Mywrite

2011-07-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia.It pays to read the instructions. Why do so many of us feel it is unnecessary to read instructions and assume they are written for everyone else but never for us? We especially do it with electronic gadgets. When we purchased our new television recently, the instruction book lay unopened in its plastic wrapping for about three days while we fiddled about

2011-07-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia --Bookshops.Dear Del, I do love bookshops.From the moment I step over the threshold I find myself in another world as I riffle through small books with quirky titles, large tomes that may be handy after I’ve read them for holding the back door open, drool over gardening books and ignore cookery books because I know I just can’t fit another on my kitchen

Ash???

2011-06-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia .... Ash Dear Del,The word on many people lips this week has been ash. Not a very interesting topic one would think but it has buzzed about offices, homes and various forms of media all over the country.The problem has been the ash from a volcano in South America which is spewing out massive clouds of the stuff that has gradually made its way around the

Burke

2011-06-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia.Dear Del,As you probably know when someone refers to you as a ‘Burke’ they are telling you that you are an idiot.J. O’Hara Burke was an Australian explorer of the worst type. He knew nothing about the Australian bush, didn’t take anyone with him on his expedition who did, but still felt he had the ability to cross the unexplored and unknown continent from

2011-05-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

A Letter From The Other Side, (Mates) 2011, No 7 Mates. Someone seeing the two chairs on our back veranda may have assumed that I had been sorting clothing ready for the recycling depot. As they approached they would have heard voices coming from each scruffy pile. The voices were those of Teddy and his Irish friend Hughie returned from a morning’s fishing, or at least dangling their lines in

2011-04-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia. 2011, No 6.Dear Del,It is hard to imagine how you must be feeling. To sit in the dark, with a barrier of surgical dressings between you and the world, your books, electronic media and the radio work which has been your life. The isolation must be shaking your foundations to the core.I know you are not able to read this letter but I hope some kind

2011-04-06T23:36:00.001-07:00

Visitors And Fish By Elizabeth M Thompson The tourists, with the exception of a few wandering elderly citizens and grey nomads, had mostly left the village. The inhabitants could once again find parking where they wished, jay walk across the empty streets and saunter the isles of the shops. Even stopping for a chat here and there along the paths became possible once more without fear of

King Parrots Feast on the Chinese Pistachio

2011-03-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

2011-03-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia 2011 No 4Dear Del,You will remember that Teddy has been making an Inuit canoe.He has kept it as close as he could to the original design. No screws, just wood, string and instead of animal hide, he used an old canvas painting drop-sheet bought in 1976 which like many things in his shed was kept because it might come in handy one day. Well with the advent

2011-02-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia 2011 No3.Dear Del,After all the rain and humidity Teddy has just finished following the lawnmower around once more. No self respecting groundsman would ever call the assortment of clover, grasses and various unspecified weeds we have a lawn but when they are all cut to the same height they can masquerade as a lawn for a few days. This summer we have had

2011-02-13T03:18:00.000-08:00

A New Year. A New Adventure,Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia No 1 2011Dear Del,To begin my first letter of 2011 after such a tumultuous start to our country’s year is difficult. Where does one begin? Should it start with the torrential tropical rains and humidity which reached thousands of kilometres to the south bringing enormous butterflies and a few birds we rarely see? Then

A New Year. 2011

2011-02-13T03:14:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia No 2 2011.Dear Del,I think if this time last year anyone had expressed the opinion that they were tired of constant rain, someone would have grabbed them in a headlock and dragged them to a suitable place to be lynched. These aggressive actions would have perhaps attracted a cheering crowd to watch the unfortunate person’s discomfort.I would have been

2010-12-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side.It is possible to become an unexpected expense for your friends when you are a writer.Dear Del,As you know I have my stories read on a few radio stations as well as your own. It has unexpected results which until I received a telephone call from a friend last week I have never dreamt would be possible.The phone bleeped for attention and as soon as I answered it her

The Titanic

2010-11-06T02:50:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from CynthiaDear Del, Have I told you Teddy is making a canoe?I think it is an Inuit canoe design. Of course to be genuine it should be covered with seal skin or some type of animal skin but as Teddy is loath to skin anything roaming our hills and I would definitely do the same to him if he attempted it, he is using canvas which has been made waterproof by some sort

Spring and the Dogwoods Flower.

