Thomas W. Devine's Blog, page 27
February 10, 2014
Lesson to be Learnt
A University of Queensland study showed that:
• Premarital cohabitation significantly increases the odds of marital breakup (41% for men & 31% for women)
• Premarital childbearing does the same (63% for men & 130% for women)
• Birth of the first child within marriage reduces the odds of marriage breakup by 85%.
Source: Chelsea Houghton, NZ Catholic: February 9-22, 2014 pg 6.
The lesson of the story is that if you value the idea of a secure marriage and don’t like the odds (above) then avoid premarital cohabitation and childbearing.
• Premarital cohabitation significantly increases the odds of marital breakup (41% for men & 31% for women)
• Premarital childbearing does the same (63% for men & 130% for women)
• Birth of the first child within marriage reduces the odds of marriage breakup by 85%.
Source: Chelsea Houghton, NZ Catholic: February 9-22, 2014 pg 6.
The lesson of the story is that if you value the idea of a secure marriage and don’t like the odds (above) then avoid premarital cohabitation and childbearing.
February 3, 2014
A Thought on Writing
For a male novelist, writing fiction feels like the nearest thing to the experience of motherhood.
Coming up with a story idea is like the joy of knowing you’ve conceived; writing the novel is like being in protracted labour (though thankfully free of the physical pain); revision is like the delight of caring for and nurturing the newborn through its first few months; and publication is like watching your grown-up child go out into the world and seeking success for himself or herself.
I guess that, somewhere along the way, other writers are likely to have said something similar. The fiction writing process and motherhood are so akin.
Anyhow, that was what I was thinking when I lay in bed this morning before getting up to write. By the way, my latest novel (Green Machinations) is now at the advanced revision stage, the cover is being designed, and publication is not far off.
Coming up with a story idea is like the joy of knowing you’ve conceived; writing the novel is like being in protracted labour (though thankfully free of the physical pain); revision is like the delight of caring for and nurturing the newborn through its first few months; and publication is like watching your grown-up child go out into the world and seeking success for himself or herself.
I guess that, somewhere along the way, other writers are likely to have said something similar. The fiction writing process and motherhood are so akin.
Anyhow, that was what I was thinking when I lay in bed this morning before getting up to write. By the way, my latest novel (Green Machinations) is now at the advanced revision stage, the cover is being designed, and publication is not far off.
January 25, 2014
Writers Paying Tax
Columnist, Rosemary McLeod, complains as a self-employed writer (The Dominion Post January 23, 2014) about paying substantial contributions to Accident Compensation (New Zealand) a government organization that she admits she “dislikes”.
For a start, I congratulate her for earning enough from writing to have to pay compulsory contributions to ACC for injury insurance.
I was assessed by ACC in 2012/13 as a full-time writer and owed them over NZ$500. Or did I? My only taxable income was from book sales, NZ Superannuation, and a short-lived part-time job (where I paid an ACC contribution from my wages) and, in total, earned no more than $20,000.
I convinced ACC that I was only a self-employed writer on a part-time basis, was below the income threshold to be liable for ACC, and should not be paying them anything. ACC agreed and reversed the charge.
In 2013/14, assessing a lesser taxable income of no more than $13,000 (I didn’t have a part-time wageworker job anymore) ACC wanted to charge me a contribution of over $600. For some reason they again classed me as a full-time writer. On being challenged, ACC again reversed the charge.
So, I don’t agree with Rosemary that ACC has “the finesse of a mob bagman”. They were responsive to my situation.
Writers need to look carefully into their income tax and ACC rights and obligations and see what options they have. I hope my experience will encourage them.
For a start, I congratulate her for earning enough from writing to have to pay compulsory contributions to ACC for injury insurance.
I was assessed by ACC in 2012/13 as a full-time writer and owed them over NZ$500. Or did I? My only taxable income was from book sales, NZ Superannuation, and a short-lived part-time job (where I paid an ACC contribution from my wages) and, in total, earned no more than $20,000.
I convinced ACC that I was only a self-employed writer on a part-time basis, was below the income threshold to be liable for ACC, and should not be paying them anything. ACC agreed and reversed the charge.
