Back to the Book!

It's been quite a while since I've updated, so I thought I'd announce my writing related plans here.

I'm calling it quits on the random stimuli short stories for now, and I will be turning my focus towards my first novel. However, I will still try and do at least one short story a month, to keep myself in practice and to give you all something to read. Stay tuned: hopefully something will come of this!

Forever's Kiss: Online!

My latest short story (based on the Artifex Photogrpahy stimuli from a few weeks ago) entitled Forever's Kiss is finally available online in .pdf format for your viewing pleasure!

Link: Forever's Kiss

Anybody See A Theme..?

Just a minor update with a poem I wrote a couple of nights ago when I couldn't sleep. I'll make a .pdf for it tomorrow and upload it, but for those who're impatient:

Sleep is…


Sleep is elusive,
Like catching smoke with one’s hands.

Sleep is a journey,
With the end hidden from sight.

Sleep is an escape,
From one world to another.

Sleep is the enemy,
Who gives his rival purpose.

Sleep is eternal,
One day forever.

As Many Updates As The Rain

I have the week of Nov. 17th - Nov. 23rd's stimuli here, to be drafted in the next few days in order to help catch me up to where I should be by now. Once again, it is a photo, however this time it's a random photo that I took a while back awaiting the Aurora Australis.

Weekly Stimuli:
Photo.

Forever... And Catching Up

I have finally completed the draft for the week Nov. 10th - Nov. 16th, currently entitled Forever's Kiss. It's being proofed and tidied over the next day or two, and will hopefully be available as a .pdf by Tuesday. The ending is... a little different to my usual style. Hopefully it appeals to you all.

Sanity Within The Madness...

Just a minor update since I've been away and/or really busy for the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately I shall be working extra shifts for the next month, so it will be trickier to find time, but I shall do so none-the-less!

The current plan is this: the short story for the week Nov. 10th - Nov. 16th shall be written tomorrow. Then I shall upload the selected stimuli for the week Nov. 17th - Nov. 23rd and write that, before uploading the stimuli for the week Nov. 24th - Nov. 30th and writing that before Friday 3rd of December. Once I'm all caught up, I shall resume uploading a random weekly stimuli and writing a story based on them.

Shadow's Edge: Online!

I've uploaded last week's story for your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Link: Shadow's Edge

Stories Born Of Friendship

I have drawn the stimuli for this week's story, and for the third week in a row, it is a photo by the lovely Melissa Reed of Artifex Photography. Featuring me. Unfortunately this week will be insanely busy, so I shall have to focus my thoughts coherently where I can, and find a couple hours to sit down and draft the story out once I have a solid idea. Fingers crossed!

Weekly Stimuli:
Photo.

From The Shadows...

I have just completed this week's short story, using the working title Shadow's Edge. I shall type it up and refine it tomorrow, and hopefully have a .pdf version up for everyone to read by Friday night. This story could have special significance in the future, though it won't become apparent for quite some time. However, for my few dedicated fans who read it and continue to follow me... I hope it will one day (in the hopefully not too distant future) be quite the wee treat.

Blog Facelift!

Just a minor update this evening. As you (my three fans who've read the blog before) may have noticed: I've redone the design of the blog, changing it from the default setting I chose for it to the current, slightly more customised version.

Another minor note: I've come up with a vague idea for this week's short story based on the photo stimuli. I'll get to drafting it tomorrow night (I hope), so stay tuned for updates on that!

Secret of the Lens: Online!

Last week's short story entitled Secret of the Lens is now available for your viewing pleasure.

Link: Secret of the Lens

Daily > Weekly: But Weekly Wins

I have decided (unmotivated as I am) to at least continue my weekly short story writing, with the weeks beginning on Wednesday and ending on Tuesday, making this week from 3 November - 9 November. This week's stimuli is another photo by the lovely Melissa Reed of Artifex Photography.

Weekly Stimuli:
Photo.

Rope in the Closet: Online!

As promised: the other of my non-award winning short stories, Rope in the Closet is now available online!

Link: Rope in the Closet

White Rose: Online!

As promised, I present the first of my two non-award winning short stories: White Rose. It's probably my favourite to date, and one of my finest pieces (even if it isn't magazine worthy). Stay tuned for the other story: Rope in the Closet, which I shall upload tomorrow.

