Quotation

"I like all forms of writing, from articles to motion pictures, but of them
all I prefer the novel. In a day of increasing taboos, I think it may represent the
final redoubt of a truly free enterprise. I like the feeling that it is up to me,
that make or break, it is all mine." - Bud Shulberg

What are your taboos? Write a list of all the things you wouldn't write about.

(Yes, I know that means you're actually writing about them. That's the point, silly!)

if you missed it the first time...

here's the link to a great article on punctuating dialogue

Writing exercise for Monday:

Begin a story with a prophecy. (This can be a funny prophecy, made by one friend to another, a serious prophecy, a light-hearted prophecy...completely your choice.

Saki Quotes

Check out this page for some great Saki quotes. I particularly like:
'A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation.'

All you ever wanted to know about world building

but were afraid to ask! Here. Have fun.

Links to Lorrie Moore

Thanks to Melissa who provided these links to Lorrie Moore. And this one.

A note on formatting - when you hand in (or submit) short stories or excerpts from novels, make sure that you have a running footer that states your name and the name of the story. It's very easy to pages to come loose and out of order and this saves a lot of confusion. Also make sure you number your pages - it is surprising how many people forget to do this!

ha!

Just finished the editing on a small 2500 word story for a new imprint, Aussie Gems and guess what? Had to correct nearly every bit of dialogue punctuation. I clearly have got into the habit of putting a comma after my dialogue tags whether or not it's the end of that sentence! So, don't despair - just keep on checking that you're doing the right thing.

Welcome to any Gippstafe students!

Hi there - Gippstafe students officially started their online courses this week - welcome to any who have stepped across to check this out.

I know I had a list of things to blog for everyone, so I'll make a little start on it.

Check out www.goodreads.com for a quick n'easy way of keeping track electronically of your reading. This also connects you to a larger reading network. If you've succumbed to the procrastination machine that is facebook, you can do a search for all your reading friends.

For punctuating dialogue check out this article.

Thanks to Stewart and Denis for being the first up to workshop in Novel 2! Good to get a handle on what you both are writing. And for everyone who participated in the character chair exercise - thanks - great to hear about your central characters and I hope you learnt something more about them, too.

Writing exercise: (for your writer's journal)
Write a letter to your character's younger self from one of their parents. You know those letters that parents sometimes write to be opened on yoru eighteenth birthday or whatever? You can make it quite specific - it could be a letter written after an argument, for example, or before a big event. It could be a celebratory letter. It could be a pull-your-socks-up letter!

Happy writing...