Update n°7

As I mentioned in my last update, I’ve started at the beginning of February a 10 weeks children’s fiction course run by Jane Mitchell.

I love it and it makes me feel better with all these things that are going on around me. I’m not in a happy mood lately for a series of problems but writing is my personal lifejacket so I’ll grab it and I won’t let it go! I don’t want even to think about what I could do without writing.

Let’s talk about the course! During the first lesson we introduced ourselves and then Jane explained how the course works. All the most important novel topics will be touched and ideally by the end of the course we should have a 5 chapter’s book draft. This is amazing! If this comes true I’ll have three drafts in my computer, one of them finished at least!

The story is about my fantasy world, Sonrisa, once again, but it is set many years before the event of the first book I wrote took place. I don’t say anything more for the moment!

We had homework to do for the following lesson: we had to jot down the writing project and also read a book. I didn’t think I could read a book in one week. Ok, it wasn’t The Lord of the Rings (something that I’m still reading…yes I’m still at the first book since last year…I won’t say it defeated me though! At least so far!) but fairy long: House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. She’s the English queen of fantasy, full stop and I’m not going to spoil a single word out of the book, you just have to read it! I wish I’ll have such fantasy and ability sooner or later!

I feel proud anyway I managed to reach the goal although at least a couple of people in the group read two or even three books. This is something it’s not likely to happen until I’ll retire! Or until I’ll be a writer able to live of my writing!

The second lesson, we had last week, was about characters. Nice challenge I’d say. The small exercise we did in class was about finding a coat owned by our character and telling five objects we find inside it, in order to describe who he/she is without give any other information. The homework was describing our character eating something, using only food, tools and custom. I’d never tried to think in this way. And, believe me, it was harder than just describe your character in the “standard way”!

I suppose that the rule “show don’t tell” is a bit clearer in my head, but still difficult to apply.

To add some notions more I read chapters about character from Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans. The odd and nice thing was discovering I was doing some of the right things without knowing I was doing them! Although I know I need a lot of hard work to do I feel good for the find.

Another nice thing about last week. I was home sick, I then decided to follow my partner’s advice and stay in bed at least for one day. At the end of the afternoon I finished to read one whole book. Nothing big, fantasy book for young adults, but still I remember that I was in high school the last time I did that! I felt good!

Finally on Tuesday I went to the third lesson. We touched the setting and its influence on the character. How the character perceive the setting according to his/her emotions. As homework we have to write about the perception of the same environment by a character in two opposite situations! That will be fun!

I love Jane’s style of teaching. Every time I attend a different course I learn something more and something different. I just feel awkward at times, because I’m the only non-English speaker but this is the path I’ve chosen so I have to live with it and give my best!!!

Talk to you soon!

Update n°6

Here we are again for a new update.

I wrote my January issue telling you what I wanted to do and now I think it’s right telling you what I managed to do so far. I know January hasn’t finished yet but I also say that it’s better start from the very beginning. In this way I’ll also keep track of my personal improvement.

What I’ve done so far was drawing again the map of Sonrisa with A.’s help. Now, it’s tidier but still it’s full of stuff. I think that, when I’ll end up with the main project, I’ll have a couple of spare ideas to write about! After all it’s an entire world I’m building up, so I suppose there will be loads of stories to tell!

I drew in 10 sheets of paper the races that live in my world and they’re attached on the wall in the kitchen (believe it or not, my partner hasn’t killed me yet!) so I have a general idea of the whole and it’s easier for me pick up a race and invent new characters.

Also that helps me with a top secret project I’ve started, still set in Sonrisa, but detached from the main one. I cannot speak about that right now but I will sooner or later!

I also gathered a few encyclopaedias about history, geography and other topics, but I’ll tell you about them little by little.

The one I’m studying for the moment is human geography. I started history of the world and crimes against humanity too, but I think it’s better I concentrate on one per time. I knew already I needed time, so no rush, Franny!!! (Ah ah ah…Franny’s brain’s laughing!)

What I’m not doing and I hoped I could improve a bit it’s reading. I’ve finished a couple of books I dragged with me from 2010 and also I’ve started a new one, a fantasy, although I still have some unfinished waiting on the bedside table!

