Eek. I have, for some time, well years really, been quietly – and occasionally loudly – dismissive of other people’s blogs. Not, I hasten to add, because of their content, but because they seem like such displacement activity to me. something that people do INSTEAD of making work. And I already have facebook and myspace and emails and cooking and the garden and life to distract me from writing … do I need this as well? Probably not. BUT, I have enjoyed some blogs this past year. Michael Legge’s comedy c***ing. Mark Trezona’s Peformance Marks . Dovegrey Reader . Chris Goode’s process/progress reports on making Hey Mathew. It was Chris’s stuff that made me start to think maybe it would be of value to write up my own process. To consider it in another way. Of value for me, I mean. I’m not sure one writer’s process can ever be of much use to another writer.
I’ve recently delivered an early draft of a new book to my editor at Virago and am (impatiently) awaiting her notes, in the next month I’m going to be starting on the first draft of the book to follow it, no doubt there will be times when I’m working on both at the same time. I’m not sure if this is diary or report of process or what really. But I do feel a desire to report on it. To whom, I have no idea. Maybe you’ll tell me. Maybe you won’t. Maybe you’re not there. Let’s find out.
Welcome to blogging Stella 🙂
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welcome to the blogging 🙂
good luck with the processgress.
look forward to reading more…
zoe x
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Welcome to the slippery addictive slope that is blogging 🙂
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ah ha! this is what i told u to get! free site 🙂
blogging is great.
enjoy!
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Looking forward to the progress reports. cx
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Oh we’re here alright but I want sound effects…a button to press to get the Stella laugh, can you do that?
So pleased to see you here in blogland and will look forward to reading.Of course I also thank you for ever for the Janet Frame prompt and the fact that I am now spending a fortune trying to import all the books of hers that I can’t get here!
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Welcome, Stella! For me there’s a fine line between displacement activity and well, pretty much anything that isn’t working on what I’m currently meant to be working on, but blogging has definitely enriched my life-as-a-writer. I hope you like it – looking forward to reading more.
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hah, add the laugh? you want me to scare them off??!!
(meanwhile, Yellow Flowers in the Antipodean Room, Yellow Flowers in the Antipodean Room, Yellow Flowers in the Antipodean Room …)
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Hello. I came via Dovegreyreader. I am a starting out writer… I agree that it’s a serious concern as a displacement activity, especially when my word doc tells me I’ve blogged 7,000 words in any one month! I could be adding to my wip.
But it’s been a support to me in the past two years. The first year I faffed and flailed about not knowing what I was doing. I started (badly) and I gave up (thank god) and then I began the right wip … hopefully better this time.
I couldn’t have done it without the support of my writing friends. It would have been another novel I talked about writing.
It’ll be interesting to see how you feel about reporting your process! That, incidentally, is fascinating to those of us trying to work out our process. Good luck.
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I am loving all this enthusiasm for blogging. I’m liking that I want to report what i saw last night, that people seem to care about process. I’m wondering how long I’ll keep it up!!
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