Cate Ellink's Blog, page 9

Fearless Friday - promo

I'm just back from the annual RWA Conference, this year it was in Melbourne. It's such an incredible weekend of information, friends, networking, catching up on industry news, meeting people, talking, and all sorts of book/writing things.

This year I had a mission. As the other me, a friend and I had a book out - for writers. So I planned to do promo and generate some interest at conference. I had a heap of magnets to give away and a box of books to sell.

The layout of conference wasn't really conducive to people picking up freebie stuff. And people don't really pick up freebies. So, I grabbed all my courage and I roamed around at morning tea shoving magnets in people's hands.

I don't know why, but I feel like a beggar when I do that. I wonder if I had to beg in a past life, because it's massively uncomfortable for me to face down that fear/discomfort. Actually, it is a fear, because I'm waiting the whole time for someone to yell at me and chase me away - I'm not quite sure who would do this, but it's still that fear in me.

And then I had to leave early, and I had about 60 books that weren't looking like being bought and weren't going to fit in to my luggage restriction for the flight home. What to do!?

I shoved them in unsuspecting hands.

And yes, even giving away a book I still felt like a beggar. I know it's insane. But I did.

I gave away quite a lot of books, facing down all that fear of someone yelling at me.

This week is recovery week.

I love conference, but man it takes it out of me!

I'll try to get post some notes of what I learned next week - my brain might work by then!

Connecting with Strangers

I don't know who said this, and googling didn't help me this time, but I love this quote:

People are only strangers if you let them be strangers; otherwise, they’re only strangers for an instant.
It's coming up to RWA Conference time, so meeting people is on my mind. I went to my first RWA Conference in 2009... and shared a room with my Critique Partner. We'd been working together for a bit over a year, and yet we were meeting face-to-face for the first time at conference - and sharing a room! Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it? But it was awesome!

For quite a few years I've shared a room with someone I've not met face-to-face, and it's been such fun. It's the whole 'getting to know you' after already kind of knowing them through their online presence.

The wonderful thing is that most people's online presence is just the same as their face-to-face one! That's always astounding, even as it seems obvious.

Recently, I've had a boarder share my home, and it's been a similar kind of thing. You know someone from chatting to them in a work situation, but you get to meet them on a whole different level in a out-of-work space. I've really enjoyed that experience, and I'd do it again too (you know, if it was entirely up to me).

This RWA Conference, I'm sharing with three people I've never met face-to-face, but they all know each other. It seems crazy that you can chat to people for years online and never actually manage to meet up... but I'm rectifying that! And I'm so looking forward to it.

How do you go with strangers? Do they quickly become friends?
 

Fearless Friday - YouTube

OMG! I've taken this Fearlessness WAAAAAYYYYYY further than I ever expected to go.

I'm doing YouTube videos.

Not just writing a book where I discuss the weird and wacky and writing... but now I'm putting my face out there and speaking about it freely. With a lot of laughter!

This is getting over quite a lot of my fears.

I'm not great at public speaking, but I have been doing it through my roles in various jobs for some time. So fear of public speaking is being addressed.

I have a dread/hatred of seeing my face... and now it's out there, in your face, on weekly videos! And last weekend, I told my family about this, and my 7 year old niece said, "You're using your face on YouTube?" If it wasn't a kid asking me, I'd have got my back up about that question, but I explained that it was the only face I had and I just had to do it. But I misunderstood what she was asking. As a kid, her Mum won't let her put her face on YouTube, so if they're on there, it's faceless (which is great for a 7-year-old). So, her shock and horror wasn't about me using my face as she deemed it ugly or old or something (as I'd assumed) but that I was 'allowed' to use my face as an adult. Lucky I didn't jump down her throat with my issues causing poor assumption of her question. So, my face fear is being smashed (or at least faced!)

I'm talking all sorts of alternate/woo-woo/spiritual practices and how I use them in my daily life. Pretty much looking the fear of ridicule squarely in the face.