What I haven’t started again is writing seriously after the NaNoWriMo effort! I’m lost among the planning of the world, the planning for the main project, blogging and writing the top secret thing… there is no time left for my good old routine. Or so it seems!

I suppose that once I’ll finish planning at least I’d be able to resume the morning pleasure. Let’s hope for February!

Also in February I’ll start a new 10 weeks writing course at the Irish Writers’ Centre. I hope I can go a step forward in my planning and writing. I’ll keep you updated on that too, no worries!

On the top of it I keep working full time and I’m more tired than ever, but I’ll go on. Until my body will decided to stop me in one of its genus way, like a cold or something alike, I’ll go ahead!

For the moment that’s that!

Talk to you soon.

January Issue

I’ve just bought the January issue of the two writing magazines I follow and I’ve decided to write my January issue too! I’m going to tell you what is coming next or at least what I’ll try to write or do in the year to come.

What did convince me that this was the right thing to do? And why does the following plan seem to be right?

1. After the concentrate month of November, all the ideas and projects piled up in a corner of my brain, fell down on the floor and now they’re all confused on the ground. I hope that doing that would help to tidy up at least a bit.

2. I’ve found on the web a very nice blog, Gamberi Fantasy. It’s a really good and useful blog, but just if you’re Italian speaker! This blogger, tells you in a simple, direct (sometimes rather offensive way, but it’s effective!) what she thinks about fantasy in general. Gamberetta, the webmaster, has a really bad opinion about Italian fantasy. She tells us also some tips about writing, quoting manuals and underlining the most frequent errors in the books she reviews. They’re really accurate and you can learn a lot. The most important thing that got my attention is: do your research. Usually I do, but I have to admit not so accurately! Also I don’t want that someone could think such things about my stuff which is really important to me, so I’ll try to do my best!

3. I want to be the kind of reader I saw once on the plane. He was next to me and started immediately to read after he took his place. He finished the book during the landing, he put it away and started a new one. When the crew opened the doors he was still reading. Queuing to exit he was still reading. He put away the volume when he reached the stairs. That’s the kind of reader I want to be. Let’s admit that, I suck as reader at the moment!

The three points I’ve just told you were the triggers that helped me to plan what I’m writing next, what I’m doing from January.

First of all, for the few of you who were following “Arilla”, I’m going to upload the last chapters.

I’ll try to translate then “Captain’s log” and put on the blog the journal entries one by one. “Captain’s log” is my Italian book about pirates, but as Arilla isn’t ready yet to pitch an editor, although the story is a bit more complex and better structured than “Arilla”.

What I want to concentrate on next year will be:

1. Sonrisa. So I’ll write everything concerning the main books. I realized that the project is too wide to try to write single books. Everything should be studied from the beginning till the end, and that’s what I have to do.

2. Research. Before I try to pitch an editor I need to complete some parts of my fantasy world, but in order to do so I need to study the geography and the history and the folklore at an acceptable level. Once I’ll finish that it would be maybe possible that some parts of the story will change. You’ll follow the researches though.

3. Read. Everything from writing manual to fantasy book and young adults’ books. Basically books that I need to write better. You’ll be updated on those too.

So what you’ll see here on the blog will be mainly the update of the researching job I’m doing. Maybe I’ll post some short stories here and there, chiefly written for blog games and competitions; or else I’ll try to fill the “Sonrisa” page with a surprise for you!

Also you’ll have a few “nonsense” posts, to have a glimpse of my strange life.

For the moment that’s it.

Talk to you soon.

Post-Nano and Post-TGIO

What the NaNoWriMo experience left me other than personal satisfaction, useful contacts, a second unfinished manuscript and a kilo more?

A very nice and pleasant memory.

Last Sunday (yes, I know this post is late…a lot…but that’s that at the moment, I’m afraid!) I had my first TGIO lunch.

Some of the NaNos from Dublin area met in Yamamori, one of the Japanese restaurants, to celebrate the end of the past tiring month.

After a brief taste of the atmosphere I had last time (the only one actually) I went to a meet-up, I had a pleasant full immersion in what is a place I was looking for.

Being at the table with other ten people or so who love the very same thing I love, who follow me fully in my questions, ideas and considerations, is without prize.

I felt that I was in the right place and that it’s in this kind of environment that I want to be in the years to come, that’s why I have to improve, concentrate and work hard. The enthusiasm showed by those people is exciting and you just want to stay with them.