In 2013/14, assessing a lesser taxable income of no more than $13,000 (I didn’t have a part-time wageworker job anymore) ACC wanted to charge me a contribution of over $600. For some reason they again classed me as a full-time writer. On being challenged, ACC again reversed the charge.
So, I don’t agree with Rosemary that ACC has “the finesse of a mob bagman”. They were responsive to my situation.
Writers need to look carefully into their income tax and ACC rights and obligations and see what options they have. I hope my experience will encourage them.
January 13, 2014
The Real Signs of Age
You know you’re getting old when...
There are a lot of clever, humorous, ironic or facetious answers out there (e.g. http://www.bangbangjokes.com/jokes_Ol... ).
To the middle-aged and elderly, some are very close to home and, like you, I’ve had a chuckle from most of them.
Just as real, but harder to make humour out of, are the small changes you notice in yourself, like beginning to go out of your way to avoid mundane annoyances or little repetitive activities that you once wouldn’t have given a second thought. Or when an accumulation of insignificant things start building to real stress. Then there’s shirking unnecessary effort, if bothering at all, and always taking the shortest way to the easiest point.
The final confirmation of reaching old age is feeling there’s hardly anything on TV, worth watching, that justifies finding where you left the remote.
Those small changes, as you age, convince you that you aren’t coping like you used to. You realise that you really are on the downward slope you’ve been denying.
There are a lot of clever, humorous, ironic or facetious answers out there (e.g. http://www.bangbangjokes.com/jokes_Ol... ).
To the middle-aged and elderly, some are very close to home and, like you, I’ve had a chuckle from most of them.
Just as real, but harder to make humour out of, are the small changes you notice in yourself, like beginning to go out of your way to avoid mundane annoyances or little repetitive activities that you once wouldn’t have given a second thought. Or when an accumulation of insignificant things start building to real stress. Then there’s shirking unnecessary effort, if bothering at all, and always taking the shortest way to the easiest point.
The final confirmation of reaching old age is feeling there’s hardly anything on TV, worth watching, that justifies finding where you left the remote.
Those small changes, as you age, convince you that you aren’t coping like you used to. You realise that you really are on the downward slope you’ve been denying.
January 6, 2014
Work In Progress Edited
It's such a joy to be writing fiction.
In a few months time, my seventh novel, “Green Machinations”, a sequel to “Green Expectations”, will be available in paperback and as an e-book.
I’ve just been going through the editor’s advice and, yes, he has helped me make the story even better.
He gave this praise for the manuscript:
“All in all, a very good book that will have you walking with the characters in their struggles, losses and triumphs. The protagonists introduced in Green Expectations once again wage battle over issues of conservation while being tugged in all directions by the storms of their personal relationships and their own internal battles. Though there is still plenty of action, Devine delves more deeply into the emotions of his characters and handles it with subtlety and believability.”
This is my back-cover blurb for the novel:
“Vanessa Denton sacrificed her life for Gaia and Mathews Bush despite a heart-felt promise from Mike Simmiss, President of the Save Our Forests Association (SOFA).
“The promise drives Mike to revive a flagging campaign against logging the forest. Time is running out, and the chance of success seems against the odds but, not compromising, Mike grasps every last opportunity.
“Will it be enough?
“SOFA goes up against big business, the new owner of the forest, Jackson-Halberd (NZ) Ltd, contending with the company’s successful Managing Director, John Baron, and its unscrupulous board member and stroke survivor, Ed Somerville.”
In a few months time, my seventh novel, “Green Machinations”, a sequel to “Green Expectations”, will be available in paperback and as an e-book.
I’ve just been going through the editor’s advice and, yes, he has helped me make the story even better.
He gave this praise for the manuscript:
“All in all, a very good book that will have you walking with the characters in their struggles, losses and triumphs. The protagonists introduced in Green Expectations once again wage battle over issues of conservation while being tugged in all directions by the storms of their personal relationships and their own internal battles. Though there is still plenty of action, Devine delves more deeply into the emotions of his characters and handles it with subtlety and believability.”
This is my back-cover blurb for the novel:
“Vanessa Denton sacrificed her life for Gaia and Mathews Bush despite a heart-felt promise from Mike Simmiss, President of the Save Our Forests Association (SOFA).
