Creative Writing and Obsessions

Southern Australia is having the most beautiful Autumn.  The deciduous trees are golden, the earth is preparing to go underground for the coming winter, and the sun is getting that little bit lower in the afternoon sky.

Our city and state hosts one of the best Autumns in the world — and I say this without total bias or favouritism about my hometown!

Initially, I started this blog as an ‘advertising adjunct’ to the creative writing I was doing, but it has expanded into a typical mish-mash about life, fictional characters based on family, television, music and movies, the other Rosie Jones with better cleavage than mine (not work safe!), and general observations. Many blogging specialists suggest the blogger should stick to a definite path (whether it be JUST writing, OR music, OR family, OR mothering) in order to develop and retain a readership.

Oh well.  Life rarely throws us a definite path and my hair has always been really curly.

So, this post is about four things, none of them really related to any specific top at all:

1. Our Autumn

2. Latest novel: Last week, I just completed my first draft of my fourth novel.  Now, aspiring authors are not supposed to call the first draft of a manuscript a NOVEL because it’s not yet been looked over, rejected or approved.  For ease of this chat, I will refer to it as an Embryonic Entity.

This Embryonic Entity needs work.  Unlike the previous three novels, I’m not going to self-publish this one.  I’m going to try and get an agent.  This is where it gets really interesting, where the Embryonic Entity engineer (i.e. writer) needs to develop skin thicker than rhino hide, and be ready for the (sometimes non-existent) ego to be dented.  And damaged.  And bashed.  And smashed to smithereens.

It would be nice to get a novel read, known and published via osmosis.  In fact, that would be an excellent name for a virtual reality publishing company:  ’Osmosis’.  ’Get published by cell membrane diffusion’ (unless you’re a massive bunch of ionic matter that has no hope on being accepted through membranous material).  That could possibly be a tagline for the ‘rejected writers’ at Osmosis Publishing?

The Embryonic Entity has a working title of Unravelling or perhaps The Unravelling. It’s not comedic this time, although it has humourous elements.  I will be working on a blurb over the next couple of days, and would appreciate any feedback (whether via email or comment) that anyone has on the ‘sound’ of the story.

3. The Hunger Games: Thanks to Cristin and Amy for recommending  the first two books of this trilogy.  It is the best young adult fiction I have ever read (with the exception of the beautiful, unique ‘The Book Thief’ which stands alone).  Like many other ‘youngish’ readers around the world, I’m looking forward to August 24th when the third and final novel is released.  The Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire, are exciting, provocative, socially relevant and exceptionally well written.  Go Suzanne!

4. LOST: I’m addicted to this television series.  We watched about the first half-dozen when it aired on Aussie TV way back, but it lost so much momentum with programming, hiatuses (or hiati), and general Channel 7 shenanigans.  Thanks to DVD, it’s like reading a thrilling, twisty, plotty, funny, sad, different novel.  Except you’re watching it!  Not reading it!  Unless you’ve got the Singaporean version and the subtitles are in Singlish.

I’m at the point where I want to go to that Lost island and live the story.  But it’s not an obsession!