Wednesday 3 October 2012

CONGRATULATIONS LORRAINE

CONGRATULATIONS to Melton writer, Lorraine Jones, for her win in the Adult Short Story (18 years & over) - Up to 3,000 words section of the Brimbank Writers Awards. Follow the link at
http://www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/Events_and_Activities/Brimbank_Writers_Festival/Brimbank_Writers_Awards to read her winning entry, Tom.



Lorraine is also a regular at the longitudinal workshops. Receiving recognition by winning this award is not only a validation of Lorraine's dedication to writing, it also serves as incentive to other novice writers to take that leap of faith and get their work out there.

Well done Lorraine

Monday 1 October 2012

TIME FOR A SHOUT OUT

It is timely to give a shout out for Melton author Terry L Probert who has completed the writing of his first novel - with a working title of Kundela - and going through the process of manuscript appraisal prior to copy editing. When considering 95% of all first novels never make it to completion, Terry can be justifiably proud of his achievement and the dedication that has seen his ideas reach fruition.

It takes many things to write a novel, beginning with a belief in self and a trust in the story that has often been writing itself in the back of the mind for months or even years. It takes self discipline to sit down at the keyboard on a regular basis, going to work often meaning walking from one part of the house to another, with all the interruptions that come from having the workplace in the home.There are of course other diversions, moving past the temptation to just 'spend a few minutes' playing one of the hundreds - thousands - of games at your fingertips to social networking. This last one can create a catch 22 situation, where it is imperative to spend time building and maintaining an author platform and the need to balance this with writing time. These days it is difficult to have one without the other, yet Terry L Probert appears to have found the required balance, maintaining his blog and Facebook account while continuing with his writing.

Well done, Terry, we look forward to seeing your book on the shelves and on our Kindles and Ebook readers.

Merlene Fawdry