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This episode features an interview of Dr Manuela Moser, Festival Director for the Cúirt International Festival of Literature. Manuela discusses the wide range of tasks her role implies, and reflects on how she got where she is in her career.
A Different Story was published as part of the short story collection After the Flood, which was released by CCLaP in 2014. The collection represents Part Three of the linked short story collection UPSTATE re-released in 2020 by Tortoise Books (and originally released under the title The New York Stories by CCLaP in 2015). A Different Story is read by Dr. Mike McClelland (BIO below). INTRO/OUTRO music is Drinking of Me and was generously provided by Monkey Wrench. READER BIOLike Sharon Stone and the zipper, Dr. Mike McClelland is originally from Meadville, Pennsylvania. He has lived on five different continents but now resides in Illinois with his husband, two sons, and a menagerie of rescue dogs. He is the author of the short fiction collection Gay Zoo Day and teaches creative writing at Eastern Illinois University. His fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, WIRED, Boston Review, Vox, The Baffler, Fairy Tale Review, and a number of literary magazines and anthologies. He is a graduate of Allegheny College, The London School of Economics, the MFA Program at Georgia College, and the University of Georgia's Creative Writing PhD program. Find him online at magicmikewrites.com. https://www.tanzerben.com/blog/upstate-the-podcast
Did you dilly-dally during 2022 and not get your book planned or started or finished? Will you dilly-dally during 2023 and not get your book planned or started or finished? Not on my watch! If you're going to make 2023 the bee's knees, then don't wait for the new year. Pencil in some 'me-time' this month to give yourself the upper hand. If you launch into 2023 with a burst of energy, you'll be light years ahead, heading into January with a sharp eye, a precise plan, and pure grit! Here are seven things to do before New Year's Day: 1. Review your year 2022 has plenty of wisdom to share! Before it slips away, take a moment to reflect on your experiences and cherish the moments that will stick with you for the years to come. And don't be afraid to look at what slipped, why it slipped, and what you can do to stop that happening again. For me, I'd hoped to finish my novel, Spirit of Water. I've been trying to finish that bad boy for 10 years. 10! Yeah, I relaunched my coaching business, started a part-time, freelancing position with Author Accelerator, wrote a novelette, Out in the Cold, compiled and published my writing group's first anthology, and three episodes of a new comedy TV show, but not finishing that novel is bugging me. And why did that happen? Because on my daily list of things to do, my writing came last. 2. Get clear on what's most important Cramming your day with a hundred and one tiny tasks won't suddenly make you the person you want to be. But if you get clear on your core values, it's like getting a mystical guiding light to show you the path towards your top priorities. So define what matters most to you, and then follow the energetic breadcrumbs to get where you're going. On my daily list of things to do, my writing will come first, closely followed by my coaching work. 3. Set a context for 2023 Pinpoint the things you'd like to achieve. Define a word for the year that will grant you permission to say YIPEE to the stuff that resonates with you and BOO to the stuff that doesn't jive. My 2023 word is "accomplished". I want to accomplish these goals: Secure a spot on a Creative Writing PhD course. Publish Spirit of Water. Author Accelerator certification as a nonfiction book coach (stretch goal because it depends on my practicum client). Publish the next novel in my Bacchus Chronicles series. 4. Review your habits James Clear says, “you get what you repeat”. Are your habits helpful or hurtful? Could you benefit from incorporating some new tricks into your lifestyle to guarantee your success? Be sincere with the behaviours you take on autopilot and determine if it's time to roll out some modifications. I've had a rough few months. One of our dogs put up a brave battle with cancer but passed away on December 10th. There's never a good time for a pet to pass away, but both my husband and I were suffering with the most awful chest infections. Since then I haven't bothered setting my 7 A.M alarm... and now my days are all over the place. As of tomorrow, I'll be setting that 7 A.M. alarm and getting some structure back into my days. I deserve to end my working days feel with a completed "To Feel" list. Which bring us to... 5. Make a "To Feel" list Achievements are great for injecting some purpose into your life. But what sort of person do you want to be and how do you want to feel? A "To Feel" is a sensational journalling technique that can help you explore a more intentional life experience. I learned about "To Feel" list from my bestie. She says that we'll die with an unfinished "To Do" list, so why not concentrate on doing the things that contribute to how we want to feel? In the words of Oscar Wilde, “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.” Build a "To Feel" list, and you'll find it simpler to experience 'the rarest thing in the world'. On my daily list of things to feel, 'feel like a writer' will come first. I'll want to write if I want to feel like a writer. 6. Create your support structure Jim Rohn famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Who will surround you in 2023 and help you thrive? For example: Is it time to join a writing group? I didn't have any local writing groups, so I started two writing groups from my National Novel Writing Month cohorts, first in Essex and now in Hertfordshire. Each month, we make commitments where we'll be by the next meeting and during every meeting at least one of us says, "And I wouldn't have done it without you lot". Would you go further with an accountability buddy or mentor? Having someone out there who's expecting pages from you is a huge motivator. Do you want to find more online groups where ‘your people' hang out? My writing group is online, and it's just as social as it is productive. Plus, you don't have to haul your cookies out of the house for the meetings. Does your friendship group nourish and support you? If they don't, consider that writing group, accountability buddy or mentor—they understand the writing life. Does your family nourish and support you? See above! 7. Set a three-month goal Goals provide you with a beacon of light, guiding your every move. Accomplishing things that matter most to you gives you a sense of grandeur - as if you were a master builder of your own destiny. So don't simply set goals, but craft them. This way, you can ensure that your dreams and aspirations are well within reach. I've ordered a copy of The 12 Week Year for Writers: A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Your Writing Done (affiliate link) by A. Trevor Thrall because I want to feel accomplished by hitting the deadlines for my goals. This year, I've proved to TV producers—and myself—that I can rewrite an entire episode in 24 hours. Imagine what I can do with the novel I've been putting off for 10 years! If you think mentoring might be a good option for you, check out my monthly mentoring service. What fresh adventures await you in 2023? Here's to making the coming year one for the books. YOUR books!
