Mud, Bikes And Ideas.

This one is a day late. But that's because I spent the weekend at the Moto GP down on Phillip Island.

Not that I'm into bikes, or even motor sports, but a friend of mine is and invited me along. I figured I'm right here in Melbourne, with a world class event right on my doorstep, and the perfect opportunity to go along to something I would never usually buy a ticket for.

I'll never be 'into' motorsports or motorbikes (although I have a motorbike licence) but I must say I had a fabulous couple of days.

The practice runs on Friday were a complete washout. We trudged through mud, and lots of it. And the bikes didn't come out until several hours after they were meant to. So they did their runs on a wet track while I stood ankle deep in mud and watched.

Saturday was better, with clearer skies and little rain. The time trials went smoothly, and Casey Stoner took pole position. And, of course, the actual races were fantastic to watch.

But most importantly, I got a couple of ideas for stories. Now all I need is the time to get them written between rewrites.

Renovating And Reconstructing.

Spring has finally arrived in all its glory. What a beautiful weekend. Which means that for the first time in many months, I had no excuse not to finally tackle those jobs around the house that I've been able to postpone for so long.

A couple of mates came over and we built gates so my dogs can no longer escape. Not that they ever do, but now there's added assurance. I removed an old heating system and replaced the flooring where it once sat. (The room is now so much bigger!) And there were a number of smaller jobs in the garden and on the roof that were finally crossed off the list.

Chateau Cameron is looking good. The only problem is that I really should have been dong story re-writes for my mentor, Paul Haines. He sent me back two stories last week. One is getting closer to being complete, but still lacks something. The other is a ways off yet, and needs a major rewrite. Paul pointed out all the stuff that needs work, and (damn him) he was right every time. It was so obvious once he showed me.

But I have ideas there that should solve a lot of those issues. Until Paul adds more to the list.  Which is fine, I asked him to be strict and he's doing that.

A couple of the bits he picked up on, I'd actually questioned myself. Which means I should pay more attention to my instincts and not include stuff just because I think I should.

Oh well, maybe I'll get a few lines written this week - in between hanging gates and rebuilding skirting boards.

Unless Paul wants to come over and swing a hammer with me.

If Only I'd Hung A Mirror In The Corner Of The Story.

It's back to school tomorrow, but in the meantime I've had a fantastic vacation.

The writing continued well from last week, with another rewrite, and another story pouring out of me. This is another one that's been developing in my brain for a while, but it just seemed to coalesce into existence without too much effort from me. I even drafted it a good three or four times, and then decided it was the one I would send off to Writers of the Future for this quarter.

Of course, with the new online submission process they now have (Yay!) I was able to keep it until almost the last minute, and even received confirmation it was received in time.

Now K.D. just has to recognise it for the piece of brilliance it is. (hehehe)

Above and beyond that, I subbed another story elsewhere.  Things are all go here at the plush Cameron writing studios.

One thing I've been intrigued by recently is what I refer to as the 'Feng Shui' of writing. Like if you hang a mirror in the corner of your room you'll suddenly become rich because the money won't pour out - or something like that. As you can probably gather, I'm not really into it. But writers do something similar after a rejection. "If only I'd added another character in the last scene, or written another couple of metaphors in the opening, or if I'd called him Mike instead of John." That sort of thing, as if a single change would push the story from a reject to an acceptance, or, in the case of WOTF, up to a finalist.

From all accounts, WOTF receives over 2,000 submissions each quarter, with approximately 8 of those becoming finalists, another 8 or so being semi finalists, and forty of those being honourable mentions.  Receiving any of those awards means you're doing pretty well.  I'm not convinced that there is a simple 'fix' in most cases. The story I received an HM for needed a major rewrite, not just a change of name. And even now I'm not convinced the new version would have fared a whole lot better.  I don't know where my HM sat in the imagined HM rankings. Near the top? Near the bottom? If one of the finalists was withdrawn, would mine have been the next in line and pushed up to Semi finalist?

Still, I was pleased that story did as well as it did there. And now it's out on submission and will hopefully be bought at some point. But there were potentially somewhere between 16 and 40 stories better than it. And each quarter I try to write the best story I can. And, hopefully, improve as a writer. One of these days I'll make finalist.

But that will only be the beginning.

Words, Words, Words.

What a fantastic week it's been.

I completed two rewrites, submitted two stories, and completed another that I started a while ago but wasn't sure where to head with it. This week it all came together and the words just poured out. Not only is it the longest story I've ever written, but it's the most complex. And I'm really happy with it.

