Writer meet in Melbourne Tuesday night!!

Tuesday the 29th from 6pm at the Wharf Hotel (also every fortnight therefore after):

Maria has just self published her book, 

"Everyday Stories from Ten Remarkable Women"

Maria will be here tonight to talk to us about her book and the process she has gone through to get it to the public.  An important night for those of you who also wish to self publish one day!

We have a Meetup sign on the table to find us. Also you can ask at the bar for the Writers Group. Or I can give you my mobile number if you prefer. 

From 7pm-7.30pm you can read out or show off your work to the rest of the group (for up to 5 minutes). You can ask for feedback - others may freely give it. Please leave a note in the comments below if you wish to read out or show off your work. Also, remind your event host on the night. Thanks

Come on out and meet some like-minded folks who enjoy writing and other entertainment and creative outlets. We'll hang around until at least 8.30pm, but often later. 
Wharf Hotel membership for cheaper drinks and special deals: 
http://www.myguestlist.com.au/mgl/showForm.php?id=515af90ea60e7

Questions and Answers on writing and publishing

To all out there looking to ask questions on writing - this forum is for you.
And for the people with all the answers on writing.

Post here and your questions will be answered!

(Please note that all questions and answers will be approved promptly once you post them. I have set this up to prevent spamming).

Free to create websites: Wix, Weebly, Webstarts, Google, Others

I wonder if it was on purpose that all these start with "W"?

So you're thinking about making your own website to promote yourself, your business, or sell something? Great, good idea! Now where to begin?

There are many options for free websites. They then have options to pay for the site and receive more benefits. There are also companies that solely have you trial a website you create, then offer a payment plan after 2 weeks if you wish to keep it. I'm not interested in paid ones, so I mostly cover the free ones, but really the main difference with the two kinds is that with a paid site you get to choose your domain name, while the free site will often include the company name. The second main benefit is that you are able to run a "shop" from your website with the paid option. But, that is not something I cover, since again, this is not what I want to do. I instead run links to Amazon and Smashwords.

Here are examples of the two kinds of choices of domain names.

Paid: www.(your name or business).com

Unpaid: www.(your name or business).weebly.com

Here are some free web domains I created:

http://matclarkeauthor.wix.com/novelist

http://matclarke.weebly.com

http://matclarke.WebStarts.com

http://sites.google.com/site/matclarkeauthorwriter/

http://www.matclarke.wranga.com.au/


Then, last, is a paid option from Bron, who is from my writers group:

http://www.bronwynlevans.com/ (Weebly)


As you can see, all my sites have the company name in the domain, Bron's does not.

You can also create your own domain through Wordpress, which I understand is quite good. I have a second blog on wordpress, but that's it. There are also other web hosting companies where they will set up a page for you, or if you have the ability, allow you to set it up yourself. That's what I did with "Wranga". It was put together using an Adobe program I learned back in 2005. And then uploaded to my site using a FTP program. Complicated? Yes!

Out of all the sites listed above, I found "Wix" to be the easiest and quickest to learn and then setup. Also, the more manageable to alter and correct. It also comes with some great designs and has a great ability to add functions or take them away.

Second, is  Weebly. Still fairly easy to use, and also has many templates to choose from. But because it took just a little more effort than I was willing to put in, I only did a single page.

Same with "Webstarts", except a little more clunky again.

I suggest you try each one out and then decide which is best for you. Possibly even a good idea to create a bogus website first to test it out. Not necessary, but if you aren't sure of what you want, then could be a good first move.

Wix, for example, allows you to change many things once you decide on a template, but not the template itself. So decide carefully. Also, it uses your email address in the domain name, but from what I read you can change that.

In the end the decision is yours what you do, or just use them all. It's free after all.

Oh, and if you wonder why I haven't mentioned the Google Sites, it's because I found them clunky. However, if you don't mind fiddling, then at least you're insured a very high place on the list when someone searches your name / website on Google!!

Enjoy,
Mat.

P.S. Each of the listed websites that were created using the free webmaker tools, contain a link at the top or bottom right allowing you to visit the free web making site. If you can't locate it, then just type www. then wix or weebly or webstarts, and then .com

P.P.S. I noticed that Webstarts does not work properly on Windows XP.

