FanFic Ahoy!

I just finished writing my first fanfiction and I am massively excited, all that's left now is to edit and post. I really can't wait. Don't get me wrong I'm aware there might (likely will be) some very negative comments that will make me cry, but it's a chance to get near instantaneous feedback on my writing and so far it's been a great experience; fun and educational. Having the opportunity to write something without first coming up with characters, location, universe, etc has been really enjoyable and allows me to focus on and practise the storytelling and the actual word by word writing. I even found the story fell out of me much more quickly and easily, probably because I already knew the people (characters) I was working with so well (not as well as their actual creators of course).

The TV series in question is the British show Misfits on channel 4. From the first episode, which I only watched a week ago, I was blown away. It's a gripping, hilarious, beautiful, moving and all round brilliant show. The storytelling is superb (minus the potential for plot holes towards the end of season 2, but IMO that's unavoidable when it comes to time travel) and the realisation of the characters by the main cast and guest actors alike is spot on. I'd be remiss not to mention the soundtrack, love it. I have to say I watch a lot of TV and I mean A LOT, but I haven't been so sucked in by a show since the earlier seasons of Buffy.
The premise of Misfits is a group of five teens (thought they have apparently finished school) doing community service develop superpowers after a freak storm. If you think it sounds AWESOME then you're on the right track, if you think it's corny or downright ridiculous, so did I, give it a chance and just wait for your mind to be blown.

Once I've got my FanFic online I'll post a link and demand right now that check it out :) can't wait.

Christmas Books

Many of my Christmas present this year, and by that I mean last year,  were books and I'm certainly not complaining.

The list is as follows:

Labour Day (Joyce Maynard) - Done and dusted. It's very good, made me cry.

The Light Fantastic (Terry Pratchett) - Very keen.

Equal Rites (Terry Pratchett) - So keen I've already started

Untamed (P.C. and Kristin Cast) - Who doesn't love a mother daughter writing team. This is the fourth book in the House of Night series and the only one a friend I'd been borrowing them from didn't have.

Radiant Shadows (Melissa Marr) - This too is the fourth in a series but instead of vampires it's fairies. Ink Exchange (the second in the series) is so far my favourite.

The Sonnets (Warwick Collins) - I look forward to sinking my teeth into this fictitious tale of Shakespeare's life.

Howls Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones) - Now and animated movie. I saw the movie first and now I'm reading the book, so far so good.


Despite all these wonderful novels stacked up around my room, two of which I've started, I have found myself unable to press on and that is because of one simple thing. Before Christmas I finished reading Northern Lights, the first of Philip Pullman's brilliant trilogy, a novel so good that I had to plunge straight into the next one with little regard for those others I've left only just started. I have no doubt once I have finished The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass I will fall into my other novels one by one with equal delight, but until then I must put them away gently reassuring them that one day soon they too shall be read.

P.S. I read Labour Day whilst away in Melbourne after Christmas before I had the Northern Lights  sequel readily at hand.

V-Day

As I continue to attempt to plunge the depths of the online shopping world, and due to my absolute failure to get anything remotely christmassy made or sold, I've decided to get a jump on the next significant and spiritually relevant holiday and that holiday is, of course... Valentine's Day!
I already have two, count them, two Valentine's themed greeting cards at SarahFallonDesigns over at Etsy.com and I've got to say I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.
So I ask you humble reader and even those readers that are a little less then humble, head over to http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahFallonDesigns and pick yourself up a Valentine's Day card, and while you're there why not pick up a few other things too, it couldn't hurt... could it?

One rejection closer to acceptance.

I recently submitted a short story for consideration for an anthology. It was and is the second properly revised and completed (or as completed as I can get it at this early stage in my writing career) piece I have ever written. I submitted the other one to a competition earlier this year. Anyway both of these short stories were unsuccessful, or as I like to put it, earth shattering failures of immense proportions. I'm fine really.
Anyway, after a little sulking, I've decided it's just one more rejection on the way to WORLD DOMINATION!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!! or acceptance. No writer (that I no of) has had their very first piece of work accepted, published and become epically popular, and so meh, those two rejections just make me more like them, it makes me more of a writer than I was before them and without them and probably many more I will probably never be successful. I need those rejections, I'm going to welcome them and all there little brothers and sisters with open arms and one day I'll be welcoming something quite different... I hope.

