Sorry to have been so absent guys. I'm just working day and night on this manuscript. Thought I'd better snatch ten minutes to catch up on my emails. Don't think I'll make the chat tonight but by next Sunday night I should either be rested and refreshed (if I get this finished mid-week when I hope to) or frazzled from the last minite rush. But in any case, I'll definitely try to 'be there'.
Hope everyone else who is writing is going well with their own projects and that life is treating everyone well.
Look forward to catching up with everyone's news next week.
It's not been the same without you, Lou... Looking forward to seeing you back here in the near future.
deb
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
August 26 2002, 1:03 PM
what does m.i.a. stand for????????? just curious. louise you sound really down on yourself and i hope you cheer up although i can say i know how you feel life is a little crappy at the moment but there is always tomorro....
Re: M.I.A.
August 26 2002, 1:49 PM
M.I.A stands for missing in action, Cassie.
deb
Louise
the end is in sight
August 27 2002, 8:18 AM
Cassie, I must be more tired than I thought if that's the way my last message read. I'm not down at all, in fact I'd be exhilarated if I wasn't so sleepy. I'm just putting in very long hours at the moment finishing book three and that doesn't leave a lot of room for enthusiasm etc. So let's just say I'm quietly confident but not jumping up and down (the very thought makes me want to crawl back into bed), but I've only got three days left to do. I post this baby on Thursday night and then it's helloooooo relaxation.
Alyson
ONE DAY TO GO!!!
August 28 2002, 7:53 PM
Lou, one day to go before you post!?!?!
Please let us know what the trip to and from the post office feels like!
Enjoy
Sending off Glimmer
August 30 2002, 10:53 AM
Yes! Yes, Lou!!! How did it feel to send off Glimmer? Did you have a spring in your step! A song in your heart?
deb
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
August 30 2002, 3:08 PM
well i happy you not upset but rather happy yourself!!! good luck with glimmer
Done
August 31 2002, 12:47 PM
Sorry it's Saturday and not Thursday night that I'm sending this message, but better late than never
Yes, I did feel as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders walking away from the Post Office. It was a bit of a hectic last week (Rachel sick with flu at the same time...sigh) but in the end I got it away in the overnight bag Thursday night which means it would have arrived before the end of the month. The 'good little girl' inside of me just loves being reliable
So, I've got some catching up to do with my website and some administrative paperwork I've been putting off. Then I'm a free agent. Lots of books to read, research to do on the net, and putting the pieces together for the next trilogy. Part of me wants to keep writing - anything! - but I really want to do a lot of thinking about this trilogy before I start it. So, I'll let you know how I go.
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
September 2 2002, 10:14 AM
do you remeber when i first talked to you you said that an imagination is important but the crafts is aswell .... im working on the craft and on the odd ocation someone may read a snippet of my writting and they like my writing style:) my friend said i have amazing idears all i need is to do more writting ...but my point is louise to develop good ideas you need time!!!!!!!! and lots of it...personaly my idears either come when i need them or out of the blue but to get a great set of ideas i planned my book for a years and a half constantly adding on to my basic idears toi make them complicated last night actually i was working on the 'bad guys' and i thought of a whole new profesion in the fantasy relm. i dont know if you can afford the time but why dont you take 1 year off and develop ideas.... just a suggestion.
conceptualising and craft
September 3 2002, 1:38 PM
I wish I could take a year off to develop ideas, Cassie. But I'd also like to get a book out each year, or at least each 18 months. So I've got a couple of months before I need to start to work on this next trilogy.
However, I do see your point, about ideas coming after you start. I find that I do get a lot of my ideas during the actual writing, rather than beforehand, but I'm used to that now and I can adapt as I go. Whatever works best for you is the best way. And yes, you do need to do a lot of writing to develop the craft, but that's fine if you enjoy it. Just don't worry about things being perfect. Write what you like and have fun with it.
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
September 4 2002, 10:51 AM
well louise i am happy you have your way of things sorted i just ahve sooooo many ideas that its crazy but i also have most of my ideas whilst writing the book but i found it easier to plan in the beguining but hey just as you say its each writers style
Re: M.I.A.
September 7 2002, 1:15 PM
Sorry guys. I have been a little MIA too. I am thinking of you all and itching to come on and see what everyone's up to.
A little behind in my plan to get my book off and that is my no. 1 thingy at the mo.
Looking forward to daily visits again soon.
Al
Re: M.I.A.
