Creative Writing Course

Writing Workshop

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Today I attended a Newcomers Writing Workshop run by The Hunter Writers Centre. We talked a lot about different forms of writing, finding our own voice, practice exercises and ways to improve our writing.

We did a Memoir Exercise in which we had thirty minutes to write out a memory, then we read them aloud and dissected them as group. I really enjoyed hearing all the different things we’d all dredged up from our memories. The memory I picked out, well I’ve just posted it as its own post – http://sarahalison27.org/2014/02/01/learning-to-drive/

We did a Random Photo Exercise where a bunch of photos were spread out and we had fifteen minutes to write a short piece drawn from one of the photos. It took me awhile to pick a photo. The photo I did go with was of a man wearing a hat in a 1950’s style convertible automobile. I just focused on the guy and his hat >>>>

I slid down and slumped back into the cars seat. I was wearing a black bowler hat pulled down to partly obscure my face, but not so far down that I couldn’t see. I has hiding out in an anonymous looking black sedan with out of town number plates.

I was keeping tabs on a young girl named Audrey for my boss, she was his daughter. She didn’t like her father interfering with her life, so I was tasked with the job to tail her from time to time and keep tabs on who she was hanging out with

He was at her place again, that boy named Bob Brown. That filthy no good rat was harassing her again. I could see him through the window. I drove off. I’d report what I saw to my boss later tonight.

She was a lovely young girl, but she had terrible taste when it came to men. Her last boyfriend had put her in hospital, then my boss and I had put him in an underwater grave.

My boss was a powerful guy, not a fella to be messed with.

<<<< And that’s as far as I got.

I really did enjoy myself today and everyone there seemed to get something out of the workshop. Now I’ve just got to sit down and write out the scribbled notes and advice I took down and look into some of the things we talked about. I think I’ll definitely be joining the Prose group run by the HWC. Today was a fun, entertaining and interesting day :-).

Life Lately

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I haven’t had time to post much lately, things have been rather hectic.

I’ve lost many hours and been through a great deal of stress trying to get everything organised for my son to start day care next week. So I’m already upset at the fact that I’m losing my baby boy to strangers, then I get dicked around by the government over child care rebates – NOT HAPPY JAN!!! Anyway I got it all sorted today finally, but DAMN why does everything have to be so hard!

I’m constantly on edge at the moment and it’s really starting to get on top of me – I NEED A BREAK – but as a mum I’ll never get one again. Just when I think I’m at my lowest point, in the darkest frame of mind I’ve ever been in, I get lower and it gets darker, I’m swinging like a god damn chimpanzee.

I did have a high light on Tuesday, it was my son’s first swimming lesson. I was really nervous, but Riley seemed to have a good time. He loves the water, he was one of the few babies who didn’t cry. When he was supposed to be floating on his back he kicked his legs and when he was supposed to be kicking he was just staring at the ceiling or watching the other babies – Yep that’s my boy easily distracted and doesn’t do what he’s told (sounds just like me all the way through school).

Tomorrow is February first so I’m going to get back on the band wagon with the 365 post challenge, I haven’t managed to do it for a few days now.

Also tomorrow I’ll be attending a day course on creative writing run by the Hunter Writers Centre. Really the last thing I feel like doing at the moment is going to a course in town, I’d rather stay in bed for a month straight in a dark quiet cave, but I know I’ll enjoy myself one I get there. I hope! I’m going to have to try a shut the real world out for the day.

Apply Yourself

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Apply Yourself, haha, Ok Sarah sit down and write this post, you’ve been avoiding it by doing fun Riley related posts – Commit Damn it!!!

Today’s post asks to describe our last attempt to learn something that did not come easily to us.

FAR OUT! I don’t know when to start. Nothing really has ever come easy to me ‘’education’’ wise. Truth be told, I stuffed around at school!! Never gave a rats ass or really applied myself – AND I regret It majorly now!!! I still don’t know my times tables, can’t read an analogue watch or spell very well and my grammar skills suck – But I can recite nearly all the song lyrics in my mass collection of music. I’m going to learn how to tell the time and my times tables when I have to teach those things to Riley, We’ll learn together – I Hope – NO I WILL learn them, because I won’t be able to put it off any longer, I’ll have no choice, Riley can’t think he has a dumbass for a mother.

When I left school and got a Job/Traineeship I completed three administration type TAFE certificates at TAFE. I tried harder at TAFE because it was important for my Job and I was older and cared a little bit more. Later on I attempted to do the next level, a diploma by OTEN distance education. There was a five year or so gap when I hadn’t been doing any kind of study and I just couldn’t seem to pick it back up again, not sitting in my own home, with my short attention span and it was boring.

I tried again after that to do a creative writing course by correspondence. I thought maybe enjoying the topic might make it easier, but ended up pregnant for most of it, and I never managed to complete it!

So I failed twice at long distance education, it’s not for me, I need a classroom set up to learn at my optimum.

The nuts and bolts of being a Mother I found came easy, Feed Baby, Wash Baby, Change Baby, Love Baby and Play with Baby. I read a bunch of educational pregnancy and baby books while I was pregnant, but all that really ended up doing was overwhelming me and stressing me out. As of yet haven’t been able to learn how to manage all the new shit in my life with all the old shit and that causes me quite a bit of trouble.

I am stressed trying to write this post, I’m getting angry because on this topic words do not flow easy for me, I wonder if it shows in the writing. Riley is asking for my attention by slapping the keyboard whenever I try and type, so I’m going to go play and this will have to do for the day!

365daysofprompts Post 19 of 365 (missed 4)