Link: White Rose

Congratulations & Commiserations

Unfortunately my entry of Rope in the Closet into the NZ Writer's College competition didn't even receive a merit, let alone win. Following this train of negativity, my story White Rose wasn't published in Her Magazine this month. I never received confirmation as to whether they received it, but they don't state they will send confirmation so chances are it just didn't win.

Unfortunately this has completely taken the wind out of my sails, so to speak, and as such I don't intend to continue with my daily short stories in November plan. Instead I think I may just continue doing weekly stories for November and possibly December too.

The silver lining for you is this: Rope in the Closet and White Rose will be available online for you to read in the next couple days. Hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of them.

The End Of An Era

I have drafted this week's short story, based on the Artifex Photography photo stimulus. It's the last weekly short story I'll be doing, though Novemeber could (and shdould) be daily stories, so we'll see how that goes. This story is currently untitled, and won't be typed up until Monday unfortunately. That said, it shall be polished up and placed online for your viewing pleasure as a .pdf within the next few days, so stay tuned!

Pale: Online!

I've completed (and uploaded) last week's story based on the theme of Adoption. It's entitled Pale and the link is just below, as well as listed on the Imagination: Online! page.

Link: Pale

It's The Final Countdown! (Or Week of October)

I have my theme for this week: the final week of October! It's a photo taken by the lovely Melissa Reed of Artifex Photography. She has some amazing and inspiring photos, so please check them out and show your appreciation for her work!

Weekly Stimulus:
Photo.

Adoption: You'll Never Look At It The Same

I wrote my seventh short story draft last night and typed it up this evening. It's currently untitled, but I am thinking of potentially going with the name Pale Eyes. It was written based on the theme of: adoption. It should hopefully be uploaded via Dropbox tomorrow or Tuesday for your viewng pleasure.

Imagination: Online!

I've updated the Short Stories: Online! page transforming it into Imagination: Online!. Aside from changing the name of the page, I've also added some poetry to it and will continue to add more as I find some worth sharing. Stories and poems are sorted in alphabetical order, under their own sub-headings. Enjoy!

I've uploaded four poems: three of my previously posted works and an entirely new one entitled Cupid's Conflict.

Links: Cupid's Conflict, Inspiration, Inspiration Never Sleeps & Wiccan Angel

Suspicious Minds: Online!

I decided on the title of last week's story: Suspicious Minds. I've uploaded it via Dropbox with the others. The link is just below and also on the Short Stories: Online! page of the blog.

Link: Suspicious Minds

Theme! I Even Like Saying The Word!

Seeing as it is technically Monday, it is time for this week's theme! It has been randomly selected again, and the winner is...

Weekly Stimulus:
Theme.
Adoption.

Inspiration Never Sleeps: Neither Do I

Just another minor update for you all tonight, this one's a poem I wrote a month or so ago and then rediscovered in my folder a couple of days ago. Just thought I'd share it here.

Inspiration Never Sleeps
Mind racing quickly,
Heart beating slow.
Sleep is the one place,
I want to but can't go.

Breathing out slowly,
Mind torn apart:
No idea how to,
Or where I should start.

Holding it inside,
Not letting it out.
Drowning in sorrows,
Worry and doubt.

Hoping exhaustion,
When my limit passed,
Will let me put my head down
And fall asleep at last.

All Day Staring At The Ceiling Making Friends With Shadows On My Wall

I drafted my sixth short story last night: it doesn't currently have a title though. I've had trouble naming it this time, though I'm currently leaning towards How I Used To Be. It required the most editting out of all my short stories so far, and I definitely wouldn't say it's my best piece but... I think it works alright. I'm having a couple of my loyal fans read over it to advise me on how to make it better.Once it's all tidied up and ready for the public eye, I'll create a nice .pdf file and upload it with the other two, so expect that in the next day or two!

Fall From Grace: Online!

I've uploaded last week's oktober-fest short story entitled Fall From Grace onto Dropbox for anybody who's interested in having a read. The link's just below.

Link: Fall From Grace


PS. All of my collected online works can be found on the following page just here.

Short Stories: Online!

Since I now have a couple of short stories not currently entered in competitions, I've decided to start making some of them available for the public to read online. I'm using a program called Dropbox to upload pdf versions of my short stories. The first of my stories to be uploaded via Dropbox is the fourth one I wrote: Call Me When You're Sober.