2010-10-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

2010-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia Dear Del, There was something I saw this week but I’m not sure what it was.Perhaps an explanation is in order here.We have a big new supermarket in our village. It was not welcomed by many of the

2010-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from CynthiaDear Del,Trying to do a kind deed can lead one into all sorts of difficulties Teddy discovered this week.I think I have said previously that he is quite deaf. Well, to be really honest he is very deaf and it results in some most peculiar conversations in our house at times that can then accelerate into robust debates and a state of huffiness on one side or

2010-10-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia.Dear Del,The late afternoon sun is shining through the windows showing up all the dust that has settled on the wooden furniture, television screen and knick- knacks in the family room.Aunt Alice and Uncle Rodger have just left following their first visit to us since we arrived. Despite the fact they now live in a retirement village where neither of them

Crimson Rosella

2010-09-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

2010-09-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

I'm Here Again!Letter From The Other Side from CynthiaDear Del,We left the day the heavens opened. The road ran small rivers across it and the spray and splashing from the passing vehicles on the highway made for a difficult drive. There were patches of fog, sleet and fierce winds when we crossed the Great Dividing Range. After months of packing it seemed a fitting and dramatic finale to a very

2010-07-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,There will be a short break while we move house but letters from Cynthia will continue as soon as possible.As you can read in the header, these letters are printed by openwriting.com, kiwiboomers.com and are broadcast over 3RPP radio on the Mornington Peninsula. Some of my shorter stories are broadcast by 4RPH Queensland and Vision Australia Victoria. My self sustainable articles go

2010-07-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia. Dear Del, How did a couple of young things who started their lives in a tiny flat with two chairs, a table, a second hand couch and bedroom furniture end up forty six years later with so much stuff? After packing for weeks and spreading large items of furniture, such as our piano, an old Indian overmantel from my grandparent’s home, coffee tables

2010-07-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Letter From The other Side from Cynthia Dear Del, We are well along with our packing. I think if Teddy stood still too long contemplating some knotty problem his mind is working on, I would have him wrapped in bubble wrap very quickly. The house is gradually being placed in boxes which in turn are filling up the spare rooms that used to be Teddy’s studio and our spare bedroom. Most of

2010-06-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia Dear Del, We unwittingly caused some consternation to our neighbours by not sharing the information we were to go on holidays and also, that we were thinking of selling our house. While we were innocently lounging about in the high country autumn sun a group of estate agents, all dressed in their dark business suits, arrived en-masse to asses our

2010-06-10T04:20:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; from Cynthia. Dear Del, We have ceased being sensible. As I said in my last letter we were heading off on holiday. We spent two weeks in the North East amongst our beloved hills and have decided to move back despite the problems the distances bring and the vagaries of the supply of some amenities that suburban people take for granted. As we drove

2010-05-06T03:54:00.000-07:00

Letter Fron The Other Side; From Cynthia.Medical Matters.Dear Del,My mind has been involved with medical matters these past few weeks. I suspect this will be so for some time and much of it you will not wish to know about. However I have found no matter what gruesome procedure is being contemplated by doctors, surgeons and the unfortunate patient, somehow humour even of the darkest kind is sure

2010-04-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side, from CynthiaPOLITICIANS WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?Dear Del, Have you ever asked yourself where politicians come from? There seems to be a pandemic of elections in the offing around the world at present and we are not immune. We have the misfortune of expecting a state election and a federal election soon giving us all very little time to catch our

2010-04-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side, from Cynthia.Dear Del. In a bid to save the small amount of sanity we have left, Teddy and I are going to have a few days away next week. Our last two attempts at a break away were dismal failures. During the first one Teddy caught the flu’ and coughed and sneezed his way to a Guinness Book Of Records title in four days his nose becoming ever

Cynthia On Neighbours.