September 8 2002, 7:23 PM
Knew you must have been busy, Alyson. We'll look forward to seeing you more regularly too, but just when you're ready. We'll still be here
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
September 10 2002, 10:15 AM
i ahve noticed not as many people as usual have been on or is it just me? i donno i come on from mon-fri so what can i say, i love to communicate with fellow writer and readers
Re: M.I.A.
September 10 2002, 11:52 AM
Cassie, I'm one of the guilty ones. I thought I'd be lounging about eating chocolate and reading all day when I posted off book three! Drastically underestimated the amount of paperwork that had stacked up while I'd been pursuing my deadline. Anyway, the bulk of it is done now, so I'm looking forward to reading and catching up with people I haven't seen in a while (like my family). And will try to pop in here more often.
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
September 13 2002, 2:59 PM
its not your fault louise... im probably here every two days whilst other people have lives LOL no realy i do come here often cause i dont get to come on the sunday chats :)
Re: M.I.A.
September 14 2002, 8:01 AM
That's fine, Cassie. Don't apologise for coming regularly! You set a good example. And if you ever want to create your own thread - something that interests you that you've found and want to share, or a question, please do. This community doesn't have to be all about writing. I talk about anything that interests me: politics, cricket (ducking to avoid the cream pies), the plight of whales, whatever. You should too.
Re: M.I.A.
September 16 2002, 10:34 AM
I have not been on the messageboard much the last couple of weeks.
But things seem to be calming down again now so hope to visit every other day again.
deb
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
September 16 2002, 12:57 PM
well thax louise knew youd understand....
dont worry deb im sure you'll be back soon:)
helen
Re: M.I.A.
September 19 2002, 10:01 AM
I'd like to add my name to the ever lengthening list of ppl who have gone awol in the past few weeks, although I'm pretty sure my desertion has been the worst so far!
sorry guys, I promise I will get my cream-pie-butt into action starting today
Re: M.I.A.
September 20 2002, 11:02 PM
Helen, you are by far the worst. A body sized cream pie for you to sink into I think!
helen
sinking
September 21 2002, 11:33 AM
awwwwww I'm sinking in this cream pie. Icky sticky cream everywhere - consider myself punished for my leave of absence. Now how do I get these blobs of cream off the keyboard?????
MIA
October 9 2002, 8:27 PM
Been MIA myself over the last couple of months. No excuse really - just been really busy. Things seem to have settled down now though and I hope to join one of the chats soon.
Re: M.I.A.
October 11 2002, 6:28 AM
Helen, I can just imagine you cream pie wrestling, but make sure you keep the blobs off your lovely warrior plaits.
Karen, great to hear from you again.
Danni
CHEER UP
December 19 2002, 3:18 PM
CHEER UP...I just read a few of what you guys are saying you sound so down, Do you know that 15% of the dirt under your fingernail is human poo and 3% is someone elses. Sorry if you chew your nails I probebly just made you guys worse sorry.
Danni
Kate
Re: M.I.A.
December 20 2002, 6:54 PM
slips in
I've been gone a bit too, just started a new job
Re: M.I.A.
December 21 2002, 11:44 PM
I've been away for a while... not really doing much seeing as I didn't have school and now school's finished. Just bumming around bored and watching tv and still looking for a job. My writing has stopped and I can't get back into it but it could be because of the arrival or my VCE results and then the change of preferences for which uni... it's all so complicated. But yeah results: I was dreading them the day they were out on the net and so I didn't want to check them out and waited till the mail came out the next day. I did alright but I dunno if I'll be able to get into the course I really want. And if I don't then I have to either do a TAFE and transfer or take another course. I am so indecisive and tomorrow is the deadline for when all preferences should be done... I'm stressing and that's stopping me from doing anything at all! Including reading and writing!!! I'm so worried about these choices I don't know what I should do!
Also, Louise I wanted to ask what you did after you completed high school... just curious and maybe it might help a little...
Jossie
Re: M.I.A.
