Last week I attended the Emerging Writer's Festival Criticism Masterclass. The main thing, absolutely the main thing I got from it, was to pitch. Write and pitch, imitate and make contact, read and practice. But mainly, pitch ideas. I'd never really done that before, but, reader, I did. I pitched one idea to one place … Continue reading Taking advice as directed
Month: June 2016
De rigueur Degas
I thought I would have more to say about seeing the works of Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Victoria and maybe I will. However, more time is required to mull viewing more than 200 pieces all together in the first major retrospective since 1988. It's true that I learned things, both from the art and … Continue reading De rigueur Degas
Circle of Writing
The endless round of editing, pulling apart and putting back together continues. With writing, there's always more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done, in between life and work and the required commute and chores and sleep. If you've been following along, you may recall I had a collection … Continue reading Circle of Writing
Darkness & then Light
If the work of Jan Sensbergs was heavy with the portent of industrial annihilation, across the corridor at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square) it was all feathery lightness. I wanted to see Sensbergs, but the bonus was remembering Luminous: Australian Watercolours 1900-2000 was also on display. It was a welcome contrast. The art … Continue reading Darkness & then Light
Sensbergs & Observability
Just before it closes I finally got around to seeing Jan Sensbergs' exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square). His lines and perspectives appealed to me and his vision of cities and interior spaces are not bleak exactly, but not happy. I feel like he and William Blake could agree on the damaging modern … Continue reading Sensbergs & Observability
More please
In writing, as in physics, once things begin to happen, they keep happening. I've just had another story accepted and it'll be out next month. It will be the second published from my once upon a time ex-almost collection, so at least some of it was on the right track. A lot of time is spent … Continue reading More please
When losing is winning
Earlier this year I entered a collection of my short stories into a competition. I reflected at the time that it was a handy thing to do, preparing a complete manuscript, because it helped polish them up so they felt fresher. In addition, arranging them together enabled me to see their flaws and similarities, as well as … Continue reading When losing is winning
Writing Bec 