2010-03-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia.Dear Del,How have you fared in the great lottery of neighbours?Everyone I know seems to have at least one they would delight in seeing a ‘For Sale’ notice adorning their front yard.One acquaintance of ours has a neighbour living opposite who seems to have developed a fixation about her small innocent dog which lives mainly indoors and is asleep by 8p.m. and

2010-03-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia.Baby Boomers Take Blame Again.Dear Del, This letter to you is not the only one I have written this week. Usually when politicians are making observations and pronouncements I try to stay calm but not this week. This week we were told our country will have to work harder and people will now be required to delay their retirements

2010-02-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia.Dear Del, The New Year has swept us along in vacation mode. The tourists and holiday makers arrived sporting their best tourist and holiday clothing. This naturally sets them apart and makes them immediately recognizable to the local residents. The shorts, the constant flapping sandals, the bikinis covered with gauzy little wispy shirts, the

In rememberance of 7th Frb' twelve months ago, the many who died, the 2000 homes lost and the domestic and wildlife animals gone forever.

2010-02-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

2010-02-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

Cynthia will return soon.

2010-02-06T17:38:00.001-08:00

Cynthia will return soon. She is amusing herself watching birds and trying to relax before 2010 catches her up in another whirlwind of activity.HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

The Pelicans and I have been enjoying quiet evenings.

2010-02-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

2009-12-22T01:08:00.000-08:00

2009-12-22T01:03:00.000-08:00

I would like to wish my readers a very happy festive season.This may be difficult for some who are alone or stuck in or on the wrong side of the English Channel or perhaps have to endure relatives you secretly despise.As far as is possible may you enjoy love, laughter, friendships and the courage to go forth into 2010 with brave hearts and optimism and remember chocolate is bad for your dog no

2009-12-22T00:50:00.000-08:00

This is a poem written by a lady from North East Victoria.I love it. It sums up the time of year rather well.The Twelve Days of Christmas.On the first day of Christmas my true love said to me‘I’ve bought a big fresh turkey and a proper Christmas tree’On the second day of Christmas much laughter could be hearAs we tucked in to our turkey, a most delicious bird.On the third day of Christmas came

2009-12-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia Dear Del, The sounds of the ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ tinkling about, ‘Silent Night’ and painful to the ear renditions of ‘I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas’ issuing out of the shops, plus the aroma of summer mangoes, peaches, tomatoes and strawberries filling the air means it must be Christmas. If we include cherries glistening in their boxes, flanked by

2009-12-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia. Dear Del, We have begun the downhill run to Christmas. I can feel the pace of social obligations speeding up and the need to find my Christmas card list from last year etc. This year’s cards from the Lost Dogs Home are lovely as are the ones we buy from the Moon Bear rescue association so I have no excuse but to make myself

2009-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side from CynthiaDear Del,I suppose you have been wondering why there hasn’t been any letters land into your mail box for the last week or so. It isn’t because I haven’t been trying to write to you it is the fault of my temperamental office equipment. We bought a new computer and our printer which has always been inclined to sniff at any changes made to its

2009-11-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side by Cynthia. Dear Del, The last letter I wrote about the Melbourne Cup reminded me of other race meetings Teddy and I have attended. Usually they have been country meetings, all very informal and relaxed affairs. However when we visited Teddy’s parents in England for the first time in 1977 we decided to attend the Derby Day races at Epsom. I wanted to have a day

2009-11-03T02:39:00.000-08:00

Letter From The Other Side, from Cynthia.The Melbourne Cup. Dear Del, The football finals are finished thank goodness. Our team won the premiership but of course that won’t stop the Melbourne news reporters from referring to our town as Sleepy Hollow which is wearing a little thin with many of us.Now of course we are into spring and all the beautiful people emerge from their

2009-10-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side From Cynthia. Part 2.Written by Elizabeth. M. ThompsonDear Del,Last time I wrote I told you of the day Aunt Alice and Uncle Rodger managed to be the catalysts for a dreadful outing with Monica and Tony.I finished that letter just as Rodney their cousin had arrived in his tractor and pulled Tony’s brand new car out of the washed away crossing over a creek.Monica, soaked

Letter From The Other Side by Cynthia Part 3

2009-10-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Del,You will remember I finished my last letter at the stage when Monica and Tony had left the farm after a disastrous day during which their car ended up in a creek. Aunt Alice had been seeing ants if upset, and Tony was ready to wring her neck.They were driving in a small hired vehicle.About three quarters of an hour later, the four travellers grunted and groaned as they tried to

The Barwon River Geelong.

