We have an early start to winter it seems. Given we are just over half way through Autumn after a very dry summer this is something to be grateful for. By 9.00 am yesterday we had already exceeded our average April rainfall and there has been quite a bit since. We are still lagging behind the average for the year to date but this is going to mean that the gardens will need less water which will put less strain on the dams and the underground water which Perth supplements its water supply with.
We have a new desalinisation plant in operation now but there is so much more that could - make that should - be done if only our politicians had the foresight. Sadly whenever someone comes up with an innovative idea it gets pooh-poohed. It won't work. If it could work it will cost too much. It will take too long. We don't have the technology. What rubbish. By that criteria the Western Australian goldfields wouldn't have had a water supply piped in from the coast a century ago. The massive works of the Romans would never have happened. We wouldn't have the Panama Canal. The list is endless.
It seems to me that with climate change altering where rain will fall we should be trying every way we can to collect water and we should be encouraging everyone to be involved. When we built our house twenty five years ago we looked into options for installing rainwater tanks and recycle grey water believing that to do that then would make us environmentally responsible and that it would be cheaper than to try and do it later.
"No, you can't do that," we were told. "Rainwater tanks breed mosquitoes and there is no way to recycle grey water." The fact that it was being done in other parts of Australia successfully meant nothing. Things have changed dramatically in the last few years. Rather too late don't you think.
Oops you've caught me ranting again so I will calm down and go to the vet to pick up Jaz who is having some work done on her mouth. Poor little dog.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Life after Clarion
There has been a succession of family crises since I came home. It's as if the Universe saved everything up to throw at me as soon as I got off the plane. I'm spending so much time ducking and weaving it's a wonder I even get near the computer let alone write. So now you know why the blogging has been sparse.
I am starting to make some progress with the goals I set myself - much more slowly than I'd like but something is better than nothing in the circumstances. So here's some of what I have achieved on the writing front. Another Clarionite and I gave a talk about the experience to our local speculative fiction writing group. I also gave a talk on the Clarion experience to my local writing group. I have edited four of my Clarion stories and I think they are ready to go out. I ran a workshop at a writers' group on critiquing techniques and conducted a follow up workshop where those techniques were applied. I have several stories underway and am working on them whenever I can grab a moment. Finally I have been asked to be a guest speaker at a meeting of State branch of a nationwide writing organisation.
Well, that's not as bad as I thought it was. I think I'll mark my report card "Making progress but could do better."
I am starting to make some progress with the goals I set myself - much more slowly than I'd like but something is better than nothing in the circumstances. So here's some of what I have achieved on the writing front. Another Clarionite and I gave a talk about the experience to our local speculative fiction writing group. I also gave a talk on the Clarion experience to my local writing group. I have edited four of my Clarion stories and I think they are ready to go out. I ran a workshop at a writers' group on critiquing techniques and conducted a follow up workshop where those techniques were applied. I have several stories underway and am working on them whenever I can grab a moment. Finally I have been asked to be a guest speaker at a meeting of State branch of a nationwide writing organisation.
Well, that's not as bad as I thought it was. I think I'll mark my report card "Making progress but could do better."
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Clarion South - summing up - from a writer'spoint of view
Clarion South is an intensive writing and critiquing workshop held over six weeks in Brisbane, Australia - and it is intense. The format is a crit session lasting from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday to Friday with afternoons, evenings and weekends free to write, crit, socialise and do mundane housekeeping tasks like washing and eating.
During the course you are expected to write at least six stories and critique those of the rest of the group. This means writing one story and reading and critting a minimum of sixteen stories a week. The daily average was three stories to be critiqued every day which can be anywhere in the short story range. The longest story at this Clarion South was, from memory, slightly over 8,000 words. I found reading and critting a story usually took me between between one and one and a half hours. The crit then had to be distilled down to a two minute summary for the crit room. With sixteen classmate's crits plus the tutor's unlimited time and a general discussion this limit had to be adhered to rigidly to get through the work load. The person being critiqued is not allowed to comment until the class crits are done.
Inevitably some participants find it hard to have their work dissected so intensely. Clarions can prove difficult for those who take criticism of their work as criticism of themselves but the work being submitted is not polished. It can't be. It is first draft and I counted myself lucky if I could manage a spell and grammar check before I handed it in. Crits were honest and meant to help in my experience because we were all there to improve our skills in writing and critiquing and there was no point in any other approach. Because there is such a range of sub-genres being produced it is not always easy for those whose interests lie in one particular area to comment on another with which they are unfamiliar but over the workshop everyone's writing became more experimental as we were exposed to ideas and styles.
