Write Anyway

Love, love, love.

This week I am talking about the love that makes you feel funny and stumble over your words. The first attraction that makes you think of nothing other than what a wonderful person the object of your affections is even if he or she is, in reality, a completely annoying piece of humanity.

Aww.

I don’t mean to gross you out with the rose-tinted glasses type love commentary, but it’s a lovely feeling when you’re experiencing it. There is nothing quite akin to the feeling of feeling of having your worldly happiness depend so entirely on another human being.

Haha. It is a nice feeling, but I’m so glad I’m past it.

Today I would like you to write about what life is/was like when you had your first love. Maybe it happened in school or maybe at your first job. Perhaps your parents had friends with children your age, and one happened to catch your eye…

As long ago as it may have happened and no matter how it ended (if it has ended), I’m pretty sure you can remember the feelings you had back then. There are the mortifying moments when you said or did something very silly in front of the one you love(d). There are the daydreams and fantasies about what life would be like when you were finally with him/her.

Tap into those memories and get them down on paper. Not only are they part of what made you the person you are, they are excellent memories to draw on in your writer.

AS if! needs your help!

The Australian speculative fiction review site needs your help. AS if is a massive review site that relies on volunteer reviewers - of which Food Past’s Gillian is part of - to provide reviews on the site.

Why donate?

Donations to paypal will go towards covering postage for review copies to be sent out to reviewers. They would also like to recruit more overseas reviewers, who sit totally outside the community, to increase commentary. However, this would significantly increase the project costs.

Donations will also cover reviewers stalking second-hand bookshops and bookstalls and buying out of print Australian specfic for coverage on ASif! They could also look into buying copies of works of the bigger name writers whose publicists still don’t send review copies. Or, if you’re a big name writer and not currently reviewed on the site, perhaps you might consider sending them a copy of your work for review.

Also, another reason to donate is you can win some fabulous prizes! For every $5 donation to the drive, you will get your name into the ASif! Donation Drive Prize Raffle. So if you give $15, you have 3 chances to win.

Here’s a peek at the prize pool:

1 copy of In Bad Dreams
2 copies of C0ck
1 copy of Aggressive Retail Therapy by Grant Watson (out of print Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World trade paperback)
2 copies of the Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine by Grant Watson and Edward J. Grug III
2 copies of Polyphony 6
2 copies of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth by Ben Peek
2 copies of Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
6 copies of Fables and Reflections
1 copy of Daikaiju 3
2 copies of Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
5 copies of Shiny Issue 1
5 copies of New Ceres Issue 2
1 copy of Potato Monkey Issue 5 (the final issue!!)
1 signed copy of Seacastle by Tansy Rayner Roberts
1 copy of Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
1 copy of Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock
1 copy of The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock

If you are interested in donating a prize, please contact girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

If you are a writer and interested/willing to participate in a short story writing stunt (you don’t have to write a whole short story) - soon to be announced - please also email girlie dot jones @ gmail dot com

The December Donation Drive has kicked off and all donations received from now till Dec 24th will be eligible for the prize draw.

To make a donation, go here.

win, free, books, contest, australia, speculative fiction, fiction, In Bad Dreams, C0ck, Aggressive Retail Therapy, Grant Watson, Angriest Video Store Clerk in the World, Issue 1 of Henry & Gil vs the Infinity Engine, Edward J. Grug III, Polyphony 6, Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth, Ben Peek, Swans Over the Moon, Forrest Aguirre, Fables and Reflections, Laney Cairo, Shiny Issue 1, New Ceres Issue 2, Potato Monkey Issue 5, Seacastle, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Winterbirth, Brian Ruckley, Celtika, Book 1 of the Merlin Codex, Robert Holdstock, The Iron Grail, Book 2 of the Merlin Codex

Hello and welcome to another lovely Musical Monday here on Write Anyway.

This week I am going to try to throw off the bad vibes that are floating around from last week. I don’t like to stay in any sort of bad mood for long, so I have picked a nice, feel good theme. And what better feel good theme than love?

(Unless you have gone/are going through some even that would put you against love and the whole ‘love’ thing. If you are, I apologize. You might want to come back next week.)

I have mentioned love before, but this week I’m going to talk about the lovey-dovey, squishy, butterflies in your stomach kind of love. Long relationship kind of love.