2009-09-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is near the walking and cycling track Teddy uses to 'get away from it all.'

Letter From The Other Side No 23 Part 1

2009-09-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side by Cynthia.. No 23 Part 1Written by Elizabeth M. ThompsonDear Del,I haven’t been well for a number of days. This meant I have been unable to see Aunt Alice and Uncle Rodger.Monica being the good girl she is suggested to Tony they take the two old folk out for a drive. Tony had only just bought a new car and was happy to oblige as he had been looking for an excuse to

2009-09-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

A Childhood Memory. Printed in the newsletter of my local writing group.I thought I would include it in my blog. to illustrate that I can be serious.A Childhood Memory. The year is 1950.The place is Nuku’alofa the capital of the small Pacific Island Kingdom of Tonga.I am standing on the pier watching my mother swinging high into the air as the large rope cargo net lifts her while she

2009-09-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side by Cynthia. Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, Well Spring has arrived hasn’t she? I always think of spring here in the southern part of the country as being like a very spoilt young woman.I think she has been praised far too much in songs and verse in the northern hemisphere and arrives down here full of flouncing blossoms and waving bulbs and when

2009-09-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side; by Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, Teddy remarked one evening last week ‘It seems to be always rubbish bin night’ and by the way the days fly by I had to agree with him. We’ve all heard of the disasters when people have inadvertently thrown away money or precious items. One of our friends threw away an old cardboard box he thought

2009-08-31T04:30:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del,Do you like scones? I know that is rather a strange question but our neighbour who spends a lot of his time propping up our front gate while enjoying ‘blokey’ talk with Teddy is a very good scone maker.He will sometimes come across and give us half a dozen of his light fluffy creations and I swap them for a jar of

2009-08-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side by Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, It was necessary for me to go to Melbourne this week. I haven’t driven a car in Melbourne for years. The last time I did, I became lost, turned right in front of a tram and went up a one way street. Monica who was with me said she would never, ever travel with me in the city again. I couldn’t really blame her.

2009-08-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Writing Groups.Putting Cynthia and her stumbling progress through life aside for a moment, I want to ask you if you belong to a writing group?Is it a group you make time to attend or is it a group you just pay membership dues to each year thinking you will take part, one day soon?What do you hope to receive from this group and what do you intend to give in return?Lots of questions we should ask

No this isn't frost or snow, it is hailstones.They didn't melt in the thick areas for three days.

2009-08-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

2009-08-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

LetterFrom The Other Side, by Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth.M.ThompsonDear Del, When did the revolution begin? I must have been gardening or otherwise engaged when this upheaval began. Teddy and I were forced to go to the centre of the city last week on some business. It is where the large department stores and shopping malls spread their web shaped traps to catch the unwary

2009-08-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side. by Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del,This week we thought it was time we took Aunt Alice and Uncle Rodger out. During the past few cold weeks they had spent far too much time slow roasting themselves in their small rooms. Many people in the community have the flu so we thought a good dose of fresh air was needed to put come colour in their faces.They

2009-07-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side from Cynthia.Written by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.A trip on the ‘Yvonne Jay’. Dear Del, What stamina you display to be able to baby-sit on one day, drive all the way to Bendigo and back again the next and to still arrive in your studio early and sound fresh and ready to face your listening public. After such a busy weekend I would be feeling tired and

2009-07-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side.Written By Elizabeth. M.Thompson.'Strewth' The bed is kapute.Dear Del,We have finished our short stint of helping our friends Sue and Ned with their holiday units.While it was great fun at times I’d forgotten it is also very hard work. Some muscles I haven’t used for quite a while are still complaining.As I said in my previous letter I will tell you about some people

2009-06-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Letters From The Other Side from Cynthia.Cynthia’s week of mistakes and the results of other peoples sins of omission.Dear Del, It was very enjoyable to hear your interesting friend’s equally fascinating story last week.Teddy and I have been helping our friends Sue and Ned with a few maintenance jobs in the holiday units they own in a little village along the coast a few miles from

Peeping Tom at the kitchen window.

