotten one published and so have you...but she might submit one this month as well as you, and what if she gets it published again, even though you are the one who told her about the magazine in the first place? Well how do you swallow your pride then? Because you had a story, but were unsure about submitting it (and the story actually was really really good).
And say, if your friend doesn't submit a story, then the other person (who could get hurt) will never read the magazine in the first place. Or if your friend submits a story but doesn't get it published, then the other person won't ever read it either.
Well, you could ask your friend not to show anyone the magazine if she gets published (and maybe she would), but what if she wouldn't?
What could you do?
What if you had to write the story for personal reasons, and it's not just about that other person, it's about you too?
What if the story is about an issue that concerns nearly everyone? From a different point of view than usually portrayed?
What if you really felt that it should be published?
And you changed minor details such as locations and dates? (And no names were mentioned in the first place?)
But what if you also used a quote (that is very poignant, and can't really be changed) directly from something they said?

This is what has been going through my mind....

I really think that it should be published (and believe it or not, it really really isn't all about pride, though to say it wasn't at all would be a lie)

And I have an hour or so to consider it...

EDIT (June 2010): I sent it in and it was published, but I won't say where.

The Best Lesson

The easiest lesson learned is one that is is self-taught.

How do you learn something? I mean really well and truly.
Well for me there are two ways.
Painful ways.
They both have to do with experience.
That's right, experience. You have to experience something to know.
Fine and dandy if you're told the pan's hot. Well yes, but maybe you don't believe it. So...you go check. Youch! It is hot. That's what I mean by experience. You have experienced the heat of the pan for yourself, therefore you know it's hot.
And will you ever forget that pans on the stove are usually hot? Not likely.
Another example...you like to ride your bicycle. After a few days, you realise that the footpaths near your house are extremely bumpy. And you get sore. Then you have a stroke of genius! Stand up on the bumps so you don't absorb the impact. Yay!
You rush home to tell your folks. You excitedly pour out the story. Then your dad says 'I told you that ages ago.' And so he did. Why didn't you remember? Because it wasn't important. Why wasn't it important? Because it wasn't relevant. You will always remember to do that because you taught it to yourself, no matter how many times you were told before.
The other way to learn it; embarrassment. Say your teacher calls on you in class. You don't know the answer. The teacher then spends half an hour lecturing the class on studying. Are you likely to forget that answer? Well, maybe. But if the teacher then calls on you a second time, days later and you still don't know the answer...You've been embarrassed twice (it only works for some people! Some might not get embarrassed and end up having a laugh instead, it depends on the person. Then again, someone might do both). Do you really want the experience of being embarrassed again? For me, it takes being embarrassed three times, then I know it. Really well. Really really well.
I suppose a third way could be added; endless recitation. But that's no fun, and could be forgotten. Learning things that interest you are good as well, because if it's interesting, you'll remember it, right?

Novel? Short Story, More Like

Well, I have to fess up. Oh yes, I haven't been posting all right. But oh no, it was NOT because of NaNoWriMo.
Well there, I've said it.
Truth is, I have the attention span of a five-year old. Maybe less. And well...NaNoWriMo is too much like work. That's not saying I didn't try (I did for two days at least). And I'm not saying I've given up. After all, there are still 21 days left in November.
I'm just saying...I didn't realise it before, but I write short stories because that is as much as I can take. Time wise. Sure sure, other people with busier schedules can make time. But well, I can't just write. I haven't got the discipline. When I write it just flows out. Which is awesome, great, fantastic...and only happens rarely. Which is why I write rarely.
Actually, I haven't a problem getting published. The problem is having stories written to send in. Now that I think about it, that's not really a problem. In fact I should be happy I can get published.
I did write part of a novel once. About a year ago, two years? It was around 40,000 words I believe (and not finished). I wrote it in longhand, and had typed about half of it, and the word count was 20k. I didn't like it, so decided to discard it (maybe to come back later though.)
I can't force myself to write, though I think if I got some prompts (prompt books) it would be better. I know I could be a better writer if I tried harder.
That was what NaNoWriMo was for me, a way to establish a better writing routine and improve my writing in the process.
Now I really should get back to it...tomorrow :D

NaNoWriMo

Well actually, fifteen thousand words is quite small. It sounds big when you first say it, but then if you think about it...it's only five hundred words a day.
Today I wrote 787, in just over an hour. Pretty good I think.
I am considering going sans internet for the month for NaNoWiMo...wish me luck!
And don't be surprised if I disappear for a month.

NaNoWriMo

That is of course, National Novel Writing Month(link for the one I'm entering, one for adults is different, but a link should be near).
I had never ever heard of this, but am glad I found it from Ashley Ladd's blog, Happily Ever After. Well not found it, but heard of it.
I entered it, and set my goal at 15,000 in thirty days. I know that sounds like a lot, well it does to me, but it's not. The common goal, and the one for adults, is 50,000 words. While I'm sure some people could do that with their eyes half-open; myself, having no experience of this sort of thing, decided to start small, but aspirational at the same time.
So yes, I will keep you posted on my progress. I am really excited!
I wish I had had more time to prepare, as uh, today is the 31 of October, and the contest starts 1 November. That's just...1 hour 37 minutes and 40 seconds away, the website has just informed me.
Well, I hope I get a lot of good things out of this; including much of a novel, better writing habits, new ideas, and hopefully a little certificate that says "You Did It!"
I can't wait!
Roll on tomorrow!

