Aimee Said's Blog, page 3
September 6, 2012
May Gibbs fellowship redux
I had such good intentions about blogging regularly during my May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust creative time fellowship, but the four weeks passed so quickly that suddenly I'm back in Melbourne with nary a post in sight since Day 1 :\
So, here's the condensed version of what I did for a month:
plotted, wrote a little, plotted some more (repeat daily x 28, with varying degrees of success)presented story and character development workshops to the fabulous Year 11s at Seymour College, who reminded me (if any reminder was needed) why I love writing for teenagersattended the CBCA book of the year announcement, where I got to see fellow Westie Kate Constable pick up a gong and meet fellow Walkerites Bob Graham and Susan Greenwalked and walked and walked around my neighbourhood, as plotting meditation (and also to see the spring bulbs in bloom).I really can't think of a better way to start a new novel than with an intense period like this. I've returned home with about 10,000 decent-ish words (not bad for a slowpoke writer like me) and most of a plot, but most importantly with a beginning.
So, here's the condensed version of what I did for a month:
plotted, wrote a little, plotted some more (repeat daily x 28, with varying degrees of success)presented story and character development workshops to the fabulous Year 11s at Seymour College, who reminded me (if any reminder was needed) why I love writing for teenagersattended the CBCA book of the year announcement, where I got to see fellow Westie Kate Constable pick up a gong and meet fellow Walkerites Bob Graham and Susan Greenwalked and walked and walked around my neighbourhood, as plotting meditation (and also to see the spring bulbs in bloom).I really can't think of a better way to start a new novel than with an intense period like this. I've returned home with about 10,000 decent-ish words (not bad for a slowpoke writer like me) and most of a plot, but most importantly with a beginning.
August 7, 2012
Hello Radelaide!
I'm in Adelaide for the next four weeks on a Creative Time Fellowship from the May Gibbs Literature Trust. After counting down to this month since I received the news waay back in November 2011, it's amazing to finally be here!
I'm here to start work on my next novel (a darkish, gothicish, slightly mysterious (I hope) book about the hidden history of a girls' boarding school), which I've been holding in my head and in my heart since last May and forced myself not to begin work on until Book3 was delivered to my publisher.
Starting a new novel is both incredibly liberating (the page is blank, I can do anything!) and incredibly daunting (the page is blank, can I do anything?), but I can think of no better way to begin than with a month of solid immersion.
Let the adventure begin!
The inspiration board's ready; now the hard work begins!
I'm here to start work on my next novel (a darkish, gothicish, slightly mysterious (I hope) book about the hidden history of a girls' boarding school), which I've been holding in my head and in my heart since last May and forced myself not to begin work on until Book3 was delivered to my publisher.
Starting a new novel is both incredibly liberating (the page is blank, I can do anything!) and incredibly daunting (the page is blank, can I do anything?), but I can think of no better way to begin than with a month of solid immersion.
Let the adventure begin!
The inspiration board's ready; now the hard work begins!
July 14, 2012
June 7, 2012
Star picks
A random assortment of posts that caught my eye this week:
How silence works: an emailed conversation with four Trappist monks - Jeremy Mesiano-Crookston's article for The Awl is a wee insight into a world I'll never enter.Continuing my infatuation with the Very Cranky Bear, here's an Auslan version.Mental Floss's profile of 9 delightful library cats. (Coincidence that more than half of them are ginger? I don't think so.)Lizwritesbooks's list of 25 things every writer should do (to better understand why it's not best to do them)And because it's been so long since I indulged my love of Maru, here is celebrating summer with a cat grass snack.
How silence works: an emailed conversation with four Trappist monks - Jeremy Mesiano-Crookston's article for The Awl is a wee insight into a world I'll never enter.Continuing my infatuation with the Very Cranky Bear, here's an Auslan version.Mental Floss's profile of 9 delightful library cats. (Coincidence that more than half of them are ginger? I don't think so.)Lizwritesbooks's list of 25 things every writer should do (to better understand why it's not best to do them)And because it's been so long since I indulged my love of Maru, here is celebrating summer with a cat grass snack.
May 29, 2012
Star picks (aka the Rookie edition)
Choice picks from my Google Reader stream this week:
Rookie's gone all nostalgic lately for the 1980s (aka Aimee's Prime) and highlighted some of my nostalgic favourite people while they're at it:10 things I love about Molly Hairstyles of the musicians of the 1980s: a taxonomy*Morrissey: the man, the myth, the legend...the boyfriend In a similar vein, Flavorwire's pictures of Morrissey looking happy was my kind of photo galleryDepressed not depressing, Francisco X Stork's very honest account of his own experience with depresssion, and writing a book about a character with the depressionAdvice on living the creative life by Neil Gaiman, via Brain Pickings - advice I wish I'd heard 20 or so years ago...And, having fallen in love with Very Cranky Bear after roaring my way through National Simultaneous Storytime at Footscray Libray last week, I really enjoyed this:* I attempted many of these in my youth. Unsuccessfully.