2009-06-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

Peeping Tom visiting the apple tree.

2009-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

2009-06-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side by CynthiaWritten By Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, It feels as if winter has arrived. The heaters are going and the logs in the fireplace are spitting sparks as the westerly gales puff smoke down our badly designed chimney. I think we shall be putting in one of those fitted fireplaces that are sealed during next summer to protect our sinuses which

2009-06-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Letters From The Other Side form CynthiaWritten by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, What a very windy week. I hope you haven’t experienced any damage around your home and you have succeeded in remaining flu free so far this winter. I had cause to go to the doctor today, well of course I did no one in their right mind will go to the doctor without a cause would they? I only

2009-06-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side. From CynthiaWritten by Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Cynthia Discovers Philosophy Isn't Her Thing.Dear Del, What a very exciting time you had last week on your radio programme. You certainly have some unexpected occurrences. I quite envy the variety it brings to your life.As I told you, a friend asked me to join the U3A Philosophy class. A range of emotions passed

Walter At Rest In The Sun and Kate In Elegant Pose

2009-06-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

2009-06-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side, from Cynthia written byElizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del, Here we are back in suburbia. No more vast undulating horizons beneath the vivid blue domed skies of the Mallee, just the motley assortment of roofs and a barren forest of spindly television aerials we can see from our windows.We called in to see Aunt Alice and Uncle Rodger to find all was not happy in

2009-06-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

Letters From The Other Side. From Cynthia.Written by, Elizabeth .M. Thompson.Teddy and Jim confront a few stinging problems.Dear Del, The Pepper Tree I’m sitting beneath was growing here when we owned this land back in the 1970’s. The boys used to play in its branches and shade pretending to be various heroes, making up games or jumping on the entrances of the Bull-ants nests to see how

2009-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side. From Cynthia written byElizabeth. M. Thompson.Cynthia and Teddy take a trip to the Mallee country to visit old friends.Dear Del,It really isn’t any wonder they call the Mallee the ‘sunset country’. I am sitting here on Margaret’s veranda watching the fading light. The tenacious mallee scrub is silhouetted against the brilliant glow of the last crescent of sun as it

2009-05-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

Letter From The Other Side. By Cynthia.Cynthia absorbs some culture and Uncle Rodger becomes an 'under cover cop.'Dear Del, How are you? I believe you had a very special birthday to celebrate, I do hope it all went very well. It has been a time of birthdays for our family also. It’s strange but noticeable how many families have clusters of birthdays around the same time of

2009-04-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

For answers to your writing questions go here;

2009-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

LETTER FROM THE OTHER SIDE from CYNTHIAWritten by. Elizabeth. M. Thompson.Dear Del,Teddy and I were very pleased to read your news and know of all the happenings on your side of the bay.The weather bureau promised us some rain so I did the right thing and went out into the garden to throw some pulverised cow manure all over the roses and vegetables hoping it would be washed into the soil. Of

2009-04-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

THE PINK LADIES. a selected story from a collecton of work in progress from 'Tales From Colonial Australia.' Claude had been waiting for this evening with overwhelming anticipation and excitement. He looked around the family parlour with delight and pride. Mum and Becky, his sister, had swept, dusted, polished, pulled up rugs and beaten them on the sagging clothesline in

2009-04-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

Preparing For Our Vintage Years.Ah yes, the hand of time and years of work have made an impression on my back,…… knees,…. shoulders….. etc, etc. No longer am I the spritely young thing who worked from dawn till dusk without thought of aching muscles and tired limbs. Things have altered, I didn’t do it on purpose and I didn’t mean it to happen but, I have aged!There is a story my mother –in-law

An Ability Garden.

