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Day 4 of the ever-growing River of Stones:
We search for missing papers,
Over thirty minutes spent.
Finally holding files like found treasure,
With the smells of victory and dust in the air.
Biological War: A Scenario
3 weeks ago
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Monday, 3 January 2011
2010
So, I guess I should post the standard end of year round up now we're well and truly into 2011. The holiday season is just about over and the work-day routine is upon us again.
2010 wasn't the most productive year for me, creative-writing speaking, but it had some highlights. Aside from the writing part of life, I got married, so it's fair to say that a lot of time went on arranging that! We had the most wonderful day and enjoyed every minute. It was quite a job organising everything, even with a lot of help from the hotel we had our ceremony and reception in. Fun, though. Talking of fun, we then went on an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon, which was absolutely amazing. To tie back in with the more poetic side of this blog, I did keep a blog about the lead-up to our wedding, and also a sort of travel journal while we were away. These can be found at http://lauraajk.blogspot.com.
So, a big year personally speaking!
2010 wasn't the most productive year for me, creative-writing speaking, but it had some highlights. Aside from the writing part of life, I got married, so it's fair to say that a lot of time went on arranging that! We had the most wonderful day and enjoyed every minute. It was quite a job organising everything, even with a lot of help from the hotel we had our ceremony and reception in. Fun, though. Talking of fun, we then went on an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon, which was absolutely amazing. To tie back in with the more poetic side of this blog, I did keep a blog about the lead-up to our wedding, and also a sort of travel journal while we were away. These can be found at http://lauraajk.blogspot.com.
So, a big year personally speaking!
And creatively speaking:
- I set up this blog and managed to complete 30 poems in 30 days for the April Poem a Day challenge.
- I took part in NaNoWriMo, for the fourth time. Sadly, for the fourth time, I didn't complete it, but I always feel the taking part is the important thing. I aired some new ideas, fiction-wise, and had some fun getting back into writing fiction after being on honeymoon.
- I wrote and edited a few poems.
- I wrote and submitted a couple of short stories to journals and live literature nights.
- I submitted three stories to local regular live literature event 'Are You Sitting Comfortably', and had the third one, on the subject of Wonder, accepted to be read out at at the October event. Whilst the story I submitted for 'Wonder' wasn't a new piece for this event, the other two were, so a plan to work on these further.
- I attended a fun and inspiring workshop entitled 'Not for the Faint-Hearted', this was a series of workshops designed to inspire writers to produce something from visual prompts in a short space of time. Sadly, I only managed to attend the one session. I really wanted to attend more workshops and live literature / poetry events this year but time, weather and other things got in the way and sadly I wasn't able to.
- I had the same short story which was read out at 'Are You Sitting Comfortably' accepted for publication in a literature journal. This was supposed to be published this month, but sadly, due to lack of funding, the publication has had to fold. Still, it was lovely to be accepted there.
- I have continued to write articles for www.powderroomgraffiti.com
So, that was 2010. Not a great one, creatively speaking, but not too bad, I feel.
Here's to a poetic and creative 2011!
River of Stones - Jan 3rd 2011
January 3rd: third small stone in the fast growing River of Stones (http://ariverofstones.blogspot.com):
The Mulled Wine tea tin
Opens with a puff of smoke,
Spicy aroma drifts up into the kitchen.
For a second,
Christmas isn't over.
The Mulled Wine tea tin
Opens with a puff of smoke,
Spicy aroma drifts up into the kitchen.
For a second,
Christmas isn't over.
River of Stones - Jan 2nd 2011
A Gosport boat-yard inspired small stone for January 2nd:
Small boats stacked like toys on shelves,
Dry docking while the winter rain holds off.
Nearby the 'Dreampedlar' awaits passengers to set sail.
Small boats stacked like toys on shelves,
Dry docking while the winter rain holds off.
Nearby the 'Dreampedlar' awaits passengers to set sail.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
River of Stones
Writer Fiona Robyn is beginning 2011 with the idea of 'A River of Stones', inviting people to notice and note one small thing every day for the month of January. She describes it on the River of Stones website as "our challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to pay attention to one thing every day during the month of January and write it down. We call these pieces of writing small stones. We're especially interested in both 'writers' and 'non-writers' taking part - it's not about the finished product, it's about the process."
The website can be found at http://ariverofstones.blogspot.com
You don't have to be a writer to take part, but this appeals to the poetic part of me, and I aim to take part, perhaps finding small stones that will lead to somewhat larger poems. Perhaps not. But it's a lovely idea for taking a moment, noticing the world around me and trying to capture the feeling, sight, sound, smell, touch or taste in some small way. And, as Fiona suggests, from one small stone, great rivers can flow.