Out There

Oh my faithful, avid readers, I know you're out there, somewhere, beneath the pale MOONLIIIIIGHT, and I have let you down yet again. I can only hope that you're the occasional ducking in sort of readers rather the the religiously checking everyday sort of reader. This thought gives me peace of mind and freedom  from the guilt that so often creeps up from the bowels of the underworld to consume my soul.

I'm considering doing honours in English literature atm. I've had a meeting, I need to set up a few more, but I'm reluctant. I don't know if it's the laziness in me or fear of losing a year of my writing and crafting to a year of study I don't really want to do. I feel inclined to put if off, at least to 2012, giving myself a reasonable amount of time to try and figure the other things out. I don't know, what do you think?

On a higher note I'm about to add some exciting new products to my etsy store, including a few handmade notebooks. I found a brilliant online tutorial at http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-your-own-photo-notebook-journal/ and I've been hooked ever since.
My mother signed up with Queensland writers centre and has been passing along the monthly magazines to me, in which I have found a number of exciting writing opportunities to help hone my (writing) craft. As a result I have written four short stories and have four underway. One is and vampire story set in Australia (that's the comps premise) I've set my story in the Gold Coast near where I live and based it on a vampire girl who is returning home for the first time after being turned.
My novel has been left to stew in its own juices for a while and next month is National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) and so I'm giving myself the freedom to just write anything, 50 000 words (at least) of anything. I'll be doing this in the mornings and in the afternoons I'll be revising my short storied so I can get them submitted.

I'm really excited about all of this (except honours which makes me very anxious, but then I read somewhere that the scary things are the ones worth doing) grr I'm very confused and unsure right.

tlk to you later

What's the Story?

So I think it's pretty safe to say I am a bad blogger, inconsistent and infrequent, I have no excuses.

I did however recently go on holiday to... JAMBERROO... where you control the action, oh yes that's right, you hear d it here first, or maybe you didn't but who cares anyway really. Here is a pic from the extraordinary heights of Saddleback MOUNTAIN!!!

Technically Saddleback isn't in Jameroo, but it is near it, and from the next shot you can actually see it.

OK so this is where my cousin said it is so if that's wrong please don't lynch me. Also that circle is meant to be indicating that cluster of buildings I don't think Jameroo's actual dimension are representative of that circle.

What else have I been doing that's kept me from this blog for so long? Well you might ask but I don't have to answer any of you questions!

Sorry about that... I finished one short story and am halfway through another. If I remember correctly I'm near 30000 words through my novel but I've decided to bench that for a wee bit.

My greeting card business is a roaring success if by roaring you mean I still only have five different cards available for sale and if by success you mean no body's bought anything... yet. But I remain wildly optimistic.

And so I say goodbye and goodluck
Caio

Busy Busy Busy

I feel bad I admit it, it's been a while, but as you can see from the heading I've been a little bit busy.

First, the writers festival. The 2nd (My first day was the 2nd but it started on the 1st) to the 5th was non stop awesome with a few flecks of boredom thrown in, but that's hard to avoid when you're an usher. Any way I got to see some really interesting people speak and I made some friends and I bought a book, so all round I'd call it a success.

So following that high adventure  I had a few days of working on my novel while still feeling heavily inspired and then three days of catching up with friends.
Day 1: Shopping with Prya (an yes names will be changed) we met at garden city, looked at restaurants in South Bank and shopped in the City (I bought a dress and tried on another).
Day 2: Bus ride to Ormiston for morning tea (mmmm coffee) with Mona, we had a good 2 hour chat, very enjoyable. Train to the City for more shopping with Stella and a friend of hers from uni (I bough the dress I didn't buy the previous day). The real mission however was to find a silly hat for Stella's boyfriend, Max's 21st which was the following day. Finally we found something at South Bank Markets, which I decorated Mad Hatter style.
Day 3: Slept in and spent a lot of time getting ready for Max's party. God there early, helped set, proceeded to drink a lot of sparkling wine, threw up and crashed. I'd give you the details but unfortunately I no longer have them sooooo yeah.

Now for the big news my Etsy store is up and running, oh yes, get excited!!
Here is the URL and I urge you strongly to buy :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahFallonDesigns

And here is another pic of one of my card designs;