Tue, 17 April 2007 honest lies
The rejections are piling up. I see it as a good sign in a twisted way. It means I’m sending out work regularly, which I am. Generally, the feedback is good. I’m hitting most of the desired requirements. The sting is when you get a comment that indicates your story is not original enough. Ouch. [...]
Sun, 01 April 2007 the wheel turns
Sorry, no April 1st puns from me, although I’m amused by the ones piling up on the Internet.
The weather has turned lovely here in Ireland, and about time too as we had a lousy winter–legions of gales, rain, and perpetual cloud on a constant offensive. The longer evenings and sunshine improves one’s outlook immeasurably. I’ve [...]
Sat, 09 December 2006 a writer by any other name
The name we’re given at birth can have its pros and cons. As a kid I was never hugely enamoured of the name Maura, but it wasn’t awful either. In Ireland it’s relatively common, and to my teenager mind that was the worst strike against it.
I remember my shock when I first saw a [...]
Fri, 08 December 2006 the first
Today I returned from five enjoyable days in Scotland, which I spent in the company of a dear friend. For one lovely afternoon we rambled around Edinburgh: I bought a excellent pair of running shoes from the enlightened Run and Become, we browsed a Christmas market sipping mulled wine from a proper mug, visited the [...]
Wed, 20 September 2006 brains optional
Weddings consume a lot of time. I’ve been away watching good friends commit to a life of happiness and love (if you met them you’d know the odds are in their favour).
Finally, I feel as if I have the time and space to inhale since I returned from Clarion. I’ve been busy, and travelling, since [...]
Tue, 15 August 2006 tell it slant
At Clarion Maureen McHugh reminded us of a line from a poem by Emily Dickinson:
“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.”
Maureen placed the emphasis on tell it slant. It’s a piece of advice that is so simple that it has stayed with me since.
I’ve been trying to eradicate lazy writing from my [...]
Wed, 09 August 2006 needs writin’
A third draft of the short story was hammered out during the wee hours of the morning. So wee, in fact, that you needed a microscope to see them.
I emailed the story off for review before dawn fully developed, because there’s a weird chemical change that occurs when the early light of day hits your [...]
Tue, 08 August 2006 a little progress is a dangerous thing
I wallowed in a glut of sleep today so I had to cut into my surplus already. I do tend to write well at night.
I’ve completed a second draft of one of my Clarion stories. I skimmed through the critiques my clever and clear-sighted classmates gave me. Just enough to glean pointers without confusing [...]
Sun, 06 August 2006 sleep deprived and fuelled by coffee
Ah sleep, long have I courted you, and long have you spurned my advances.
No, I’m not an insomniac yet, but over the past few months my sleeping patterns have been shattered.
I sleep in pieces now.
During my absence my contributor copy of Cabinet des Fées (Volume 1, No. 1) arrived, and it’s a beautiful journal that [...]
Wed, 02 August 2006 Clarion abú
I’m back in Ireland. I’m still alive, and I survived the Clarion West experience.
I gave up blogging, as you’ll have noticed from the dearth of entries, because I didn’t have the spare energy.
I’m not usually one for stats, but here’s what I did during Clarion:
Ist week: 3,2002nd week: 4,4003rd week: 3,4004th week: 7,7005th week: 8,0006th [...]
