Arilla.chapter 1

This week, as I promised I’ll start uploading Arilla. Check out “Arilla” page!

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!

The golden ornament-short story

This week I’ll publish again in “Short Story” page.

This is the second short story I wrote for the short story workshop in Kerry. It was my homework and inspired to “The Overcoat” by Gogol.

I decided to set it in Japan, firstly because I love Japan and secondly because the part of Gogol’s story which impressed me most was the supernatural one at the end. So I thought that the supernatural would be perfect in Kyoto.

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!

Snowflake- fairy tale

Hi everybody,

this week I’m going to upload “Snowflake” in “Short story” page. It’s a fairy tale I wrote again opening the bar I’m working in, this winter. Guess what? It was snowing and that gave me the idea.

Tell me what you think!

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!