I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful love in my life. I try not to talk about him too much because I still remember what it was like being single and having happily coupled/married people talk about how happy they are, but I do think my husband is one of the best guys around.

So occasionally I gush a bit about how much I love him.

In honour of the theme (and my husband), here are a few of my favourite love songs:

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I have decided to start doing another meme on this site called Friday’s Feast. If you are interested in participating in this meme, feel free to do so. Keep in mind, though, that I am starting with the first feast, so I’m going to be very far behind!

You can choose to feast with me or keep up with the latest. Either works for me. Be sure to link to your feasts in the comments section (new or old feasts) so I can check them out.

On to the first feast!

Appetizer - What time do you usually wake up each day? If you could choose your wake-up time, when would it be?

I usually wake up at about nine in the morning each day. I work at home, so I can sleep in a bit longer if I want to. Nine is a good time for me, though.

Soup - When was the last time you bought groceries? What store did you go to? Name 3 things you purchased.

The husband and I bought groceries the day before yesterday at Coles. Three things we bought are pumpkin, broccoli, and mushrooms.

Salad - How many books have you read so far this year? Which was your favorite and why?

I have no idea on how many. I’ve read quite a few. As for my favourite… I really can’t pick just one. I have been expanding into different genres which has been great for me.

Okay, thinking about it… Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

Main Course - What is something you consider to be very elegant? In particular, what about that item/place/person conjures up the feeling of elegance?

I consider champagne to be elegant. And white wine. I’m not sure why it brings on the feeling of elegance other than I thought it was something I could never have.

Dessert - Who taught you how to drive?
A combination of my aunt and my brother.

Brought to you by Friday’s Feast

If you’re looking for a new, interesting read, why not check out Watching Dr. Who?

Hello and welcome to Friday Free Write.

This week hasn’t been the happiest of weeks here on the site, but I am hoping there are many good times to come.

Most of you likely know the way this works, but in case you are new to the site…

For your Friday free write, you can write as much or as little as you want. You can also write for as large or small time frame as you like. I recommend at least five minutes, though, to really get your mind going.

The only real rule is that you cannot go back and edit until the time is up. No going back whatsoever. This is about having a stream of consciousness.

Have fun and remember to incorporate this week’s theme.

It took me a while to think of what list I should do for this week’s Thursday Thirteen given there are many possibilities I could go with. But recent events have me thinking about my life and I decided to go with…

I’m not talking about cures for memory loss; I’m talking about ways to honor memories of loved ones.

1. Create a memorial. This might seem like an obvious one, but creating a memorial can be the simple, lasting way to do things. How to create a memorial? Well, you can…
2. Have an actual grave marker or stone.
3. Create a scrapbook dedicated to the person.
4. Write a story or poem dedicated to him/her/them.
5. Write letters to the person and keep them all in a journal/book.
6. Do something special on a date that’s meaningful every year.
7. Write his/her/their biography.
8. Create a CD (or more than one) with all his/her/their favourite songs.
9. Light a candle. Especially around the holidays, you can light candles at events for loved ones who are gone.
10. Make a donation. With a lot of charities, you can often make donations in memory of someone.
11. Memorial walks. If you have lost a loved one due to specific disease or illness, you can often participate in events dedicated to fund raising for research.
12. Name a star. This isn’t free, but you can name a star after someone.
13. Create a Virtual Memorial Believe it or not, you can create a virtual memorial for lost loved ones.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens on The Book Stacks and Fiction Scribe

Ah, is it Wednesday already? The days blur together sometimes when you’re working hard and are focused.

I still don’t feel quite myself yet, but I still find it funny how things timed out this week. You take what amusement you can get at times like these, right? I have taken a few deep breaths, cuddled with my husband, and talked about how I’m feeling, which has helped a lot. I can’t help but hate the feelings of conflict in me.

Today I am going to give you three sets of words – one for each of the options to write about that I gave you yesterday. However, you don’t have to write about one of those options today if you don’t want to. I recommend that you try, though, because writing can be an excellent form of therapy if you’re holding things inside still.

You can write something completely fictional incorporating this week’s theme – it’s all up to you. Remember also that you can use any form of the word (eg. Laugh = laughs, laughed, laughter, laughing). What you write can be as long or short as you want it to be, and you can write for whatever time period you want to.