Link: Call Me When You're Sober

PS. All of my collected online works can be found on the following page just here.

More More More! (How Do You Like It? How Do You Like It?)

Another week, another story. For the third week in a row, the stimulus is a song. Go figure. I feel bad for all those themes and photos waiting for me... but another song works just as well! Thinking this week's story will have some similarities to last week's one, but just because there's a slight theme in common, doesn't mean the two stories will be anything alike. Let's roll with it and see exactly where this one takes us!

Weekly Stimulus:
Song.
Matchbox 20: Unwell

Tonight The Sunset Means So Much, The One Thing That You Know You Never Touch

I completed the draft of my fifth short story, entitled Fall From Grace last night. The beginning of the story could use some tweaking to make it a little less predictable, but aside from that, I'm pretty happy with the result, though it isn't my finest piece. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new week, so I'll be getting a new random stimuli to help me write up another short story. I'm going to have far too many to enter into competitions so I may start posting the occaisional one online for people to read at their leisure.

To My Wiccan Angel Mel

In order to put that previous poem to shame (and to do something for my number one fan) I'm posting another poem, this one written for, and dedicated to the loveliest of lovelies: Melissa Reed.


Wiccan Angel

Wiccan candle burning bright,
Brightest star in the sky at night,
Guide my path and make it true
Always lead me back to you.


Whenever I have tears to shed,
On your shoulder I'll rest my head.
Whenever nightmares come to stay,
You send them all off far away.


All the time you're on my mind,
Your spirit with mine intertwined.
Without you around I'd throw it in,
But when you're around I'll always win.


Angel Mel: watch over me,
When I'm with you I fly free,
From now until our time does end,
You'll always be my truest friend.


Wiccan candle burning bright,
Brightest star in the sky at night.
Guide my path and make it true,
Always lead me back to you.

Inspiration

Just a corny little poem I just threw together today. For all those wanting to start writing, but not knowing how.

Inspiration

Let all of your ideas take wing,
As a tale to tell, or a song to sing.

If you don't know where to begin,
All you have to do is look within.

Happiness and a smile,
Is a good way to beguile.

Every unshed tear you hold,
Is another story yet untold.

Take that bitterness and rage,
And scribble it across the page.

In your defeats and in your glories,
Lies another thousand stories.

So don't think about it day and night,
Just sit down and start to write!

Bored? Procrastinating? Try this!

I was boredly doing quizzes last night, and decided to throw one together based on my short stories today. So, if you want something to waste a minute on... here it is!

Link: http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/dPq-yUs/Which-Short-Story-Protagonist-Are-You-Craig-Galway-Edition

Revision: More Short Stories!

So I made a slight revision to the weekly October short-story plan. The weeks will run from Monday to Sunday. Call Me When You're Sober was a warm-up of a sort, having three days to do it in. As of today, I have a new stimulus for this week (Monday 4th - Sunday 9th). I've already got a decent idea of what I want to write, so we'll see how it goes. If all goes according to plan, I'll have it done long before Sunday!

Weekly Stimulus

Song.

Daughtry: Learn My Lesson

Don't Cry To Me, If You Loved Me, You Would Be Here With Me

I typed up my fourth short story (currently using the title Call Me When You're Sober) this evening, after writing it last night. Might need a little refinement and possibly a change of title, but I'm satisfied with the end result. This week's target has officially been met. I'm actually quite looking forward to next week's story! This could be a very productive and fun month!

Oktober-(writing)fest!

It's the beginning of October which can mean only one thing: the weekly short story extravaganza in preparation for November's NaNoWriMo attempt has officially begun! This week's random inspiration is located at the bottom of this post. The ideas are already flowing, let's hope the final piece is something to be proud of!

On another note, I have submitted White Rose to Her Magazine for their November issue. I should find out in the last week of October whether or not my submission was accepted. Fingers crossed!

Weekly Stimulus:
Song.
Evanescence: Call Me When You're Sober

Muse On My Shoulder

Tonight I shall be drafting my fourth short story; largely inspired by a lovely Artifex Photography photo. It's amongst my collection of inspirations, so I'm not exactly sure what I'll do if it comes up; might just write a similar story but take it in a new direction. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

Minor Update: I've completed my list of 21 themes for October/November and put it aside. The first piece of inspiration will be randomly selected by my friend Genie on Friday 1st.