December 25 2002, 6:26 AM
Lovely to hear from you again, Kate and Danni (and I did have my fingers against my lips while I was reading your post, Danni - thanks for grossing me out )</P>
Jocelyn, I'm sorry to hear that you're stressing out and I hope you did make some decision because I'm a couple of days late with my reply. I don't like all the stress school-leavers are under, and even uni students, thinking that their choices now will impact the rest of their lives. The real truth is that you can change any time. I know a solicitor in her late twenties who felt unfulfilled (even though she was a partner in a firm) so she went out and did early childhood training so she could work with children and now she wakes up happy each day knowing she'll be spending it with a lot of eager little adventurers - and she's completely unconcerned that she's earning less money.</P>
I left school with a junior certificate and went straight into office jobs, mostly attached to workshops so I had the great opportunity to work with blokes a lot, and that suited me as I like to talk about cricket and politics. I loved working with the general public and even liked bookkeeping which I did a bit at that time - great feeling of satisfaction when all those columns of figures balance. But it was what I did outside work that fired my imagination. I was a peace activist and an animal rights activist and I spent a lot of time on those pursuits, organising rallies and protests, running the childrens Animal Lib group for a couple of years, and generally following my passions. Then I had children and then I started to write.</P>
If I've got any advice for you Jocelyn, it would be to pick a line of work that interests you and uses your passions and talents. Don't stress about how much you'll earn, because being happy is so much more important than being rich. Make a list of what you love to do and what you feel you're good at, then think about how you could use those skills and talents in a work environment - be creative. And remember, it doesn't matter if you end up thinking later that you want to do something else. Every turn we make in life (even the ones that seem to be wrong turns) teaches us something ,and the more life experience a writer can get the better it will be for their work.</P>
Try to think of it as an adventure </P>
Out of limbo land at last
January 6 2003, 9:26 AM
It has been so long since I visited Lou's messageboard for more than a quick read. Life prior to the school holidays and Christmas was just so hectic. Now all the kids are home and I have to fight for a turn on the computer!
Anyway I hope everyone had wonderful Christmas' and whoop-dee-doo New Years!
deb
cassie
Re: M.I.A.
January 11 2003, 9:23 AM
ive been M.I.A for a few weeks and after this you probably wont hear from me for a while but juocelyn the important thing is to remeber nothing is forever. try to look at things positivly and hope that things will turn out ok. its good to have a few options but remeber nothinglasts forever. i myself face at the end of 2003 the accepting or rejecting of a uni but just try to get through. as far as i know unis dont tell you if you got in untillm febuary.
Kate
Re: M.I.A.
March 12 2003, 6:19 AM
sneaks back in
I am back again!
My new job has just been brutal, long hours and such. Plus trying to spend time with my boyfriend who lives in Canada. Going to Canada in 8 weeks to see him for 2 weeks, then I am moving over later this year WOOHOO!
Hope everyone is well, I'll try and not disappear this time
she's back
March 13 2003, 6:48 AM
Hey Kate, glad we didn't lose you. Sorry to hear the job has brutal hours but if it's satisfying work then that's okay. And going to live in Canada is pretty cool. Well, pretty cold, actually. But just be aware that we'll be expecting to hear all about it
Re: M.I.A.
March 13 2003, 6:55 PM
Is he Canadian or Aussie living in Canada? And what's his address? So we can all come and stay when you move over there.
New computer on the way!
March 14 2003, 10:50 AM
Hey everyone!
I just put in my order for a new computer so I should be back in chat in 2 weeks.
It's a shiny new Dell 8250 with all the bells and whistles and even comes with one of those USB keys to save things on. I decided against getting another laptop even though they are heaps of fun. I didn't want to run the risk of having it stolen again.
Hope everyone is writing furiously.
Mick
Yay for new computers!
March 15 2003, 6:46 AM
So pleased that you'll be back, Mick. We've had a visiting new computer here for a week while my son set it up and installed all the programs etc for a friend. We connected it to the Internet to try that out and it flew! I keep telling myself that my computer does everything I need it to do so why update (I have an irrational fear of things going wrong so I try to avoid updates wherever possible), but now I'm thinking it may be a good idea after all. Hmm, will give it more thought. Do tell us how yours goes, Mick. And whether it's one of the ones with the pretty coloured cases (I'm such a girl)
Re: M.I.A.
March 17 2003, 9:33 PM
Alyson:
He's Canadian born and bred, although I call him a runaway frenchie just to tease him. He hates being compared to the French as most non Quebecians do evil grin And of course you are all welcome once I move
Mick:
Great to see you back! I got a new laptop at the beginning of the year, cost me an arm and a leg, but well worth it. Mine is a Toshiba Satellite Pro, very nice and fast. Plus it's handy to have a DVD player here at work on these long nights
Louise:
Upgrading is always good every few years or so. My new laptop is a pretty greyish blue colour, and it goes everywhere with me (Almost)! Whilst a laptop is nice and handy, I wouldn't give up my lovely desktop for the world.