Rookie's gone all nostalgic lately for the 1980s (aka Aimee's Prime) and highlighted some of my nostalgic favourite people while they're at it:10 things I love about Molly Hairstyles of the musicians of the 1980s: a taxonomy*Morrissey: the man, the myth, the legend...the boyfriend In a similar vein, Flavorwire's pictures of Morrissey looking happy was my kind of photo galleryDepressed not depressing, Francisco X Stork's very honest account of his own experience with depresssion, and writing a book about a character with the depressionAdvice on living the creative life by Neil Gaiman, via Brain Pickings - advice I wish I'd heard 20 or so years ago...And, having fallen in love with Very Cranky Bear after roaring my way through National Simultaneous Storytime at Footscray Libray last week, I really enjoyed this:* I attempted many of these in my youth. Unsuccessfully.
May 20, 2012
Hear me roar
I've been practising my very cranky bear impersonation for National Simultaneous Storytime at Footscray Library. Right now, he still sounds more mildly annoyed than really cranky, but by Wednesday I promise I'll have my ROAR down pat!
May 15, 2012
[Insert excuse for not blogging here]
I’m not even going to bother making excuses for how long it’s been between blog posts. Suffice to say that since delivering the manuscript for Book3 (aka Freia2) I’ve been on a break from writing and doing a few of these things. But now I’m back (for now)
Here are a few choice gems from my Google Reader reading lately:
Rookie's guide to puberty, courtesy of Cora Murphy's 4th Grade assignment for Mrs Kaplanthe Guardian's analysis of the Famous Five's diet (apparently lashings of ginger beer and jam tarts are nutritionally sound after all)of all the moving tributes to Maurice Sendak last week (and there were many), my favourite was this video, via Alien Onion.
Here are a few choice gems from my Google Reader reading lately:
Rookie's guide to puberty, courtesy of Cora Murphy's 4th Grade assignment for Mrs Kaplanthe Guardian's analysis of the Famous Five's diet (apparently lashings of ginger beer and jam tarts are nutritionally sound after all)of all the moving tributes to Maurice Sendak last week (and there were many), my favourite was this video, via Alien Onion.
April 3, 2012
Star picks: the late, late edition
Oh dear, somehow it's been almost a month between blog posts :\ I have many excuses for not posting,* but mainly it's because I'm working on the final draft of book3 and there's really not much room for anything else in my (slightly addled) head at the moment. As a consequence, I've been skim-reading my blog feeds most days, mostly starring items to come back to When Life Resumes (i.e. after my deadline), but there have been a few recent gems that I really want to share:
Kate Constable's annual Bluffer's Guide to the Western Bulldogs is the highlight of my footy season (just as well, considering our recent performnce...)Your brain on fiction: "The brain, it seems, does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life..." (New York Times)The Importance of Frustration in the Creative Process, Animated (Brain Pickings)April Fools shenanigans from the British Library and Harvard's Daily Crimson (which I really, really wanted to be true)And, finally, words of great wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut (via Brain Pickings)
* perfecting a new brownie recipe (book3-related, so it counts),napping recharing my creative batteries, knitting for the first time in many months
Kate Constable's annual Bluffer's Guide to the Western Bulldogs is the highlight of my footy season (just as well, considering our recent performnce...)Your brain on fiction: "The brain, it seems, does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life..." (New York Times)The Importance of Frustration in the Creative Process, Animated (Brain Pickings)April Fools shenanigans from the British Library and Harvard's Daily Crimson (which I really, really wanted to be true)And, finally, words of great wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut (via Brain Pickings)
* perfecting a new brownie recipe (book3-related, so it counts),
March 6, 2012
February 19, 2012
Star picks
Highlights from my Google Reader feeds recently:
picturing literary characters: The Composites creates images "using law enforcement composite sketch software and descriptions of literary characters"; Mike Norris and David Richardson's beautiful portraits of JD Salinger's Glass family. (via The Book Bench)Rookie's homage to DegrassiBuzzfeed's cats as fonts (of course Courier is my favourite!)pretty much everything on Advanced Style.I leave you with some inspiration from Ilona Royce Smithkin - a woman so stylish that she makes her own false eyelashes.
picturing literary characters: The Composites creates images "using law enforcement composite sketch software and descriptions of literary characters"; Mike Norris and David Richardson's beautiful portraits of JD Salinger's Glass family. (via The Book Bench)Rookie's homage to DegrassiBuzzfeed's cats as fonts (of course Courier is my favourite!)pretty much everything on Advanced Style.I leave you with some inspiration from Ilona Royce Smithkin - a woman so stylish that she makes her own false eyelashes.