Today Follows Yesterday

Today is just a minor update for my each of my trio of updates yesterday.

Firstly: I have received confirmation that my short story 'Rope in the Closet' has been received by the NZ Writer's College and entered into their competition. Results will be announced on October 31st, so definitely expect an update that day! (Hopefully a celebratory one!)

Secondly: I have completed my lists of photos and songs for my October/November writing binge. All I need to do now is complete my list of 21 'themes' and I'll be set. If anybody has theme ideas, feel free to leave a comment on this post or email them to me at craigsimagination@gmail.com!

Finally: I have finished the draft of my third short story, currently using the title 'White Rose'. It's been sent to my lovely proof-reader who shall hopefully give it a look over later tonight!

Do Good Things Always Come In Three Too?

Today I have three main updates of varying intensity to share with you.

Update #1: Althought it has only been a month, and they said it may take up to six weeks, I have not heard back from shortstory.us.com about 'Rope in the Closet' so... I have officially sent it in to the nzwriterscollege for their annual short story competition. Results will be announced by October 31st, so keep your fingers and toes crossed!

Update #2: I announced a week or so ago about my plans for weekly short stories through October (based on random themes) and my NaNoWriMo short story anthology plan for November. I've made some minor changes to the theme plan. They are as follows: instead of just having a random theme there will be two steps for each week's/day's story. The first step will be to have someone randomly assign me one of three categories: Theme, Photo or Song. Then they'll pick a number between 1-21 and I will consult my pre-made lists (which I am working on currently) and use that theme, photo or song for the basis of my story!

Update #3: In a moment I shall sit down and begin writing my third short story, which has already largely formed in my mind. To give you a general overview/brief teaser: it's a first person narrative of a man talking to his wife at her grave. Hopefully it'll work out. If I'm satisfied with it, and it's not too long I shall be submitting it to Her Magazine in hopes of it being published in their November issue. Stay tuned!

In Loving Memory Of:

I was somewhat randomly inspired to write a little poem just before, so I thought I'd share it. It hasn't been editted or anything, it's just roughly scribbled on a piece of paper in front of me. I'm definitely no poet but this is just a little something for all the people I know who've lost a loved one recently. My heart goes out to you. Note: The title is a work in progress.

Never Alone
Though I have departed here,
You are not alone.
Always above and beside you,
Together we are home.

Do not waste your tears on me,
For I've not gone away.
As long as you remember me,
Always with you I will stay.

From dawn till dusk, and in the end:
I live in your heart, forever my friend.

Competitions Aplenty

After doing a little more seraching online for short story competitions, I have come across yet another one. Unfortunately it requires a £5 entry fee, per story so it's probably not one I'll be taking advantage of myself anytime soon, but it is held monthly a there is a £100 prize for the winner and a £25 prize for the runner-up. If anyone's interested in entering (or reading the past winners entires) then just follow this link.

Link: http://www.globalshortstories.net/index.html

Interesting Links

I found a couple interesting links (with a little help from Ms. Tay) that I thought I'd share.

Link: http://www.blurb.com/
This site offers a small self-publishing service, which I may take advantage of after November, once I've done a short-story anthology for NaNoWriMo. If it doesn't cost extra; I'll leave it available in their online store.

Link: http://www.authonomy.com/
This site is a writer's community, where people can upload some of their works and have it looked at. The most popular get checked out by an actual editorial desk, and some publishers actually find writers here and fully publish them. I'll be signing myself up soon!

All I Can Do Right Now

Since I'm still up at this ridiculous hour, I thought I'd share another poem from my ENGL118 Creative Writing class.

It's modelled after a poem called "Spell to Mend Broken Bones", I don't know the poet. This one goes out to a special friend of mine, I just wish there was more I could do for him:

Spell to Mend a Broken Heart
Heart beat fast and heart beat slow,
Earth rise up and sky fall low.
Hell freeze over; Heaven burn
Emotions now shall twist and turn.

Relive love and forget hate,
You will find your perfect mate.
Shattered heart now be restored,
Fight against the heart-break horde

Like a puzzle, fit again,
Swear off women, swear off men.
For affection you compete,
Come together, be complete.

Heart no longer split in twain,
Fuse together, dull the pain!
Forget the break, that's hurt you,
Be reborn and start anew.