So, here is my small stone for January 1st, 2011:
Small black cat
Plays tag with a red feathered stick.
Mischief in her eyes, love in ours.
The website can be found at http://ariverofstones.blogspot.com
You don't have to be a writer to take part, but this appeals to the poetic part of me, and I aim to take part, perhaps finding small stones that will lead to somewhat larger poems. Perhaps not. But it's a lovely idea for taking a moment, noticing the world around me and trying to capture the feeling, sight, sound, smell, touch or taste in some small way. And, as Fiona suggests, from one small stone, great rivers can flow.
So, here is my small stone for January 1st, 2011:
Small black cat
Plays tag with a red feathered stick.
Mischief in her eyes, love in ours.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Creative Writing - Not For the Faint-Hearted?
On Thursday 21st October, I attended one of a series of creative writing sessions/workshops, 'Not For the Faint-Hearted'. It was run by writers Ellen de Vries (who I know fairly well) and James Burt (who I didn't know at all), so I only had a vague idea of what to expect. The idea was that the group would be presented with various prompts and everyone had to read what they wrote.
Not for the faint-hearted? Perhaps. For many, sharing their creative work is practically torture. However, having participated in various types of writing workshop before, I knew I would be able to share something. I have to admit that, in an enclosed, safe environment, I don't mind reading my creative work. I can also usually write something. It might not be very good, I might not be very happy with it, but there is usually something there on the page in front of me.
My main problem was that I hadn't attended any kind of workshop for ages. I felt rather out of practice but at the same time I wanted to force myself to attend, to put myself in a creative environment and produce something. Anything. With real life getting in the way I hadn't really written anything new for way too long.
The part of workshops that I both love and hate is the feedback part. Love, because it's helpful to analyse what you've produced and to think about the reactions of others, particularly other writers. But it's scary, because there's the truth right in front of you. There's the readers' reaction, and every writer who wants to be published someday in some form, somewhere, has to allow for the readers' response. It makes you think about your work, even if you don't want to make any specific changes that have been suggested.
However, what was interesting, and different, about the 'Not For the Faint-Hearted' workshop was that no feedback was given, and no apologies were allowed. I'd never had to share writing in a workshop situation under those conditions. It was strange, slightly scary, and ultimately rather freeing. And this freedom is exactly what Ellen and James were hoping to achieve. They aimed to promote an atmosphere of creativity, inspiration, freedom and fun, where people can be open to write whatever comes to mind when they are faced with the prompts. And it seemed to succeed. I personally found it quite difficult not to explain, apologise or otherwise censor myself and/or my writing. But it worked for me. I was inspired, I did write, and I did read. As did everyone else. It was a relaxed, creative environment, with interesting prompts. Another unusual point was that all the prompts were photos, just found on the internet. It was amazing how much you could create in just three or five minutes staring at a photo. The responses were a varied mixture. I understand that in a previous 'Not For the Faint-Hearted' workshop Ellen and James actually used cake as a writing prompt, with participants having to think about taste, texture, smell and visuals! Different, creative and fun!
I'm very pleased I attended, and plan to attend others in the future. It may not be for the faint-hearted, but these workshops are for anyone looking for a fun, interesting and inspiring evening of writing!
Not for the faint-hearted? Perhaps. For many, sharing their creative work is practically torture. However, having participated in various types of writing workshop before, I knew I would be able to share something. I have to admit that, in an enclosed, safe environment, I don't mind reading my creative work. I can also usually write something. It might not be very good, I might not be very happy with it, but there is usually something there on the page in front of me.
My main problem was that I hadn't attended any kind of workshop for ages. I felt rather out of practice but at the same time I wanted to force myself to attend, to put myself in a creative environment and produce something. Anything. With real life getting in the way I hadn't really written anything new for way too long.
The part of workshops that I both love and hate is the feedback part. Love, because it's helpful to analyse what you've produced and to think about the reactions of others, particularly other writers. But it's scary, because there's the truth right in front of you. There's the readers' reaction, and every writer who wants to be published someday in some form, somewhere, has to allow for the readers' response. It makes you think about your work, even if you don't want to make any specific changes that have been suggested.