I'm opening up the right side of my brain - although the left is still doing plenty or rationalising!

We've done a few weeks of this now, and I may even be starting to relax and even enjoy it - or at least forget we're on video as we chat.

Hell, they're far from perfect or polished. I roll my eyes too much, laugh way too much, look in all weird directions, think for too long, waffle, and we talk over each other... but I think we might be improving! Slowly. Maybe!

So, if you're at all interested in Creative Writing Energy: Tools to Access Your Higher Creative Mind, feel free to tune in to Wacky Wednesday videos to learn more (or at least have a laugh).

WORKSHOP: Getting Comfortable Writing Sex

I'm doing an OWL for RWA in August. More details are here.

And OWL is an Online Writing Workshop. My workshop is on Getting Comfortable Writing Sex .

I have a 4 week course, with all the notes available up front, where I want to create a space where people can freely talk about writing sex scenes.

Maybe you have a difficulty knowing what to write, or how to write it.

Maybe you can write them but you've never let anyone see them.

Maybe you just want some tips.

Maybe you want a place where you can learn more about sex scenes.

Maybe you just want some practice with feedback and open discussion before you expose your writing to a wider audience.

I don't mind why you come along, I'm hoping some people will!

I've got some sex scenes from published novels to discuss. I've already filled them with comments to start the discussions and the thinking off.

I've broken down one scene using Margie Lawson's EDITS system to show that sex scenes need to be well-crafted the same as any other scene in your story.

I've attacked a thesaurus, so we can discuss word choices.

And hopefully we'll have some time to write our own sex scene and share them.

It's not all about erotic romance and erotica. I've taken sex scenes from a variety of romance subgenres and even non-romance stories.

I'm hoping some people come along and enjoy sex scene discussions. If not, Nicolette Hugo and I will have some ripper discussions and maybe even some time to write some way juicy sex scenes!!!

Fearless Friday - Creative Writing Energy

My Fearlessness has taken me into territory that I wasn't sure I wanted to go to, and beyond!

I'm writing a non-fiction book that's more in Cate's territory, but I'm not writing it as Cate. Which is terrifying because it's using all the alternate and spiritual practices I've been investigating (that most of my family and friends deem weird and wacky) and openly admitting that I use them.

Back in early 2018, I started blogging about them here, to see how brave I was! I called it Saturday Search and there were about 6-8 posts like this one http://www.cateellink.com/2018/02/saturday-search-energy.html

Then, I went off on something else and almost forgot I'd written them...until I was talking to fellow writer, Kim Petersen, who was writing similar things on her blog.

We got talking, and now we're putting together a book for writers, where we're opening up about our practices and techniques to access the deeper parts of ourselves.

This is our cover and blurb.

And we have a sign up for more information here:
https://whisperinginkpress.com/creative-writing-energy/

We're hoping to help inspire other writers.

Would you like to come and join us :)

Fearless Friday - workshops

I've taught a few writing workshops, which I really enjoy, and tomorrow I'm off to do another one, this time with Kim Petersen.

I've only dabbled a little in Self-Publishing, but Kim's had a bit more experience in that, so we've teamed up to run a workshop together.

I don't know how we'll go because this is the first time we've taught together, but we've done author talks together and they've worked out easily enough. So I'm hoping for the same in a workshop.

Kim and I have been working a bit together, and it's nice not doing everything on your own. But when I'm Catherine, we become Cath and Kim, and if you're aware of that TV show, we're not credible! LOL! So we're going to try to be Kim and Cate ... and if we're lucky people won't laugh as soon as we introduce ourselves!

So that's my fearlessness this week - tandem teaching!

How's your fearlessness faring?

Wildlife Wednesday - snorkelling and underwater critters

Selfie :)After my waves day, I decided to go down to the rockpool and see how the snorkelling was. I was going to go out into the ocean but I was on my own and no one about, so much safer in the rockpool (It's not Fearless Friday so I can totally admit that here!)