“The promise drives Mike to revive a flagging campaign against logging the forest. Time is running out, and the chance of success seems against the odds but, not compromising, Mike grasps every last opportunity.
“Will it be enough?
“SOFA goes up against big business, the new owner of the forest, Jackson-Halberd (NZ) Ltd, contending with the company’s successful Managing Director, John Baron, and its unscrupulous board member and stroke survivor, Ed Somerville.”
January 2, 2014
A Community Opportunity
For several years I’ve been a volunteer on a community project steering committee that successfully advocated, and then has been overseeing, the construction of a walkway/cycleway from one end of Tawa to the other. (Tawa is a northern suburb of Wellington that I live in.)
The middle sections of the pathway were completed first then, more recently, the northern and southern ends. I’m nearest to the northernmost section, which runs from a sports field in Linden to a terminus at Kenepuru Railway Station. It features a bridge across the Porirua Stream, a miniature waterfall visible from it, and a streamside environment. It rivals the southern end for visual attractiveness.
The committee chairperson said he would get me out on the northern section even if (because of worsening arthritis) he had to push me in a wheelchair. That did not prove necessary.
My wife and I walked it for the first time, together, just after Christmas. Disappointingly, there was no one else taking advantage of the new recreational asset while we were there. It left me wondering if the committee’s good intentions were wasted.
We went back yesterday, in a group of four adults, and in the space of fifteen minutes encountered a man walking by himself, a father with three children who were using the pathway for in-line skating, a middle-aged couple, and a young couple. No cyclists.
It was a relief to see for myself that the pathway was being used. I hope it becomes better known and more and more Tawa suburbanites get out to enjoy it, especially now that it’s mid-summer.
The middle sections of the pathway were completed first then, more recently, the northern and southern ends. I’m nearest to the northernmost section, which runs from a sports field in Linden to a terminus at Kenepuru Railway Station. It features a bridge across the Porirua Stream, a miniature waterfall visible from it, and a streamside environment. It rivals the southern end for visual attractiveness.
The committee chairperson said he would get me out on the northern section even if (because of worsening arthritis) he had to push me in a wheelchair. That did not prove necessary.
My wife and I walked it for the first time, together, just after Christmas. Disappointingly, there was no one else taking advantage of the new recreational asset while we were there. It left me wondering if the committee’s good intentions were wasted.
We went back yesterday, in a group of four adults, and in the space of fifteen minutes encountered a man walking by himself, a father with three children who were using the pathway for in-line skating, a middle-aged couple, and a young couple. No cyclists.
It was a relief to see for myself that the pathway was being used. I hope it becomes better known and more and more Tawa suburbanites get out to enjoy it, especially now that it’s mid-summer.
December 17, 2013
A Fridge Full of Books etc
A Fridge full of Books
There are probably a lot of talented authors who fall short when it comes to marketing innovation. But occasionally a fresh idea pops up.
The one that New Zealand author, Rob Cope, came up with was hitch-hiking around New Zealand with a refrigerator full of books (The Dominion Post December 18, 2013). Appropriately, his new book was named “Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey”, about Kiwi Manhood. He named his promotion: “The Fridge Tour: Project Wildman”.
Good on him for innovation!
_________
Isolation in the City
Strangers not talking to each other is such a common phenomenon in cities that it generally goes without questioning.
When I worked in the city I used to sometimes smile at strangers on the pavement just to challenge the status quo. Getting a smile back was always uplifting.
Yesterday I realised how more isolated I had become in semi-retirement. Just before midday I was sitting at a suburban railway station waiting to catch a train into the city centre. A much younger woman, I didn’t know, gave me a lovely smile and wished me a merry Christmas. No, she wasn’t tipsy, just cheerful in yuletide spirit.
It took me out of my self-absorption and made me feel more like I was part of the human race. In other words, it cheered me up no end.
Yes, I did wish her “merry Christmas” right back and re-discovered the right muscles to form a smile.
A smile goes to you from me if you're reading this and I wish you all the best for 2014.
There are probably a lot of talented authors who fall short when it comes to marketing innovation. But occasionally a fresh idea pops up.
The one that New Zealand author, Rob Cope, came up with was hitch-hiking around New Zealand with a refrigerator full of books (The Dominion Post December 18, 2013). Appropriately, his new book was named “Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey”, about Kiwi Manhood. He named his promotion: “The Fridge Tour: Project Wildman”.