Other blogs: http://matclarke.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/my-blogs-in-list-form.html

Wheeler Centre this Tuesday, August 13 2013 - Manuscript assessment

It's worth coming to the Wheeler Centre on Tuesday August 13.

Clare Allan-Kami will speak briefly on the benefits, fears, expectations and results of having your work professionally assessed.

See more at:
http://writersvictoria.org.au/what-s-on/event/the-salon-august/#sthash.JQNXr0GY.dpuf

Also:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Melbourne-Writers-Meetup-Group/events/133657792/

Bungee ball in Surfers Paradise - many many years ago

Adam and Mat inside of some crazy ball launched way into the night sky.

We saw this operating from a distance away while looking out from our hotel room patio. We had to try it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6THb6VsEo

31 Odd Short Stories, by Mat Clarke

If short stories is an interest of yours, you may enjoy some thrillers & further genres in "31 Odd Short Stories", uploaded to Smashwords this week. And soon to go to itunes, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, Sony, etc. You can also read a sample of the short stories either through "Smashwords" or on the Mat Clarke website.
Links for 31 Odd Short Stories:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/338427?ref=matclarke
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E5I9W02
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E5I9W02
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00E5I9W02

Also, other books by Mat Clarke:

"Don't Panic They're Just Hemorrhoids"
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/276726?ref=matclarke
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BYYA6UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BYYA6UK
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00BYYA6UK

Nice was actually not so nice in the 1300s

Nice, it turns out, began as a negative term derived from the Latin nescius meaning “ignorant.” This sense of ignorant was carried over into English, and for almost a century, nice was used to refer to a stupid, ignorant, or foolish person. Starting in the late 1300s, nice began to refer to conduct, people, or clothing that were considered excessively luxurious or lascivious, however, by the year 1400 a new, more neutral sense of nice emerged. At this time, nice could be used to refer to a person who was finely dressed, someone who was shy or reserved, or something that was precise. By the late 1500s, nice was used to describe refined, polite society.

Read more at http://hotword.dictionary.com/nice-guys/#u4LPzRBy7IvrxJRZ.99

Editing services

Hi, if you've edited your work as much as you can and friends have given you all the information they are capable of, you can look at being professionally edited. The costs vary and the quality of editing varies as well.

I've had my work edited through The Story Mint and find them to be of very high quality:

" Appraisals and professional feedback on your writing

If you would like a proven professional writer to do an appraisal of your novel or short story our rates are below:

Scripts up to 5,000 words - $100US
Scripts up to 10,000 words - $175US

Scripts up to 25,000 words $375US
Scripts up 85,000 words - $600US

Our next monthly newsletter will feature one of our assessors.

Please Note: This service is for members only.

www.thestorymint.com

Contact The Story Mint for more information "

I suggest, however, you also take a look at the book mentioned below via the link and edit yourselfusing it as a excellent  guide. I've read it four times and it is one of the best books around on editing. Reading it and putting it into practice will reduce your editing costs in the long run:

http://matclarke.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/recommended-reading-for-anyone-trying.html

The author, Renni Browne, also has an editing service. But since I have never used it I can not vouch for it, but take a look anyway and decide for yourself: 

http://www.editorialdepartment.com/

Hope all this information helps all you writers out there!

Mat Clarke

Was and Were may slow a sentence down and make it boring!

When writing or reading do you notice the word "was" being used a lot? I've been recently informed by an editor that it slows writing down because it can make a scene less immediate. Also "was" can make a sentence boring.
Here are some examples:
"A table was in the room" does not sound as good as, and get the reader as involved as, "He peered into the room where an oak table and old fashioned telephone..."
(I guess it's in the same vein as using "quickly" and "easily" and other shortcut words.)
"He juggled the box he was carrying"
becomes "He juggled the box while carrying it to..."
The picture we get is more immediate. However, I have also been told that "while" can slow down a sentence. Sometimes it feels like you can't win! Still, I guess the idea is to read through your work and pick the best way to construct your sentences.

Sometimes "was" can make the sentence sound like it happened earlier rather than right now.
"I was walking down the street"
Even though this is happening now, it doesn't make it very "now".
"I was over there" That is a possibly a better use of "was" because it did actually happen in the past.
"Evening was approaching" can become:
"Evening approached with the coming of..."
or "Evening settled and the streets lights flickered to life" if you want the flowery kind of descriptive sentence.