My goals in attending Clarion South were to gain skills in writing to a tight deadline, to try writing in areas I had not tackled before and to improve my critiquing skills. I feel I achieved all these objectives but I also gained in other ways. I am now much more confident in backing my own opinion in writing and critiquing and that increase in self-esteem flows on to other areas of life. The website is still active and there is continuing contact between the group with celebration and support available in equal measure.
During the course you are expected to write at least six stories and critique those of the rest of the group. This means writing one story and reading and critting a minimum of sixteen stories a week. The daily average was three stories to be critiqued every day which can be anywhere in the short story range. The longest story at this Clarion South was, from memory, slightly over 8,000 words. I found reading and critting a story usually took me between between one and one and a half hours. The crit then had to be distilled down to a two minute summary for the crit room. With sixteen classmate's crits plus the tutor's unlimited time and a general discussion this limit had to be adhered to rigidly to get through the work load. The person being critiqued is not allowed to comment until the class crits are done.
Inevitably some participants find it hard to have their work dissected so intensely. Clarions can prove difficult for those who take criticism of their work as criticism of themselves but the work being submitted is not polished. It can't be. It is first draft and I counted myself lucky if I could manage a spell and grammar check before I handed it in. Crits were honest and meant to help in my experience because we were all there to improve our skills in writing and critiquing and there was no point in any other approach. Because there is such a range of sub-genres being produced it is not always easy for those whose interests lie in one particular area to comment on another with which they are unfamiliar but over the workshop everyone's writing became more experimental as we were exposed to ideas and styles.
My goals in attending Clarion South were to gain skills in writing to a tight deadline, to try writing in areas I had not tackled before and to improve my critiquing skills. I feel I achieved all these objectives but I also gained in other ways. I am now much more confident in backing my own opinion in writing and critiquing and that increase in self-esteem flows on to other areas of life. The website is still active and there is continuing contact between the group with celebration and support available in equal measure.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Cyclones
About thirty years ago I was in Port Hedland on business when a cyclone hit. In the time it took for my clerk and me to fly from Perth the cyclone was upgraded to a yellow alert and quickly after to a red alert. I was impressed at the time at the efficient steps taken by the local officials to ensure the safety of all in the town. Federal, State and local government staff were scouring the streets to ensure that all debris was removed or secured and that all inhabitants were safely housed. We spent a day in the motel (fortunately located in South Hedland and so not right on the coast) with winds howling round us except for when the eye of the cyclone passed over. The gales were so intense that trees were bent over to the ground and the motel swimming pool had waves about a metre high. The bar was opened at about 10:00 am and the more intrepid or intoxicated spent some hours body surfing from one end of the pool to the other ending up on the pool's concrete surrounds and sporting an impressive array of grazes as a result. Compared with Tracy (which destroyed Darwin) the damage was minimal and there were no deaths or injuries.
I have considerable sympathy for the residents of Port Hedland as a result but I am forced to wonder why in, a time when governments and employers are supposedly much more aware than they were thirty years ago, we have construction camps destroyed and lives lost when we have had well over a hundred years of experience of these annual, natural events. In Port Hedland thirty years ago they had a well devised action plan and carried it out (and this was before Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin). Why do communities (however temporary) not have the same ability to protect their residents now?
I have considerable sympathy for the residents of Port Hedland as a result but I am forced to wonder why in, a time when governments and employers are supposedly much more aware than they were thirty years ago, we have construction camps destroyed and lives lost when we have had well over a hundred years of experience of these annual, natural events. In Port Hedland thirty years ago they had a well devised action plan and carried it out (and this was before Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin). Why do communities (however temporary) not have the same ability to protect their residents now?
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Photos
I've spent today going through my Clarion photos and by the end I felt quite bereft. I'm close to being ready to write about the Clarion experience but not quite. It's hard to explain to those who haven't been through it just how intense the workshop is and how close the relationships formed become. At the end of our last crit session we were asked how we felt about the experience. I had to agree with the guy who said it ranked with one of the most wonderful experiences of his life. It was for me too on so many levels. It was hard - hard work, hard emotionally, hard physically - but all that was balanced out by the highs and the sense of achievement. I'd urge anyone who wants a career in speculative fiction to aim at attending a Clarion. I can truthfully say it is an experience like no other.
Later on I will try to give a better idea of what is actually involved and what the experience itself is like - but not yet.
Later on I will try to give a better idea of what is actually involved and what the experience itself is like - but not yet.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Birthdays
The fortnight of the end of February and beginning of March are crowded with birthdays - Pisces, my father, my brother in law, one of my brothers, and two nephews. My father's was yesterday and we had a family dinner. Since Virgo and I decided to become vegetarian a little over a year ago the family have been having great difficulty in catering for us - or more specifically me because I have such a complicated diet for medical reasons - but last night, with a potluck meal, all but one turned up with a vegetarian dish, all delicious. Since yet another family member announced last night that he has given up meat I suspect this will be the norm from now on.