Good on him for innovation!
_________
Isolation in the City
Strangers not talking to each other is such a common phenomenon in cities that it generally goes without questioning.
When I worked in the city I used to sometimes smile at strangers on the pavement just to challenge the status quo. Getting a smile back was always uplifting.
Yesterday I realised how more isolated I had become in semi-retirement. Just before midday I was sitting at a suburban railway station waiting to catch a train into the city centre. A much younger woman, I didn’t know, gave me a lovely smile and wished me a merry Christmas. No, she wasn’t tipsy, just cheerful in yuletide spirit.
It took me out of my self-absorption and made me feel more like I was part of the human race. In other words, it cheered me up no end.
Yes, I did wish her “merry Christmas” right back and re-discovered the right muscles to form a smile.
A smile goes to you from me if you're reading this and I wish you all the best for 2014.
December 8, 2013
Work in Progress Assessed
I’ve made the occasional post about progress on my 7th novel, “Green Machinations”. After further revision, following a professional manuscript assessment, the novel has gone to my editor.
I must be improving as a writer because I found this assessment less of a shock than assessments I’ve had done of previous novels either by this same assessor (female) or two others (both male).
The assessor says of “Green Machinations”:
“New Zealand writing in the best sense of the term. An excellent story and easy read. Gives a good idea of behind the scene dealings on both a business and environmental level, with political agendas happening and vested interests being involved.”
The only advice I found difficult to take from the assessor was her judgement of two female characters in the book being undesirably “old-fashioned” in terms of their moral fervour, a sub-plot.
To me, it was important that these two characters contrasted with other players in the story who had less virtuous outlooks about sex.
I think that a character who zealously holds a minority moral viewpoint shouldn’t be ruled out, nor dialogue left out between a young couple about the noble goal of sexual abstinence before marriage.
I think it is tantamount to literary censorship to altogether deny a character the capability of zealously holding unpopular opinions about sex.
The main issue for me as a writer, however, was: To what extent would my readers think a character has to adhere to mainstream values in order to justify her place in the story?
On the Internet, I picked up this quote (www.artofmanliness.com ):
“…in many ways the virtue of chastity is the most difficult to write about…” Chastity “is a word that can make teenagers blush and grown men cringe. A word that conjures up thoughts of medieval belts, ‘true love waits’ pledge cards, and ranting preachers. Many [but note, not all] believe the concept of chastity has no place in a modern, enlightened society...”
In the end, for better or worse, I decided in revision to tone down the moral fervour of the two characters in question while not abandoning the moral issue in the sub-plot.
I must be improving as a writer because I found this assessment less of a shock than assessments I’ve had done of previous novels either by this same assessor (female) or two others (both male).
The assessor says of “Green Machinations”:
“New Zealand writing in the best sense of the term. An excellent story and easy read. Gives a good idea of behind the scene dealings on both a business and environmental level, with political agendas happening and vested interests being involved.”
The only advice I found difficult to take from the assessor was her judgement of two female characters in the book being undesirably “old-fashioned” in terms of their moral fervour, a sub-plot.
To me, it was important that these two characters contrasted with other players in the story who had less virtuous outlooks about sex.
I think that a character who zealously holds a minority moral viewpoint shouldn’t be ruled out, nor dialogue left out between a young couple about the noble goal of sexual abstinence before marriage.
I think it is tantamount to literary censorship to altogether deny a character the capability of zealously holding unpopular opinions about sex.
The main issue for me as a writer, however, was: To what extent would my readers think a character has to adhere to mainstream values in order to justify her place in the story?
On the Internet, I picked up this quote (www.artofmanliness.com ):
“…in many ways the virtue of chastity is the most difficult to write about…” Chastity “is a word that can make teenagers blush and grown men cringe. A word that conjures up thoughts of medieval belts, ‘true love waits’ pledge cards, and ranting preachers. Many [but note, not all] believe the concept of chastity has no place in a modern, enlightened society...”
In the end, for better or worse, I decided in revision to tone down the moral fervour of the two characters in question while not abandoning the moral issue in the sub-plot.