Special mention to our little NaNo! Seven years old, pure fantasy and great ability. This little one was able to beat the limit of 4,000 words, which is amazing at that age! Plus, a mention to her mother and her family. I maybe sound repetitive and also a bit weird. But is suffered so much when I was the same age and I felt alone looking around me and trying to understand why nobody noticed anything special and ending up to believe that I was wrong.

But now, I’m again on this way! I think it’s the right one and I’m not going back or stop anymore!

Now it’s my turn!

Thanks to all of you NaNo fellows! I’m happy and pleased that you’re out there!

And the winner is....

Franny

And I’m writing here on the 2^nd of December to say that yes, I’m one of Winners of NaNoWriMo 2010. With a final count of 54,006 words I completed successfully my task this time. It was my first time, all right, but…was it the typical beginners’ luck? I don’t know but I’m happy with the result!

The book hasn’t been finished yet, the finale is still in progress but what I’ll do now it’ll be just relax for at least a month. Something that, who knows me even a bit, doesn’t believe at all! I’d say that maybe for a week I’ll try to follow the advice, for the rest I don’t know. I’ve already a list of things to do and things to write and ideas swirling in my head….but mainly I’ll try to read as more as I can, because this year wasn’t really good on that point of view.

What I also want to write in this post is a list of the people whom I want to thank for the marvellous support. To be honest I’ve always thought that saying “Wow, the support of my fan was precious” kind of sentence was stupid, but I had to change my mind. The support of friends and family was not only welcome, but more than useful.

So, here we come. Thank you very much to:

• My partner. Because he was really sweet all the month long, helping me with the moving house stuff and understanding until the last day how was important to me this challenge. I suppose that live with a writer or an artist in general is not an easy task, but he’s doing great!
• Nani, Mili and Silvi. My wonderful siblings (for choice and not biology but who cares) for their constant support and advices. They’ve always believed in me and I felt them close to me even if they live in another nation.
• Dee. I’ve never had a cheerleader before, but despite being only a jumping support, she’s been also a human dictionary at hand and a great helpful reader.
• Madame_Morphine and Elly. Two bloggers, friends of mine, met on the Libero platform, who encouraged me every step. Now actually I have a fun club as well, thanks Madame!!!!!
• Helena and Beth who helped me with words and Google search at work.
• Trish, Shay, Andy, Keith, Nick (with his “Franny do you know that all the sentence must have a sense? You know? You cannot put random words into them”), Rob, Una, Rosemarie, Anne (with her nice exclamation at the 4^th week “You look better today, but it was funnier last week to see you in that way!”) and Angelika for their support and comprehension even if I was a bit more weird than usual.
• Laura. For her constant attempt to convince me to write the same sentence in billion of different ways up to 50,000 words. It made me laugh and relax.
• Damon. He thought me how to use Twitter so I could stay in touch with other writers.
• All the Nanos, who supported me and encouraged me without criticise although I was trying to do my NaNo in another language!
• Virginia. She’s giving life to my mad thoughts, drawing beautifully my characters. I can meet them personally now and I’m so excited for it!
• Random customers. I spoke to a few of them interested enough in other than “the standard”. They gave me all, full support, and if you find this page and you recognize yourself, a grateful smile to you!

I’m probably leaving out someone, and I’m sorry for this, I’ll edit this as soon as I remember who I left behind.

NaNoWriMo was a wonderful experience who made me understand that I’m worth something anyway and there are out there lots of people who care about what I’m doing even if I think the opposite.

The only bitter note comes from my family as they didn’t give me support or understanding at all, but I have to live with it, the show must go on!

I’ll talk to you soon!

NaNoWriMo update3

No, I’m not disappeared, I was just trying to survive. To be honest I decided today to not post on the blog but I needed a break so here I am! Having a break from writing, doing what? Writing…maybe it is really an addiction!

For the curious I’ll update immediately my word count: 41,330. There are still 6 days to go and I’m over excited because at this stage I cannot stay beyond!

The moving house business is over now, but the new house, my house, is a massive mess. Fine, it can wait till the 1^st of December!

The nice thing that happened last week was that I met other NaNoWriMo participants. They are all really nice. I found out there are loads of different people out there, who love the same thing I love!

