C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 180

Progress Report: Week 3 August, 2014

The week before last was a very busy week—two weekends ‘eaten’ by study commitments. Last week I completed one exam, one assessed short play with questions, and one in-tutorial presentation. And I worked, and hugged my family, and found time to sleep. This weekend I did homework and prepped for the coming week. No assessments, thank goodness, but the study won’t stop for another 11 weeks, so… slow writing progress can be expected.
 
Overview
New words produced: 2,185Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 114
Tier 1 Tasks
Annual 13: Added 208 wordsAnnual 14: Added 586 words
Publishing Tasks
Created 1 blog posts for this blog;
New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:

ShortStory351—In Memorium: The Starfarers’ Graves): a piece of flash science fiction about starfarers’ graves;ShortStory352—Troll Night: a piece of fantasy flash fiction about trolls;Poem420—Full Moon Ascension: a poem about werewolves;Poem421—Campus Life: a poem about life and campus parallels;Poem422—Honeyed Pen: a poem reflecting on writing.

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 8—the Englyn Lleddbroest

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn lledfbroest.The englyn lledfbroest consists of a four-line verse. Each line has seven syllables that half rhyme with each other. A half-rhyme is one where the final consonants agree. In the englyn lleddfbroest the half rhymes must use the following dipthongs: ae, oe, wy and ei.I have used ‘ay’ instead of ‘ae’ to reflect changes in the English language, included ‘ow’ to be synonymous with ‘oe’, and used ‘ai’ as the same rhyme as ‘ei’. I’m not sure if these variations are acceptable to purists, but they work rhyme-wise.
I Live Again
My heart had gone far awayMy terror I held at bayNever hoped to see the dayThought I’d died and dead I’d stay
Then morning broke night’s dark reignI felt blood move in my veinsI raised my head, breathed againTook up the thread, my life skein.

Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn lleddbroest for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/chil...

Progress Report: Week 2 August 2014

Exams this week coming, busy work schedule and a family. No writing done this week. Explains why I am so grumpy. Will have to take a break and write today. I know, I know, I know. No excuses. Go read Wendig’s blog; he’s right. No excuses... just let me finish revising for this week's tests and prep my presentation for Thursday... and finish my homework for three subjects - *then* I get to write, and I have a fair bit of ground to make up. OverviewNew words produced: 902 (I know! Shut up already...)Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 269Tier 1 TasksAnnual 13: Added 190 wordsAnnual 14: Added 443 words
Publishing TasksCreated 1 blog posts for this blog;New ArrivalsNo new arrivals

UPDATE: Of course there were arrivals - I added words, right? Doh! Here they are:


 Poem419-Escapee: a science fiction poem about an escapee;
2.       ShortStory350-Vengeance and the Law: a piece of urban fantasy fiction about Egyptian gods; 

Australian Birds—Peewee (Grallina cyanoleuca)

I seem to have a love for these little guys. They sometimes come and perch in my backyard, but they usually don't stay very long, once the camera appears.

This one was enjoying the sun on a cold winter's day,


and then he noticed the camera,


checked it out twice - yup, still there.


After moving to a safer distance, he was joined by a friend,


and continued to watch the camera, with a careful eye.


You can find out more about the magpie lark at the following sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark;http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Grallina-cyanoleuca;http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/magpie-lark;http://bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=Magpie-lark; andhttp://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/birds/magpie-lark.

Progress Report: Week 1 August 2014

Very rough week, just gone. Besides being the second week of university’s second semester, I had to make a hard decision. Up-side? My day job might not be taking up so much of my time come the start of next semester. Downside? The budget will be a bit tighter. Up-side? I get more time to study, write and be a mother. Downside? Um… the budget? Up-side? I won’t be as stressed and will have more time for exercise and looking after myself. Downside? I’ve covered that. *Very* hard decision. We’ll just have to see how the next eight months go. Downside is that the stress of this is making it hard to write, but I’ll adapt. Guess I’ll just have to kick in a bit of discipline. Good news? I'm 10 poems off completing Annual 13 - and then the editing can begin. OverviewNew words produced: 794Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 1,823Tier 1 TasksAnnual 13: Added 794 wordsPublishing TasksCreated 9 blog posts for this blog;New ArrivalsThe following ideas arrived this week:
Poem412—Changing Fortunes: an englyn about a change of fortune;Poem413—I Live Again: is an an englyn about survival;Poem414—Happy Birthday to Me: a birthday poem;Poem415—The Oscillations of Life: a poem about the cycle of life;Poem416—Memories of Horsemen: a poem about legend and inspiration;Poem417—Uncivilised: a poem about zombies;Poem418—Of Circumstances Born: a poem about trysts and illegitimacy.