2009-04-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

This Article Was Printed in Grass Roots MagazineNo 181 In 2007.An ‘Ability Garden’ For Those With Disabilities.Many of us suffer from a disability personally, or someone close to us suffers from one. However, many of us also want to live the Grass Roots life style despite the obvious challenges it will bring.Perhaps the disability is physical, emotional, auditory, visual or a combination of them.

LETTER FROM THE OTHER SIDE. APRIL

2009-04-05T16:58:00.001-07:00

Dear Del,It was so nice to receive your last letter with all its news.We have had a few things happen over here also and one of the positives is thatTeddy tells me he is making stirling engines.I have no idea what these things are by the way, except he is making them from used and washed out cat food tins and various other bits he rescues from the recycle bin. These engines don’t appear to be of

Podcasts of short stories

2009-03-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

2009-03-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

The Next Project.I have been asked to write a series of letters to be broadcast on radio in a by-monthly slot. Pure fiction of course but the natural need for material will no doubt come from life as it swirls around me and mine.This is exciting and rather daunting as the deadlines seem to loom up quickly. However I shall post them here and hope anyone reading them will enjoy the content.Letters

2008-08-06T23:41:00.001-07:00

Mental,Physical,Emotional,Health and Safety Rules For Writers.Some of the rules most writers need reminding about and many which we, in our headlong rush to get something down on paper, forget.Always have a well lit space in which to work. As the years go by your eyes will thank you.Try and have a particular place in which to write that is yours and will remain in the same state in which you left

2007-08-13T21:21:00.001-07:00

Q. I is keeping a journal really worth while when I have tonnes of ideas and stories stored in my head?A. Keeping a journal, exercise book of notes, rough jotting book, or a hundred small notes pinned on a board, is very much an individual choice. I can only say that in my own experience keeping a small note book of ideas, descriptions of places, people, faces, clothing, unusual housing …well

2007-06-07T16:30:00.001-07:00

F.A Q. I Want to be published is it important to enter competitions?A. Most writers write hoping one day to see their work published. Some will not need to enter competitions, but they are the lucky few who somehow slip through to an editor because of their previous work in other fields or specialist knowledge about a particular subject.The rest of us pounding away in our writing nooks need to

2007-05-14T19:00:00.001-07:00

This piece shows how an idea for a spin-off story can be used once more in a difference way. The poem entitled ‘ The Bridge’ printed below. The competition the prose is written for required a mention of a bridge, so I borrowed my own work. I hope you all enjoy reading it. THE BRIDGE.The sprinklers cast rainbows of water across the grass as I sat

2007-05-14T18:58:00.001-07:00

FQ. Q. I want to be published so is it important to enter competitions?A. Most writers write hoping one day to see their work published. Some will not need to enter competitions, but they are the lucky few who somehow slip through to an editor because of their previous work in other fields or specialist knowledge about a particular subject.The rest of us pounding away in our writing nooks

2007-04-06T19:14:00.001-07:00

Best Friends.The atmosphere in the small kitchen was melancholy. How else could it beafter the death of Sandra's husband? A blackbird happily practicing his early spring song in the garden sounded incongruous in the heavy silence.Suddenly Sandra spoke exasperatedly. "You know he made me feel unloved foryears? He always made me feel so unfeminine, even when we were young!"Her loud voice shattered

2007-03-29T21:24:00.001-07:00

The Bridge.Soft, pink hand clasps dry and worn.Sweet treble voice blends with low and calm.Small feet dance round walking brogues.Sun rains down through Oak leaves rustling.Gravel scrunches, sprinklers tap, tap.Whispering water across grass.One squeals, the other laughs. One spins, the other claps.One falls, the other cries out, feeling her pain.So close the connection.In the dancing shade, I am

2007-03-29T21:15:00.001-07:00

I am writing a list of F.A.Q and their answers at the moment for the Geelong Writers magazine ‘Geelong Ink’.As each section is completed I shall post them on this blog site.Some of the writers I help and mentor may find them useful for future reference.Anyone wanting to reproduce them elsewhere please remember that I retain copyright on all printed matter unless stated otherwise.Frequently Asked