And now for a group writing project…
Robert is one of my regular commenters here on this blog.
And I’m one of the frequent readers (and occasional commenters) on his blog called Middle Zone Musings.
Every month Robert runs a group writing project. I must apologize to him for never having contributed to one of his world-famous challenges. So this month I thought I’d give it a go. What’s more I’ll even give the project a “kick” start by promoting it here. Go ahead – have a go.
All the details can be found on his post called “What I learned from…the world of sports.”
Good writing.
Happy Birthday to me
It’s my birthday today.
(Sound of wild cheering, laughter and happy singing.)
I was hoping to spend the day relaxing. I had planned to do a little reading, perhaps go for a walk in the cool of the morning, watch a good video or two and perhaps even watch a little of the cricket on television. In short – have a relaxing day.
Wrong.
I wrote this entry last night, just after receiving a phone call asking me to work all day. (I do occasional casual relief driving for a courier company.)
So my celebration of the BIG SIX OH will have to be put on hold for a few hours.
Good writing.
Three day novel writing race
The City of Salisbury in Adelaide, South Australia, is a great supporter of the arts. Every year they sponsor a Writers’ Festival. I haven’t yet attended one of these but all reports say that it is a worthwhile event to attend.
As a part of that festival – to be held later this year – they hold a special novel writing race. Writers are asked to write a novel over this coming weekend. It is a long weekend throughout most of Australia so that gives writers 72 hours exactly to finish their masterpiece.
I am not going to enter this year because of other commitments which would cut into my writing time. Next year perhaps?
In the meantime, for more information [sorry – this link no longer works].
They also run a short story and poetry writing competition and details are also found on that web page.
ANZAC Day in Australia
8 Comments »25th April, 2007; Category: Events
On April 25th Australians and New Zealanders all over the world celebrate ANZAC Day. This is a very special day on the calendar of both nations.
ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is regarded by many in Australia as the day our nation took its place on the world stage. Soldiers from both countries landed on the beach of what was later called Anzac Cove at Gallipoli in Turkey on 25th April, 1915. It was at a terrible cost; many thousands of soldiers on both sides died in a protracted battle lasting many months.
ANZAC Day is celebrated throughout Australia and New Zealand and in many other parts of the world to commemorate this special event. Most communities – from small townships through the largest cities – hold Dawn Services to remember the fallen soldiers. Parades are a feature of our larger cities. As the soldiers who survived pass away with the passage of time, their places are proudly taken by their children and grandchildren, most wearing their badges and decorations with great respect and pride.
In the early 1980s the numbers observing this great event in our history dwindled as the numbers of survivors declined. In the last decade however, this trend has been reversed. As the last of the survivors of the attack in Gallipoli died several years ago, many of the younger generation – those in their twenties and thirties – suddenly realised the passing of history. Every year since the parades and observances have seen ever increasing numbers of participants, all eager to remember this significant turning point in our history. Of particular interest is the increasing number of people – again, mostly younger people – who make the long pilgrimage to Gallipoli itself. The emotionally moving Dawn Service on ANZAC Day is often attended by over twenty thousand people.
For more information click here.
Happy First Birthday!
This blog is officially one year old today.
Happy First Birthday to my writing blog.
It has been an interesting journey of discovery, frustration, elation and a very steep learning curve. This blog commenced while I was staying with my son and daughter-in-law in Sydney last year. We were having a short holiday there and Simon did all the technical stuff setting up my three blogs. He still does all the maintenance on our blogs.
Thanks Sim’.
What have I learned?
- Connecting: The writer’s life can be lonely at times – but on the positive side, I’ve made many contacts with people all over the world through their comments and links to this blog and my other sites. Thanks to all of you.
- Selecting: The blogging world is an interesting place to live in; there are many wonderful writers who are forward looking in their thinking and express that in their writing. There’s just not enough time in each day to read it all, so one has to be very selective.
- Focussing: The writer’s and blogger’s life needs to be very focussed on the task at hand. The internet can be a huge distraction and hours just fly off into the unknown leaving little time for the real work of actually writing.
- Absorbing: There are so many things one needs to learn how to do to make the writer’s life and one’s blogging ventures successful. At times I felt like a giant sponge soaking up all the information about this new venture. Putting it all into practice was a challenge. Sometimes, like the sponge, I felt so bloated; at other times all wrung out and dry.
- Rewarding: Being able to write over 900 blog posts for the last year has been very rewarding, giving me a great sense of achievement. Having a readership in the many thousands every month has its own rewards, especially when people connect via comments, some returning frequently. Receiving my first payment from my blogging was another reward and, though modest at this stage, it is a start.
So there you have it.
Happy First Birthday.
Reader’s Questions:
- How long have you been blogging?
- What have you learned from writing and blogging?