In honour of Australia Day, I’m giving away a copy of John Pinkney’s Haunted: The Book of Australia’s Ghosts.  If you’re interested in winning the book, simply place a comment at the bottom of this post.  I will be announcing the winner next week.

In this book, you will discover ‘many of the strangest and most profound of our nation’s modern-day hauntings’, including:-

• the many ghosts of Monte Cristo (Australia’s most haunted house)
• Australia’s own ‘Phantom’ – the ghost of Melbourne’s Princess Theatre
• the drowned man’s face that invaded a photograph
• the Melbourne newsreader who died of a heart attack on-air, then returned to walk his radio stations corridors
• Phantoms of the bush, including Fisher’s Ghost
• the sinister shipwreck of the accident-prone freighter, Alkimos

I have read this book myself and, believe me, there are some seriously spooky and mysterious things in it.  Good luck!

Now, as I understand it, this award has a few rules.  I need to share five wacky or random facts about myself, so I thought with this one, I’d bend the rules a bit.  I’ve decided to come up with five wacky facts about how I was destined to write within my chosen genre.

1. I used to watch The Addams Family when I was a kid.  I loved to do Uncle Fester and Cousin It impersonations.  I once dressed up as Morticia for a friend’s fancy dress party – unfortunately nobody knew who I was (thankfully, they worked it out eventually)!
2. I naturally enjoyed watching horror movies, which eventually introduced me to Stephen King.  I always enjoyed his short stories the best.
3. I didn’t mind visiting cemeteries, as we used to regularly visit the graves of my relatives.  As a result, I’m not scared of them and still enjoy visiting them whenever I get the chance.
4. I just love roller coasters – the bigger the better!
5. I always thought visiting a haunted house would be pretty cool; deliciously scary, though.  Unfortunately, I’ve still yet to get there!

So there you have it.  Now you know why I’ve been a bit of dag all my life!   Do you have any obscure facts that made you write in your chosen genre/s?

I’m finding the advantages of having a room of one’s own includes:-

• A place to keep everything together, instead of scattered throughout various rooms in the house, making it easier to find things and therefore making it less time consuming.
• You can leave papers and/or the laptop all over the desk and just close the door at the end of the day, ready to begin work the next time.
• It’s more convenient when you have trouble sleeping during the night – everything is set up and there is less chance of disturbing the rest of the house.
• Having a more comfortable chair in which to sit in during those long hours.
• Your choice of music can be played within easy reach – as often and as loud as your muse dictates.
• It sounds more professional; it gives the feeling that I’m taking my writing more seriously.

So how has 2012 begun for you and your writing career?  Do you have a room you call your own?

It’s that time of year again when resolutions get made, but personally, I’ve never been any good at keeping them.  Like everyone else, I start off with good intentions, but I’m usually lucky if they live to see past the end of March.  Either I’m just completely hopeless at keeping them, or I’m choosing the wrong resolutions at the wrong time.  This is why I usually ignore them and just review my year’s progress every birthday instead.

As some of you would already know, 2011 was such a lousy year on the personal front, that I believe 2012 will make up for it.  This year, I’ve come up with some simple resolutions I believe should be applied every year.

• Keep a positive attitude.
• Healthy body, healthy mind (believe me, I could do with losing a few kilos, and the exercise will do my brain good).
• Just do it! (I have a tendency to spend too much time thinking about my writing and writing projects, instead of just getting on with it).
• Ignore the progress of others, unless I need some inspiration.
• Attend some writing classes and conferences, as well as read books on writing to help keep the fire going.
• Send work out to publications/publishers – you don’t know how things will work out unless you try.

As you can see, when it comes to resolutions, I’m a strong believer in the KISS technique.  By keeping them simple, if you stray off the path a bit, it’s so much easier to get back on it again.

So how about you – have you made any new year resolutions?  Are you aiming high this year or are you planning to keep it simple?

Unfortunately, for the past six months, I have been on a roller coaster of a different variety.  Cancer struck my family, not just once, but for two close family members.  During this time, I was grateful for the internet and undertaking the Writers’ Platform Building Campaign (thank you so much Rachael).  It not only introduced me to some new friends, but it kept my mind off my family situation.

Having such close family members getting struck with cancer made me question my own immortality.  I am therefore grateful that I’m alive and healthy, and that I have such a wonderful supportive husband and group of friends.  It made me stop to think what is truly important in this world and what I want to accomplish.  I know I have a long way to go yet to achieve my writing goals, but life is short and I aim to give it my best shot.  How have you progressed towards your own writing goals this year?

As Christmas is almost upon us once again, I’m giving you all a gift -  a break from my ramblings until 2 January, 2012  (I know – you can thank me later)   I’m looking forward to the break and a new year with new beginnings.

I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and I look forward to sharing your successes with you throughout 2012.