I thought I could update more often about my adventure but the level of stress was rising constantly in particular in the last few days!

I’ll use, anyway, this post to make some considerations:

1. I found out that it’s not easy bring on three things together, when one of this, is working full time or moving house or writing seriously like it was your real full time job when you don’t have time! BUT I’d do the very same again, because that showed me that I can do that if I want!

2. I realized that coffee have a strange effect on me when I’m under pressure; it is really stimulating but it doesn’t work if I’m too sleepy so the effect is more or less like a yo-yo with its eyes closed!

3. The place where I love most to write is the kitchen. I know that for the moment is the only room with furniture along with the bedroom, but I don’t care, now I have a kitchen and I’m proud of it!

4. I love to know other writers! They don’t care about the fact I’m Italian and I’m writing in English, they just sustain me, which is amazing! Thanks to all of you! If everybody would do the very same in his or her own field there would be less wars in the world!

5. I know words I didn’t know I knew… but most of all I know the meaning and I have to look on the dictionary the meaning in Italian, because I know they’re right but I don’t know how to translate them in case I have to!

Said that I’ll copy here, updated, The Other Count not the word count, like it was suggested in one of the forum thread on the website:

Number of the sheets of paper written during work: 19

Number of chocolate bars eaten: 27

Numbers of cups of infuses drunk: 54

Number of real supporters in work: 5

Number of cheerleaders in work: 1

Promise of creating my fan club if I manage to finish the NaNoWriMo successfully: 1

Well, that’s that for now. I suppose that next time I’ll update the blog I’ll know if I did it or not, so keep your fingers crossed for me!!!!

NaNoWriMo update2

And I’m writing on my blog one week after to tell you my progress.

First of all, the word count at the moment amounts to 20.168, which, according to the stats on the web site, will allow me to finish in time for the 30^th of November! I hope so, therefore you just keep your fingers crossed for me…your toes and whatever is crossable!!!

Although I should be on diet the level of sugar, chocolate in particular, to taste immediately after savoury, is hugely increased. All that along with the consume of coffee, my loyal friend of university time. Seriously I’m just missing cheese flavoured chips and my sweet friend Anna and it would be the very same!

The only huge difference is that while I’m doing that I’m moving house, and for all the people who wants to know, no I’m not there yet, it’s freezing, I’m still waiting for my heating working!!! And, of course how do not consider my full time job. I hope my colleagues will excuse me if I’m a bit more weird than usual, but I’m proud to say that at least a good 60% of them are giving to me their full support!

And speaking of which exactly yesterday Dee told me that mine is now an addiction to writing! Maybe she’s right but just to have a little confirmation I had a dream last night at the end of which I saw a white wolf looking at me with his blue eyes! (Now, I don’t know if wolves have blue eyes or not, but that’s that!)

I went on the dream dictionary online once I got up and I got this explanation:

“To see a wolf in your dream, symbolizes survival, beauty, solitude, mystery, self-confidence and pride. (Well…not really!) You are able to keep your composure in a variety of social circumstances and blend into any situation with ease and grace. (I won’t say that, to be honest, I’m the clumsiest person in the world!) Negatively, the wolf represents hostility, aggression, or sneakiness. It may reflect an uncontrollable situation or an all-consuming force in your life. (Consuming force…I can count at least three, so what!?) This could point to an obsession, an addiction or something that is beyond your control. (Oh dear, I suppose Dee was right then!)

To see a white wolf in your dream (here he is!) signifies valour and victory. You have the ability to see the light even in your darkest hours. (What to say on this, I desperately hope they’re right!)”

Now, I’m aware that at least the half of you is trying to get the point of the whole business here, but you won’t because this post has no sense at all and maybe I’m really getting creasy!!!

You’re not envying my partner at all at the moment, right?!!

So happy reading and writing to all!!!

NaNoWriMo update1

I’ve just updated my word count: after three days I wrote 5303 words. Not good but not bad either. At least I’m following the stats in my profile!

I have to admit that I feel weird! Maybe because I put in stand by the other book I was working on, and maybe because this one is supposed to be the sequel of the one that is not finished yet!!

I cannot get the personality of my characters yet, and although I have the structure of the book ready I have a massive quantity of details that are coming out all together at the same time!

