Writers live twice. They go along with their regular life, are as fast as anyone in the grocery store, crossing the street, getting dressed for work in the morning. But there's another part of them that they have been training. The one that lives everything a second time. That sits down and sees their life again and goes over it. Looks at the texture and detail.
~ Natalie Goldberg, Writing down the bones.
Well, my darling denouementees, time for an apology regarding my lengthy absence. It’s been pretty busy up on the high road to denouement over the last month, … er, couple of months.
My advice to you all: do not try to combine tertiary study with the writing life. Ever.
So, what have I missed in that time?
Firstly, I was invited to co-present a “get started writing” workshop for members of the community at the Tea Tree Gully Library. Life is a wonderful and mysterious thing, and as I stepped up to share the great joy and reward of writing, I was answered by a very personal and life-affirming magical moment. (More on that, later).
And then there was the supreme excitement of the announcement of the finalists in the words and writing category of the Sydney Writers’ Centre Best Australian Blog competition. (More on that, too).
And if it was at all possible to top that, I did, when I flew out to the National Library of Australia for a week-long Writing Masterclass with none other than Australia’s biggest-selling (and much loved) author, Bryce Courtenay. (Definitely more on that).
And then I came home, and ploughed through the end of the Semester on nothing but single-minded determination and a packet of jaffas. And in the sleep-deprived haze that followed, I had my first personal feedback session with the Mutant Stepchildren. What’s not to love about a writers’ group that calls itself the Mutant Stepchildren? (More on that, and perhaps I’ll wax lyrical about the art of feedback, too).
It has been such a tasty slice of life pie that I’ve been fully taken up with consuming it, and I’ve had nothing left over to blog with. But I’ve been storing it up, my darlings, oh yes I have. Like they say, writing is life lived twice… And you will be reliving it with me shortly.