It's time for Writers' Week again!

We are very lucky in Adelaide to have a wonderful Writers' Week around early March every year and it's all free.

Today was the first day and what a great day it was. We were blessed with absolutely beautiful weather too. As always the stages looked fabulous. The backings are made of seedlings grown by Trees for Life.

I was there for almost the whole day. I arrived just after the first sessions began at 9:30am and there were already many people there. I left just before the final session at 5pm. I heard so many great writers and those facilitating the sessions.

I think the crowd for Magda Szubanski's session was the biggest I've ever seen at Writers' Week. Many people were standing at the back. Other writers' I heard today were Etgar Keret, Fiona McFarlane and Jim Shepard, Drusilla Modjeska, Beth Yahp, Jesse Ball, Anna Smaill, Laura Van Den Berg, Lisa Genova, Laura Thompson and Robert Wainwright. High on my list of new books to buy are Fiona McFarlanes book of short stories, The High Places and Lisa Genova's, Inside the O'Briens.

I'm planning to go back tomorrow, at least for the late afternoon sessions. I'm excited that I should be able to make the poetry reading on Monday afternoon. I need to wait and see how my week pans out to see whether I can make it to any more sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I was enjoying the day so much that I didn't take many photos. I did get one of a new addition this year - a display of author portraits.

My six words for Six Word Saturday -

It's time for Writers' Week again!

5 poems in 5 days - Day 4

I was excited and honoured to win first prize in the poetry section of the Positive Words Short Story and Poetry competition 2014 for my poem, Mosaic opportunity. 

Mosaic opportunity 

I chose 

from dusty shelves saucers without cups 

a lone salt shaker 

teapots missing lids 

wobbly stacks of plates 

each piece unique 

leftovers 

My heart, my mind 

I search through the rubble 

Smooth and shiny 

or dull and dappled 

beetroot reds and sunshine yellows 

the sparkle of a golden rim 

I imagine 

the breaking of the old 

to form something new 

The chosen will soon hold 

just a trace of its former purpose 

I watch as she wraps 

newspaper around my purchase 

layer after layer 

I almost tell her not to do her job 

that the breakage she aims to prevent 

is no concern 

I am not buying a plate 

or a saucer 

or a teapot missing a lid 

but the possibility of what could be

5 poems in 5 days - Day 3

Today's poem began with a mis-write in my journal. Cope instead of hope.

Tiny glimmers of cope

At times your mood may feel so dark 
As if there is no hope 
Until you catch the light, some sparks 
Tiny glimmers of cope 

The sparkles settle on your skin 
To seep into your week 
A quiet birth of hope within 
Is it really all so bleak?

5 poems in 5 days - Day 2

Today's poem is a reminiscence on fun had at Moana caravan park where I spent a few school holidays. This poem was published last year in the anthology my poetry group put out, Ochre - an anthology by Ochre Coast Poets. 

Playground, present 

Holiday lessons in physics 
where to sit on the wooden plank
to compensate for variations in weight 
keep it even and fair 
up and down 
to and fro 

The children from neighbouring vans 
met earlier in the day 
become playmates 
our limbs coated with sunscreen goo 
faces with smiles 
sand between toes 
a summer uniform of bathers 
under shorts and t-shirts 
sandals discarded at the gate 
we salt the air with laughter 
nervous giggles and gasps 
as we take turns 
to bounce off half tyres 

With new friends called to caravans 
learning continues 
how to keep the plank 
parallel to the ground 
my body a letter x 
toes curled, tense 
a shifting of weight 
from side to side 

To balance in the now 
was easier then

This week is Adelaide Writers' Week

This week is Adelaide Writers' Week 

Yay! Adelaide Writers' Week began today. I haven't been yet but have already enjoyed listening to a couple of sessions thanks to the LIVE broadcast through ABC radio. The first 3 days can be listened to via online streaming. You can see the program and details of how to listen here. Today I listened to a great session - "The Art of Biography with Selina Hastings and David Marr". A fascinating discussion about writing biography - what to put in, what to leave out, the use of private letters including letters which the author had asked to be destroyed, what can be written when the person being written about is still alive and how much the writer can be in the story (their values, beliefs etc). Very thought provoking! 

