Excuses, excuses, excuses... and Writers Block.

Apparently I seem to come up with a lot of excuses as to why I don’t update my blog more often or as to why I don’t write as often as I should.  Well excuses no more; I’ll just write as regularly as my mind and fingers enable me to.

So as I sit here and type at my computer and wonder what I’m going to write. Writers block assails me and my mind drifts to thoughts like; how does a man who drives a snow plough get to his work in the morning?

Writers Block is a curious phenomenon and I have fallen prey to its vile clutches time and again. I have sat at my computer and typed vigorously for hours on end and then stopped...felled by one word I can’t seem to remember and then it’s gone, that magical writing spree as dead as winter grass and me left with just the faintest memory of what it was I was going to write.

“How do you fight writers block?” I hear you ask.

It is a struggle. The battle can take mere minutes, hours, days or in the case of one of my stories...years. This story was one that I struggled with for days. I knew the start, I knew the middle, and I even knew the ending. But I was trapped by a series of sentences that slowed me right down and left me fighting Writers Block until the very end.

So for your Halloween story and for those of you who love Halloween (you know who you are) I present to you ‘Ocean’s Apart.’  

Tomorrow Never Comes.

I was going to post this tomorrow. I said that yesterday. And here it is: Today.

What?

Well. What a few weeks it has been. Queensland Writer’s Week was a huge success and a big congrats to everyone involved especially Carla, of the Townsville Writers and Publishers Centre, who organised the whole thing in only 4 weeks. Personally I can’t wait for the next one.

So what’s been happening that has kept me away from you; my wonderful audience. What is more important than you? Well simply it was the writer’s week. So much to do, which meant a swag of late nights and takeaway dinners.  And, of course, I’ve been hammering away at those keys. Producing quality work to grace the pages of this blog is not an easy venture. Oft times I have a fantastic idea for a story and start to turn that thought into words and then...something goes horribly wrong and what I have written is hardly worth the time wasted in thinking of it. In the past week, though busy, I have managed to thrash out a couple of shorts.  However, for now they will remain with me until I feel completely happy with them.

Maybe those that go horribly wrong can be salvaged and re-written; maybe they need a tweak here or there; or maybe I just need to delete and start all over again. It’s not easy sometimes but when it works, you can look back at it time and again and really appreciate what you have done. Even if no-one will ever see it other than you. Thank god, I say, for the internet and for blogs because here is one such gem that I personally believe is one of my best. You may read this and note that it has a similar theme to Fallujah and Alone, but this came first. It is many years old, was written on an electronic typewriter, before the current medium and though short, tells a story that can raise many questions to its end. So enjoy Starship Down.

Queensland Writers Week

Hey Y'all, as they would say in the deep bayou's of the south. This week is Queensland Writers Week and I will be participating on Wednesday the 12th in a group interview hosted by the Townsville Writers and Publishing Centre http://www.twpc.org/ . Hope to see you there and check out the website for all the events that are taking place.

Due to computer malfunctions and internet problems and stupid conferences, I was unable to post a story for you this week.

"NOOOOO!!!" I hear you scream or maybe that was just a convienent curlew in the backyard. But I will be back this week with a story for you. I may even post it tomorrow.