ECLECTIC PROJECTS BLOG
Madcap Adventures and Distracting Hijinx

Reminder for Brisbane Folk: Angela Slatter Launches a New Book on Friday

As long-time readers of this blog are largely aware, the inevitable Angela Slatter is my write-club buddy and overall font of good writing advice. She’s also launching the third book of her Verity Fassbinder series, Restoration, at a Brisbane Libraries event coming up on Friday night, 6:30 to 7:30pm, at the Brisbane Square Library. It’s free, but bookings are essential, so you should hie yourself over here to register and make sure theres sufficient cupcakes on hand when we mob the place and get books signed.  Not sure if it’s your thing? Here’s the blurb: Walking between the worlds has always been dangerous – but this time V’s facing the loss of all she holds dear. Verity Fassbinder thought no boss could be worse than her perfectionist ex-boyfriend – until she grudgingly agreed to work for a psychotic fallen angel. And dealing with a career change not entirely of her own choosing is doing nothing to improve V’s already fractious temper. The angel is a jealous – and violent – employer, so she’s quit working for the Weyrd Council and sent her family away, for their own safety. Instead of indulging in domestic bliss, she’s got to play BFFs with the angel’s little spy, Joyce the kitsune assassin … and Joyce comes with her own murderous problems. Angela will also be in-conversation with the equally inimitable Kim Wilkins, should you need a little extra incentive. 

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15/08/2018 No Comments
Writing Advice - Business & the Writing Life

We All Have The Same 24 Hours To Get Writing Done, But Those Hours Aren’t Created Equal

Recently, I made the decision to stop working from home. I don’t write there, I don’t produce blog posts there, and I do my best to avoid spending time on the PC answering email or doing writing-based social media. I barely even take notes in my bullet journal, or break out a notebook for planning. This decision was largely made because I share a one-bedroom apartment with my partner. A very small one-bedroom apartment, split between two people who were used to living alone. And two people who have had their fare share of mental health challenges, with their respective coping mechanisms built around time alone. This had consequences: working from home meant my partner felt bad about taking a day off work when sick or in need of a break, because it meant disrupting my work routine. Working from home also meant there was no clear delineation between me-at-work, and me-at-home, so there was never a sense that I was officially done for the day and shifting my focus to our life together instead of the imaginary people in my head. The last few weeks have been a remarkable change in our routines. Now, instead of starting the day by making coffee and slumping to my desk (or, more accurately, dragging my laptop to the couch), I get up and catch a . train to uni where I spend 8 hours at my desk in the post-graduate office. I write for a long burst, walk around the central courtyard when I

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13/08/2018 5 Comments
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? There’s about five half-finished chapter in the Median Survival Time draft at the moment, and the goal for this week will be finishing them off and doing a first-past polish and annotation for what will be tackled in the coming revisions. I’m a little behind where I wanted to be–I’m certainly going to blow the informal deadline I was working towards–but it’s not catastrophic. Talked to my supervisor about other options that will meet the PhD requirements, and I think the novella will be stronger for the extra time. More importantly, I put together a

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12/08/2018 2 Comments
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through the type-in draft of Median Survival Time, which largely involves typing up and adapting the hand-written draft while making changes as I go. A lot of stuff gets stuck at this point, and a lot more gets added in. The goal for the coming week is to get the remaining two-thirds typed up–it’s going to be pushing things pretty hard and leaves little time to dwell on major issues that will get fixed up in the final two sweeps. What’s inspiring me this week? I finished Angela

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05/08/2018 No Comments
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? I finally broke one of the novella scenes that’s been kicking my ass for months, largely by virtue of recognising that it should be about four or five different scenes if I want it to deliver the kind of mood and impact I’m looking for. Slowing the action down and breaking down the beats clearly really helped, and cut a lot of the chaff out of the current act. This puts me in pretty good shape for doing the same for the back half of the novella, assuming I can apply the same lesson this

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29/07/2018 1 Comment
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? I’m breaking in the new Median Survival Time notebook this week, barrelling into the second half of the second act. I’m a bit behind on where I wanted to be, but a week of working slower has given me a better idea of what I’d like this act to be (and how to get there). I’m particularly looking forward to writing a scene that’s basically two characters locked in a shipping container, waiting, and seeing how I can add the necessary conflict and interest in. What’s inspiring me this week? There’s a surfeit of riches

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22/07/2018 2 Comments
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? The main focus this week is notebook draft of Median Survival Time, which is rolling towards its midpoint and a major shift in direction. I’ve now got to take a character that has been proactively running and fighting for much of the last three chapters and get them to sit still for a very long time. Lot s more talking than they’re used too, lots more betrayal on the horizon.  What’s inspiring me this week? To my considerable surprise, the Shadowrun Returns computer game. It’s not the most advanced of games in terms of its

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15/07/2018 2 Comments
Works in Progress

“What is he carrying in his pocketses?” Or, the Current State of the Notebook Wodge

Whenever I go deep into notebook mode, there’s inevitably a point where someone catches a glimpse of my bag and comments on its contents. This, it should be noted, is completely understandable – I’m working relatively light at the moment, and when I emptied my backpack and pockets this morning I was still carrying around 9 different notepads and an assortment of pens. They make for a pretty impressive wodge of works-in-progress. For those curious about such things, here’s a rough breakdown of what I’m carrying around at any given time, starting at the bottom and working my way up: WAIL NOTEBOOK (Brand X 80 page Pressboard Notebook, Blank): . It’s being used to draft the third Miriam Aster novella, and I wanted something cheap and relatively durable to use instead of my usual hardcovers. The logic behind this was simple – I’ve started and failed to write a third Aster book for a decade now, and the weight of all those unfinished drafts builds up when I’m working on something new. If I put this in something that felt like a Moleskine or Leuchtturm, it would feel like real work and the weight of all those unfinished drafts would start dragging the project down. So I hit my local Officeworks and picked up the cheapest, blank-page notebook I could find that seemed like it would fit my itinerant work process. I honestly expected to hate working in this notebook. For one thing, I’m not a big fan of spiral bindings