Tomorrow is Kids day. As well as the usual East and West stage there will be lots of activities for children. My children are too old for those type of events now (Brianna is right at the upper end of the age range probably) but I'm looking forward to seeing what goes on. It's the first time there has been a day dedicated to young readers. Plus, you're never too old to enjoy good children's books! 

I would love to go every day but unfortunately I can't. I hope to stay for quite a while tomorrow and then go again on Wednesday. Looking forward to a session about Unhappy Families with Fiona McGregor and Favel Parrett and a session "Dream a little dream: On getting published" amongst others. 

I've been looking forward to this week since the last Writers' Week two years ago. Every time I've been has been very inspiring and has resulted in me finding out about some fabulous books. I'm confident this year will be no different. And more good news - it won't be such a long wait until the next one as it is to be an annual event now! 

Time to rest - writing can wait

Time to rest - writing can wait 

Unexpectedly, I find myself alone on this Saturday night. Yay! Both of my daughters are at sleepovers. When I found out I would get some time to myself my first thoughts were along the lines of 'I can get stuck into all the writing I plan to do'. I have quite a few plans swirling around in my head at the moment. "The week of inward looking" had some fantastic prompts which I have written quite a lot in response to and would love to polish up and post here. There's a creative non-fiction competition I discovered recently and would love to enter. I also discovered "A year with myself" this week and there are fantastic prompts there too. So many plans! I do grab time to write quite often but thought a solid block without interruption would be great. But then I got home and I'm really tired. It's been a long time since I have been alone in the house. So I changed my plans and am going to relax and get a good nights sleep. Maybe I will find some time to write in the morning? Just not tonight. (Except maybe a few scribbled words in my journal...) 

Oh, and one more thing before I go and sit on the couch for a while. I attended the online launch for Patti Digh's new website 37days yesterday. A fabulous way to spend 75 minutes! I'll tell you more about it later! In the meantime, I highly recommend taking a look at the website! www.37days.com 

...and when I've finished resting I'll tell you about how I have decided to participate in The Sketchbook Challenge and how it's going. 

Happy Six Word Saturday everyone! 

Six Word Saturday - December 17th, 2011

I am going to walk more. 

I'm getting in a little early with a new year's resolution. Actually I'm not much of a resolution maker, preferring instead to set a theme for my year. Recently, I have been doing a bit of thinking about next year's possible theme. More of that, though, in a later post. When thinking of what my six words would be today I was thinking something like, 'I plan to do more walking' but then thought more definite would be better. It's not hard really and doesn't have to involve huge changes. Even a short walk around the block or parking the car a bit further away at the shops. I have been motivated this week to also include longer walks into my life. 

On Tuesday morning a friend asked if I would like to walk to the beach where her daughter was doing aquatics. I offered a lift but she said she felt like a big walk. Well, I was a bit reluctant. It really was a big walk. We did it and I was TIRED afterwards. I felt quite unfit, as well as rather uncoordinated when part of the 'walk' involved me on hands and knees climbing over rocks. My friend walked over the same rocks with a dog, her bag and my bag too. Despite being very tired (and sore the next day) I felt quite good and motivated to include more walking in my life. Plus, I live a good walking distance from the beach. It takes around half an hour to get there. I can combine walking with taking photos and maybe even some writing. I have a favourite place to write near the sea. 

Here is one of the many great views during our walk on Tuesday. Another great reason to walk more! 

Deja Vu - Courage

While strolling around the internet a short while ago, I came across this great idea. A blogfest where people repost a post from the past. Click on the badge for more information. I decided to have a look at some of my early posts and came across this one on courage. It's a good time now for some courage I think so I decided to participate and repost this one which I originally posted on July 28th, 2010. As relevant now as it was then! It's late now and I'm rather tired. I look forward to visiting other Deja Vu posts tomorrow!

