Louise Cusack - Diary 2008

Saturday, 20th December, 2008:  So, this is my longest gap in diary writing.  No apologies.  Life intervened.

After four years of worldbuilding and several false starts, I've restarted Foldworld from scratch and submitted the first hundred pages to my agent.  While I wait to hear back on that I'm writing a young adult novel.  I've been moving around and have found that extremely stimulating to my imagination (if a little disruptive to my rhythm of writing).  The main thing is that I'm learning to be flexible!

Have been keeping up with networking however.  Here's a picture of Rowena Cory Daniells and I at the QWC Christmas party last week.  Great to catch up with everyone I knew and to meet new writers.  I've been a bit of a hermit these last six months but the resulting creativity has been worth it.

Will try to post here more regularly!

Wednesday, 10th September, 2008: Dear god, is it September already!  Okay, well I've been working.  In fact for the last two weeks I've been working without a computer, and I have to say the experiment was a complete success!  At first I was terrified to be without email in case someone wanted me urgently and didn't know to ring me, but after I let go of that fear it was bliss not to have to keep checking it.  And the sky didn't fall down while I wasn't looking.  Plus, I got an incredible amount of 'big picture' planning done with chunks of blank paper and felt pens.  Lots of scribbled notes, lots of researching and watching documentaries and lots of lying on the lounge thinking.  Now I know that last doesn't sound productive, but to be honest I haven't done enough of that.  When I've had my computer 'at the ready' I'm all too tempted to rush into typing things into it, instead of letting them percolate first. 

So, there's been percolation and structure and delicious, exciting new ideas.  I know people get angsty if you don't put a new book out every year (or two years) but I find myself wanting to take my time with this project and let it blossom, because the more I open it up to new input, the more focused and lush the story gets (if that makes sense).  Anyway, I'm respecting my creative process and trusting that this lengthy developmental process is going to be well worth while.

I'll keep you updated.  In the meantime, here's a photo (above) of one of my favourite 'people in a fur coat' - Tara, the Dubai Princess wearing her pearls.

Wednesday, 13th August, 2008: Another month has slipped by and I'm really appreciating the retreat I have, giving me time to drop right into my writing and plumb the depths of my characters, finding their hidden strengths and uncovering a few surprising weaknesses.  I love the fact that I never know what they'll do on any given day.  It makes the story so exciting to write.  In between writing I've been doing workshops, "Writing Romance that Sells" and "Writing Love Scenes" at the Qld Writers Centre.  The first was scheduled for the day after the Victory Hotel burnt down, and as the Metro Arts Building is right next door to the Victory, we weren't allowed in for the workshop (leaking gas I think).  After an hour of sidewalk consultation and hasty phone calls we found a berth down the road.  The Stamford Plaza had a boardroom free and they very kindly offered it to the QWC for the day, in light of our situation. 

So we had a fabulous workshop in the end, enjoying the luxury of the Stamford and covering all the key points to writing a saleable romance novel.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again, "The Universe looks after me!".

Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008: After so much excitement it's nice to be able to report that I'm on holidays!  Well, kind of a holiday and kind of a writing retreat.  I'm on an island and to the left is the view from my deck.  Very tranquil, very relaxing, and at night I can hear the water swishing onto the shore.  The best part is the smell.  From the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep I can smell the ocean.  Not sure why I love that so much, but I do.  I miss the mountains though, and will be looking forward to getting back to Maleny in a couple of weeks, getting back to that fabulous garden and the crispness of winter and fireplaces and mulled wine! 

Oh, I forgot to mention, it's my birthday today, so Happy Birthday to Me.  I'm having an "it's all about me" birthday (which means I'm doing it alone) for the first time in my life.  Birthdays in the Cusack household have always been a big deal and I've never had the opportunity to spend the day alone on my birthday.  This year I wanted to do that - I wanted to think about the bigger picture of my life, what's important to me that I should focus on, what's not important and I should ditch, what new things I might like to try, and what things I've decided I won't get to and I'm okay with that.  I think in everyone's life they reach a point when they realise they've probably got more years behind them than they have in front of them, and that's a natural place to pause and look at the structure (kind of like writing a book!) to see who the main characters are and what their goals and motivations are and whether you're happy with that.  I've just finished reading Marianne Williamson's "The Age of Miracles - embracing the new midlife" and while I'm not quite sure I'm up to mid life yet (!) she had some fascinating insights into what you should/could be striving for in the second half of your life.  One quote in particular jumped out at me, by Werner Erhard, founder of the est organisation: "We can live our lives either acting out of circumstances, or acting out of a vision."  As a parent I was often so busy I defaulted into acting out of circumstances, coping with things as they came at me!  But I'm not actively parenting any more, so it's time for me to recapture my vision :-)

I'll let you know how I go with it!