BTW, Happy Halloween, Last Day of October, and Day Before the First Day of November

Cuisle

We went to Kilarney this weekend. It was really great. We only had the end of Saturday and start of Sunday, as Saturday we had to stop in Limerick to pick up the Cuisle Award.
It was very stressful in Limerick. Apparently the one thing (one of the things) the family has trouble with is directions.

Try having ONE person look up the directions on Google maps, then give those to ANOTHER person, who has to shout them out as fast as possible to avoid missing turns, and then doesn't clarify that the last turn was the WRONG turn, so now the directions don't work. Then try the fact that we hadn't eaten anything for hours, and only two of us had EVER been in the city before (twice). And the fact that the woman on the phone, telling DD and MM where it was located said to DD St. Dominic's Church, and to MM St. John's Church, when it was actually at St Mary's church.

Well, it was to start at eleven, and we arrived in Limerick at ten...and got to the place at five to eleven. The worst was the one way streets and SOME of us not knowing their directions well enough (wasn't me!*cough*).

Anyway, it was really cool. It was a refurbished chapel, and looked really amazing inside. It was the perfect size for an open-plan house.

I did get a slight surprise, because I had to read out my poem. Astonishingly, I had been afraid of that, then asked DD, "Do you think they will ask me to read it?" He said "Oh, no, I talked to her on the phone, it didn't sound anything like that." Well it was, and I had never read it out before. AT ALL.
MM and DD said I read it nicely. More importantly, so did one of the judges. (Parental loyalty and all that)

And turns out that highly commended is actually really good, as there were submissions from across the country (Cork to Antrim!).
It made me wish that I had tried harder though. Maybe I could've made first in my age category.
And I felt bad that me, who had written a poem for English, didn't like it, then saw the award THE NIGHT BEFORE and sent it off, made fourth (first, second, third, then highly commended, so fourth is pretty much correct). What about all the people who spent days on their poem, only to not even place?

Well, next year I WILL get first. I will try. Trying is always the key, I think. (Not 'doing your best', making an effort, and believing.)

And don't anyone get discouraged by MY success. After all, even if you can't compete with my glory, aspiring to second place is just as good. (Kidding obviously)(hopefully you found it obvious)

Can One be Too imaginative?

Yes, I do think there is such thing as being too imaginative.

In fact, sometimes it is a curse, in my opinion. Say, when you get a cut, and you imagine the blood flowing from your heart faster and faster to gush out of the cut. Or you are taking your pulse and you can imagine it too well... It made me wonder what people used to think in the medieval ages when they believed the blood sat still in the body, and did not circulate. What did they think their pulse was, then?

Anyway, why I said all that is because sometimes a good imagination can cloud your judgement. Say you really really love a story. Everyone else hates it. Why do you love it? Because with your imagination, you can see what it could be, what it would look like with grammatical correction. Or is it because no matter how bad the writing, you can still picture the scenes and characters because of your imagination, while others simply cannot?

Is it a blessing or a curse to have a good imagination? In most cases, I think a blessing.

On another note, that poem I didn't have time to enter? Well I lied. I entered last minute.

And... got a phone call today saying I had gotten a 'commendable job' award. Awesome considering I wrote the poem for an English class, and sent it off lickety-split.
Maybe if I had tried I could have won...bittersweet.

That poem: this one.

Castlecomer Workshop

I am ashamed to say I have only been to one other workshop in my life. That is, besides this one.

It wasn't really a workshop exactly. It was a workshop spread over two weekends that you brought a story too, and then worked on.
Well, after days of trying to convince my friends to come with me, and having three or four decline right after being asked, I still went. I was nervous, as I didn't know anyone, and my mum wouldn't be there. (This was a few years ago, okay?!)
So, the workshop didn't go too well and needless to say, I did not go again to the follow-up workshop the following week.
Well recently, my Religion/C.S.P.E. teacher told us this story;

A man was walking along the road, and came upon another man.
"How are the people in the next town, then?" the man asked.
The first man said, "How are the people in the town you just came from?"
The second man said, "Oh, they were lovely, they were kind, they were good people."
The first man then replied "So you will find the people in the next town."
They both went on their way.
Presently, the first man came upon a third man.
"How is the town you've just been in?" asked the third man.
"Well how is the town you came from?" asked the first man.
"Horrible," he replied. "The people were nasty, and greedy and rude," he grumbled.
"Then so will you find the people in the next town," replied the first man.

The moral? The way that you come into a situation influences how the situation turns out. If you expect a bad workshop, it will be a bad workshop.
I expected a bad workshop the first time, as no one I knew would be there, and it was a bad workshop. I glared at people, and didn't speak to them, and kept to myself. And they stayed away from me, and I was miserable.

But this time, I was determined to pull it off. You never actually have to be happy, or outgoing, just a good actress.
I smiled, and laughed, and talked with everyone there, and it was great! It was the best experience, and so refreshing to meet others who are interested in writing, as none of my other friends are.
So, I will definitely be going to more workshops, and even if they are bad, I can draw on this good experience, and know that all workshops can't be bad, even if three out of four are.
Yes, I definitely enjoyed it. It ran for two hours, from half ten to half twelve, and at the end, Roisin Meany, the workshop person (what is the correct word here?), said "ten minutes left" and everyone gasped in astonishment, because we thought maybe it had been a half hour at the most. All enjoyed it, and we will be back next year.
(This post has a tone of MM in it)