Courage

With some rather big changes happening in my life at the moment I have decided to gift myself some courage.

The courage to really live.

The courage to be myself.

The courage to enjoy life.

The courage to slow down.

The courage to speak my mind.

The courage to be seen.

The courage to let others know me.

The courage to worry less.

The courage to hope.

I wrote these words as part of a writing exercise at a group I attended in April, 2006. 
In May 2009 at a different group I decorated the handbag. These words seem particularly useful for me to remember at the moment. I recognise the huge amounts of courage I have required and used in the past and can continue to draw upon as I undertake new challenges.

Six Word Saturday - November 19th, 2011

Looking forward to the January River! 

• pausing a little each day to really notice something
• playing with words
• writing at least a little every day
• sharing your writing with others 
• reading other people's observations of their own small moments
• being more aware of and feeling more connected to your own world

Do these things sound good to you? If so, you may be interested in joining the January River of Stones, hosted by Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita.  

"A small stone is a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment." - Fiona Robyn 

This year in January many people paused to notice small moments and write 'small stones'. I found out about the project in December last year and decided to give it a try. I made a commitment to myself to write a 'small stone' each day in January. I ended up doing that and then decided to continue. I have written a short observation about a moment in my day every day this year (well, except 2). Mostly it's been lots of fun. Many times I have formulated a 'small stone' in my head when I've seen something and then gone to the computer to post it. There have been days when I haven't been able to think of anything to write and have opened up a new post and sat staring at the blank space for a while. Some days I have really enjoyed playing with words to capture my small moment and express it just how I want to. Some of my small stones have provided inspiration for longer pieces of writing. I really recommend joining in. I will be. Click on the badge below for further information. 

Six Word Saturday - October 8th, 2011

Poetry, comedy, photography - I'm having fun!

Earlier today I went to a poetry group which meets once a month. I read one of my poems and it was then workshopped and I received lots of great suggestions. Each person has the chance to do the same. It can be very challenging to receive feedback on my poetry but I usually leave feeling very inspired and motivated. Today was no exception. I now have lots to think about and rewriting to do! I am very grateful for this group and feel my poetry has improved a lot since I have joined this group. I am looking forward to next months meeting already. 

Another thing I am looking forward to is a comedy show tonight. My eldest daughter and I are going to see "Lawrence Leung wants a jetpack". I recommend taking a look at his website - very funny! I am sure it's going to be an evening of laughing. Afterwards I think we'll have some late night pancakes at the Pancake Kitchen. Another funny website! I loved that place when I was fifteen. It is great to be able to share some of what I used to do as a fifteen year old with my daughter now. 


Lately I am also enjoying experimenting with images. I am participating in Bindu Wiles' The Photo Essay Project. The internet really has opened up a lot of opportunities for a lot of people! The Photo Essay Project is all about taking photos using an iphone and combining them with words to tell whatever story it is that you wish to well. I'm still working on exactly what that story is but in the meantime am having a lot of fun playing with different applications on my phone. I've set up a tumblr blog for my experimentations. You're very welcome to take a look and follow me. 
The address - www.kylie-joy.tumblr.com. Here's a sneak preview of what you will find there: 

Happy Six Word Saturday everyone! 

Six Word Saturday - July 2nd, 2011

A day to stay inside today. 

I could hear the rain when I woke up this morning and it has been reasonably steady all day. That is a change. The weather for the past few days has been quite glorious. It has been hard to believe that it is winter here. I have had conversations with friends about whether it is autumn hanging on or spring coming early. We decided it felt more like spring. Today, though, it is clearly winter! 

The July river of stones has begun. Click on the badge for more information about this fun challenge. I wrote my small stone for today as I looked out my lounge room window. 

The road is dark with water

The lavender shivers 

A Saturday to stay inside 

To read more of my small stones visit my other blog, Pausing to pick up small stones, and let me know if you decide to join in too. Part of the fun is reading other people's small stones!