Don't stress too much if every sentence you write has the word "was" in it, most of the well know authors still use "was" like they're on a mission, just try and reduce "was" where you can, but only if you think the sentence will benefit from the change. Sometimes it means a big restructure of your work, but in the end it could be worth the time.

More examples:

"He looked to be in his fifties and was sporting a goatee that was graying around the chin" becomes:
"He looked to be in his fifties and sported a goatee graying around the chin"

"Jo rolled her eyes and turned away to harangue a chef who was struggling with pot of steaming soup." Maybe just delete, "who was"

Meat Vs Veg

Do we need to eat meat?

Yes and no. Many thousands of years ago we became omnivores, which means we can eat meat when available or vegetables, nuts and fruit, etc. when it is not. And Vise-versa.
With modern farming we have both available to us at a whim so we can now choose what we want to be. Most stay omnivore while others move to being vegetarian. But which is correct?

Logically, if we're talking evolution, not eating meat will eventually become the norm. Vegetarian food costs less to produce, takes up less land, animals don't have to suffer, and everything that we can get from meat can also be obtained from a vegetarian diet - and that's without taking supplements. There may be some people with alergies or have an adverse reaction to becoming vegetarian, but with evolution in the mix then this will become less and less an issue over the next generation and the next.

I'm not saying vegetarians are more evolved, but I am saying that reducing our meat intake is not only inevitable, but also sensible.

If we all want to still be eating food in 30 years or so, we'll definitely have to cut down our meat intake to about half. The earth just can not sustain that many farmed animals!

Recommended reading for anyone trying to self edit!

If you want to edit yourself before sending your short story or novel off to friends, then a literary agent or publisher, I suggest you check this book out. It has been the biggest help to me in making my work actually worth reading!
It covers many topics such as
Show and Tell
Characterisation
POV
Proportion
Dialogue
And much more.

The information is delivered in a matter of fact way and is very easy to follow.
You are set tasks which really help you.
I'm now reading it for the fifth time and I'm still finding areas to improve my work.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

See the image below.

What NOT to Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents

Here's some information on writing I found interesting. Basically it's literary agents pet peeves on the manuscripts they receive from writers:

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/04/22/april/?et_mid=614266&rid=191146100


I also suggest you read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers which covers all this sort of thing in detail:

Are your eyes failing you?

Once upon a time I was told my eyesight excellent by an optometrist. Far and near objects. I tested this years ago by reading the text on a ten dollar Australian note next to Banjo's head and next to Mary's head. At first it looks like shading, but it is actually text.
Recently I picked up the note to read it and found it blurry. Damn, I says. The next few days every morning I tried to read it again and again, spending 5 mins on it each time. Three days later and I've retrained my eyes to see small print again.
Woohoo!
Can anyone else read it without glasses or other magnifying instrument?

Wheeler Centre for writers

Hi, I've started attending this with my writing group and thought I should let others know about it.
The centre is based in Melbourne, so if you live nearby or are visiting Melbourne you may wish to drop in.
It's free too!

Writer group details: http://www.meetup.com/The-Melbourne-Writers-Meetup-Group/

"Welcome to The Salon, a new monthly event for Melbourne writers. We invite you to come and celebrate your milestones, share details of your current project and delight in conversation with supportive fellow writers.The theme for May is Launches. Our new Director Kate Larsen will launch the Writers Victoria mid-year program. Be the first to see the brilliant short courses and workshops we have lined up."

FREE but bookings ESSENTIAL - You must book through Writers Victoria by clicking on the following website:

http://writersvictoria.org.au/what-s-on/event/the-salon2/

This will not be a Meetup run event. This event is being run by Writers Victoria.

However, we can meet before hand at around 6pm, 15 minutes before it starts. I'll have a sign out on one of the tables on the 3rd floor where the SALON is held.

Afterward, around 7.45-8pm, we head downstairs to The Moat cafe (keep going down the stairs past the Wheeler Centre entrance to find it). I'll book the big table near the door. I will have the meetup sign on the table.