Let’s see what I’ll end up with! I’m happy enough that out there, there are many people mental like me! Happy days!

Following the synopsis of the book I wrote on my profile.

Solo Of Water

(Fantasy)

Alnilam is safe but another lady, a solo of water, is in a great danger. She’s chased by Black Dragon folks and she has to survive.

Alnilam and Orion, parents to be, want to find the solo of water and save her.

Cleo and Julius want to find the solo of water and kill her.

Who’ll be there first?

Talitha will be saved or condemned to death?

Thuban will be able to take care of the children and himself?

And Ursa will change for love’s sake or will surrender to the dark lady?

It’s a simple fight good V evil but who will win? Who will win the battle and who will win the war?

Do we have any hope left?

What do you think about that?

Happy reading!

Update n° 5

Hi everybody,

I’ve published so far on this blog three short stories and a fairy tale and, before I put in practice what I want to do, it would be fair to explain to you what I’m going to upload here in the future!

From the next week on, I’ll put on these pages the book I wrote for children piece by piece. To me it is still too unripe to try pitching to an editor or a literary agent but still, I think it would be nice to share it with you.

It was my first attempt to write a book fully in English, so it will be very simple; well to be honest, at the beginning it was supposed to be a fairy tale and then I just kept writing it!

Actually reading it again and again to correct it, I noticed that it is something like a draft still though with no chance to become something more. I’m going to upload it anyway because I spent lots of time on those pages so I think it’s fair to myself showing you my first efforts. If I wanted to put it right I should behave like Stevenson, the day his wife Fanny told him that his “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” needed to be polished a bit: he went back to his room and threw the manuscript in the fireplace! The version you can read nowadays is something completely different!

This book is set in a fantasy world I’m creating for children and I’ve called Sonrisa. I’m in love with it! I have a huge project in my head and the more I write, the more ideas come up to my mind. I think that this is good but also that it might take too long especially if I keep working full time! But I won’t give up as I have a good feeling about it.

I remember that when I graduated, the enthusiasm about researching and writing were at their highest levels, but I had limits of time and length! At the moment I feel exactly the same but I don’t have any limit whatsoever! It’s great!

Well, Oisin, who ran the workshop I told you about, said that I have an ambitious project but I didn’t take it as a critique, mostly because it didn’t sound alike! And far from being knocked down by this (like I usually do for other matters!) I feel stronger and more determined as I think about it even harder!

My head is spinning and my hands are moving alone!

The second thing coming soon will be a kind of magazine about Sonrisa. Hopefully it will bring up my paper world in more of a 3D spectrum. There you’ll find some news, ads, history and nice things regarding my world.

These two pieces of big news will change the pages at the top of the blog as well.

I’m going to get rid of “Cooking, music and so on!” and “The monster factory” pages and replace them with “Arilla”, which is the title of my book, and “Sonrisa”, which is the name of the world, and where I’ll put the newspaper when it will be ready.

Well I think that’s it for the moment.

Talk to you soon!

Update n° 4

Hi everybody,

After two pieces of prose I’ll tell you something different again! But no worries, you’ll have loads of stuff written by me on these pages in the next weeks so don’t despair!!!

Few weeks ago I was having breakfast with my partner and I was talking about writing. He said “No, don’t become a dark gloomy hunchback!” and I assured him that not everybody ends up like Leopardi.

“Ah and don’t become mad and dandy!” and I assured him that not everybody ends up like D’Annunzio.

The following question was “Are you sure you want to write? I don’t want you to become a mad person!” I answered to this that yes, I wanted to write and become a full time writer but that for the mad problem it was already too late!

The very same day I was having a look at one writers social network. In the forum there was a post where there were written some famous writers’ habits.

I thought then that I could tell in this piece what is my personal method.

To be honest I haven’t a particular one but I also think that my perseverance and my efforts should be rewarded mentioning what I do every day.

I usually don’t think I’m doing something really special but my friends and my boyfriend think so. Therefore I’ll write it down and ask you what you think about that.

At the moment I’m not a full time writer, I’m not even a part time writer…I’m more of a “I write when I manage to find time” writer.

I have my day job in a touristic attraction and my evening job which is, like every woman, my partner, our home and our dinner!