Heart beats fast and heart beats slow,
Earth rose up and sky fell low.
Hell froze over; Heaven burned,
Emotions twisted and turned.

Another Day: Another Post

Since it's technically a new day, I have decided to announce the decision I made just a half hour or so ago!

For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is held November of every year, and the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel within the 30 days of the month. I have decided to attempt it again this year, with a slight twist: instead of a novel I'm going to attempt to write a short story every single day and at the end compile them (and potentially write a couple extras) to meet the 50,000 word criteria.

As a precursor to this, I think I will try writing a short story a week in October, based on a random theme that I shall likely decide with the help of Geniesa Tay: who has helped inspire this excellent, if not potentially insane idea.

So... stay tuned for at least weekly posts in October and more than likely daily posts in November!

Something Wicca This Way Comes...?

Just another minor update today, since it's been a full week since I posted.

I've decided on a (vague) idea for my third short story; it will require a little research and a slightly stronger idea before I can begin writing it however. Sadly, I'll be very busy for the next month or so, but I shall endeavour to get it done by Oct. 20th so I can submit it to Her Magazine for their November issue, seeing as the deadline for October's issue is in three days time and that just isn't enough time for me to create a satisfactory tale.

The story will have a strong Wiccan theme/influence and is inspired by (and dedicated to) the lovely Melissa Reed.

Her Magazine

Just another small update today: I discovered this a week or two ago and have officially added it to my list of things to do. Her is a monthly magazine for the modern day business women and has a short story in every issue, submitted online by their readers so... I shall be submitting one of my future short stories to them and maybe I'll be able to get one published! Fingers crossed for that! Though I have to come up with an appropriate story first...

Link: http://www.herbusinessmagazine.com/
Go to the About Us section and check out the Competitions.

Festival Cancellation :(

Just a second small update for today: the Christchurch Writer's Festival this weekend has unfortunately been cancelled. There's currently no word on whether or not it will be rescheduled. We can only hope!

Earthquakes, Holidays & Heartbreaks

I don't have much to add at all, but I haven't updated in over a week so I thought I should, just in case my many readers (Ha!) are worried something's happened to me. I haven't done any writing at all in the past week, because I've been down in Dunedin with some friends for a few days, and then dealing with some problems back home.

Writer's often use life events and emotions in their writings, and so that's exactly what I'd like to do! A short story about an earthquake could be interesting to write, and it also gives me some ideas about the use of earthquakes in my upcoming novel writing. As for the recent heartbreaks... that might come in handy when writing character relations in my novel, or I may even attempt a short story about relationships/long distance/love trianges or some combination of the three.

That's all for now; stay tuned and hopefully I'll have something more solid in the next couple of days!

Dilemma

I've just discovered that http://www.nzwriterscollege.co.nz/ is currently holding a short story competition: the theme is freedom and the cut-off date for submissions is the 31st September.

'

Now here's the dilemma: I feel that my second short-story (Rope in the Closet) would be appropriate for this competition. However, I have already submitted this to http://www.shortstoryus.com/ and previously published works (and authors) aren't eligible for the writer's college competition but... I/They aren't published yet. They might not even be accepted! So, the dilemma is do I submit it anyway?

'

I'm thinking I'll wait till the end of September, and if I haven't heard back from shortstoryus.com by then (or if my story is rejected) I'll enter it into the writer's college competition. If however, my story is accepted before the end of September, then my dilemma is solved and I won't be able to enter the story. If only I'd known about this competition earlier...

'

What do people think of this plan? Any advice?

Votes & Emails

I've made a decision on my third short story: I've decided to write a backstory for one of my (potential) novel characters! The trouble is, there's a few to choose from... at the current time I intend to write short stories for several of them, but I need to decide exactly where to start. If anyone wants to vote on which one I should do first, please do so! Though that would imply people actually read this...

Top-Contending Potential Characters:

• Assassin: an ninja-like assassin sent to kill the protagonist.
• Female General: a warrior-woman with a head for military strategy.
• Amazon Queen: leader of a tribe of autonomous warrior women.
• Ranger (+Wolf): a wandering hunter and his wolf companion.

In other news, I've created a new email address for me and all things writing. Feel free to email me on it for voting (on things like this) or for anything to do with my writing!