Story First Genre second?

When I write I prefer to let the genre take a back seat to the story.

Why?

For a few different reasons. If you concentrate too much on genre you'll find yourself constrained. And because of that, your story could suffer. Why not let the sky be the limit. Why not write whatever flows from your mind. You can always rein it back it later. At least you've let your imaginative mind search the grey edges of your boundaries.

I know this style of writing does not suit everyone. Many like to plan and know what will happen in the middle of the story and ending. That's fine, but there's still room for you to let yourself go and just see how your characters handle it. Life isn't going to always follow the tracks. Sometimes it gets derailed, so your story should too.

3D printing body parts

Ok, so did you see my other post about 3D printing actual objects: http://matclarke.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/3d-printing-actual-object-in-your-hands.html

Well now doctors have successfully printed a living human ear including cartilage.

More info here: http://au.news.yahoo.com/technology/news/article/-/16215423/scientists-use-3d-printer-to-build-living-ear/

Are you thinking what I'm thinking. Could we be printing replacement limbs? Bones? A new face if you don't like your old one?
The ideas are endless.
Maybe you could even make your own person from scratch!!!

Doctor Victor Frankenstein would be smiling right :)

Anthology of short stories III - Writers wanted!

Anthology III 2012

Themed: April Fools

Brought to you by the Melbourne Writers’ Social Group

Sponsored by the Story Mint

WRITERS WANTED!

Read on to be a part of this amazing anthology of short stories.

All styles of writing are eligible for the anthology. Register between now and February 1st 2013. Create a great story and get it to a fully edited stage before March 2013.

All guidelines will be emailed to you after you register.

This is our third anthology of short stories and will be published on April 1st 2013. Themed April Fools.

Our anthologies are born from a different theme with each publication. The first being, Valentine’s Day (2012). As you would expect many of the tales were quite sweet. Yet, we also had stories that endevoured to chill the hearts of our reader’s.

Our following anthology was published December 2012, The Holiday Season in Melbourne. Each unique Melbourne tale satisfyingly different and touching on a wide variety of holiday seasoned themes.             

You can download either of these anthologies online:

Anthology I:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/130549

Anthology II:

www.amazon.com/MWSG-Anthology-II-Melbourne-ebook/dp/B00AMPC70O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1355349010&sr=8-3&keywords=anthology+melbourne

We don’t mind what genre you choose, but you must include some reference to April Fools, no matter how small. And a reference to Melbourne (Australia) must be included, even if in passing.

One submission per person only.

Word count for you story (fiction or non-fiction): 1000-2000 words. Unfortunately we can not have any exceptions to this rule. Even if it is one word outside of this limit your story will not be considered.

If you intend on submitting a poem, then the word count is different: 500 words maximum. No minimum.

Please register your interest to be involved with this anthology by emailing Mat Clarke: matclarke.author@gmail.com

Registration opens December 14 2012 and closes February 1st 11.59pm.

After you have emailed Mat Clarke you willll be contacted within 3 business days and emailed an easy to fill in form to read and complete.

The information emailed to you includes the process we go through to ensure we publish quality work. Please make sure you read the information carefully.

You can of course email Mat back if unsure about anything.

All money earned from the sales of the anthologies (a very small amount) is put back into running the next one and holding the weekly meetings and other events with the Melbourne Writers’ Social Group - which are free to attend :)Anthology II

April Fools

Brought to you by the Melbourne Writers’ Social Group

Sponsored by the Story Mint

Anthology of Short Stories II

Tuesday 11th December at 6pm, come along to the Wharf Hotel Melbourne for the Short Story Anthology Launch, by the Melbourne Writers' Social Group.
Have a chat about writing and everything else. Listen to a few short excerpts from the anthology and support us silly creative people :)

Why not come along and show off your creative work as well! There'll be lots of people interested in new or established authors.

Also we will announce the next anthology. To be completed by end of March 2013. WRITERS WANTED!
http://www.meetup.com/The-Melbourne-Writers-Meetup-Group/events/91770542/

Also, for you meat eaters it's $15 steak night!
Discount drinks too! Become a member for free on the night. Takes 30 seconds.

Anthology II 2012 - Writers wanted!

