November 3, 2009 at 1:46 am (nanowrimo, writing)
Tags: nanowrimo, novel, picture books
Well, my first two days of attempting to write 50,000 words in the month of November have gone and I’m just a little under the target of 1,667 words per day.
I must confess I am used to being economical with my words, I mainly write children’s fiction so the idea of stretching my wordy limits is rather challenging. Especially considering last week I was working on picture book stories!
Leave a Comment
October 31, 2009 at 2:54 am (nanowrimo, writing)
Tags: junior fiction, nanowrimo, picture books, writing
Well, so I’ve heard
So I am tying up loose ends and clearing my workload in preparation for that mad and crazy novel writing event, known as NaNoWriMo! Where people across the globe write frantically to complete a Novel in a month!
I am a little daunted myself, so I thought it best to clear the desk as much as possible for the best chance of success.
I have just finished an entry for the Joy Cowley Picture Book Award, run by Storylines and sponsored by Scholastic NZ. Entries need to be in the post by 31st October 2009, so if you have a picture book manuscript lying around – dust it off, make it shine and get it in the post quick!
I am also revising a Junior Fiction story and hoping to get that out of the way before my head gets filled with threads and plots of a Nano story.
Leave a Comment
April 1, 2009 at 1:10 am (writing)
Tags: script frenzy, scriptwriting, writing

The madness has begun!
Script Frenzy has just started, for those that don’t know that means a mad month of scriptwriting in April, and in our New Zealand timezone we’re already writing!
I’ve just downloaded Celtx software to make the process a bit easier and I would definitely recommend it, its easy to get your head around and… its FREE!
I admit I have been a bit crazy signing up for this as we’re on holiday for at least two weeks in April, but I figured any words are better than none, so I’m gonna give it a try.
Well here goes, wish me luck… Lights out… and Fade In…
1 Comment
March 28, 2009 at 2:00 am (art, family, writing)
Tags: art, creative, home, journeys, settling, writing
It has been a strange little journey I have been on since I returned from the mother country. Part of me misses my homeland whilst the other continues to establish a life here in New Zealand, leaving me in a continuous state of betwixt and between. Still, I shall not grumble, just don’t ask me if I’m settled – what does that mean anyway?
My reactions to my buoyant behaviour have led me down some interesting paths recently – I did consider Art school and I almost bought a house but I reined myself in instead. I started an Art class and I’m enjoying it, I joined the gym to purposely punish my poor muscles and I have reasoned with myself to avoid buying big things like houses until the market settles down a bit – not that I could afford it anyway! I consoled myself with the prospect of looking for another rental property to settle those itchy feet of mine, though nothing has quite grabbed me yet.
I fancy doing something big and amazing this year, though I haven’t quite decided what, something creative and fun I think – I’ll let you know when I have a shortlist, ideas are welcome!
I’m trying to be more writerly these days as I attempt to stay at my desk and bash out a daily word count – I won’t tell you what it is as its quite pitiful in comparison to others – but I’m just working on the regular attendance aspect. I did consider tying my leg to the desk in the hope of staying put and avoiding distractions, but I figured I would be more likely to forget, get up anyway and knock my tea all over my laptop – ruining the machine and said work in progress anyway!
So here I am back in the saddle, writing away, trying new things and learning to ’settle’.
1 Comment