As writers aiming for publication, we can sometimes get caught up with the latest fads in what is being published.  After the publication of the Harry Potter series, there was an increase in fantasy novels;  the Twilight series saw an increase in paranormal books for young adults.  Jumping on a fad is no guarantee of publication as it takes years before seeing the final product.  I remember reading a book which stated that you shouldn’t write what you want to write, write what a publisher wants to publish.  While I understand the logic behind this (and this may work best for non-fiction writers), I think fiction writers need to express their creativity in exploring what works for them.  Restricting this creativity can make the writing feel forced, therefore becoming a chore, stalling the creativity and leaving the writer to no longer enjoy what they are doing.  I think this quote sums it up best:-

“In truth, I never consider the audience for whom I’m writing. I just write what I want to write.” — J.K. Rowling

If this can work for one of the richest women in the world, then what’s to stop the rest of us poor inspiring writers?  She had an idea for a story that she believed in and she went with it.  Despite all the rejections she received, she finally found a publisher that loved her idea.  Isn’t this what being a creative writer is all about?

So I will take a lesson from my son (shh, don’t tell him) and embrace my inner child.  I’m remembering what it was like to be that ten year old girl who enjoyed making up stories and got such a kick out of it that she wanted to make a living from it.  Now is the right time to enjoy writing what you like, when you like, without feeling the pressure from publishers.  Are you embracing your inner child?

I’m sure you’ve heard of authors who talk about a particular novel or couple of novels that stay hidden away in some old drawer, never to be published.  They knew when to give up on them and continue with something else.  Some authors decide to go over their old hidden novels, brush them off and consider getting them published.  Perseverance, is after all, a requirement of becoming a writer.  But when do you actually decide that your novel isn’t working; that enough is enough?

My trouble is I continue to go over this particular novel because I need to tell it.  It is personal – after all, there is that old saying that an author’s first novel is usually autobiographical.  I continue with it despite changes in viewpoint, characters, plot development; I can’t let it go.  Perhaps I’ve been working on it for too long that it deserves to be hidden away (either short term or permanently), while I continue re-writing my other novels and begin new projects.

So how do you know when enough is enough with your own work?  Do you have any projects that will perhaps never see the light of day?

And yes, in case you’re wondering, I am a perfectionist!

• To prove to myself (as well as others) that I can do it.
• To assist with organisational skills and meeting important deadlines.
• To improve my writing skills.
• To learn.
• I’m almost done!

Another interesting challenge is that my University has now changed to trimesters.  I have chosen to do one subject during trimester three, which is during October to the end of January 2013.  Yep, you guessed it – right in the middle of the Christmas school holidays (oh well, at least it’s only one subject)!

Due to financial insecurity within my household, even this close to earning my degree, I did think of chucking it all in.  My husband, on the other hand, refused to hear of it.  If he had to wear one of those outfits and look like a complete idiot for his graduation, then it’s only natural that I should do the same – even if he has to drive me all the way.  Now there’s dedication for you!

I trust you will understand that my posts earlier next year may become a bit erratic, however, I still intend to post on a weekly basis.  I guess from now on, instead of working smarter, I shall just have to work harder.

My father died after a long number of illnesses a few years ago.  I went to visit him in the hospital during his last days.  I knew his time had arrived and I felt worried and afraid.  He would stare at me as I sat in the chair opposite his bed, feeling that there was somebody there next to me.  As I watched him getting wheeled away down the corridor he was tightly wrapped up.  ‘I feel like a mummy’ he said; he did not seem worried as he had died before and was happy to go.

One night after his funeral, as I lay asleep in my bed, I felt something cold upon my hand.  To say it was ‘icy cold’ sounds like a cliche, but it was.  Not only that, but it felt like a breeze passing my hand, which I thought most peculiar.  I instantly opened my eyes, sat upright in the bed and called out to my dad.  I believed it was him saying his final goodbye.

Some time later, when I told my mother this story, she told me of something similar.  Co-incidentally, around the same time, my sister was sitting alone in her house, when she felt the presence of our dad behind her.  Interestingly enough, neither one of us had experienced this situation before or since.  Was this really a ghostly visit from our dead father, saying his final goodbyes, or was it just our imaginations?  Our imaginations that happened to be on a similar wavelength at the same time?  (Now cue the music from The Twilight Zone )

So what do you think – do you believe in ghosts?  Have you experienced your own ghostly encounter?  I’d love to hear your stories.

So what exactly does a television show have to do with writing you may ask?

• When each episode ends in a cliff hanger, you desperately want to know what is going to happen next, especially when the end is in sight.  It’s the same with the novel.  Leave the reader in suspense at the end of each chapter, demanding more of their attention.  This can also be applied in a book series – make the reader want to buy your next book.
• The Killing has so many twists and turns, it leads the viewer in all different directions.  By using this tactic in writing, especially crime or suspense, the reader begins to doubt who they originally suspect, which may lead them away from the real culprit altogether.
• The events in The Killing took place during the first twenty days after the murder of a young woman.  The use of time is a technique within novels to heighten suspense, thus hooking the reader in.  As a writer, you want to grab the reader’s attention quickly.
• As events take place, eventually characters begin to doubt those closest to them.  Characters’ personalities develop, leading the viewer to take either a liking or dislike to certain ones.  It is the same within the novel; create multiple layers to your characters and let your reader empathise with them – even if they are horrible, at least your reader needs to understand why.  Know your characters well – they are the driving force for your plot.

Next time you watch a drama that hooks you in, try thinking as a writer and apply some of their techniques to your own writing.