Word Bank One
wrong
save
life
wander
meaning
rope
voice
low
drive
song

Word Bank Two
goodbye
leave
way
brown
mind
spread
bead
wind
feather
click

Word Bank Three
here
baby
tree
cloud
set
books
print
list
marker
wood

Enjoy. Have a good time writing no matter how hard it is to get things down on paper.

The world has a funny way of doing things sometimes.

For this week’s theme, I decided to go with loss and remembrance due to a friend of mine having a miscarriage. That was yesterday. Today I received a letter containing the news that my nephew has to have surgery (he’s about a year old) due to complications from being a premature baby and my mother has an inoperable brain tumour.

Granted this news doesn’t fit in with ‘loss and remembrance’, but if I thought I was feeling crappy yesterday I was only getting a taste of it.

To be honest, I didn’t want to post here or on any of my other blogs, but life must go on and there is nothing I can do about the other situations. I can’t even afford to fly to the States.

So life goes. The world keeps spinning and I must continue on with work.

Today I would like you to choose to do one of a few options. Or more than one should the mood strike.

Write your tale of remembrance. What or who did you lose? What do you remember about that person/thing and how do you remember it/him/her?

Write about your time of loss. Who or what did you lose? What did you do to cope? Do you still do things today to cope?

Combine the two and write about your full experience – the losing, the loss, and the remembrance.

We’ve all been through tough times and losses. Tap into that and write your heart out.

Hello and welcome to another musical Monday here on Write Anyway.

While I usually love Musical Mondays because I love music, today I am feeling a bit less enthusiastic than I usually do. I recently found out that a friend of mine I made through my diet blog has recently had a miscarriage.

I think she’s handling it fabulously. She’s handling it a lot better than I could.

I feel so bad for her because (1) I don’t know what she’s going through because I’ve never been pregnant, (2) as an online friend, I feel like there isn’t much I can do to help or comfort her, and (3) miscarriage is one of my biggest fears. While I feel a bit self-centred about the last one, I can’t help myself.

Today I would like to dedicate this week not only to my friend’s loss, but to all those who have lost something precious in their lives. Whether it was logical, for the best, or whatnot, loss hurts. I don’t like seeing people hurt.

This week, we will honour loss and remembrance.

I don’t do this to trivialize what my friend and many other women have gone through. I want to acknowledge pain and grief and help those going through it where I can. So please take this week’s theme as it was meant: as a gesture that my thoughts and wishes are with all of you.

I Will Remember You – Sarah Mclachlan

If I Never Knew You – Pocahontas

Concrete Angel – Martina McBride

Hello and welcome to Friday! I love Fridays.

Today I have something for you to do that should be a lot of fun. I did the same thing (well, not exactly – I had to actually make and decorate it) back in my sociology class when I was seventeen. It was a project that was hard to complete, but I had a lot of fun doing it and am glad I saved it and have it to look at today. Hopefully you will enjoy creating yours as much as I did mine.

Today I would like you to think about some of the events in your life and create a time line. You can do what I did for the assignment and actually create a time line, or you can open a word document and type everything. Choose whichever method you like best.

Some things to put on your time line:

*Your earliest memory/memories
*Your favourite elementary/primary school teacher
*Your elementary/primary school friends
*Your first love
*First CD/cassette tape/eight track/record
*Happiest time thus far
*Saddest time thus far
*Biggest disappointment thus far
*Three favourite life memories
*Three favourite school memories
*Where you’ll be in five years
*Where you’ll be in ten years
*How you want people to remember you

There were plenty of other things I had to put on my timeline, so feel free to ask for more ideas if you need them. I have my time line right next to me on the desk at the moment, so it’s an easy reference. Also feel free to go above and beyond the things I’ve listed.

This week we’re talking about getting back into the swing of things after something that takes you away from ‘normal’ life as you know/knew it. Today I’m going to list things that I have personally experience or plan on experiencing that have/will take me away and means life will need adjusting to when I get back.

