Okay, well I was listening to the radio the other day and am just busting to tell you all this. You have to listen to the chorus of Jennifer Lopez's new song "ain't it funny". It is so Talis' theme song for the first half of the book!

random piece of stuff #2
chickens with thiamine deficiency get a deformity where their necks are flexed dorsally over their backs - it's called stargazing.

random piece of stuff #3
I've been (pretending) studying chicken nutrition today can you tell?? and I just burnt dinner and I'm going insane

random piece of stuff #4
i forget.....um... oh yeah! with the writing group thing name what about choosing a project name like well, hermes was the god of writing, apollo was god of music??? OR what is the name of something that protects your dreams( i forget) seeing as this is about making a dream come true??
I've been thinking about this writing thing too. You guys might have to do that without me, I'm going home for six weeks starting dec 2 and I don't know whether I'm ready to write something on paper as such; i think i'm afraid of what might come out, how much of me might leak onto the page with concentrated effort.

random piece of stuff #5
merlin is on tv on saturday and even if you aren't a tv watcher please try. It is a beautiful, magical film (and Sam Neill rocks!!)

hey what about project muse?????

What a long and interesting post helen....
ok, firstly, out of interest, what do you study and where? Chickens sounds awfully close to my degree (we do cows and sheep, but specialise in horses).

I like the idea of having a god project name. Project Muse is interesting for that, as Muse fits us quite well.

Im trying to decide how many subjects to pick next year.....am think about trying to do some over the hols....am i game or what.....!

Might have to watch Merlin tonight if I stay in, I don't think I've seen it yet!

Helen - I understand what you mean about leaking onto the page, but remember you don't have to show anyone your work if you don't want to - why not just write for yourself. If you were worried about us critiquing your work (if we decide to do that) well I'm sure we're all decent souls that would respect your work and yourself.

I've closets of dark stuff as I'm sure we all do, but I like to think that I needn't necessarily share the experience itself, but merely use the emotions that resulted as way to make my writing more real.

My fear is writers' block and writing loads of crap, but I figure that if I don't get started now and get past the "crap" then I'll never get to stage where any of it's worth sharing. I always set such high expectations on myself that I often forget to just live in the now and learn from my mistakes.

But anyways, I'm rambling like I often do, my apologies! I tend to think aloud (or on the screen) and I am promising to not self-edit as Louise asked us not to. Fi

I like Project Muse. What do you guys think?

Helen, don't feel that you have to start the same day as the rest of us. You can start whenever it suits you. I started book three a couple of weeks ago so I'm a little ahead, and we won't all work at the same pace anyway. You and Timna will probably forge ahead on school holidays/semester breaks while Deb and I will have our kids at home which will no doubt crimp our style!

The idea is motivation, so even if you're not writing first up, please do join in and be part of the group. We all have ideas and no-one's ideas are more valid than anyone else's. So long as we remember that the idea is to 'motivate' and 'inspire' each other, not to get bogged down in nitty-gritty. Editing is small potatoes compared with getting the story you feel passionate about down on the page. Story ALWAYS comes first. Editing etc, comes later.

I know it can be quite confronting to put your heart into what you write, it can often be revealing about your own personality. But I don't think any of you think less of me because of what I've written, nor, I hope, do you wonder if I'm as arrogant as Pagan or as evil as Djahr. People really close to you might see bits of you in what you write, but they won't be the ones who are involved in our project. If, when you've written your novel, you can't bear to send it off, so be it. But let's write the book first, and worry about what to do with it second. I've always firmly believed that the process is way more important than the product. Our business is to be creative and to LOVE what we do.

And now that I'm back from holidays I am SO looking forward to starting again at 4am on Monday morning!

P.S. I love the 'star gazing', that's so poetic.

I like the name, "Project Muse". I reckon we should run with that one.
Im excited about the project but the excitment is shadowed with apprehension. I have no idea why?
deb

Wow, Timna extra study as in summer semester you are keen. I've only got one exam to go and I swear three months hol's will not be enough. (Oh, I'm doing bet science btw)
I got up early this morning to have a look at the leonid meteor shower - only saw a couple, but seeing as I saw it last year I wasn't too disappointed.
Pretty good omen I reckon, for our writing project and all. The sun night we had this HUGE storm and the power went out ( for like 5 secs) and it was supposed to be the best night to view the meteor shower. So I figure monday must be an auspicious day to start our project don't you??
What about instead of Project Muse, we call it "meeting of the muses" sounds more poetic don't you think. You'll all be proud of me too. I've started. I wrote one sentence last night and just knew that it was either the beginning or the end of the book or both even. Okay so I don't know what its about or who the characters are but I've got one sentence. That makes it only 149992 words to go!

Yeah for Helen. One sentence is great! There's nothing worse than that blank page so it's a great feeling to type something. And even better if it feels right.

Haven't found that Lopez song yet - I listen to JJJ so they're not likely to play it on that. Might try and surf the net for it. Will let you know what I think

You were right, Helen. I just listened to the Lopez song and it really does echo Talis's situation for the first half of the book. I wonder how often that happens to people, that they love someone so much but know it's just not right. I guess in our society no-one is 'beyond our station', but perhaps in other cultures it's a real problem.

What do you guys think? Any stories of unrequited love out there waiting to be told...?

yeah, me.
very sad story. no, not sad as in boo hoo, sad as in very pathetic. I was very disappointed in myself for being all girly and stupid ( so okay I'm stupid a lot of the time but not *girly stupid*). At least no one knew except me. I've resolved that it was a momentary lapse in judgement and have moved on to be a stronger more independent person.

Helen, it probably sounds terribly unfeeling to say this, but what happened to you is so good for you as a writer. The more emotions you've experienced in your life, the better your writing will be. Maybe that's why the best writers were tormented souls. It's hurtful to relive bad emotional experiences, but one day you're going to need to write about someone who's experiencing those unrequited-love emotions (or fear, anxiety, discomfort etc) and if you can recall how you felt at the time it will give the work a real depth that touches a chord with the reader.

The good news is that the more you write, the more you are able to distance yourself from bad emotional states. So when something awful happens, a part of you is like 'the observer' - that's the writer in you objectively cataloguing your emotions and those of the people around you. It's really helpful. The only downside is that it happens with good things too, so you're never completely able to lose yourself in joy - a part of you is always 'recording'. Still, it's a trade-off I'm happy with.