I had a few issues:
IT WAS FREEZING!!! Much colder than the ocean had been.They'd cleaned it since I was last there and so much of the growth, the larger fish, and the rock on the floor were gone.Did I mention how cold it was?
But I went for a swim anyway, and I was pretty happy with some of the shots. I even dug out Dakin's Australian Seashores to work some of these out!

Side on view - limpet (front), chiton (middle), periwinkles (back)
Top view
Reflection - and there's fish in the middle!

A close up of the fish Reflections again
Another reflection Top hat and nudibranch
Nudibranch (sea slug)
I love these things!
Limpet - side on
periwinkles

Update on waves

Saturday was magical. Warm, still, calm seas with lovely rolling waves. I went for a swim...with my camera...

Gorgeous day for a swim
Water like crystal Waves coming in nicely, no undertow, so I could go out deeper I was trying to catch the wave as it rolled over - a bit early here And try to catch the wave as it rolled over...or a bit late!
And this time I nailed it - finally!
I was on top of the world - or on top of the wave anyway!

Fearless Friday - waves

I follow lots of photographers on Instagram because they're awesome and photography is something I love. Most of the ones I follow dive or snorkel or spend time in/near water. Some of them take these incredible wave photos...and I've been trying to capture this sort of a shot - and failing!

My camera isn't flash. It's just a point and click but it goes underwater; an Olympus TG-5. I love it, but I'm probably pushing it to its limits with what I'm trying to do (wave photos and night astrophotography seem to have limits!), but I'm not giving up yet.

This wee we've had lovely warm water, warmish air, flat seas with those waves that just pop up and curl over. It seemed to me to be the perfect conditions for me to get braver and try to get under a wave and grab this shot in my mind.

Let's see how I went:

Not so good in so many many shots! Sometimes the surf smacked me hard, other times it just tumbled me around, and sometimes it let me dive through unscathed (thank heavens for mostly that!)

But sometimes there was hope - a wall of water where I just wasn't quite in the right spot.

I'm learning more about my camera, and I'm totally having a ball in the surf. So I'm going to keep trying and one day, I might nail something cool!

Do you have these types of crazy goals too?

Fearless Friday

Where has the last month gone? I have no clue at all. The days just fly by.

I have a few things for this post...no wonder, if it's been a month!

NEW BOOK
I have A Real Online Fantasy Parts 1 & 2 online now! Yipee! For a short time, it's even free. So if you'd like to download it, please do.

You can grab it from your favourite store by clicking here:

books2read.com/u/4DOaLr

BLOG POST My other self wrote a story for an anthology with Kim Petersen and Beth Prentice. Kim has a blog where she's honest about herself and her life. She asked me to write a post for her site and so, I went with honesty. It's easier to be honest as Cate. So I'm a bit scared about this one, but anyway :) I'm owning it!
https://whisperinginkpress.com/2019/05/16/becoming-whole/

INTERESTING ARTICLETeenagers and sex.
This article is saying something I've read before - that teenagers are highly influenced by porn. And not just highly influenced about sex... but confused about consent. 
Porn, a scripted film, does not show discussion, consent, or even 'realistic sex' but do kids know that? It appears that they don't. 
For so long, sex has been such a taboo topic, that people don't discuss it at all. This leads to people finding out about sex my whatever means they can. How did you discover sex? For me, it was via animals and nature. There was a conversation about sex after a sex ed video shown at school, but my questions were a little too confronting and I was sent to my room without answers. And really, asking if a man's penis is different to a dog's is not such a shock, is it?
So, if kids these days are getting information about sex from the internet - which is a pretty handy tool for information gathering - and no one is speaking about sex, then how do they know if what they find is 'real' or 'misinformation'? 
I'm so glad there are people going to schools to discuss sex honestly with kids. I wonder if they'd take an erotic author on the school chat tour? That's something I'd love to do.

Thanks for reading today. I'll try to get back to more regular blogging!