Trevor's Writing

Adelaide Writers’ Week

No Comments »9th March, 2013; Category: Adelaide Writers' Week, Authors, Books, Writers

2010 Writers’ Week, Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens, Adelaide

Over recent weeks our capital city Adelaide has been abuzz with its annual Fringe Festival, followed by the now annual Festival of Arts; it used to be every two years. Somehow we manage to make this month into “Mad March”. In addition to these two major festivals organisers also manage to cram in the Clipsal 500 car race and this weekend we have the Adelaide Cup, a horse race.

One of the features of the Festival of Arts I always look forward to is Writers’ Week. This is always held over about 6 days in the beautiful Women’s Memorial Gardens, part of our lovely parklands. Sitting in the shade of the trees on an early autumn day listening to writers talking about their books and their writing craft is a very pleasant way to spend a few – or many – hours.

Unfortunately life conspired against me this year and I didn’t make it to a single session. [Sigh]

You can read my impressions of the last Adelaide Writers’ Week here.

Adelaide Writers’ Week 2010, Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens

Circolombia

No Comments »3rd March, 2013; Category: General

This post is not about writing, or about books or even about reading, but it’s something I’d love to share with my readers.

Yesterday my wife and I had the delight to see one of the shows in the Adelaide Fringe Festival, an exciting part of the world-renowned Adelaide Festival of Arts. The show was called Circolombia, a vibrant, energetic and compellingly hypnotic acrobatics display mixed with rap music and dance.

The stars of this rhythm-fest are all young people from the streets of Cali, Colombia. They have escaped the dangers of those streets and have taken their skills onto the world stage for all to see. My family has close ties with the city of Cali – both of my grandchildren were born there and lived for the first few months of their lives in a local orphanage. I can now see where they get their love of music from – as well as their amazing sense of rhythm.

One of my concerns about this afternoon’s performance was the Clipsal 500 car race, the track being about 150 metres from the tent where we sat watching the show. The main race coincided with the performance. I need not have worried. The booming reggaeton soundtrack showed that the high-octane performance inside the circus tent was more than a match for the average-octane cars on the street circuit car race nearby.

Another benefit of belonging to a writers’ group

No Comments »1st March, 2013; Category: The Writer's Life, Writers

Last night I attended the monthly meeting of my writers’ group. This group used to meet at my university in Adelaide, but this is no longer suitable because most of the participants no longer work or study there. Instead, we meet in a comfortable church hall in Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. It’s a 35 minute drive for me, somewhat shorter than the previous 50-55 minutes, depending on traffic.

Last month we were set a writing task for this meeting. Six of the group had prepared stories to share last night, but these readings and the subsequent critiquing session was postponed. Our leader, Mark, has experienced a tragedy only 36 hours before. His son, a talented writer in his own right, an occasional participant in our meetings, had suddenly died. It was a good opportunity for Mark to unload on a group of supportive friends and fellow writers. Normal proceedings were suspended and he just talked and talked about what he was feeling, and the circumstances leading up to his son’s death.

After an hour, he left the meeting. We had some other short stories and poems prepared to read, leftover from the previous month. It wasn’t how we planned the meeting to go, but in the process of letting Mark talk – and show his feelings – we not only helped him, but also helped each of us come to terms with the tragedy.

I also believe it has further strengthened an already very strong bond between us as a group.

Good writing.

Writing prompt – sacred places

No Comments »27th February, 2013; Category: Fiction, Poetry, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Short Story Starters, Writing prompts

Inside the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco is obviously a sacred place in that country, going by the number of people visiting the site during our tour. If it isn’t a sacred place, it is certainly a very special place to many Moroccans.

We all have our special places; some of them are quite sacred to us. One special place for me is the small hill in the Flinders Ranges in outback South Australia. The panoramic view of the Wilpena Pound mountains in the moonlight was a perfect place to propose to my girlfriend. More than 40 years later she is still my wife.

This mausoleum was a sombre place. The stunning beauty of the building added to the strong sense of place and occasion.

Writing prompt:

What sacred, or special places do you have in your life; write about them, describing why they are special.
Write accounts of special places you have visited.
Write a story set around a place which is special or sacred to someone else – perhaps a place special to many people.
Write a poem about a place which is very special to many people in your country.

Good writing.

Inside the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco

Writing prompt – what’s their story?

No Comments »25th February, 2013; Category: Fiction, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Short Story Starters, Writing prompts

Moroccan women at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco

During our visit to the capital of Morocco we stopped briefly at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat. This was one of many beautiful buildings we saw during our tour.

Just before we went inside, I took several photos of some Moroccan women talking. They were attired in what I assume was the standard of dress in that area.

Writing prompts:

What is their story?
Why have they come to visit the mausoleum?
What did Mohammed V mean to them?
Why is the little boy fascinated by me taking a photo of them?
Write a poem from the point of view of the curious little boy.
Write a short story from your point of view with a focus on the death of someone you admire, triggered by visiting this memorial.
Let your imagination fly in any direction as a result of seeing these photos.

Good writing.

Moroccan women at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco