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I'd like to write but I have to:

watch Shortland Street. mow the lawn. clean the windows. I'd like to write but I have to:. work. do the taxes. visit my mum. Sleep. F our great motives for writing:. Sheer egoism Aesthetic enthusiasm Historical impulse Political purpose. “ The Act of Writing ”.

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I'd like to write but I have to:

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  1. watch Shortland Street mow the lawn clean the windows I'd like to write but I have to: work do the taxes visit my mum Sleep

  2. Four great motives for writing: • Sheer egoism • Aesthetic enthusiasm • Historical impulse • Political purpose

  3. “The Act of Writing” • Margaret Mahy says ‘I often begin writing by talking my way into it, just as I did when I was a child, I go for solitary walks, muttering to myself…” • I will tell someone my story – check their responses to the plot line, the characters I create as if people who can be known – and watch the interest levels. I tell and re-tell and then I’ll write that story down and leave it to see if it will grow.

  4. So, if I have no time, why should I write? • I like to tell stories • The act of writing is what matters to me most. The finished text can seem a strange object, and the way people react to it can be even stranger. I’m astonished by what people find there - things I had never intended to put in. (Gee) • I write out of necessity • I am trying to document my life in a fictionalised form

  5. “Apart from anything else you want the words you use to be part of a process of discovery, part of the poem’s life, not simply a recording mechanism for an entirely familiar set of observations.” Bill Manhire • file://localhost/Users/admin/Desktop/2012 English conference/Samples of work for application.docx

  6. My journal looks like: • Facebook comments/posts • writings • articles/musings • report comments • job applications • references • poetry • records of things the kids say and do • My blog (and comments on others) • emailsfile://localhost/Users/admin/Desktop/2012 English conference/Letter of Application.docx

  7. Journaling • Owen Marshall: Not only does a journal provide a storehouse of material, and encourage sharp observation and profound reflection, but also it is developing the habit and skills of writing through regular engagement.

  8. Routine? Oh, Yeah. My routine. • I am driven to write a story. • My writing comes at me like a rogue wave. • I give myself deadlines • I make the most of the gaps in between the chaos • I multi-task

  9. Writer-person essentials: • make goals • make time • allow time for the brewing process. • perseverance • a thick skin • writing buddies (groups, a mentor, organisations, course) • tools (lap top, dictionary, thesaurus, reference books)

  10. I myself write blotched attempts at poetry from a starved and strange body. I have not distilled my abstract, perhaps never shall... I believe that what applies to poetry applies to every art. For me, I need to practice poetic five-finger exercises hours a day, until the fingers of my soul ache. • Robin Hyde

  11. I myself write blotched attempts at poetry • You can’t get perfection the first time; all writing needs time to - brew, ferment, develop; • Give yourself permission to write the shitty first draft.

  12. from a starved and strange existence • There is unspoken tension between our ego and our critic. • Read a lot: we need to ‘fill’ ourselves with words and stories if we are to be creative

  13. Where do the stories come from? • My observations on life, events, people – large and small things. • Birthright page • Dreams • Other people’s stories • Asking questions like ‘what if..?’ • A character’s object of desire

  14. I must practise five-finger exercises hours a day until the fingers of my soul ache.

  15. Then there’s your pearl, mellow and gleaming…your subtle fingers will know then how it should be set.” • The technical skills of writing are as important as the ideas (perhaps more important)

  16. You can take the most beautiful diamond in the world, but, if you set it poorly, you will make it look like crap. • On the other hand, you can take a flawed diamond, a dusty sapphire, a milky opal, and, if you set it well, you can make it look amazing.

  17. It is the same with writing.

  18. You can have the best idea in the world, the most interesting character or story, but if you write it badly, it will be a bad story. • On the other hand, you can take a really simple idea and, if you write it well, you can make it stunning.

  19. The editing process • I could go on tinkering with my books forever. When I reread them I’m constantly recognising lost fictional opportunities, ways I could have made someone do something more interesting. (Gee)

  20. Yeah, about the trilogy • I planned it • I researched it • I wrote and re-wrote • I got feedback from my editor • file://localhost/Users/admin/Desktop/2012 English conference/Dear Tania and Josh.docx

  21. file://localhost/Users/admin/Desktop/2012 English conference/Part II synopsis.docx

  22. The writer’s Journey – Christopher Vogler • On Writing – Stephen King • Story – Robert McKee • Mutes & Earthquakes – Bill Manhire • Body Trauma – David Page • Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott • Writing Fiction – Janet Murroway • Write – Sarah Quigley • Juicy Writing – Brigid Lowry

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