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I hit 10,000 words! Days 5, 6 & 7 of the Inaugural 2018 KSP - Varuna Foundation Fellowship
I suppose I gave it away in the title but oh my God! 10,000 words! Here’s what happened on each day. Day 5 was the Friday. Nothing got done on Friday. I was really exhausted. My sleeping patterns were out of whack and I was trying to fix my ear issue. I thought I could go out to meet my union colleagues and friends for drinks and come back and write. The drinks part happened and was fun but the writing part did not happen. So I had zero words for Friday. I had about four to five thousand words at this point to write in order to hit 10,000…
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Day 4: Freedom to write, freedom for writers Day 4 of the Inaugural 2018 KSP - Varuna Foundation Fellowship
Day 4 already. Well, nothing was going to happen on Day 1 given how tired and jetlagged I was. Today, most of the day was pretty boring. I had not slept well the night before. So the day was full of waking, sleeping, doing things I needed to do like eat and so on. I thought about the book a lot. And then I did my makeup, changed, called an Uber and went to see my friend Vicki Laurie interview Peter Greste at the WA State Library. So three things happened today on Day 4: Peter Greste pleasantly surprised me. I was very happy about that. Thank you Peter Greste.…
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Day 3: So many emotions Day 3 of the Inaugural 2018 KSP - Varuna Foundation Fellowship
Day 3 and I am just grateful. I didn’t get to sleep until five am because I was just so thrilled that I had met my goal. You get a high after you write and type everything in. But I did sleep in bursts till about noon. I would wake up, do some work related things, sleep a bit, write a bit and so on. I woke up at noon and went over to the main house and the office to meet Shannon who is the director here at KSP Writers Centre. I gave her some things from Sri Lanka and she offered to do a pharmacy run for me.…
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Day 2: A cat is here! Day 2 of the KSP - Varuna Foundation Fellowship
Day 2 and I woke up joyful today. Joyful because it was such a wonderful thought that I could write and everyone was going to be mindful of that. That no one would disturb me, no one would interrupt me, no one would think to themselves “She is free – let’s get a hold of her.” Also annoyance because my article was overdue and I needed to get it done so I knuckled down to do that while battling my ear going strange again. I made a mental note to see my doctor as soon as I get back to Melbourne. I figured out the A/C and I had a…
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Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming A Freelance Writer: All the frequently asked questions about freelance writing you ever wanted to ask
Marisa Wikramanayake answers a few of the frequently asked questions about being a freelance writer.
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Khodayar Amini, Australia and asylum seekers, one year on How federal and state governments consistently failed a refugee seeking assistance
Khodayar would often listen to Ahmad Zahir's songs as he lay on his bed in Sydney. In 'Man Nagoyam' Ahmad Zahir sings about being like a caged bird that wants to be free. In Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, all musical instruments and music making bar the frame duff drum and religious singing had been banned by the Taliban. Khodayar ran from the Taliban after most of his family were killed. He ran from death as most humans would, to a place of perceived safety as most humans would. But he ran to Australia where he would end up feeling more caged and more in danger.
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The Writing Calendar: June 2016 Your one stop shop for all the upcoming writing events & deadlines in Perth and WA in June 2016
I decided to put this calendar for the month of June together on a whim. And then it took forever. So this is the monster list of everything even remotely writerly and literary that is going on in Perth and WA in the month of June from today onwards. Anyone who says the arts is dead in Perth is wrong – it was tiring to compile and it is tiring to even contemplate. IF this does prove useful to you, let me know if you want me to do one each month. IF so, then Emily Paull will be helping to collate info & we will be cross posting here with…
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The writing plan for June
It’s June today. A June day, today, let’s say since June began the day before yesterday. On this June day my TBR is neither pile nor stack, it is a scatter instead, in bags, on shelves, across the floor, under laptops and beds. It’s also not To Be Read but rather like quantum, a mix between the two, some To Be Read but some also read already so To Be Reviewed. I need a plan.
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Competition: African-Australian short stories
The Centre for Stories in Perth, WA has a competition for African-Australian writers in WA. What is amazing and exciting about it is that if you win, I could be your mentor. And we only require 1000 words. So hop to it! Get writing! More info after the cut.
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Marianne de Pierres' Glitter Rose
Marisa Wikramanayake reviews author Marianne de Pierres collection Glitter Rose for the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2014