Write away.

So, I should be writing every day, but sadly I'm not.

Martin has an exam next Wednesday so that means that I'm having to do almost 100% of the housework - which leave no time for writing.

How do you have time to write in this blog though? - I hear you ask...

Ahh, well.. ummmm...

Gotta go.

Who am I?

I think perhaps one of the best things to do when you start a new blog is to put in a post about yourself. That way you can link to it from your side bar and then if anyone stumbles across your page they can find out who and what its about without too much hassle.

Having said that I should stop stalling and creating hassle and just move on...

I am Kate.

I'm 28, and I've wanted to be a writer since I was little.

I've also wanted to be a nun (after watching the Sound of Music for the first time), a circus performer, a pianist, actress, geologist, magician, nurse, teacher, chocolate taster, cinema usher, rich oil tycoon, archaeologist (thanks to Indiana Jones for that one), Egypt historian/librarian (The Mummy), gymnast, olympian (no chance!), medieval princess, ghost, guest on sesame street... ok I'm getting off track..

The point is.. since I was little I've strived towards being a pianist, studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree, and a geologist (after watching Volcano and Dante's Peak!), studying for a Bachelor of Science degree. While I was doing my BA I slipped in a few writing courses and began my -what i like to call - Epic Fantasy Novel. Geology, however, took over and my Epic Novel sat on a low simmer in the back of my mind.

University finished. Geology jobs dried up. And my ambition for anything sank lower and lower until I was sitting at the bottom of a hole. So, armed with two degrees I flipped my entire non-existent career on its head and worked crap jobs (except the jobs working in bookshops!) in order to fund my desire to travel and drag myself out of the career-less hole I had naively fallen into.

2003 I left Australia and set off on my own to the UK where I worked at a pub and thoroughly enjoyed being a lazy bum.

Enter Martin, a whirlwind romance, and some more crap jobs.

Three years later and we are married and I now live in the UK full time where I am still working crap jobs, but the difference is ---> the 'writing bug' has bitten a great big chunk out of my arse and I am now, finally, working towards being a published author.

A friend, from Australia, and I share a website where we have posted some short stories and other stuff. Also, I have started this blog. (Jane has started her own blog too ...well it was her idea first... called SaucierFood).

We have both decided to enter NaNoWriMo for the first time this year (2006), and I am quaking in my boots! I hate to admit it, but I'm a total newbie at writing. Well I have been struggling with my Epic Novel for 8 years now as well as doing short stories and poetry so I'm not a complete dunce, but I haven't completed a novel yet - or submitted anything for publication.

I am determined to scrap the crap jobs and write full time.

So this, my writer's blog - Quilling Time - is a diary of my journey and I hope to be posting news of lucrative publishing deals before I hit the big 3-0! Thats my goal!

Enjoy!

Tools of the Trade

I like to use an Alphasmart 3000 for writing. Its just like a laptop but without all the distractions! It has a tiny little screen that shows four lines of text, and all you can do on it is write!

What more do you need?

Its a full sized keyboard, and takes up to 100 pages of writing. To transfer your masaterpiece to a PC just plug it in and press 'send'! Its as easy as that. You can watch all your words race across the screen as though a ghost is producing it.
By the way, this light weight little machine runs on 3 AA batteries for up to 700 hours!

I could definitely sell these things! I just cant stop raving about them.

Unfortunately, they're not being made any more.

BUT - there are some upgraded versions. There is the Alphasmart NEO, which is pretty similar but has 6 lines of text on the screen and a few other features. And then there is the Alphasmart Dana (and Dana Wireless), which encorporate the PDA software and have a load of other features (ie more distractions!!!!).

Check out ebay for an Alphasmart 3000. Thats where I got mine, for under £100. Definitely worth it!

For good old fashioned note-taking, I use my 'Book of Secrets' notebook. My Mum bought it for me for Christmas the year before I left Australia to live in the UK. I carry it with me everywhere! Its great for jotting down notes, ideas, quotes, names, character ideas etc. I recommend to any writer to always have a pen and notebook handy (also keep one by your bed to scribble down your dreams - they're a great source of writing ideas!)

Just the other day when I was driving home from work I had to pull over in a pub carpark and jot down this awesome idea I had for a book. I haven't got a name for this book yet, but I will probably start on it in December after NaNoWriMo.

The idea came from a photograph that I took in June on my way back from my honeymoon.

Cant you just see castles and towers containing creatures of the ether in this picture??

Creation of Quilling Time

Greetings!

Quilling Time has begun.

I am Kate.

I am a writer and hope to very soon be published.

I have started this blog to capture my adventures as a writer and I've started it in good time too - only 3.5 weeks until NaNoWriMo kicks off. This will be my first year as a participant and I've got butterflies tickling my insides. I've got a story in mind, and I've got all my equipment set up and ready to go. All I need now is courage!

I've gathered some interesting writing links, and hope to continually add to this. If you would like a link to your blog/site added then just leave a comment on one of my entries (they get emailed to me).

I do hope to have a message board installed shortly, but building a blog with all the decorative delights does take time. And time is precious.

I hope any budding writers find my posts interesting/helpful/enter any other word here, and I hope that my career takes off really soon so that I can have something to blog about. On that 'wishful thinking' note if you would like to wade through the oddities of my head then skip over to my other blog Kate Daydreams.