The moments that are left to write are the lunch break, one hour in the evening (when I’m not dead after my day at work!) and my days off. To give you an idea I’m writing this post’s draft in the GP waiting room!

What I know is that I don’t want to give up and stop! This time it would be entirely my fault and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I did!

It is said that you were born alone and you die alone. It’s actually also true that to be a writer means being alone too! Even if you have friends and you enjoy staying with them it doesn’t matter. Once you’re sat at your desk you’re alone!

As I said, I haven’t much time to write, so the few minutes I have for my lunch break are spent in writing, reading, editing and so on!

This means that I’m not going to our workplace canteen with my colleagues anymore, so I’m getting rid of one of the few occasions to show myself less asocial in the eyes of the people whom I work with! But it’s ok, this is my dream and this is worth the sacrifice. I usually write for 30 minutes in total while I’m eating. That’s why my production is not so wide anyway!

When I go back home and during my days off, if I’m not collapsing because of the fatigue, I keep writing. Well, not for all the time because I want to dedicate some time to my partner too.

Another niche I’m managing to cut for myself lately is in the morning. My partner usually takes from half an hour to an hour to wake up snoozing the alarm. I realized that sacrificing a few of my neurons I can write a good half an hour while preparing breakfast that takes just a few minutes anyway. And that’s how I’m writing my new book. This seems to be working for some reason because I’ve already written down ten pages in just a few days. So I think I’ll keep going!

Unfortunately or not, it depends on the point of view, I’m the kind of person who wants to do loads of things together. I’m a bit disappointed form the reality that tells me that I cannot. But still sometimes I try to go beyond.

What is for sure is that writing and my partner are my priorities so I’ll do my best to keep at least these two!!!

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Talk to you later!

Marian and grace- short story

This week post is in the short story page! Marian and Grace is the piece I sent to Listowel before I attended the workshop because I was asked to send a sample of my writing in advance.

I’ve been thinking about this idea for long, and maybe in the future I could put it in a novel! Who knows!

If you have any comment or suggestion write them here please! I hope you enjoy it!

Update n° 3

I spent last week in Listowel, Co. Kerry, at the Listowel Writer’s Week festival. This is why I didn’t post anything on my blog but it is also why I have this post and two short stories ready to put online over the next two weeks.

There are so many things that went on during the past days that I had to read the notes I scribbled on my notebook to write this post! And just consider that, with the exception of the walking tour, I haven’t been to any of the events simply because I’m too ignorant to know all the writers reading their books. But I don’t mind, simply because I found out that there is always time to learn more and there is always a way to improve yourself. I met extraordinary people who go here and there, without stopping doing things, learning or living even if they’re not so young anymore. Take Mary for example she’s a wonderful X (no good saying a lady’s age, but let’s say greatly more than 50) years old who was at the workshop wanting to try to do something different, living her second youth with her new partner, running an activity in a foreign country. Believe me, I’ve always thought that at that age the only adventurous thing you were able to do was travel around the world and that’s it for my personal experience. And she isn’t the only one I met there who lives this wonderful life. I hope I’ll be like that at her age!

Anyway what I want to concentrate on in this piece are the wonderful, mixed and confused feelings I experienced in the past seven days! Marvellous thing!

The first class is always something new, you meet your teacher and the people who we’ll stay with you for the days/weeks the course lasts. The one I attended was a 3 days short fiction workshop run by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne who, through the analysis of short stories, taught us how to write them correctly. Or at least my don’ts list is a bit longer now!!! At the very beginning I felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere, fifteen new people to know, some of them already published authors (I would like to underline that this teaches everybody that you never finish to learn. Which is amazing!). Of course all of them were English native speakers (something I was the only one to be worried about, really!) and some of them veterans of the Writers Week. I remember that I looked around me and I thought “What the hell are you doing here, Fran!?”. But I have to admit this uncomfortable sensation didn’t last long! They were one nicer than the other and I spent a wonderful time with them. I met some of them outside the course as well and got some new contacts. I’m really happy for this. I have also to admit that I had the courage to talk and ask the contact information of people that I admire and I thought immediately were nice instead of staying in a corner and think how it would be nice making their acquaintance! It is also true that here in Ireland it’s really easier to make new friends or at least knowing new people. Maybe what I’m learning is to be braver in social relationships and that when I want something, I should go and do it instead of staying in one corner wishing!