Saturday, 28th June, 2008: Big news, the Redlitzer Award was presented last night - the inaugural Redland City Council competition for the most publishable fiction manuscript by a Redland City writer, and those eligible to enter were participants in a year long fiction writing workshop series I tutored for the libraries (they won entry by an earlier fiction writing competition which drew 65 entries).  So, of the original group of 16 winners/participants, 10 completed their manuscripts by the end of the year - I'll be cracking the liquorice whip at the rest to keep going - and those ten completed manuscripts were judged by myself and Rowena Cory Daniells to find the 'most publishable' manuscript.  The winner, Desmond Kelly, was presented with a $2000 mentorship package through the Qld Writers centre, and runners up John Storey and Beverley Asmus both received mentoring sessions with Rowena and myself.  The award ceremony was a lovely posh event where champagne flowed, the Mayor of Redlands, Melva Hobson met each of the workshop participants, and the local Redland City writers celebrated the fact that their council is such a fabulous supporter of the arts.  You'll see from the photos that we had a great time, largely because the workshop group have bonded so well and been such great supports to each other.  They were genuinely happy for Des to win (although he'd been joking beforehand that no-one would speak to the winner!) and that shows a generosity of spirit that I felt incredibly proud to be around.  Really lovely people:

First picture is L-R Mayor Hobson, Rowena Cory Daniells, moi, runner up John Storey

Second photo is of participants Wendy Squire (second from left), runner up Beverley Asmus (second from right) and friends

Third photo is of participants Betty Hull on the left, Michael McMorrow on the far right, with friends

First photo is of participant Robbie Kirk (in red) with husband Iain and friends

Second photo is of participants (L-R) Caitlyn Wilkinson, Josephine deMoor, Danielle Carey, Bernie Williams, and Councillor Barbara Townsend who was the MC of the night.

The third photo is of our winner, Desmond Kelly, walking away so I only have his back!  I'm getting a better photo and will replace this one shortly - sorry Des! 

UPDATE: Okay, here's some better photos, on the left is a photo of our winner Desmond Kelly, and on the right are the top three, from left to right the winner, Desmond Kelly, moi, Mrs Storey and her husband runner up John Storey, the second judge Rowena Cory Daniells and runner up Beverley Asmus.

The photo below is a group shot of the participants of the inaugural Redlitzer 2008 Award and fiction writing workshop series and as you can see from the photo they're fun people who thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and were supportive and helpful with each other.  A rare commodity!

Friday, 27th June, 2008: Went to Michele Cashmore's birthday party and had a fabulous time catching up with the Writers on the Edge writing group Michele belongs to, as well as other writers I've met at EnVision and along the way.  Had a lovely long chat with Joanne Schoenwald, one of the winners of the "One Book Many Brisbane's" competition, and generally caroused, as writers do!  Jason Nahrung was the photographer for the night and he's got the photos up on his flickr site if you want to check them out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonnahrung/sets/72157605866733048/.  The photo on the right is of me catching up with Michele and wishing her a happy birthday, and it was just fabulous to be able to see so many people I know and like in the one room!

Sunday, 25th May, 2008:  I'm happy to report that I've been working diligently since I've been at Maleny, not only on Foldworld but also various writing related activities.  I performed at the Gold Coast Library's "Literati on the Glitter Strip" schedule of activities a week ago - a dinner on the Friday night followed by a Fantasy panel with Kate Forsyth on the Saturday morning at the Runaway Bay Library.  The dinner was fab - 25 authors driven from our hotel in Surfers to the Gold Coast Arts Centre for a very swanky dinner where we were split up - one on each table filled with members of the public  so they could ask us questions about ourselves and our books.  We sat at a different table for each course of the dinner and answered a whole new batch of questions each time we moved!  It was a fascinating night, and it didn't end when we got back to the hotel at 11.  The authors headed to the bar (as they do - sorry to disillusion anyone who thought we'd all be at our computers working - the opportunity to network is just too good to give up) and when I called it a night at 1am there were still diehards drinking who I believe they lasted until 3:30am.  Of course we were all up and ready in the morning for our panels, albeit some in a delicate condition over breakfast.  My panel was at Runaway Bay library had a good sized audience who asked some interesting and insightful questions.  A great day.

