Tiah Beautement's Blog, page 118

Short Story Day Africa

Winter is barking on South Africa's door, which means it is time for Short Story Day Africa.(Link is to the FB page. Website is still getting its ducks in a row, so to speak.) But last year it was Short Story Day South, I hear you say. It was. But now more countries* have joined, so the name changed to encompass the greater participation. This lovely news has caused a few changes in my life. Such as the following announcement: Short Story Day Africa is pleased to announce that Tiah Beautement has joined the team as Kids' co-ordinator. Email kids@shortstorydayafrica.org...

Despite the acting classes, I never did master the art of faking it

I am writing everything wrong. There is no marketable idea. I am not tapping into a trend. The length of the work will probably end up in that awful middle ground between too long and too short. I know this. I can't stop writing it. There is always, of course, the risk that the actual work isn't written very well. But the reality is, even if I became a master of spelling, grammar and syntax, this story will probably end up joining the infamous drawer. In the end, there is always the option of a good bottle (or two) of...

It would have been better if I'd been kicked in the shin and punched in the face

Ah life, you are hilarious. I was having a wonderful Monday: wrote a blog post, did some ground work for Short Story Day South '12 and even chipped away at my ms. No, my arms (yes, we're having trouble with both now, although left still much better than right) have not made a miraculous recovery - but for me!, this was a good day. Then I went to school to fetch my children. We all make mistakes. Children were happy to see me, one grabbed my left index finger just so, squeezed and yanked in a manner probably impossible to...

Kermit the Frog was a major influence in my childhood

'What do you write?' I've struggled with the question for years. It was asked again this weekend. 'The little things,' I said. I have been described as a 'broad strokes' writer. The story, not the word for word prose, is what appeals. I do not disagree. It is also true that a fair chunk of the stories tackle bigger issues, but they always do so in the details of the every day. The pesky human interaction of messy life. Which reflects how I have lived. A person who has moved between various countries, camps with bears and gives birth to...

Now I can't stop thinking about the children's book 'Harold's Purple Crayon'

The physio has decided that I need to have braces made up specifically to use while I work. Even the touchpad isn't enough to keep me from hurting myself while I skim around on the computer. When I meet this brace-making person, would it be wrong to ask if I could have them in purple? A nice random colour that doesn't try to pretend it could blend into my flesh, and black is so done, white gets dirty easily, red could be angry and yellow looks ill. So purple? I'll probably lose my nerve. On a totally different note, I...

Writing like a martial art

Two and half months into my latest ms and I am 1,500 words shy of 20,000 words. In February 2011, I wrote 50,000 in two weeks. Perhaps I am invoking* the spirit of Andie Miller's Slow Motion. Or tackling Rachelle Gardner's No 1 of 7 Bad Habits of Successful Authors** - Impatience. My writing Bff and I have christened this draft The Tai Chi MS. *I'm pretty sure it isn't evoke - as I'm not trying to write like Andie Miller. Although she does write very well. But feel free to correct me. **Link courtesy of writing Bff

The Book Club

Today marked the third Book Club meeting for a handful of local children (with more hopefully to join next month!). Have I told you about this? Book Club. For kids. Marvelous idea. Wasn't mine. Grateful to the brain whose idea it was. I suppose you could run it any number of ways. Because ours is a mix of gender and ages it is very casual. The children mostly treat it like a playdate, getting rather dirty and stuffing their faces as children do. Each parent has scooped up some books that the children are willing to swap and they are...

Confession

I have a confession that may leave Paige Nick gasping for breath: I love Mondays. I explain why on my BookLive post Confession.

There is a life lesson here

My parents have come and gone. (Although technically they may still be flying through the friendly skies. That is one long trip home.) Being the typical international family, we pulled the typical stunt: cram a year of visits into three consecutive weeks while dragging people across the country going 'Look! Look! Look!' Which is how we ended up in Tsitsikamma, staying in Storm's River Village. All of it was nice. Mostly. Okay, I was a bit blue. I was TRYING to be a good sport about it. But there are just so many fabulous things to do in Storms River...

I got an A today

Saw the physio and she is so very pleased with me. I am back to where I was before the last dip in my recovery. I have lost a few pounds (and she noticed. Oh dear heavens, my parents are coming and I am such a social eater. This shall be a challenge…) I am even going to have a whirl on her treadmill next week to see if we can incorporate a few days of short jogs into my exercise regime (but not too much). I get to drop a day of 5am swimming (husband is going to swoon...