I found the method of “learning through the reading” really interesting. That is probably something we all should do when we read. Well, I wouldn’t want to sound obvious but maybe that’s why we’re told to read more than write! I think I have to improve this skill anyway. I’m usually so absorbed by what I’m reading that after a while it’s pretty hard to keep the concentration on the technical point of view.

The first day we were given homework as well and I wrote a short story staying up till 1 that night. But it was worth it, because it received a nice feedback. You’ll see it on this blog in a couple of weeks. I’m so glad of this and most of all it could mean that I should start thinking that I’m not that bad. What it needs for sure is some correction. Actually I think I said this before, and this experience didn’t change the matter, the toughest part of the workshop is reading every time after you produced something without the time to revise and correct it properly. I feel just a bit better knowing that I’m not the only one to feel like this, so maybe it’s not really connected with the fact that I’m an Italian native speaker, or at least not only, but also with the character itself. If only I felt more self-confident after all these workshops it would be great.

I was sad when the workshop was finished. It was a good experience and it was so funny and enjoyable that I wanted it to last longer. It taught me a lot but also that I have to learn even more.

On Friday my partner came over and we spent the weekend together but what I think with nostalgia about are the two days I spent by myself, simply because I passed all day long doing what I love the most, writing and reading. It was an incredibly fulfilling and satisfying sensation I was doing something for me and something I’m proud of. I hope that sooner or later I’ll be able to be a full time writer and spend my days like the old writers did. I’m a bit romantic, I know, but I feel like whishing this to myself.

Talk to you later!

Update n° 2

Hi all,

Here I am again! The original post for this week wasn’t this one, but then a couple of things happened and I wanted to share them with you!

First of all I started my children’s fiction workshop at the Writers Centre here in Dublin. It’s a seven weeks course run by a writer and illustrator of children/teens books, Oisín McGann.

We’re just 6 people and, apart from me and a Swedish lady, the rest of us are Irish. But all ladies! Good for him! The course is amazing, and the teacher is very good. He actually destroyed the idea I’ve always had of the writer. I mean, when you think about a writer, the immediate thought that comes to your mind is a solitary, grumpy hunchback person sitting at his/her desk. Nothing could be more wrong than this or further from the truth. This guy is a performer honestly! If you just happen to pass behind the door I think you’d be sure that on the other side they’re holding a theatre class not a writing one!

But it is actually one of the things he told us immediately: you can forget to just stay at your desk and write, after that you have to go around, read your book and face the public. Wow that was exactly the explanation I had given to my colleagues at work: “I have problems with the microphone because I’m panicking….but I’m not worried, I’m a writer so I don’t need it!”…well it seems I was wrong and that I’ll have to face this problem eventually! That’s why I have to learn to sell myself and my writing! What is sure is that I have to work on it!

What I can tell you for sure is that now, considering the reason why I have to defeat my panic at the mike, my determination in doing it will strengthen!

The toughest part in attending this course was writing and reading on the spot, by the way. I’ve already put something online and I gave some of my stuff to some friends of mine to read, but in those cases I wrote the piece, I thought about it and eventually those people corrected the errors I made! Only after that I was able to put my stuff on the web or show it to a bigger audience! But here it’s different! You have ten minutes to create something and bang, you have to read it. I tell you, it’s scary and I’d prefer to sink into the ground and be swallowed by the floor!

But on the other hand I guess it’s a good exercise for me, and I hope that my self confidence will improve a bit after this.

The second thing I mentioned was that it was held at the Writer Centre again last Saturday. I’m talking about the publishing day. It was basically a one day conference. Five people connected with the publishing and writing world spoke one by one and answered to a lot of questions.

I arrived there and I felt a bit lost: people seemed to know each other, at least the majority of them. I looked around to see if at least I could find someone from my course but I didn’t spot anybody or at least I think so! The bad thing in doing the job I do is meeting too many people, and personally I cannot fix people’s faces in my mind so quickly!

Even if I felt lost anyway I didn’t feel the kind of oppression I’ve always felt going to a new place. At the Centre people are nice and welcoming and know perfectly well that a kind smile doesn’t cost a fortune. And it is amazing because this is one of the last things you’d expect from the writing world! Maybe it’s not always and everywhere like this but I guess it is a good start.

