Story Comp.

Flicking through one of the smaller papers and noticed they are running a short story competition. I have one or two lying around in the depths of my hard drive that I might be able to enter. It´s definetly a small comp, not million dollar book deals here. The judges are Professors of Creative Writing and I wonder if my stories will be too ´mainstream´for them..

Has anyone ever entered a story comp before? Is it worth it?

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Love this photo. A late night phone call from an outer suburban phone booth, crying into a bottle of red.

There´s a book in it. Better make that a short story...

Out with the old and in with the new.

Julia Gillard - Australian Prime Minister

Woke up this morning to discover that Australia has a new Prime Minister! That´s something that doesn´t happen everyday. Wonder if she ( our first female Prime Minister too)  can win the election later this year?

China

An opportunity has come up to for me to work in China at the end of the year. I´ve worked with a lot of Chinese in the past and I have always wanted to go. The Harbin Ice Festival ( pictured above) is probably one of things I want to see most, probably because I come from a corner of the world where it barely rains, let alone snows! Tsingtao beer is another movitating factor - love that stuff.

Apart from the obvious attraction of a real winter with snow and ice, I am really keen to get overseas again.  I see a lot of backpackers loitering around train stations and bus stops here in the city and I am really envious of them. However, being settled does have its advantages - no bed bugs being a notable one.

More details to follow on that development.

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The book goes on. It´s over a third written and 70% planned. The final 30 percent of the planning still haunts me in my sleep. Not sure how it´s going to end.

 I´ve really got into reading other peoples´ blogs and some have mentioned this - National Novel Writing Month  or NaNoWriMo which is still a mouthfull. Basically  the aim through November  is for participants write a  completlely new, totally original novel.  Firstly, what a cool idea. I am sure there´s loads of support with other writers too. Secondly - I might be in China writing a novel in a month and it would be freezing so even more reason to write!

The rabbit warren

Today for the first time in about a month, I can see the light.


I´ve emerged from a rabbit´s warren after turning, nose first, down every dark and damp deadend with the novel plot. 

I sat down today and looked at the once feared story arc and realised:

The main character does have an aim strong enough to pull through the crisis.

The antagonist is hell bent on not letting that happen.


It´s funny how after so much struggle - reworking ideas and straining your mind to come up with new ones , the answer can just be there.

It´s all above ground from now , following the reinforced story arc all the way to the end!