2011 Writing Goals and Things

Happy new year to readers of this blog!

These are currently the things going on in my writing-
One of my resolutions was to make a zine- and I have made one! It's called Dancing Barefoot and is quite personal, it talks about friendship and growing up. I will post a link to buy it etc, once I get copies made!

I'm doing writing prompts and journal prompts everyday, or at least trying to. There's a website for each with these with loads of them, so I'm going through them all and hoping I will get some good writing from it or maybe even be inspired to write something else.

I should have another review up on The F Word blog soon- one about an amazing riot grrrl(and boy)! gig I went to in Chelmsford last year.

I haven't started yet but am planning to start my first edit of the novel I wrote in Novel Writing Month soon- I've had feedback from two of my readers- which was quite positive and also will be very helpful in helping me edit it.

I've been in touch with the website The Girls Are about doing live reviews for them. I'm not quite up to their level of talent yet (most of them have degrees in journalism) bur rather than disregard me completely, they offered to help me improve, and see how I am in a bit and go from there. Their editor also said some lovely things about my show and hopefully I'll be doing a podcast/mixtape thing for them soon!

I've been in touch with Wears The Trousers website to write for them. I've sent them a few links, so we'll see what happens!

When I was looking for some links I could send Wears The Trousers to see my writing, I found some pieces I had published on Mookychick a few years ago, and it made me think- where did my music opinion writing mojo go? I need it back!


Here are those old posts:

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/opinion/music_minx/music_controversy.php

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/opinion/music_minx/support_the_support_act

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/opinion/riotgrrl/evolution_of_girl_power.php

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/careers/rock_girl_dj

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Plenty of fish in the sea
Plenty of trees in the forests
Plenty of cows
Plenty of pigs
Plenty of chickens
plenty of animals to go around
Of course they're gonna last
when their dying to fill my plate
of course the trees are gonna last
when we keep chopping them down
The Earth will keep turning
while we choose to keep burning
fuels that cause pollution
what makes you think there's another solution?
I don't have to care
what happens to the bears
I'll be happy on my three piece leather sofa
watching my ninety inch plasma television
after all
there's plenty of fish in the sea

Some published work this week!

I've got printed thanks to two of my favourite music/feminism sites

the first one is a short piece I wrote about the influence of Joan Jett on me, included in a zine made especially for Ladyfest, that's here

and the other is my first review for the amazing website The F Word, it's a book review here

In the Sky

He hid his face amid a crowd of stars
and placed his feet just behind the planet mars
he wished not to see
didn't want to know what was down below
the sky was his refuge
a shelter from the Earth's corruption
here in the solar system there's no disruption
just purity and beauty
no need to escape
just sit and dream
and watch the night float by

first line from the beautiful poem When you are Old by W.B Yeats

Magnetic Poetry Part 2

Don't say that now
you and I lie awake
while she's there
if this has to be the way
I don't wanna see the light
we're phoney
there is nothing in the night
take down your crossfire
it was a long way off
it got out of hand
guess I must just live now
and there's a hurricane of bleakness
baby you got worse
a deaf kiss plays us out

I finally won NaNoWriMo!

Further to my last blog post, I have now finished my novel for national novel writing month! And after six years of trying, I have finally managed to reach 50,000 words after a lot of hard work, dirty tricks etc to get that word count up! I'm pleased with myself that I finally managed to complete it.

Anyway I know quite a few people have said to me that they want to read it or that I should put it online. Well I'm not going to publish it online (at least not yet).
What I want is to get three volunteer readers to read this first draft- but don't get excited just yet- this means reading the novel without any editing, so with possible spelling mistakes, errors, and all the dirty tricks I used to boost the word count- like not using any contractions and turning words like whatever into two words- what ever.

I want those people to give me honest positive and negative feedback about what they liked and didn't like about the story so that in January (in theory) I can start editing it and improving it, and I'll keep improving it until I think it's good enough, and then I'm hoping to attempt to get it published- but it needs a lot of work first!

so the first three people to comment on this blog, or respond when I put this link on twitter and facebook, can be the volunteer readers and help me make this labour of love into something publishable!

November!

Hello readers,

Sorry I haven't been updating too much recently, this month I am taking part in NaNoWriMo! it's actually my sixth year in a row, but I've never managed to get anywhere near the 50,000 words. This year I have been doing really well with my word count despite not knowing what my plot was going to be, and I'm still not exactly sure. I thought it was a sci fi novel to begin with but now it seems it's actually a fantasy novel, and is getting more and more complicated and ridiculous by the minute! I am finding listening to shouty riot grrrl music very helpful to my creativity as well as following @NaNoWordSprints very helpful.

the funny thing is that since I've started this year, I have started to feel inspired to write other things too (and inspired to actually do some other things too) but I have to focus on this for now!

I'm off to write my novel!