Email: craigsimagination@gmail.com

A Step In The Right Direction!

Update: I have officially just submitted my second short story (entitled 'Rope in the Closet') to www.shortstory.us.com! It'll take an estimated six weeks before I get a response telling me whether or not my submission will be published in their E-zine, and even if it is accepted they (unfortunately) can't offer payment at this time.

However, the fact that the story is complete and submitted is a bit of an achievement in itself for me! It's definitely a good start start to becoming an officially recognized author.

What's more is: they print an anthology at the end of every year and if my story makes it into their E-zine, it may make it into their anthology which would definitely be a great accomplishment for me!

Fingers crossed!

Short Stories & Short Story Awards

Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards: is an annual competiton where authors can win cash, and get their stories published in the Sunday Star-Times! Unfortunately, as an employee of Whitcoulls I'm inelligible to enter, but for anyone interested, it ends on Friday so get your manuscripts in! Here's the link: www.shortstory.co.nz

Update: My second short-story (entitled Rope in the Closet) is officially entering its final stages! If anyone at all is interested in proof-reading it, or even just giving me their opinions, please let me know and I'll send it to you! At the end of the week, if I'm satisfied, I shall be submitting it somewhere, possibly to www.shortstory.us.com. Special thanks to: the ever-wonderful Melissa Reed for once again proofing/opinionating me on my latest piece.

Novel Ideas: When Is Many Too Many?

I have so very, very many novel ideas that it's insane. I finally settled on one (or so I thought) a while back, and did some decent planning for it. Then, another idea came into mind and has received some planning. A few days ago, a third idea (that I've actually had for quite a while) had a resurgence. If I intend to get a novel done, I need to settle down and focus on one, and one only. Therein lies the difficulty.

I've decided to keep bouncing from idea to idea and planning them out for the rest of the year, while focusing on short stories to help me get fully into the writer's lifestyle. At the end of the year, I'll make a decision on one of my mapped-out ideas. I'll probably get opinions from a few people to help me decide. Then, hopefully by the end of next year, I'll have (at least) a complete first draft of that novel. Until then, I guess there's naught to do but... let the creative juices flow!

Quiet Week / 静かな週

It's been a fairly quiet writing week so far. I wrote a couple of random poems and a... short story/monologue/something the other night when I couldn't sleep. I may post them here once I refine them, or I may just toss them: they were good for venting somewhat but for little else.

My short stories thrive on negative emotions. Cheerful stories are... not really my thing, so hopefully I'll be able to channel all the negative emotions I've been feeling lately into something productive. We'll see how it goes, but the next week and a half will be very busy uni-wise so I probably won't get much done, but I'll certainly try!

If anybody's interested in being a prrof-reader/editor for mys second short story, let me know! By the end of next week I intend to have it ready for others, so I can get their opinions and tidy it up with their fresh point-of-view, and with that it'll hopefully be done, and I can submit it somewhere!

Christchurch Writer's Festival

Something I learnt at work today: The Press Christchurch Writers Festival will be happening from the 9th-12th of September! I got a booklet from the lovely Leonie at work today. It appears there's alot of talks from various authors, mostly from New Zealand although there are several international authors who'll be attending. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to attend everything I'd like to, but I'm hoping to check out at least a couple of the talks!

The thing that interests me the most during the festival is the One-day Short Story Competition on Saturday the 11th. I don't know much about the competetion at this point, so I shall do some investigating and keep everyone informed. Hopefully I'll be able to enter it. We shall see!

Short Story Update & External Link

It's been a few busy days of assignments, so my writing time is somewhat limited for the next little while, but I'm still doing my best to make time here and there.

Writing Update: I've typed up my second short story, and made a few minor improvements while I was at it. I'll go through and proofread and edit over the next week or so. Once I've done that, I'll probably get a couple of people to proofread it and give me their thoughts/opinions on it. Then I'll use that information to (hopefully) finish editing it and if I'm satisfied with the end result, I'll submit it online.

Link: http://www.allaboutthestory.com/
Just another wee link from the awesome Ms. Tay. Not sure if this is one I'll use myself, but for anyone interested in writing or publishing, it may be worth checking out!

Minor Progress Report!