I found all the speeches very interesting, full of useful information. There were so many things I didn’t know and for sure there will still be many things I have to learn. But I have to calm down now and proceed one step after another.

The speech that maybe affected me the most was Dermot Bolger’s. He’s a very nice man, the typical mad writer (mad of course in a good way! This is a compliment!) who said that it doesn’t matter if you’ve already published a book or not, if you wrote one you are a writer. It’s weird because I’ve always said to people that I’m an aspiring writer, maybe because I’ve always had the idea that you’re a writer if you get published or when you have arrived! But arrived where exactly!? What I found out the other day was exactly this; you never finish learning, improving and evolving! I daresay I’m just at the very beginning!!! I have lots more to do, BUT I’m a writer!

And I’ll leave you here with this new consciousness!

Talk to you later!

Update n° 1

I’ll write “update” as tag and title to all my post concerning writing! In these kinds of posts I’ll tell you what I’m doing or simply what I feel writing something. Of course I’ll use the first one as introduction!

If I decided to open this blog and one in Italian, well actually two because I wasn’t able to delete the old one and have a website as well is because I need to show you my works, my thoughts.

I love writing and I put in a little bit of myself every single time I place words in row.

Once I was told that reading my short story is just like speaking with me! For me it was a huge compliment! Although I’m not completely aware of it, it means that every single time I’m putting a bit of myself in my works.

Or that could mean I’m writing in a too much colloquial way and I need to improve my technique! Well I’ll bet that! I’ve just started to write anyway!

This is my first post about writing and me as a writer so I’ll tell you more about that.

I’ve always loved reading. I started with fairy tales of course, like everybody. Soon I found out Emilio Salgari’s books that brought me in to the Malaysian world full of pirates, gentlemen, villains and princesses.

I really loved those books and I’m seriously thinking about reading them once again as soon as I have the chance.

After that I kept reading and I always read as many book as I can even if it is a single line every time I open them.

As I mentioned before, when I was 8 I started to write a story about an archaeologist. It was about a pyramid impossible to open, if I’m not mistaken. The only thing I remember well of those 10/15 pages is the vivid sweating face of him drinking ice tea sat at his desk and trying to solve a riddle. I stopped trying to invent one and after that I had the bad idea to ask for feedback and as you know I didn’t receive much encouragement from my family, even if they didn’t read it at all.

I’ve already mentioned what happened next so I won’t repeat it here for it wasn’t really important as a period.

It was just pretty dark with some ideas swirling round my mind but with no strength or no time or no knowledge of how to put them in practice.

But, as you know, when I started to work where I’m working now I met my guru, who is also my best friend and brother, to whom I really owe a lot! He taught me how to embrace my dreams and love my ideas and what I’m doing. He keeps teaching me after two and half years and I guess he’ll do that for more years to come because you’ll never finish learning, really.

I’ll be never grateful enough to him for that!

The really nice and exciting thing is that I cannot stop writing anymore. Every day I have to put something on paper. Could be even a sketch but if I don’t write at least a little my hands start shaking and I feel really uncomfortable.

What I’ve written so far are some short stories and a book in Italian, which I’ll translate for you as soon as I can.

After that I decided to write in English but whatever language I’ll use I decided I’ll translate into the other. I know that this will drain my energy, in particular during the summer (that is the busiest period in work) but I’ll try to update the blog regularly.

Of course there’ll be some slight differences between the posts because I’ll edit them separately, so if you speak both languages you can check them anyway.

To be honest, I would like to translate it in Spanish and Japanese too, but it’s maybe asking too much from myself right now. I’ll stick with these two languages for the moment!

The reason why I write in English, because I know you want to ask me this question (everybody does), is not only my personal need to complicate my life every time I can, but also a challenge.

Well, at least first of all, a challenge to prove to myself I can do this.

Secondly, but not less important, I want to be published but only if I deserve it. Considering that Italy at the moment is a place where rarely you get something if you deserve it, but it’s just a ‘I pay more SO I deserve it’ place, I prefer to write in English and have more chances to understand if I’m worth it or not.

Maybe I’m not but I won’t stop writing just for this because as I told you, I love doing it and I cannot stop!

I think that’s it for the moment.

Talk to you later!