Have a Happy New Year of reading and writing and everything else you desire.
I have begin to pitch my novel to publishers. So you can guess what my New Year goal is.
Dreaming Billabong
Author Kathryn Shell
Children begin and then try to stop an escalating culture of payback in this compelling story of treachery and love during European settlement of Australia.
Young adults will relate to Jarrah and Emily being torn by the demands of adults. Most readers who enter this journey though the life of the cattle king, Alan Fife, will see a little of their own struggles for identity and acceptance within this historical crime fiction that is told mainly though the lives of the children. Seniors will relive the 1950s period of Australian history.
In 1877 free settlers arrive to the semi arid inland of Fife Springs north-west of the Great Dividing Range. At first they coexisted with the Woggan-Wandong people. Then the children, Alan and Charlotte, witness the development of intolerances and see these emerge as bitter altercations that sow the seeds for the white Australia policy.
In 1945, Jarrah, and his two cousins of mixed Scottish and Woggan-Wandong heritage have their childhood wrenched from them by the danger and cruelty of the stolen generation phase of Australia’s history. They each emerge triumphant by drawing on their strengths and instincts to survive.
During this post World War Two period, the second rush of Australian settlement takes place. Migration from Europe and the catch cry of ‘populate or perish’ have a tumultuous effect on the quiet peaceful inland Australian country town of Fife Springs.
Two children Emily and her brother Harry have had their childhood traumatised by the crime of, and resulting loss of a parent. They are thrust into an environment with hidden dangers. Payback continues and the children, one urged on by the ghost of a massacre the others aided by the dreaming spirits and nature, struggle with a culture of revenge that has harmed their family for generations.
Woggan-Wandong means The meeting of the Spirit Ghosts.
_I was very quiet in my blogging over the past week as I worked hard to complete the last edit of my Australian novel.
The work is complete save for minor changes following the proof readings.
I already have a rough draft for the sequel and part of the first chapter written.
Today I returned to one of two non-fiction books I had already begun writing.
The second non-fiction Book I plan to write concerns travelling Australia and earning your living as you go.
The third book will concern earning your living as a free lance creative person, author and artist.
I plan to write at least one non-fiction work per year though may well work on all three of these non-fiction works simultaneously while taking a short break from writing and editing my novel although I only plan to complete one non-fiction work per year and I will be publishing extracts from these self help books, as free exerts, within my blogs.
I may even publish some of my non fiction works for free or at least, at cost price as these works - my non fiction come from my love of writing.
Have a Happy Creative Christmas.
My 1011 NaNoWriMo month came to an end 15 hours ago and I went to bed feeling fantastic, slept the best I have all month ans woke feeling terrific, lol It is a good feeling knowing we forged ahead - however much for the month.
My WIP (Work in Progress.)
At one point today, I was brought to tears as I edited/rewrote to better effect a passage. That makes my novel a three hanky novel so far. lol :-).
I have just completed the edit of the 11,500 word long chapter 7 where I deal with the internal within the mind of many of my characters. This is the chapter before a big action chapter. This was the one I needed some beta readers for and thank those who helped me :-). I was anxious that this more talk less action, but getting a gimps into the mindset of all characters, chapter not be too long yet not leave out essential information.
I will put this chapter aside now until I am alone tonight and can listen to it in my Read4ME program and hear my typos so I can fix them.
NOW :-) Seeing as NaNoWriMo is over :) I begin the more balanced lifestyle goals and put away, a full months worth of washing, lol :-).
_Writers know when they need to stop and have a section of their writing constructively critiqued. I went though that stage yesterday. I chose my own beta readers, though there are web forms that specialize in this. I did not want my work read by a stranger as I want it published and wish to strive to guard the copyright.
My picture is of a crowd in a showground, the sort of area where store keepers need to know how to be aware of shoplifter prevention and this issue was dealt with in a chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel. I was keen that it 'worked' as a part of a novel and not seeming like a lecture, so I had this chapter constructively critiqued.
I asked for a constructive critique for one chapter in my novel from a trusted proof reader and she felt my characters had expressed things well and it wasn't too long, the two main questions I had. This was a quieter chapter prior to a big action chapter. It is great to get some feedback part way though the novel's editing.
I was trying to express without preaching, the 'situation' the mixed race children in my novel find themselves in, where everyone in some locations assumes they are going to be thieves.
I have seen it so often from QLD though to WA…you set up a sales display and the first thing you are told is 'don't let the half cast kids come into your shop they are all thieves.'