Ten MORE Reasons I Love Indie Publishing

I’ve had a little more time to think about why I like publishing independentlyI can create my own release schedule—and not be tied to someone else’s;I can view other writers as colleagues and not as rivals—because we are not competing for the very limited places in a publisher’s release schedule AND because neither of us can write quickly enough to keep up with our readers;I can recommend other writers to my readers based on my own judgement and not on someone else’s need to promote another author in their stable—this means I can recommend writers who create similar stories to my own, and/or whose stories I think my readers will enjoy, regardless of where they are published or who by;I can recommend other writers to my readers without fearing that any drop in sales will mean my work falls behind and is pulled from the publishing schedule;I can correct errors in a more timely fashion—instead of waiting for the end of a print run or depending on someone else’s agreement to allow me to do so;Readers can receive corrected versions of the work they have purchased for free;I can promote or not promote according to the time and resources I have available—and not be in breach of contract; I do not need to promote at the expense of my writing time;I can publish my short stories individually and in tailored collections;I can gather all the short work I produce each year and publish it as a single collection;I own the rights to my work and can sell or lease them to the best of my advantage—rather than having someone else own them and do nothing with them.

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 7—the Englyn Proest Dalgron

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn proest dalgron.The englyn proest dalgron consists of a four-line verse. Each line has seven syllables that half rhyme with each other. A half-rhyme is one where the final consonants agree.
Changing Fortunes
I have seen beyond the skiesBeyond the plans man’s devisedBeyond the truths long deniedI’ve seen beyond your lies
My gift is not yours to shareFor purposes you’ve ensnaredNor for foes to be declaredYou who use it should be scared
I have seen dreams overflownLong-held desires overgrownWell-meant denial bemoanedAs we over-burdened groan
We hear, and hopes start risingNo loss, no compromisingOur vic’try, our devisingWe make sure, no surmising.
Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn proest dalgron for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.html

Ten Reasons I love Indie Publishing

It's no secret that I publish my own work. Some say it's the height of arrogance. Some say it's because it's not good enough to be published by a 'real' publisher. To be honest, I had six titles published by 'real' publishers, before I decided I'd rather go indie, than chase the traditional dream. I also spent eight months researching blogs from independent authors, traditional authors who'd gone independent, or who didn't intend to, publishers, writing industry magazines, agency blogs and pretty much anyone who knew more than I did - and then I decided that independent publishing would suit me better than going forward traditionally. I've spent the last two years feeling my way and I think I'll continue. Here are ten reasons why:




I can write what I love—not what I think the publisher will take;If it’s good enough, I can guarantee it will be published—because I can choose what of my work I publish, whereas a publisher is governed not only by quality, but their idea of saleability;I can adjust my publishing deadlines to accommodate twists of fate, life and health—without losing a year or two of sales due to someone else’s schedule;I can switch genres, and pen names, as I wish—and not be forced to keep the same pen name for genres I don’t want to mix;I know what I really earned—and not what I was told I earned, without accurate breakdowns to prove it;I am not forced to discount my books, if I don’t want to—maximising my control of promotions;I can produce works of longer than 100,000 words—without worrying that the work will be rejected on basis of length alone;I can guarantee that, when the fifth book of my series is released, the first book of that series will still be available;If I don’t like the cover, I can change it—I don’t have to accept something I don’t think reflects the story;I can release my work in less than twelve months after the last edit is complete—and have it in the hands of my readers earlier than traditionally possible.

Books Read in July 2014

I'm still reading my way through my Laurell K. Hamilton collection. Here are the novels I covered this month - bear in mind I've been sick and I had no tutorials to attend, so there was a bit more reading time than usual. I don't think August is going to see quite so much:

Australian Birds - White-Faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)

I've seen this little guy around a lot lately, but never had my camera on me. When I finally saw him again, it was on a day when I had a case of "bad camera", but a couple of the shots are worth showing here.

He was feeding in an open storm-water drain,

not bothered at all by his reflection or the fading light,

and then he turned and started walking up the drain towards me.

At first, he didn't seem to notice me, 

but then, he stopped and took a good look,

and left shortly thereafter.
You can find out more about white-faced herons at the following sites:
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Egretta-novaehollandiae;en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-faced_heron;http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-faced-heron;http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=17061; andhttp://www.arkive.org/white-faced-heron/egretta-novaehollandiae/.