I've really enjoyed spending most of the week writing. I enjoyed the proofreading and editing, the search for just the right word, the challenge to describe situations and places, and the time spent reading my own work and seeing how it flowed. Of course I'll put this work aside for a few days and have another read with fresh eyes.

When I originally re-read the bits of the story I started writing six months ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the words I'd written. They were better than I'd imagined, and I found at one point I even recognised the influence of one of my favourite authors poking its way through my own style.

Cool. Especially since it was unmistakably my own style.

But I was thrilled how it all came together so quickly - all the ideas I'd had, thrown around, mashed up just poured out onto the paper. (or technically the screen, I suppose)

And hopefully, one day soon, you'll be able to read these words too.

Time For Writing.

Parent teacher interviews have once again come and gone, as has all the hard marking at the end of Term 3. And now I'm on holidays for two weeks.

I've got lots of writing to get on with since I've been neglecting it a little recently. I did a major rewrite last week for Paul Haines, my mentor, and had another read of it this morning before submitting it. Amazing how many times you can read and re-read something and still discover errors at the last minute.

One of my favourite tricks, and one I've been advising my students to do, is to read it out loud. That's when you really notice mistakes, lack of flow or even places where the rhythm doesn't work.

I have two rewrites to do this week, a story to complete, and about three to start.  My head is swimming with ideas at the moment (and yes, I've been writing them down) - and I'm especially keen to try and sell another story. By the end of the week I should have another three stories out on submission.

I'm really looking forward to this week.  Gotta love them words.

Turn Me On, Dead Man...

I love conspiracy theories.  Not that I actually believe them, but I find them a lot of fun. And my favourite one would have to be the whole 'Paul is Dead' one.  You know, Paul McCartney supposedly died in a car crash on 9th November, 1966 and was replaced by Williams Campbell (Billy Shear - Billy's Here - geddit?) so that thousands of fans worldwide wouldn't kill themselves.  Of course, the remaining three (as well as all those others who would have to know about it) kept quiet about it forever, and even went so far as filling their albums and songs with clues for us.

It makes no sense at all, but it sure is fun.

I watched a DVD yesterday, in which a tape purporting to be George Harrison (but actually sounded like a talentless American actor doing an impression of what he thought a Liverpudlian should sound like) confesses to his involvement in the cover-up. It even went so far as to claim the only witness to the accident was a woman named Rita who was bought off.  Later, she survived an assassination attempt by MI5, but lost her leg. She blackmailed McCartney into marrying her or she was going to reveal the whole story.  Somehow the producers didn't figure out that Heather Mills wasn't even born in 1966 when the accident supposedly took place.

Oh yeah, ignore that one at all costs - but do check out the books and webpages surrounding the story. And if you're interested, check out The Beatle zombie retelling, Paul is Undead.

Festive Fear 2 will soon be released by Tasmaniac Publications, and I have my story, Ghost of the Heart, included.  What you don't know is that my story includes a good dose of the whole Paul is Dead theory. And boy, was that fun to write.  Keep an eye out for it, and find a copy if you can.  I believe it's already sold out.

Just finished rewriting another story of mine. My mentor, Paul Haines, (under the Australian Horror Writers Association) made a number of recommendations which I spent a few weeks considering. A few ideas finally fermented and ended up on paper.  I've just sent the rewrite back, so I'll have to wait and see what Guru Paul thinks of it.

And apart from that? Life goes on and work is busy.  My friend and colleague even announced my forthcoming publication at work last week. I plan to kill him for that at some point.

Maybe I'll replace him with a double named William Campbell.

And Now It's All Over.

So Worldcon/Aussiecon has come to an end. And some questions remain.

Who was Dave, and why did he have his own ribbon?

What did I have to do to get more ribbons? (I only had one)

Who is the mysterious financier behind the London bid that allows them to have parties with so many free drinks?

How could I spend 5 days in the building, and yet only bump into an old friend as I was literally walking out the door?

How did some people ever get onto a panel?

When is the next Worldcon to be held in Australia? (Roughly every 10-12 years, it seems)

Anyway, it was fabulous and now I'm tired and back at work.It was great to catch up with heaps of people I knew and great to finally meet people I'd only had been in contact with by email. I got to meet Shaun Tan and Robert Silverberg (two of my favourites) as well as a bunch of people I'd never heard of but impressed me greatly. I guess I could compile a list of names, but I'm afraid it would look like namedropping.

Thanks to the organisers, volunteers, and all those who made it work.