This weekend just gone I've been at "Feelgood Farm" near Byron Bay in NSW tutoring a retreat for the Nursery Writers Group - Keirstan, Sue and Vikki.  The photo above is of one of my neighbours for the weekend (is this not the most adorably small cow you've ever seen?  It's a 'lowline' breed, and it barely came up to my hip.  Seriously cute). And the photos left and right are of the interior and exterior views of our house.  Feelgood Farm lived up to its name, the accommodation was fireplace-cosy and the grounds felt welcoming with an orchard and huge herb garden that guests were invited to help themselves to - and the mandarins were delicious.  The surrounding countryside was truly Gods Own Country, with virgin rainforest and sweeping (not to mention majestic) views of the ocean.  To be honest you had to look away from the window to concentrate - but we did!  There was workshopping, writing, drinking, lots of eating (and these women can cook, let me tell you!), some intensive work on their novels and some fascinating conversations about life's heartbreaking moments and some sharing of 'the ridiculous' as well.  All of which makes up for a typical writers weekend together.  Always interesting, sometimes surprising, but ultimately very satisfying.  I know I've said it before but it bears repeating - I wouldn't swap my life for quids.

This coming week is my first full week at Maleny since I moved in.  I'm putting my suitcase in the wardrobe and not looking at it again for a fortnight!  Instead I'll be looking forward to a steady routine of lots of writing interspaced with some physical activity in the garden.  Sounds boring, but there's so much happening on the inside a the moment, I really need some peace and quiet on the outside to get it on paper.

Thursday, 24th April, 2008:  Well I've had a few changes since I wrote in here last.  I've embarked on a writing retreat in the beautiful Sunshine Coast hinterland, snuggling in to finish a book.  I'll be back in Brisbane for workshops and to do mentoring, but apart from that I'll be enjoying the incredible beauty of the area I'm in and writing to my heart's content.  Always a happy thing!  Here are some pictures of the view from my deck and my desk (which has a lovely view as well).

I'm discovering that even after 15+ years of writing, there are things to learn about myself as a writer, what works for me, what doesn't.  I love to help other writers with their stories, but it's taken me a while to realise that when I'm assessing someone else's story I become so attuned to the characters and their plight that I've been "dropping into" those manuscripts instead of my own.  So in the non-writing time when I'm hanging out washing or making meals I'll be thinking about someone else's story instead of my own.  No wonder it's been hard going!  For some reason mentoring doesn't have that same effect on me.  I can talk about someone's story for two hour if we're doing a long session and then when they leave me, the story leaves me as well.  I don't think about it again until the next mentoring session, which is great.  So that's why I'm not assessing any more.

In any case, now that I've worked that out I'll be more able to draw a line in my mind between my own stories and other people's stories.  Other good news is that a character who has been alluding me for ages has finally stepped into my mind.  I feel like I've been having casting calls and that the wrong characters have been taking the role and not working.  They look right, they even sound right, but there's some indefinable quality that was missing.  And now... he's here.  I was in the middle of packing, tired, hungry, feeling sorry for myself, and out of nowhere he just appeared in my mind and I knew straight away who he was and how he would act in all the scenes I'd created where the other wrongly cast characters hadn't worked.

I have to tell you guys, this character was so perfect I stopped what I was doing and sat down and cried.  Well, a lot of that could have been tiredness, but he was SO perfect.  So very perfect for that story, and although I wanted to say "Where the hell have you been!" instead I was just immensely grateful.  And now the universe has lined up a couple of months of intensive writing for me so I can slot him into the story and write the rest of it.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, "The universe really does look after me."  And of course I've done a pretty good job of looking after myself as well!

In other news, I've got my final workshop with the Redland Fictional Novel writing group this Saturday so that will be fun and also a bit sad that it's coming to an end.  There are a couple of talks, a Rockhampton trip and then Literati on the Glitter Strip at the Gold Coast which will be fun.  I know a lot of the authors participating so it will be a great time to catch up with them and I do love any occasion to break out a cocktail frock.  After that I've got a mystery retreat that I'm tutoring.  I know who I'm tutoring but the mystery is the venue, so that should be fun.  There's something quite delicious about anticipation.

Monday, 31st March, 2008: Okay, I'm way late with this update, but I've been busy!  February was all about taking on new Mentoring clients and getting them started along the road that leads to publication. Still a few openings for anyone who wants direction with their writing.  Mentoring is especially helpful for people who've written a book and then don't know how to edit it (working through the process of a structural edit, then a line edit) before sending it to publishers or agents.  But I do have clients who are being mentored through the process of plotting and drafting their novels as well. If you're interested, check out my Working With Louise webpage.