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14/07/2018 No Comments
Works in Progress

Notebook Week

I’ve fired up the laptop for the first time in three days and find myself slightly baffled over how to make my brain work in concert with a keyboard. I’m immersed in redrafts this week, kicking the tyres on a couple of novellas, and I’ve switched up my usual process by doing the rewrites by hand instead of glaring at the computer screen. The process I outlined on Monday proved significantly useful that I’ve stuck with it for the bulk of the week – get out, find a nook or cranny to hide in, scribble a few words before tramping my notebook to the next spot. It’s been a while since I’ve drafted in handwriting alone, and as always I’m kinda surprised by how efficient it is. The work doesn’t look finished when it’s done – nowhere near – but I suspect that’s a feature rather than a flaw. The inability to delete and tinker with a line means I have to keep moving forward, and twice as much work gets done in half the time on the drafting front. Plus, a boatload more exercise and engagement with the world, which is not a thing to sneeze at. The current project du jour is one of the novellas I’m writing for my thesis: science fiction, hard-boiled, claustrophobic. I’m closing off the first act today, having just taken my protagonist out of her comfort zone via a quick trip to the local museum, and I’m building towards the bit that I’m looking

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12/07/2018 No Comments
Conspicuous Acts of Cultural Consumption

Dancing Brolgas, Steel Balls, and Beating Hearts of the Universe

Today I spent a lot of time walking around the city, alternating between finding quiet places to write and popping into bookstores and art galleries to check out the notebooks they had on sale. I spent longer than intended in the Brisbane gallery because I had to check my bag before I could go to their bookstore, so I figured I may as well take a look around. I spent some quality time staring at Judy Watson’s Sacred Ground, Beating Heart, which is one of those art-works that’s done a disservice when you look at reproductions because it looses some of the texture and depth that makes it intriguing when seem up-close (stare at it long enough, and it’s almost like staring into the night sky – it’s got the same kind of depths). Another chunk of time was spent in front of Sydney Long’s Spirit of the Plains, which is basically the illustration for some kind of Australian magic realist story blending together Greek myth and Australian fauna. It’s a graceful, delicate kind of painting, full of motion as the brolgas dance. I half expect someone to point Angela Slatter or Kathleen Jennings at it one day, and get her to write the story the accompanies it. The gallery had also brought back one of my favourite installations, which first appeared during an Asia-Pacific Triennial back when i first moved to Brisbane fifteen or sixteen years ago. A post shared by Peter M Ball (@petermball) on Jul 8, 2018 at 8:23pm

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09/07/2018 No Comments
Sunday Circle

The Sunday Circle: What Are You Working On This Week?

The Sunday Circle is the weekly check-in where I ask the creative-types who follow this blog to weigh in about their goals, inspirations, and challenges for the coming week. The logic behind it can be found here. Want to be involved? It’s easy – just answer three questions in the comments or on your own blog (with a link in the comments here, so that everyone can find them). After that, throw some thoughts around about other people’s projects, ask questions if you’re so inclined. Be supportive above all. Then show up again next Sunday when the circle updates next, letting us know how you did on your weekly project and what you’ve got coming down the pipe in the coming week (if you’d like to part of the circle, without subscribing to the rest of the blog, you can sign-up for reminders via email here). MY CHECK-IN What am I working on this week? Back on Median Survival Time this week, as I’m working towards an end-of-July point where I need to swap back to the theoretical side of the thesis. I pulled the entire thing apart over the last week and started looking for ways to tighten the action, cutting some of the filler that is currently padding the story out and leaving the scenes that are lean muscle. What’s inspiring me this week? Sy Montogmery’s The Soul of an Octopus, which is a kind of book-length personal essay about octopuses that weaves between scientific fact and personal experience.

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08/07/2018 7 Comments
Journal

Bees, Angela Carter’s Postcards, and Circling the End of a Tale

Yesterday, Melbourne writer David Witteveen retweeted this forty-second clip of a bee hatching that kept me amused for an half-hour, and thus went onto the list of links I’ll revisit for a future project that is rather bee-centric. You should probably follow David’s twitter feed – it’s frequently full of interesting stuff, in that way that the feeds of so many librarian/author types I know frequently tend to be (My other recommendation on this front would be Gessorly’s Tumblr, although the librarian/author friend I suspect of being behind that feed is so circumspect about their identity that I’m not 100% sure it’s who I’m thinking of, and thus I will not name them here). The glory of the internet is not that everyone gets famous for 15 minutes, but that everyone has the opportunity to curate based upon their interests. The glory of being a writer – you’re free to stop work and contemplate bee hatchings and how you’d describe it for more time than is truly reasonable, and you can claim that it is work when it’s really just your brain doing its thing. In totally unrelated news, I discovered the British Library has an article about Angela Carter’s Postcards which includes a number of images that are fascinating if your’e a fan of Carter’s work. I am a sucker for galleries drawing on author notebooks, giving us all these glimpses into the work in progress. I’ve also got a particular fondness for Carter’s Wise Children, which is a book

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06/07/2018 No Comments

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