Anthology II 2012

Holiday Season in Melbourne (Australia)

Brought to you by the Melbourne Writers’ Social Group

Sponsored by The Story Mint

Last year we developed a small book of short stories for Valentine’s Day. Some of those stories were sweet and others not so sweet. This year we are kicking off another anthology with all stories themed for the coming holiday season in Melbourne, Australia.

You are not ruled by any genre and you are certainly not limited to just the more merry times over December; feel free to use the horror genre, for example.
You are however limited by word count and time.
Word count for stories (fiction or non-fiction): 1500 words maximum.
There is no minimum. However we would prefer you try and aim for approximately 1500 words.
If you intend to submit a poem, then the word count is different: 500 words maximum.

Start submitting your story to the Writer’s Pad before the end of October so you can receive feedback and act on it before submissions close. Please also make sure it is at least your third draft.
The Story Mint website: http://www.thestorymint.com/writers-pad

For full details and conditions please visit: http://melbournewriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/anthology-ii-2012-writers-wanted/

Click here - writers wanted

No death for anyone!

In the not too distant future I will write a book on my theory behind life and death. Until then, there is one aspect of my thoughts I would like to talk about: why a body dies.

Evolution needs our body to die... although only if we want to evolve and then also only if we want to procreate.
So first, evolution. Without it we would all be single celled organism swimming in a puddle of muck. Without procreation we wouldn’t have evolution from the combining of two sexes to create a unique being that has been ever so slightly altered to better adapt to its environment than its parents.
Lastly, without death our parents and their parents, etc, would still be around (possibly at the age just before the body starts to break down, lets say 27), and taking up more space on this planet and eating our food.
Evolution therefore ‘decided’ that it would be best to kill off the parents once they had served their purpose; creating offspring that can keep up with the changing environment of the earth and become a more evolved being. This goes for all species on the planet.
Makes sense, yes?
But what if procreation slowed, as it is with humans in some countries. Or what if we developed ways to inhabit other planets, which could mean we wouldn’t have issues with lack of food or space. Couldn’t we then explain to our bodies that we don’t need to die. That we have gone far enough along in evolution that we can adapt our environment to suit us. Not too much, of course, although we are probably changing/adapting it too much right now. But maybe, eventually we could find a happy medium.
We could still have kids, the ones that actually want to, and they would continue evolution. It would take thousands of years before they would be that different to us, so it’s really no issue.
All we need then is to turn off the gene in our bodies that makes our bodies age.
This would also help with disease and cancer. When our bodies age, they don’t put as much effort into fixing things. Our bodies don’t really need to anymore. We’re old, we’re getting ready to die, so there’s no sense in eating additional food to supply the repair of our bodies. Maybe our bodies will put a little effort into repair, but it won’t bother too much.
You may as well go and get one of those box CRT TV’s and repair that, that’s how senseless it is.
But that’s the thing, our bodies don’t realise we have unlimited food (something we need to make happen in every country first, however), that we have medical procedures that can help us, that we can rest and not have to work every single day to hunt and gather if we need to repair. We don’t want a Band-Aid job, we want our bodies to heal fully and properly!

I believe bodies can be easily repaired by themselves. We just need to work out how.
Maybe it would involve putting the body in a state of chemical induced coma so the body doesn’t have to do anything else but heal... there would be more to it than that, of course. Somehow we need to tell our genes that we have the time and the energy to do all repairs. Maybe even grown back limbs and teeth that have fallen out?

Pain is another thing. Wouldn’t it be better if instead of pain our bodies gave us a better idea of what was wrong so we could then work out how to fix it.
Pain is very basic. A lot of the time it comes from something swelling in our bodies which then causes us pain and that stops us from doing that particular thing too much.
An example is, if we were hunting back in days when we were clueless of why pain happened, then twisted our ankle. It would then swell up so much that it looked like our foot swallowed a tennis ball.
That swelling is a reaction by our own bodies designed to create pain. Yes, our bodies want to make that ankle painful. This then stops us from using that leg. If we try and use it, it hurts.
Our body now gives itself a high-5 because what it set out to do worked; it doesn’t want you using that ankle anymore.
Now it has time to heal the ankle. And when the swelling goes down, that should approximately coincide with when the healing that it wishes to complete.