Sometimes the only way out of the pain, is to go through it.
Hemingway knew that:
story
The Flaneuse (Female Walker Writer)
Up until recent years, I used to walk around the city, alone – all the time.
I used to work in the CBD (Central Business District) and other than walking to and from my office building, I would spend lunchtimes and after business hours walking around the streets of Melbourne.
I was engaged in the city whilst observing it – two polarities joined.
Sometimes I felt like the untethered explorer, whilst other times I felt a foreboding danger and retreated to the safety of a heavy populated cafe or shopping district.
During these times I would sometimes jump on and off trams and trains to see what I could find. Sometimes, I would discover some well known artist’s graffiti on a brick wall or an independent retailer selling exotic homemade wares and even a budding musician busking in a underground train-station.
Now, I make an effort to go into the city and visit certain landmarks with purpose. I am more aware of my surroundings as I take precaution whilst observing as much as I can take in, for inspiration. I never knew how important it was for me to walk, observe and use that to fuel my imagination until I stopped and then went back to it. I didn’t realise that like some of my favourite authors, I am a Flaneuse and my hometown is my muse.
(c) T. Altman 2016
What Inspires Me: Second Hand Book Stores
It was Virginia Woolf who in her essay “Street Haunting” said:
“Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books”
Well they can come home with me and be tamed because I absolutely love second hand books – they have so much character!
When I have the chance I like to peruse though second hand bookstores. Due to my addiction to books, I rarely ever leave a second hand book shop empty handed.
I especially love coming across books with dedications at the beginning of the book as well as personal annotations on the side of pages which highlight some important point to the reader. I find these even more precious the older they are and it makes me wonder why and how these books with so much personal attachment to them, made it to me.
If you can, visit your local second hand book store and rescue a wild book!
(C) T. Altman 2016
What Inspires Me: Elizabeth Harrower
I went and saw Elizabeth Harrower speak this past weekend at the Melbourne Writers Festival, about her coming back to the land of literature.
Elizabeth is someone I can relate to as she’s aged she speaks the unabated truth, yet retains her passion with writing. I also love the fact she unapologetically states she didn’t cultivate people or write for others. To me that is why I love being a writer – for my own need to create and not for others.
Here are a few of her quotes from her talk which resonated with me:
“I had this great need to communicate with people.”
– on why she became a writer.
“If you are going to write it has to matter to you”
– on what you should focus on as a writer
Elizabeth Harrower – September 4th 2016, Melbourne Australia
2016 Reading Challenge
Taken from the Modern Mrs Darcy website I took up the following challenge for 2016 and here is my completed list:
A book published this year:
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by JK Rowling
A book you can finish in a day:
Alone by Beverley Farmer
A book you’ve been meaning to read:
The Hollow of the Hand by PJ Harvey
A book recommended by your local librarian or book seller:
Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey
A book you should have read in school:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF:
Imajica by Clive Barker
A book published before your were born:
Aesop’s Fables by Aesop
A book that was banned at some point:
The Flowers of Evil by Charles Boudelaire
A book you previously abandoned:
The Unruly Passions of Eugenie R by Carole De Santi
A book you own but have never read:
Ordeal by Linda Lovelace
A book that intimidates you:
When the Wattles Bloom Again by Shirley W Wencke
A book you’ve already read at least once:
The Complete Words of Edgar Allan Poe
Melbourne Writers Festival 2016
The Melbourne Writers Festival is happening in Melbourne, Australia next month.
Victoria’s premier annual literary event. The Festival connects writers and stories to celebrate a world of literature, explore universal ideas, and inspire a global community of readers.
The Festival invites thought-provoking discussion at events exploring the hottest topical issues. For those who prefer to focus on life’s pleasures, there’ll be events for foodies, travelers and connoisseurs of culture. We’ll also invite adventurous readers to join like-minded lovers of literature for a range of relaxed social activities in unexpected places.
For all sessions and workshops check out their website here:
What Inspires Me: Old Photos
Have you ever looked through your family’s old photo albums or gone to a market or antique store and seen old photos for sale?
These photos can be very useful for character development or inspiration in your fictional stories.
You can use them for historical fiction as well as flashbacks within your contemporary story.
So next time you come across some old photos – look again as they might inspire you to write something which never crossed your mind.
Melbourne Rare Book Week & Rare Book Fair
Melbourne Rare Book Week commenced in 2012 as a partnership between ANZAAB, the University of Melbourne and eight other literary institutions. In 2015, over 44 free events were held at libraries, literary and historical societies and bookshops throughout Melbourne, attracting local, national and international visitors. Melbourne Rare Book Week is now well established in the City of Melbourne’s event calendar. It is a major attraction for book collectors, librarians and all who have a love of words, print on paper and literary heritage.
The 2016 Melbourne Rare Book Week is from July 14–24, 2016.
For more information: Rare Book Week
As a side note The 2016 Melbourne Rare Book Week will culminate with a ANZAAB Australian Antiquarian Book Fair (Melbourne Rare Book Fair), held in the University of Melbourne’s historic Wilson Hall on the 22-24th of July.
For more information: Rare Book Fair
What Inspires Me: Gloria Steinem
I went and saw Gloria Steinem speak last month about her autobiographical new book “My Life on the Road” and she was phenomenally inspirational!
Gloria is someone I aspire to live my life like (speaking up and living her life according to her own rules) and these were some of her quotes which resonated with me that night:
“WE are the women our parents warned us about.”
“Not everyone has to live the same way. Imagine that.”
“We are not crazy. The system is crazy.”
“Racism and sexism might both be supremacist crimes, because you get nothing out of it but dominance.”
“The single greatest failing of feminism is that we’ve been too nice.”
Gloria Steinem – May 16th 2016, Melbourne Australia
When can you start calling yourself a writer?
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