1. Moving
2. Vacation
3. Death of a loved one
4. Having a baby
5. Buying a home
6. Doing something big alone for the first time Ah, your first move of independence. It can be so scary (depending on what you do) but it’s worth it. Trust me.
7. Getting your passport This might not seem like the biggest thing, but having a passport in your hand means you can travel all over the world. It’s an interesting kind of knowing.
8. Getting engaged
9. Getting married This didn’t actually change my life as much as people told me it would, but it does make you rethink things.
10. Going on a diet. Some people yo-yo diet, some people don’t, but making a permanent adjustment in what and how you eat (like I did simply by not having a microwave if nothing else) can change more than you would ever think.
11. Having major surgery. Okay, so I haven’t had major surgery, but it was pretty serious. It was my first time having anesthetic and hopefully my last.
12. Getting your first job. There is nothing quite like getting your first paycheck. It’s amazing.
13. Getting your first long-term job. I’m talking about the jobs you may or may not love but see yourself doing for a long time.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteens on The Book Stacks and Fiction Scribe

Hello once again everyone. Here is my response to yesterday’s prompt using the random word bank. I hope you enjoy.

Sometimes it seems like only yesterday I flew from the US to Australia, looking out the window on my first ever (bumpy) plane ride at the sunset full of oranges, reds, blues, and purples above the clouds.

Then other times it feels all like such a dream. As I sit here drinking out of the water bottle from the place I volunteer and typing on the laptop my husband gave me, it’s hard to imagine life was ever different from this. The life of a freelance writer and novelist.

I’m glad I got into a routine so soon after coming here. I pick up my blue pen and schedule interviews with authors with only the feeling that it’s my job and I enjoy it. I have the desk I’ve always dreamed of, stacks of sticky notes and boxes all over the office, pens with as many colours of ink as you can imagine, and work I love.

Working and living here in Australia may not be getting back to life as I knew it – it never could be, nor would I want it to be – but it’s definitely the work and routine I’ll always want to get back to from now on.

Welcome to another random word bank Wednesday. It seems like it has been forever since I last posted up one of these.

If you are just joining us, what you do with these is try to write a piece incorporating the theme of the week (”getting back to it” for this week) and using all the words I list. It’s as simple as that! You can use any form of the words (eg. draw = drew, draws, drawing) and your piece can be as long or short as you want it to be.

Here are your words:

fly
yesterday
purple
dream
pen
water
sticky
box
ink
bumpy

If you respond to this prompt on your blog, leave a link in the comment section so I and other can read your response.

*If you want some insight into writing about food from the past, check out Gillian at Food History

Welcome to a move me Tuesday here on Write Anyway. This week we’re discussing getting back to normal life after a big event happens. The topic is a rather broad one, and it happens to everyone, so I’m sure you can think of something to write about.

Take a few moments in front of your computer or notebook and take some deep breaths. This should clear your mind a bit so you can focus.

Think of a big (or small) event in your life that took you away from ‘normal’ life for any period of time. Perhaps you had a baby. Have you gone on vacation? Perhaps you got the chance to go to another country for a while and then came back. Or maybe you have gone through the unfortunate loss of a loved one.

Pick one event.

Not all of these events means going back to life exactly the way it was. The loss of a loved one could mean life was never quite the same afterward. Surgery could mean something changed physically and/or mentally. Even so, you had to at least attempt to find some normalcy or routine.

Write to me about that quest. What was it like for you when you settled back in? Did it take a long time for the ‘dust to settle’? How did life change from before the event to after the event? Would you want to go back to before the event?

Take some time and truly sort out the feelings surrounding the event and the things that changed because of it.

Hello and welcome back to your regular scheduling of Write Anyway.

November was an interesting month of daily prompts and writing events, but I am definitely glad it’s over for another year. I’m going to go back to doing one theme a week for now until I get more survey results in to see if anyone would like to see some changes happen here. I rather like theme weeks anyway, so it works for me.

Today the theme is getting back to it. ‘It’ being your life, your job, yourself even, after having a major stress, major loss, major whatever. In any one moment, you could be coming back out of any number of things. At the moment, I’m coming out of NaBloPoMo, NaNoWriMo, a health issue, another health issue… Everyone has so much going with their lives; I’m sure you’ll think of something.

I know this is a bit of a broad topic area, but we all have these moments when we come out of something and need to get back into the swing of things.

Here to inspire your getting back to it writings are a few videos. They are just a few I picked randomly, so you’ll get a little bit of everything. Enjoy.

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