Well I always did let them in, invited them to handle the best soft toys, was friendly to them…guess what..at the end of the say their mum would be brought in to my set up and it would be my store they bought at.
I think in five years of trading though those areas I was shoplifted from once and had night time break and enters with valuables stolen, once from someone I didn't know and the other from a fellow store holder. So I wanted to tell that experience in my novel somehow, try to put it right for those kids. Yes of course many were making a game stealing from the stores but this was in retaliation, 'you treat me like I'm worthless and I'll show you what I think of you,' behaviour.
Cheers Kathy
_It is the last day of November and NaNoWriMo for us Aussies. My last day is filled morning and afternoon with appointments so it will be tonight before I hit the novel writing for the final time for the national novel writing month.
This morning I read some information about dementia and obesity. If anything at all reminds me to balance physical activity and creative activity it is reading that your mind looks 8 years older if you are overweight and 15 years older if you are obese.
Does sanity return to my home from Dec 1?
No I like crazy too much.
_I hit my chapter near the end of the mid section of the book. This is my big chapter where I handle the inner conflict of my boy hero now turned 13 and how his two uncles who represent the two different cultures he comes from (One third generation white Australian settler family and his Australian Aborigine family) are both pulling him in different ways and demanding he follow a different pathway than the one he has planned for himself. Jarrah wants to be able to please and live within both cultures when he chooses. He also wants to choose to live 'between' the cultures, in a life style and place of his own choosing, with friends of his own choosing, and not having to conform to the one or the other cultural demands.
This chapter is already written...so this is 'just an edit', but I can see I have done what I stove not to do and 'harped.' In my desire to show racism from the viewpoint of the mixed culture individual who is affected by the conflicting laws and demands of different societies I have shown three examples and his reactions in three chains of thought.
All examples 'work'. However I now see that I have 'over hammered my point.'
As a novelist I am here to entertain my reader and not lecture on society's morals. I have to hatchet job this chapter...cut the words to one only example and soliloquies then move on into action quickly.
Once again the words, 'do not insult your reader by assuming they were not intelligent enough to understand in fewer words.'
WOW! Once more I see I have a huge rewrite ahead of me...extra months of work in finishing the final chapters to my satisfaction. Yes I had 'something' I wanted to state about race relations within this novel but it has to come though subtly and by allowing my readers to make up their own minds. No racist would read past the first blurb of my novel anyhow. I have already been told, 'if there are indigenous in it I will not read it.' So 'I am writing a novel here, not preaching how I feel about life,' I remind myself.
I move onward today...knowing what I had hoped would be a few more days of work will be a month and possibly a few months work...but I have learnt a lot more about 'being a novelist.'
_Who is going to join me in NaNoWriMo 2012? or not wait that long, make a start to fiction writing now?
I got a great plot for a novel this morning...shame I can't write it as it is real life and I love all the people involved. lol.
Strongly suggest people who want to tell whoppers and get characters to do their bidding take up novel writing where telling big ones is applauded and gives you heaps of scope for having a creative mind. :-) and I will applaud you all the way.
Do you know...I might just use this plot for NaNoWriMo 2012
_The word count is open to validate your winner status. I thew all my words including reference notes and slush pile of edited out notes ans since the end of the second week I have been revising, editing and rewriting so effectively everything I have writed excluding my blogs went into my huge word count even though the novel itself is sitting at around 120,000 words at the moment the word count is way over the 200k mark as I rewrite and edit until it;s the best I can get it..then I try again. Only when I find I can not make it better...will it be done. I am not there yet.
Gee I will miss NaNOWriMo now it is drawing to a close. Mind you...my body sure needs more exercise.
My fitness exercise today was to think about doing the housework.
To talk on the Michelle Bridges 12WBT forum on facebook
To suggest a super seniors fitness program.
OK...That was a pathetic fitness effort...I agree.
I DID
Walk and do press ups yesterday.
THINK about using my weights.
I sneaked in early to claim my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) Winner status 2 years in a row.
I've averaged 7,500 words a day for November. - still editing/rewriting..heaps to do :-). I will be needing some proof reading help from half a dozen people I know soon for a novel of about 120,000 words.
I hereby faithfully promise that come December 1 I will begin the fitness program I intended to begin in November one.
Yes I know that is pathetic...however...dare I cheekily ask you...have you written the novel you always said you would write? Or it's equivalent and when the fitness person was running a marathon, did they maintain a balanced life on all areas of their life or were they obsessed with one area of life?
Yes my novel is 'THAT' important to me right now. :). I am eating healthy ad happy and caring for my family and the dog likes me :-).
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