A Writing Update #4

Writing

• So I'm adding 'graphic novel' to my list of projects. My friend said to me one day; "I want to do a graphic novel. Not sure of what, but I want to do one". We agreed to collaborate, came up with a basic idea and jotted down lots of bizarre characters over Yo Sushi. These characters are full of potential stories, and we bounce off each other really well since we're such fab friends, so it should be a very fun project!
• Fleshing out my idea for the radio play (it finally has some substance! Yay!). Currently discussing it with the Head of Scripted, will keep y'all posted.
• I have also finally installed Scrivener. It's THE software for writers, and it's magical.

Music

As a result of watching Guardians of the Galaxy, I'm loving 70's music. The 'Awesome Mix' from the film is such a great playlist, and I'm rediscovering The Runaways. Wasn't so keen on them when I listened to them aged 13, but I've been listening to their first album again and it's great.

Rocking the spandex. Credit: realfilmcareer

I'm still obsessed with Lorde, especially after seeing her perform 'Yellow Flicker Beat' live:

She's pretty incredible here, her weird erratic dancing is completely let loose, she commands the stage and it's super cute seeing Taylor Swift enthusiastically cheering her on (they're close friends).

Real Life and Other Nonsense

• I am back home for a little bit for Christmas, but it's not a holiday because I have so much uni work. Essay, 70 page journal, two exams. So much. Help me. 
• I have realised I am slightly too content with my uni life. It's very comfortable - lovely accommodation, good degree, fun societies. Please don't take it away from me... I need to sit down, figure out what I want and how to get there. 

Merry stressed-out Christmas everyone!

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A Writing Update #3

I was ill for three weeks straight *sigh*. Am better now, so this was what happened since the last update (I'll be posting these every other week on Sunday).

Writing
It went a little like this:

Credit: other-side-of-the-universe.com

• September/Early October: wrote some pretty good essays, but otherwise my creativity levels were pretty dire. Dug out a novella I wrote 2 years ago and started rewriting/re-editing it, but deadlines paused my progress.
• Mid October: picked up free-writing - I brain-dump words for 10 minutes in the morning everyday. 
• Late October to mid November: doing a creative writing module for my course, finally managed to come up ideas.
• Late November: SO MANY IDEAS ALL AT ONCE. Now potentially writing a radio play, drafting ideas for a theatre play and two short stories. I don't know how this happened.

I've had an idea at the back of my head for a long time - wanted to write the story but it just didn't seem to work. A theatre writing workshop later, and I found the medium for the idea. Writing for screen/radio/theatre and creating a novel/novella/short story/poem uses different techniques and certain mediums brings out certain aspects of the story. So, note to self: experiment more.

Music
Lorde is my queen. Pure Heroine is my go-to album for everything; background music, chillout music, studying soundtrack, when I'm doing the dishes - I love it. It's dark, strange and just gorgeous.

Am addicted to 'Yellow Flicker Beat', her latest song - the music video is spectacular.

Real Life and Other Nonsense

• Making my first every Christmas list! It's such a long list - there's 3 items on it! A good camera, Scrivener, and a flask (green tea on the go = day made). 
• I've signed up to 2 Christmas society dinners and a Secret Santa. I'm feeling...festive?

Madness. Happy December to y'all.

Writing Book Reviews

One of many perks of being a Book section editor is a lot of review books. It's pretty awesome - free book in exchange for about 500 words.

I'm just sharing what I've learnt  from experience so far. There isn't one way to write a book review, so take what you want from this (words are bold so those in a rush can skim. I'm not being patronising!).

Getting review copies
Since student newspapers are small publications, we don't get approached with books unless a student/local is promoting their work. So, I have to request them myself. I believe bigger companies are automatically sent big releases or are give a list of books they can choose from (but don't quote me on that).

'We are the media'

I keep on top of book news, knowing what new releases are coming up and when. Twitter is fantastic for this - I follow authors, publishers and book stores. Authors tend to promote other writers (which is a lovely thing to see happening), so following one writer can lead on to more.

Try and send in your request at the right time - around a month before or after the release date is your bubble. Two months after is pushing it, but can be done.

To contact the right person to contact, search through the book's publisher - not the big publishing house that encompasses many smaller companies. You want THE company. It's important to be very specific - try and email exactly the right person. After all, we're all busy people and they won't appreciate having to forward your email on. The contact details are usually in the press/publicity department (yup, you're press now!), or if it's a company abroad, you might have to locate the international department. Generally, it's not too hard to find the right person, but sometimes - have a big cup of tea next to your.

Oh My Donkeys I Need To Chill Out

I actually had to look up how to spell donkey. Too. Burnt. Out.

I found my old school reports not too long ago. There's 2 things that repeat since I've started school;
1) Talk more in class. Too quiet.
2) Takes on too much.

Those are still applicable. I'll talk about the first one some other time.

I had an idea that I was going to write this post with everything figured out, with a clear list of things to do in order to strike a good work-life balance. But that's not happening. I'm used to doing lots. There's so much out there - shows, gigs, interviews, talks, exhibitions, socials, articles to write, people to meet, things to try. I want to do EVERYTHING.

Here's some of the stuff I'm doing this year:

A Writing Update #2

It's been a while.

I spent a month in Hong Kong (it was significantly less fun than it sounds). Ironically, as HK has one of the fastest internet speeds in the world, I barely had access to WiFi during that time.

Writing:
After being reunited with Martin the laptop, I finally finished the short story for the Benjamin Franklin Literary Prize, as mentioned in the previous update.

Also have been doodling down some poems, which is a relief as I thought my burst of surprisingly good poetry several months ago was a one-off. Am hoping to write a little collection of poetry and get some feedback on it.

Music:
I AM OBSESSED WITH JAZZ-HOP. It's so good - here's my favourite playlist:

do you like jazzhop? from asr_30 on 8tracks Radio.

I went on to find this album: 'Coffee House Swinger: Brewing Sessions' by Boho Fau & Elevated Soul. It's sublime, I was playing it pretty much all month during my exile holiday abroad. You hit play and pretend you're in a jazz cafe - it's smooth, chilled and beautiful. You can set whatever price you want to buy the album (can put $0, but please do give what you can).




Real Life and Other Nonsense

• Watched 'How To Train Your Dragon 2' and discovered how it feels to love a film so much it breaks your heart a little when it ends (been playing the soundtrack on repeat).
• Take 2 of driving test is coming up on Friday. Irritatingly, the more lessons I've been having, the worse I've been getting. Which is worrying, to say the least.
• Going back to uni very soon. Being stuck at home makes me restless, and after watching HTTYD, I'm ready to go adventuring out into the world. Despite it being my second year now, I'm still a little worried about meeting people. However;

"There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met."

- W.B Yeats