I had wanted to give up eating meat for a long time before we took the plunge. I was very unhappy about the treatment of food animals and felt a hypocrite for being prepared to eat meat but knowing if someone else didn't kill it I wouldn't do it myself. At the same time it seemed too difficult to cater for in a family of meat eaters especially when my diet already requires so many exclusions. I had compromised by making at least four main meals a week vegetarian but Virgo's decision meant it was easier to go to the next step. There have been side benefits apart from the moral ones. The past year has been one of my healthiest in a decade and while I can't be certain it's not eating meat I'm hoping it will continue. I caught far fewer viruses and consequently actually achieved much more. My only problem was iron deficiency and this has happened to me on a regular basis for years so I doubt it has anything to do with my diet.
Now we have more birthdays to look forward to. Pisces' is next weekend and since he's working the whole of the long weekend I'm not sure what we can do. Maybe Virgo and I will take him out for a meal if either of them aren't working at the same time. Shifts that involve all weekend work are a real pain. Most social lives are arranged around Saturday nights and Sundays and I can't remember the last time we were able to go on a picnic with friends or family or even visit for a Sunday lunch as a family unit. The government trumpets about full employment but so many people are working weird hours or cobbling together two or more part-time or casual jobs just to survive. I'd like to see governments caring a bit more about the social consequences of this life style where often married couples and families don't see each other for more than a few minutes a day let alone keeping in contact with their extended family.
I will now step down from my soap box.
I had wanted to give up eating meat for a long time before we took the plunge. I was very unhappy about the treatment of food animals and felt a hypocrite for being prepared to eat meat but knowing if someone else didn't kill it I wouldn't do it myself. At the same time it seemed too difficult to cater for in a family of meat eaters especially when my diet already requires so many exclusions. I had compromised by making at least four main meals a week vegetarian but Virgo's decision meant it was easier to go to the next step. There have been side benefits apart from the moral ones. The past year has been one of my healthiest in a decade and while I can't be certain it's not eating meat I'm hoping it will continue. I caught far fewer viruses and consequently actually achieved much more. My only problem was iron deficiency and this has happened to me on a regular basis for years so I doubt it has anything to do with my diet.
Now we have more birthdays to look forward to. Pisces' is next weekend and since he's working the whole of the long weekend I'm not sure what we can do. Maybe Virgo and I will take him out for a meal if either of them aren't working at the same time. Shifts that involve all weekend work are a real pain. Most social lives are arranged around Saturday nights and Sundays and I can't remember the last time we were able to go on a picnic with friends or family or even visit for a Sunday lunch as a family unit. The government trumpets about full employment but so many people are working weird hours or cobbling together two or more part-time or casual jobs just to survive. I'd like to see governments caring a bit more about the social consequences of this life style where often married couples and families don't see each other for more than a few minutes a day let alone keeping in contact with their extended family.
I will now step down from my soap box.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Home safely
My box of crits has arrived. Why the Australia Post courier didn't use the door bell I'm not sure because, if it hadn't been for the door dog, (Jaz) I wouldn't have known they were there unless I had had to go out the front for some reason. I don't really care. I am just so happy they have arrived. Now I can get down to some serious work. So far I have just been fiddling with the stories I started but hadn't finished in the last week of Clarion.
What else have I done since I got home? Slept - a lot. It's almost impossible to describe to anyone who has not been part of the experience just how little sleep figured. I had a routine appointment with my GP and he took one look at me and put me on the scales. I have lost nearly eight kilos since Christmas. This was not deliberate. All the time I was at Clarion I was eating well balanced meals and having far less exercise than normal due to my back flaring up. All I can put it down to is the mental energy involved burning up the calories. I'm not unhappy about this you understand, and my doctor is positively cheering, but I don't want to lose much more.
Today I had coffee with a friend, Satima, also a speculative fiction writer who was passing through Perth on her way to England and that was my first social activity since I arrived home. I haven't so much as made a phone call to anyone outside the family. But tomorrow life will begin again. By then I will be awake enough to be coherent.
What else have I done since I got home? Slept - a lot. It's almost impossible to describe to anyone who has not been part of the experience just how little sleep figured. I had a routine appointment with my GP and he took one look at me and put me on the scales. I have lost nearly eight kilos since Christmas. This was not deliberate. All the time I was at Clarion I was eating well balanced meals and having far less exercise than normal due to my back flaring up. All I can put it down to is the mental energy involved burning up the calories. I'm not unhappy about this you understand, and my doctor is positively cheering, but I don't want to lose much more.
Today I had coffee with a friend, Satima, also a speculative fiction writer who was passing through Perth on her way to England and that was my first social activity since I arrived home. I haven't so much as made a phone call to anyone outside the family. But tomorrow life will begin again. By then I will be awake enough to be coherent.
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