Heart of the Tapu Stone

HELP ME

November 4, 2013

Is anybody out there...there....there...there...
Help me...me...me...me...

Obviously I am not a bloggist, blogger or bloggerist.
I don't have the internal discipline to keep a diary.
I don't think my daily stumblings through the day coalesce in a way which is meaningful to anyone but me.
Id be bored if I had to read about my daily exploits because there are many, many, days in which I do nothing, except stare at a screen grasping about in my massive vacuum of a brain, for something to throw on it.
Like now.
Im just disgusted with myself for being unable to find any words over the last three weeks of any worth, whatsoever, to write anywhere. No blogs, no poetry, no short stories, no novels no nothing...

I have however been drawing...

.

...and reading lots and lots...

and watching a lot of 'QI', 'Big Bang Theory', 'Criminal Minds' and 'the Mentalist' (the latter which is sliding more and more towards the ridiculous with plot holes you could dock the QEII in!)

Why am I doing this...because I am

stuck, stuck, stuck....

I've had a sore throat for months, this Graves Disease thing-a-my is life sapping torture and the amount of meds I have to take every day would fell a freekin elephant...which is the size I'm heading for, as the meds, disease, and inertia of sitting in front of a blank screen is dealing to me, mentally and physically...

before...

A
after...

AAAAAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrgh lordy miss bloody claudy....

PLEASE...

IMAGINATION....

GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Colonel Brandon and Mr Darcy Sandwich

October 11, 2013

I can't believe its been so long since I've written something in this thing. Never been a Diary sort of girl unless its a visual diary and then I fill it with crap.

It was my birthday a couple of days ago, and at 51 people don't give you prezzies anymore. Not even your husband. That sux. My sister came out to dinner with me and walked in with a vodafone bag in her hand and I thought, yeyyyyyy, a new phone and she put it on the table and said it wasn't for me. So I told her to get it off...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Find a pen, find a pen!

September 18, 2013

A short story character of mine just said in my head....

'I know there is purification in suffering but by all that's fecking holy don't give me cramps that could drown a whale then make me allergic to painkillers...'

its gonna be a good story....

(yes this happens all the time, and I have to hurriedly find a pen, I have once written a thought down in kohl eyeliner on a tea towel.)

Continue reading...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Political propensities

September 15, 2013

Options for this story

I am political--as red as a Trotsky cherry--my husband is not.
Council elections are on and a candidate came to the door...Scotty opens the door and say's 'No, not interested bye,'
I'm yelling "ask him if he wants a cup of tea.'
Scott's like 'Nuh,' and slams the door.
'Why?' I gasp in disbelief.
'Not interested.'
I'm like 'What the &*^%$*()_*&^%$, get him back here, tell him he can put a hoarding in our front yard, ask him about his policies...blah blah blah...'
Then my husb...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Short story - "Good"

September 11, 2013

The doctor said you have three good years and then he shrugged. I didn’t know what the shrug was about but it felt ominous. I didn’t say anything back. I couldn’t think of any words which would fit this situation. Instead, I tried to smile, because I am a woman and I have been conditioned to make others feel better in bad situations. Including the doctor who was giving me some of the worst news a person can receive.

The definition of “good” became of immense importance to...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Rule 11...don't talk too much.

September 3, 2013

Thank God for Alan Bennett...

In an interview with Mark Lawson he said 'if you talk about what you're writing, while your writing it, it sucks the steam out of it. That's true to because now I have to rewrite 5000 words because I talked about it and pulled the guts out of the pace...argh...bugger.

So here I am sitting in bed, heater on as its freezing and feeling like a failure. I've written nothing all morning. Alan Bennett quoted Auden saying, 'Writers spend most of their time not writing...
Continue reading...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Newsflash!

August 27, 2013

Today I got a call from a College, saying they are enjoying reading the book but there are some mistakes in it...It wasn't news, I knew there were mistakes in it, caused by a lot of different factors...
I was broken hearted for about five minutes, because you can't un-publish a book...just like you can't un-live a life...whats done is done, and this is the first edition.

The second edition will be as error free as possible...

So, all I can say is...I promise a good read, a rollicking story w...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Him wot I love

August 5, 2013

My husband works three jobs so I can write. Finally, after months of him being too busy to do anything but work and sleep, he and I sat down and blocked out the new novel properly. We discussed the character arcs and the 'truth' of each story thread and the tie up at the end. He listened to my wackiest, craziest ideas and gives me honest feedback. He saved me from deleting 110 thousands words because I'm tired and want to do something stupid and self destructive.

That's why he gets the bi...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Blog-titus

August 1, 2013

Things a writer must have:

a blog
a website
a twitter
the ability to relate a book that took you years to write in five minutes
a face you can stick on the back of a book that won't scare people
witty quotable repartee for the newspapers
a theme
hidden analogy
hidden irony
a Well of buried pain and a bucket
a drink and/or drug and/or confectionery problem
the hide of an elephant with spiked armour and a spartan helmet
total unconditional love and support from your whanau especially the ones with money...

Posted by Olivia Giles.

Saturday's

July 26, 2013

Just racked up 105000 words for 'Feather from the Kakahu.'

Saturday mornings are for checking your 18 year old got home in one piece from 'God knows where' in town. Chucking stuff in the dryer because you can't be arsed standing outside in the freezing cold hanging up clothes. Drinking a whole pot of tea. Listening to power ballads and remembering when having a mullet was super attractive. Taking pics of yourself with your web cam and thinking...Not bad for 350 in dog years.