December 2, 2013
"We've Got the Society We Want"
I copied this title from a letter to the Editor of the “Dominion Post”. Regrettably, in a hurry when I clipped it out, I cut off the name of the author and half the letter. (Pretty sloppy of me.) Anyhow the letter was a response to the recent furore in New Zealand about a group of Auckland boys deliberately targeting under-age girls for sex (technically rape) and then flaunting their misdeeds on the internet. One of the boys had a famous father from the USA, the news media claims.
The letter writer concluded: We have “a generation of young men who have no respect or concern for females...”
Like me, the letter writer has nostalgia for the past when “on a first date a lad might get a quick kiss and, on the second, a proper kiss...”.
It’s so sad that now “if a lad doesn’t get full sex, or at least oral sex, by the second date, he wonders what’s wrong”.
That’s dreadful, if it’s factual. The loss of innocence is heart-breaking.
Has rampant feminism in western society been for better or worse? I suppose it’s not black or white either way.
I applaud those youngsters who at least strive to save themselves for marriage and those who achieve it. It’s a noble goal.
The letter writer concluded: We have “a generation of young men who have no respect or concern for females...”
Like me, the letter writer has nostalgia for the past when “on a first date a lad might get a quick kiss and, on the second, a proper kiss...”.
It’s so sad that now “if a lad doesn’t get full sex, or at least oral sex, by the second date, he wonders what’s wrong”.
That’s dreadful, if it’s factual. The loss of innocence is heart-breaking.
Has rampant feminism in western society been for better or worse? I suppose it’s not black or white either way.
I applaud those youngsters who at least strive to save themselves for marriage and those who achieve it. It’s a noble goal.
November 27, 2013
Wedding Anniversary
This weekend my wife and I celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary. Rare as gold in Hollywood, that’s a special achievement anywhere these days.
More than 50 years ago, at St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington (when I was courting Gabrielle) I lit candles a number of times in earnest intercession that she would become my wife.
I think that intercession provided a solid foundation for spending my life with her. That and writing letters to her every day (yes, pen on paper) when we lived in different towns before we married.
Our photo, as bride and groom, was recently sitting on our mantelpiece at home. One of my visiting granddaughters saw it for the first time and asked:
“Who are they, granddad?”
I decided to tease her and said: “That’s me and my first wife.”
She asked innocently: “Doesn’t Nana mind you having it there?”
Wasn’t that cute of her?
And, of course, Gabrielle is my first wife and, I trust, will be until death parts us.
Younger people have sometimes asked me why I remain married. I always say, with honesty: Because I love Gabrielle and because I take my marriage vows very seriously.
In a Catholic wedding, those vows involve a promise to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, and to love and honour each other.
“Good times and bad” used to be expressed as “for richer or poorer”.
We’ve had poorer times, which our children have shared, and, more recently better times because we went without and saved for our future. We had health in the early years of our marriage and, in our later years, a lot of sickness.
That’s life. Anyhow, sharing those experiences is the cement that may hold a marriage together.
Of course, the best thing about marriage is children. We have seven.
More than 50 years ago, at St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington (when I was courting Gabrielle) I lit candles a number of times in earnest intercession that she would become my wife.
I think that intercession provided a solid foundation for spending my life with her. That and writing letters to her every day (yes, pen on paper) when we lived in different towns before we married.
Our photo, as bride and groom, was recently sitting on our mantelpiece at home. One of my visiting granddaughters saw it for the first time and asked:
“Who are they, granddad?”
I decided to tease her and said: “That’s me and my first wife.”
She asked innocently: “Doesn’t Nana mind you having it there?”
Wasn’t that cute of her?
And, of course, Gabrielle is my first wife and, I trust, will be until death parts us.
Younger people have sometimes asked me why I remain married. I always say, with honesty: Because I love Gabrielle and because I take my marriage vows very seriously.
In a Catholic wedding, those vows involve a promise to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, and to love and honour each other.
“Good times and bad” used to be expressed as “for richer or poorer”.
We’ve had poorer times, which our children have shared, and, more recently better times because we went without and saved for our future. We had health in the early years of our marriage and, in our later years, a lot of sickness.
That’s life. Anyhow, sharing those experiences is the cement that may hold a marriage together.
Of course, the best thing about marriage is children. We have seven.