How do you work through a major edit on your book when you have a traumatic brain injury? And how do you write about the death of a loved one while you're grieving? Jackie Bailey, author of debut novel 'The Eulogy' and professional deathwalker, joins us to discuss her experience with both. Jackie Bailey is a professional writer and researcher and a recognised international expert on cultural diversity in the arts. She has a Creative Writing PhD from UNSW and is on the Board of Merrigong Theatre Company. Jackie is also an ordained interfaith minister, trained deathwalker and practising funeral director. 'The Eulogy' is her debut novel. Get your copy of 'The Eulogy' from your local bookshop, Booktopia or wherever good books are sold. Plus, check out the online courses from Writing NSW, including the six-week Online: Creative Non-fiction with Ashley, starting 31 October. Books and authors discussed in this episode: 'In life, my sister taught me how to love. In death, she made me want to fix the funeral industry' by Jackie Bailey for the Guardian; Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor; Found, Wanting by Natasha Sholl; The Smell of Fresh Rain: The Unexpected Pleasures of Our Most Elusive Sense by Barney Shaw; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; Denizen by James McKenzie Watson (featured in ep 60); Virginia Woolf; Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller; How to Be Australian by Ashley Kalagian Blunt James' novel 'Denizen' is out now! Learn more about it and buy your copy here. Get in touch! Ashley's website: ashleykalagianblunt.com Ashley's Twitter: @AKalagianBlunt Ashley's Instagram: @akalagianblunt James' website: jamesmckenziewatson.com James' Twitter: @JamesMcWatson James' Instagram: @jamesmcwatson
Natalie Burdett was selected by Carol Ann Duffy as a Laureate's Choice Poet for 2018, with her pamphlet Urban Drift published by The Poetry Business. She is currently studying for a Creative Writing PhD at MMU's Writing School. Crime novelist Oliver Harris is the author of three novels featuring the London detective Nick Belsey (The Hollow Man, Deep Shelter, and The House of Fame), and one featuring intelligence officer, Elliot Kane, 2019’s A Shadow Intelligence.
Natalie Burdett was selected by Carol Ann Duffy as a Laureate's Choice Poet for 2018, with her pamphlet Urban Drift published by The Poetry Business. She is currently studying for a Creative Writing PhD at MMU's Writing School. John Fennelly currently works, alongside Mark Pajak, as 'House Poet' at MMU's Writing School. John was also chosen as a Laureate's Choice poet for 2018, and his pamphlet Another Hunger was published by The Poetry Business.
In this month’s episode we hear from creative writer Genevieve Fox, who looks at the relationship between her new book, her memoir, and her current research on memory for her forthcoming novel. As a second-year PGR, Genevieve is doing a practice-based interdisciplinary Creative Writing PhD which engages with writers such as Virginia Woolf and their relationship with selfhood and memory. Genevieve’s memoir, 'Milkshakes and Morphine: A Memoir of Love and Life', is about a collision between past and present, between a childhood she tried her best not to remember and an adult experience of cancer that forced her to look back on the love, loss and misadventures of her early life. Her reflections on the capricious nature of mutable memory during the process of writing the memoir inspired her current research and creative practice. Milkshakes and Morphine, published by Vintage press in paperback, was released on Jan 24, 2019.
Nearly all of us have had to endure long, stressful commutes to and from work. While the daily commute can be a drag, there are ways to make it tolerable and even fun! Melissa Addey is an author, speaker, and Creative Writing PhD student at the University of Surrey. Her book, The Happy Commuter, offers over 100 ways to improve your travels. We were also thrilled to interview Melissa in our latest podcast.Read MoreSupport the show (https://p2q.link/donate)
Nearly all of us have had to endure long, stressful commutes to and from work. While the daily commute can be a drag, there are ways to make it tolerable and even fun! Melissa Addey is an author, speaker, and Creative Writing PhD student at the University of Surrey. Her book, The Happy Commuter, offers over 100 ways to improve your travels. We were also thrilled to interview Melissa in our latest podcast. Read More