March was workshops!  And in the last week I've been to Cairns, Bundaberg and Rockhampton.  Okay, Bundaberg wasn't work.  I went up to be the Matron of Honour at my girlfriend Lisa's wedding.  The girls of the bridal party are pictured on left and I'm on the far left.  Next to me is Lisa's daughter Chloe looking like a Glamazon in killer red heels that you can't see for the dress, next to her is the beautiful bride Lisa resplendent in red, and Lisa's eldest daughter Renee who was so good at organising I wanted to take her home as my PA.  The setting was gorgeous (with black and white swans cruising around the lake behind us), the weather held and the reception was a lot of fun at a local Indian Restaurant.  It was all terribly romantic and I have to admit to toasting the happy couple with champagne (not often you see me with a drink in my hand).

Before Bundaberg I was in Cairns for a two day writing camp with the students of Smithfield State High School, and that was fun.  They were good to work with.  The setting was pretty fabulous as well at the boat club at Yorkey's Knob (a northern beach of Cairns).  My friend Merilyn from Animal Lib days and her husband Graeme took me sightseeing.  We toured Port Douglas and came down the coast road with a stop at Thala Beach Lodge (pictured on the right) where we had the swishest afternoon tea I've ever been served in the most idyllic setting I think I've ever drunk coffee in - and I've had a lot of coffee!  So that was really memorable.  I particularly liked the accommodation I was in at Yorkey's Knob, which had a great beach out the front, and at night I could hear the surf.  Very relaxing. 

After Bundaberg I went to Rockhampton to teach the first of my "Year of the Novel" workshops for the Qld Writers Centre.  I'll be in Rockhampton five times in 2008, and I was really looking forward to it because I've never been there before.  Judy Couttie, who is the Cultural Services person for Rocky, took me to an Art Installation and poetry reading at the Yeppoon Library on the Friday night - wine and cheese, very nice.  There we saw an animation of the creation of the art piece, entitled "Poet Tree" and it was really good.  If you get the chance to see it, by all means do.  It was fascinating watching the tree being created out of the books at its base.  Afterwards I met the artist, Cab (Caroline) Huf and there's a picture of me with her and the Poet Tree on the left.  Beside me with the fabulous red hair and great smile is Judy Couttie who also took me to a fab after-party at Cooee Bay to celebrate the installation.  It was a great night, I met some fabulous people and felt very welcomed by the Rockhampton literary community.

Saturday was the first workshop of my Rockhampton Year of the Novel series where I met my participants and they were so interesting and easy to work with.  I've got a picture of them on the right, and from left to right they are: Nicky, Natalie, Fiona, Elaine, Rod, Ayana and James.  We held the workshop at the Walter Reid Centre, which is a heritage listed building - gorgeous and historical on the outside and yet with every modern convenience on the inside!  I had a great day with them, but must admit to being pretty tired by the time night fell.  I think my week had caught up with me!  So no partying on Saturday night and a quiet day Sunday catching up with my 90 year old Aunt who lives in Rocky.  She made me scones, and Sundays don't get better than that.  A late flight back and now I'm catching up with everything that's been on hold while I've been travelling.  Really looking forward to getting back to writing, mentoring and preparing for my upcoming workshops.

Thursday, 31st January, 2008: Well, the year has started well with lots of my own writing getting done.  I've posted "Foldworld" away to my agent at last!  And am now working on "Beauty is the Beast".  Last weekend I attended the Aurealis Awards and caught up with friends - MCs Sean Williams and Kim Wilkins, as well as heaps of other writers and publishers who were at the event.  This year Pulp Fiction Press, Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre and University of Qld Press all had representatives at the awards, supporting their authors.  Aurealis Director Ron Serdiuk did a fabulous job and I have to say it's one of the friendliest, and yet most professional awards nights of the year.  The cocktail party afterwards is always a heap of fun and I thoroughly enjoy catching up with my clients and - if the opportunity arises - introducing them to publishers!  Pictured at right is Jane Domagala with me.  I assessed Jane's fantasy novel last year and am pleased to hear she's editing away and still working towards publication.

As am I!  This year will be one of focusing far more on my own projects, and I'll be happily reporting my next sale right here in the diary!

So look out for that :-)

If you'd like to see what was happening with me last year, you can look back at: Diary 2007