Suzanne Bowditch's Blog, page 7
May 12, 2018
Happy Mothers day
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Its Mothers day here in Oz, so here are some images of Surfers Paradise that I took recently. We spend a fair amount of time down at the beach, and this spot is one of my favorites. Its early morning and the only people on the beach are fishermen and joggers ( and dog people, like us! ).
Definitely jumpers and joggers weather, even the dog is glad to get back into the car…
Happy Mother’s day wherever you are… 
I’m currently addicted to watching The Handmaid’s Tale on TV, snuggled up with hot chocolate and popcorn!
Have a great creative week !
#creativity #writer #lifestyle 
May 10, 2018
Pelicans on the Gold Coast
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Winter has well and truly arrived, and temperatures have plummeted here. We took a run to the beachfront this week, and I captured some local wildlife. The pelicans have becone something of an icon here, waiting for the trawlers everyday, for the fishermen throw them fish scraps from the boats. They’ll never go hungry, whatever the weather!
Haiku:
Pelicans
Wings flapping with joy
They wait, a sight to behold,
Seaside revelry.
On a more personal note, I’ve been busy working on my book The Zeeland Girl, that’s taking me longer than I thought it would. I’m also working on three assignments, all creative work that I love to do…..one has me re-telling a fairy tale!
Have a great creative week everyone 
April 29, 2018
Haiku
I’ve been looking at poetry this week, particularly Haiku poetry. I studied its forms last year, but poetry itself has always had different connotations for me – namely that it is part of a loftier genre than fiction writing, with its syllables, and emphasis on structure and lines (Shakespeare and his iambic pentameter springs to mind), that make it harder to understand.
So, I was pleased that my poem, a Haiku, was received quite warmly by my lecture at the time, and by the visiting poet. They encouraged the class to dig deep into our inner psyches, enjoy the world around us and to embrace the simplest things, especially Nature at its best.
With that in mind, I found this lovely image on Unsplash. The black and white style appealed to me, and the image itself – of three little birds – summed up a Bob Marley tune that hummed in my head as I wrote this poem:
Three Little Birds
Three beaks in the air,
A delight for the senses,
Can be Nature’s Joy.
Suzanne Bowditch, 2018
It’s just Monday lunchtime here – have a great creative week wherever you are !
#writing #creativewriting #haiku #poetry
April 27, 2018
Street Art
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My daughter’s graduation ceremony is not until the end of 2019, but she’s already making huge plans. We have to pick the dress of course, plus hair, make up, shoes, accessories….the list goes on.
Needless to say, its exhausting. I’m hoping next shopping day she’ll take her friends instead, for I do have a book to finish and edit after all! Not sure if I trust her with my credit card tho…!
Here’s a few art pieces that are on display at the shopping center. Called ‘Street Art,’ the art has been designed and painted by local schools as well as artists. I snapped a couple I really liked.
Have a great weekend – hopefully its a creative one! I’m taking said daughter to a Harry Styles concert…may have to prepare myself for the screaming girls if the internet is anything to go by! Reports are he’s pretty good. 
April 25, 2018
Back to Basics: How to Read Shakespeare
Happy belated birthday to the Bard this week…and great post here, thank you Book Fifty!
April 19, 2018
Coff’s Harbor
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These pictures were taken a few years back, at Coff’s Harbor, New South Wales. It was a weekend away for my son’s birthday, so we went to the local marine park. As you can see both of them met the resident walrus! I remember he smelt really strongly of fish, and kept sniffing behind their ears to get more. This is him giving a sloppy kiss.
It was also a weekend to celebrate my graduation, so I remember it being a cold autumn in 2012. A few years ago now, and a lot of learning since.
In that time, I ‘ve had 4 books self-published (no mean feat, its a minefield alone to get the formatting correct, plus covers, then marketing them!), and taken a several courses, including a Library diploma, historical courses with the University of Iowa, plus creative writing courses.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is that I’m still pursuing my dream to write for a living. My journey (still on going), has been nothing if not diverse (with regular jobs plotted in, to supplement my income ), but I still have that drive, that desire to achieve my goals – of being a writer.
I’m not looking for success, (although that can come with it) but a desire to write everyday and share my stories with others.
Whatever your goals are, stick to them! Its what makes us who we are.
Have a creative week!
#creativity #writer #lifestyle
April 15, 2018
Write like a professional, get the chapters right
Fabulous advice as usual, thanks Jean!
By getting the word count right. How?
Scene by scene.
I’ve written in the past about the word count for books but a book is made up of chapters. And chapters are made up of scenes.
A mixture of really short and really long chapters may give your reader a case of whiplash. Make sure that doesn’t happen. 
There is nothing wrong with varying chapter length or writing a book with all short chapters, but I’d avoid the extreme. Scenes set the pace and like stepping stones lead your reader through the book. 
Randy Ingermanson on Advanced Fiction Writing, reminds us to think SCENES not CHAPTERS.
Controlling Chapter Lengths in Your Novel
Things from his post I want to remember:
Chapters are stepping stones to take the reader through your book.
Chapters consist and are controlled by SCENES.
Varying scene length is okay. But be consistent.
A good average
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If You Liked The Woman in the Window, You Should Read…
Some great reading here, happy to share!
April 1, 2018
Asmat carvings
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Creation myths are one of the subjects on my course, so I was pleased to find these Asmat carvings on display at the Brisbane GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) recently.
These carvings are a part of the culture of the Asmat region in Indonesia, and illustrate the ancestoral figures and their own creation myth in these exquisitely carved poles.
Asmat carvers have long been celebrated for this distinctive and elaborately styled wood carvings, through these ‘bisj poles’ that are meant to honor their ancestors and their relationships with the waterways and forests of their homes.
They are also very beautiful and worth a mention here….have a great creative week!
#creativity #brisbane #goma #art #indigenouscarvings
March 24, 2018
Queensland Art Gallery
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We spent yesterday soaking in some old fashioned culture. Our intention was to take our youngest to the Brisbane Science Fair at Southbank. Jessica is doing all science units for her OP subjects so it is all Biology, Chemistry and Physics in my house at the moment.
Phew!
I needed some arty culture to counter act the equations/experiments and such that were happening along the Brisbane river….how much physics can one take? Seriously, it was very educational and the student scientists were more than pleased to show us the dynamics of a molecule or to explain how DNA works….my daughter lapped it up.
Further along the embankment though, we stumbled across one of my favorite venues in Brisbane – the Queensland Art Gallery!
Here are some pics I took of our day…and came across inquisitive ibis, perched on a canopy above the walkway.
Have a great week!
#brisbane #lifestyle
