Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Pongo and Port Adelaide


After the elation, must of course come the reality. Time to get working on the next project. Yes. Now. I've done the research I need on the mc. The setting, well yes I think I've got that too. The conflict...Hmm. Take One. Nup. Take Two. Uh uh. Take Three - try it as non fiction? Nope, that didn't work either. Pacing was not useful. Sigh. Okay.


I took myself up to the bookshop to sign their copy of Kora. It was arctic outside, the coldest I've felt since being here...perhaps something to do with feeling lost? Who knows? It took me minutes before I trusted my hand to sign Kora.


I walked back along The Parade, muttering to myself, trying to work out why I couldn't get the voice, couldn't make a start. Half way along the block and Eureka! I got it. By then I'd fixed on the florist up ahead and wanted some flowers to replace those that had been in the apartment on my arrival. Flowers are grand, especially tulips. Gathering my tulips I paced back to the apartment, arranged (hah!) the tulips and began.

What I'm working on is three short, interlinked stories with the mc Pongo. I got the first draft down in one go. Yeehah! Sometimes persistence is less useful than a brisk(iced) walk and a stern talking to. Not sure what the locals think about the walking and muttering, but heck it worked for me!

Today I wrote the first draft of the second story which also included altering some of the detail in the first. The third one is still awaiting its direction, but I'm hoping sleep will provide its focus.

Nan collected me at noon and we lunched at Semaphore. The early rain and grey skies had cleared to a glorious sunshine.


Then we walked around Port Adelaide. We missed the guided tour and soon abandoned the walking map. To me, the whole area has a feel of being in transition. The old port buildings are lovely, constructed from ballast stone, bluestone (lighter than Victorian bluestone) and sandstone.

There are woolstores and olds shops and pubs. There is new paving on some streets and some public art sitting along side historic monuments and buildings. Change is coming. A new bridge is being built, apartments with yacht berths are appearing. It was nice to see it now.


We drove home via Pegi Williams Bookshop. This specialist children's bookshop was recommended to me by a local writer (tanx Janeen) and is wonderful. The shop serves schools and libraries as well as the general community. It's light and bright and fulllll of wonderful books. John Winch's last book 'Fly, Kite, Fly' is just beautiful. Time for Bed, Isobel by David Bedford and Leonie Worthington is lovely. However...although several of my titles are on order, none were on the shelves. Sigh. At least I know they're coming.

On the way back, we called in to see the reps at Macmillan Education and for a bit of a chat. An article on Reading Recovery set off a conversation about how reading is taught in schools and how the methods keep changing. I guess the bottom line is that each method suits most okay, some brilliantly and others poorly. A big hurray for teachers who use lots of methods.

The apartment has its own little library with works by previous fellows. I'm enjoying reading fiction and non fiction from previous visitors.

3 comments:

Life's a poem said...

That bookshop sounds wonderful and dangerous- I might get lost in it.

Walking is a great story shaker. Fresh air and other lives around us provide that flicker of inspiration.

Keep writing Claire.(oh and walking)

Sally Murphy said...

Good luck with the Pongo stories. I'm working on a similar project at present and finding the challenge of building a character in a short format is keeping me on my toes. My character has a 'p' name too - Patrick. I feel like I know him well but as I revise I wonder if his voice is being lost in the need to keep the stories short.

Anwyay, am enjoying following your 'journey'. Can relate to the muttering - I do a lot of it myself - even when I'm not writing, lol.

Anonymous said...

What if the Gov banned muttering? Yikes! Where would we be then?
Great to 'hear' your enthusiasm as those creative juices flow.
Nice pics.
Temp around 22 in Cairns today - sending...feel the warmth?
Kay