Nothing new to really add aside from a couple minor updates on things, which are as follows:

Writing Update: I have my short story draft and notes all together and ready for typing up and editting, so I can submit it to shortstory.us.com before the end of the month. I have also got some minor plans for my third short story, though I won't focus much on that until the second one is completed and submitted.

Translation Update: As for my translation progress, I have made some. I've translated the title. That is all. That said, I've started making a list of vocab/kanji of words in the story so that will save me some time when I launch a full attempt at translating. I have a second list underway with synonyms for other words in the story, as I may need to use them. Once I have a couple paragraphs roughly translated, I shall ask one of my japanese lecturers (likely Rachel-sensei) to look over it and give me some advice, so... stay tuned for that!

shortstory.us.com

Not much to say today. I'm thinking of submitting a short story (once I complete my next one) to the following website: http://shortstory.us.com/ which I have discovered thanks to the lovely Ms. Tay. I've a written draft of a short story that I was intending to enter into the BNZ, but I opted to go with me second one. I'll type it up and begin editting it over the next couple weeks, and if I'm satisfied with it, I'll submit it! That's all for now.

Mini Project: 日本語の翻訳

Only a minor update to make today, and it's not quite as writing related as the previous posts.

Today I'm simply announcing the new mini-project that I've started. It won't be done in a short amount of time and I'm not dedicating myself fully to it, working on my novel ideas and short story ideas remains my priority. That said, I'm looking forward to using it as a way of studying and breaking up my writing. It is my current intention to attempt an amateur translation of the short story I entered into the BNZ Literary Awards into japanese. It won't be easy, and I'm really not sure how it'll turn out in the end, but I'm going to give it a go anyway. Wish me luck!

Plethora of Poetry/詩歌の茄多

If I keep this up, I'm going to run out of things to say very quickly. Still, a few daily posts to start things off seems like a good idea. Eventually it'll eventually drop down to one or two posts a week though. Still, here are two more original poems from my ENGL118 assignment. And once again, keep in mind I'm no poet.

Pride

Do I sin? For I am proud.

King of the jungle, royalty

But not in charge. Different.

Exempt? No. Excluded? Perhaps.

Is pride such a terrible thing?

I do not sin, though I am proud.

This is who I am, so why should I change?

You can't fight your nature and

I am what I am, I shall never change.

The Fury of Tranquility

Green as far as the eye can see

Air so fresh it's a pleasure to breathe

Gentle moonlight illuminating the grove

Silver-mailed fish swimming deep below

Crystal clear water, unbelievably pure

Yet within this scene so tranquil

With everything so still

Nature's fury roars forth

Falling with a resounding splash

Two sides of the same coin

Both visible at once.

Poetry Practice/詩歌の練習

Seeing as my first post contains very little writing-related information, I thought I'd make a second one here to get things underway.

Back in January 2009 I did ENGL118 (Creative Writing) at UC. Admittedly, it wasn't at all what I expected, but I did quite enjoy it. For one of the assignments we had to write several pages of poetry and song lyrics, most of which was based on previous works, but some of it was completely original. I thought I'd post one of my original poems here for everyone to see. If there's interest, I'll post the another couple at some point. Keep in mind; I'm definitely no poet, I'm a prose man through and through. So, don't go expecting a masterpiece. Regardless, here's one for you:

Stone Sentinel

It sits there silent,

Never moving

Only watching those below.

-

Filled with knowledge,

A modern day Athene.

It never speaks,

Never sleeps.

-

It does not guard its secrets,

They are there for all to see.

What does this sentinel guard against?

-

Ignorance is bliss,

Or so they tell me.

The truth however,

Will set you free.

Introductory First Post

Basically, this is just a random blog for me to 'publically' post random ideas for my writing and whatnot. I probably won't update very often or anything, due to stop people from stealing my thoughts or... whatever. Just seems like something decent to do every now and again, keeping those dedicated few fans I already have (and thanks for that btw guys) up to date on what I'm up to writing wise. And I may use it for randomly using Japanese. Just because I can.

Recent news in the world of writing: I submitted my first fully completed short story into the BNZ literary awards this year. Won't share too much about it here, not yet anyway. Once the winners have been decided/announced I'll share some details about it. And if I don't win (and admittedly my chances of winning are slim) I may post the entire story here or elsewhere and link to it, for anyone interested. Even if I don't get it published via the competition, I would still like to look into getting it published somewhere. We'll see what happens.