However, what was interesting, and different, about the 'Not For the Faint-Hearted' workshop was that no feedback was given, and no apologies were allowed. I'd never had to share writing in a workshop situation under those conditions. It was strange, slightly scary, and ultimately rather freeing. And this freedom is exactly what Ellen and James were hoping to achieve. They aimed to promote an atmosphere of creativity, inspiration, freedom and fun, where people can be open to write whatever comes to mind when they are faced with the prompts. And it seemed to succeed. I personally found it quite difficult not to explain, apologise or otherwise censor myself and/or my writing. But it worked for me. I was inspired, I did write, and I did read. As did everyone else. It was a relaxed, creative environment, with interesting prompts. Another unusual point was that all the prompts were photos, just found on the internet. It was amazing how much you could create in just three or five minutes staring at a photo. The responses were a varied mixture. I understand that in a previous 'Not For the Faint-Hearted' workshop Ellen and James actually used cake as a writing prompt, with participants having to think about taste, texture, smell and visuals! Different, creative and fun!
I'm very pleased I attended, and plan to attend others in the future. It may not be for the faint-hearted, but these workshops are for anyone looking for a fun, interesting and inspiring evening of writing!
Thursday, 7 October 2010
National Poetry Day 2010
Today is National Poetry Day, and the theme is home. This struck a particular chord with me this year, for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that I have just returned home after almost three weeks on holiday. It felt like we had been away for ages, much longer than three weeks. This was mainly due to the fact that we were on a cruise to Alaska, and the atmosphere and experience were so unlike anything we'd previously experienced that we were able to observe and take in everything, make the most of every day and enjoy every minute.
The second reason I am particularly keen on the theme of home this year, and which also added to the overall experience and enjoyment of our trip, is the fact that the holiday was actually our honeymoon. Returning home, even though we already lived together, was almost as strange and unusual, fun and exciting as the trip itself. Entering our home for the first time as a married couple was as lovely and as significant as moving in together in the first place, and felt almost as important as the wedding and honeymoon. Although it was a return to a reality, it was a new and different reality.
I was also lucky enough to attend a National Poetry Day event today. Local poet Maria Jastrzebska was poet in residence at Pen To Paper, a wonderful, local shop selling all manner of pens, ink, paper, journals and notebooks. Maria had poems posted in the window and on the walls inside the shop, all on the subject of home. Visitors were invited to add their comments to a collection on what home means to them, and add their details to a spreadsheet of where people arrived in Brighton from. To cap this all off, every hour from 11 to 4, on the hour, Maria read poetry to the assembled masses. The icing on the cake was that Pen To Paper were celebrating their 10th anniversary as well as National Poetry Day. It was a lovely, creative and inspiring event.
Therefore, to mark today, I have attempted my own poem on the theme of home:
Home is us -
Returning on a BA flight
To a grey London lunchtime,
British accents, tube strikes,
Tea and pound coins
Resting heavy and strange
In hands now used to dollar bills.
Home is us -
Searching for a parking space
And entering our flat,
Our comfy sofa,
The space just for us,
Cooking our favourite meal
And opening a bottle of wine.
Home is us -
Searching stores for home-ware,
Photo albums and shiny toasters,
Coffee table books, fresh flowers
And holiday mementoes.
Making a flat a home,
Fit for a newly married couple.
The second reason I am particularly keen on the theme of home this year, and which also added to the overall experience and enjoyment of our trip, is the fact that the holiday was actually our honeymoon. Returning home, even though we already lived together, was almost as strange and unusual, fun and exciting as the trip itself. Entering our home for the first time as a married couple was as lovely and as significant as moving in together in the first place, and felt almost as important as the wedding and honeymoon. Although it was a return to a reality, it was a new and different reality.
I was also lucky enough to attend a National Poetry Day event today. Local poet Maria Jastrzebska was poet in residence at Pen To Paper, a wonderful, local shop selling all manner of pens, ink, paper, journals and notebooks. Maria had poems posted in the window and on the walls inside the shop, all on the subject of home. Visitors were invited to add their comments to a collection on what home means to them, and add their details to a spreadsheet of where people arrived in Brighton from. To cap this all off, every hour from 11 to 4, on the hour, Maria read poetry to the assembled masses. The icing on the cake was that Pen To Paper were celebrating their 10th anniversary as well as National Poetry Day. It was a lovely, creative and inspiring event.
Therefore, to mark today, I have attempted my own poem on the theme of home:
Home is us -
Returning on a BA flight
To a grey London lunchtime,
British accents, tube strikes,
Tea and pound coins
Resting heavy and strange
In hands now used to dollar bills.
Home is us -
Searching for a parking space
And entering our flat,
Our comfy sofa,
The space just for us,
Cooking our favourite meal
And opening a bottle of wine.
Home is us -
Searching stores for home-ware,
Photo albums and shiny toasters,
Coffee table books, fresh flowers
And holiday mementoes.
Making a flat a home,
Fit for a newly married couple.
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