I am toughening up in the chilly English weather - there's me, in a coat, scarf and knee-high boots while around me, students stroll in T-shirts and flip-flops. I feel a bit mad. But... we joined an outdoor swimming pool for the winter!!! I can't quite believe it. It's three minutes walk from our house, and actually, it's very refreshing. The whole set up is a bit posh, the revamped Lido, with a glass-walled cafe overlooking the brave swimmers. Going from the pool to the jacuzzi, my body is saying, What? What? What? I'll get used to it. Not swum in the rain... or sleet... yet!So, onto business. So many lovely things have been happening to me that I have decided that it's time to Pay It Forward. The latest news is that my short screenplay adapted from my story North Cold is a finalist in the Waterford Film Fest's short screenplay comp, am off to ireland on Nov 8th to see if I've won.... and I'm a finalist in PANK magazine's 1,001 Awesome Words comp and will be published there. So, I'd like to return the karma. A few months ago I took Sue Guiney up on her offer to Pay it Forward: she sent me a beautiful gift in the post (her poetry play, Dreams of May, and a starfish pendant) in return for my promise to send a gift to three more people. Now it's your turn: I will send something to the first three people who comment here and promise to pay it forward too. Give me your email address if it's not on your blogger profile. Let's spread the love!
- 1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
- 2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
- 3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
- 4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
- 5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
- 6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
- 7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
I nominate:
Diane Becker (with snazzy new blog layout!)
How publishing really works full of very useful information
Mira's List fabulous blog with grants, fellowships and residences for creative people
The Quack Doctor "a collection of panacean powders, pills, potions and pamphlets, as advertised in historical newspapers."
God Shuffles His Feet - always thought-provoking
Anam cara Writers and Artists Retreat - a creative blog about a heavenly place that nurtures creativity.
Branta: The Might of Write lots of interesting writing-related "stuff"
So, don't forget - first three commenters who agree to pay it forward get a gift!
20 comments:
Tania, congrats on your latest writing success.
I do kind of envy you your local lido, but then I still haven't got used to the cold after a year and only coming from Amsterdam.
I do recommend swimming in the rain, or snow, as long as the pool is heated. I used to do that when I lived in France and the experience is amazing. That pool had an indoor or outdoor section, which helped.
Debra
Please can I have a lovely thing??? :)
Debra, is it that much colder here? And yes, the pool is heated but not boiling hot, when I work up the courage, I will swim in the rain. I'm sure it'll be raining again soon. No indoor section! How are you acclimatizing? Want to write a guest blog for me in my series on Writing&Place?
Teresa, of course you can! I will email you to get your address.
Ooh, how nice. And then I send 3 other people a lovely thing each? And then they send 3 other people a lovely thing each? And then th-
I do love a warm pool in winter. At university I used to swim at the very oldest gym on campus that had a heated pool in winter. I'd often be alone there but occassionally there was an elderly man swimming too. We'd greet each other and get on with it. One day out of the blue he stopped and said to me- "Isadora Duncan once danced here." That was our only conversation and I always think of it when I think of heated swimming pools. (off topic as usual)
Was the belly piercing painful? I would think the stretching and shrinking of my stomach's normal day would be agonising. My ears don't do that.
Thanks for nominating me!
It's been six years since I last went swimming and it was heaven, and it wasn't in the rain - it was on a beach on an island in the med, and I'm not going swimming again until I can do it somewhere warm.
I know - I am a coward :)
I'll pay it forward T! I've had a v fortuitous year. N x
Teresa, yes, it's lots of triplets of people sending lovely thing...!
Lauri, your off topic stories are always wonderful, never stay on topic! The belly piercing wasn't too bad, but it got infected - twice. I loved having it, felt very funky knowing it was under there, but the infection just wouldn't clear up, so it came out. Better, really.
Diane, I understand. All the indoor pools around here were actually too warm for me, I prefer colder water otherwise I just hang out!
Nuala - it's all yours, you do deserve it! Right, one more Pay-it-forwarder?
What a lovely post. I am so jealous of your languages as well.
Kate xxx
I would love to pass it forward but I would just be passing it back, rather than forward! :)
Erm, what do I do next Tania??!!
You don't do anything yet. I'll wait a little while, and then send you something.. so it's a surprise, you're not expecting it! Then you find three more people to pay it forward to.
Damn, why was I working when I could've been reading and commenting and getting lovely things? Oh yes, house payment, all coming back to me now.
Lisa, you can still get something lovely, one more pay-it-forward slot open. Want it??
You bet! Which just goes to show why I was never very good at math--can't even count the available slots.
I'm excitedly going to post a blog of my own in a moment with a calling out for people I can Pay It Forward to.
For a while, I was embarassed by my "CAN I HAVE A LOVELY THING???" message here, until more people shouting and pointing at themselves for a lovely thing came by.
You can't be shy in this game, oh no :)
Hi, just read your comment on "The Book Deal: A Publishing Blog for Writers and Book People" and smiled.
I wondered, do you recommend just starting off by submitting to journals/mags. I've recently started doing this but I've also sent off a collection to a small publishing house in NZ who told me my fiction was too short! (It varies between less than 100 words to several thousand words...a lot is around the 400 - 800 words bracket). I feel very depressed about this. So I was cheered that you are really gunning for short short fiction. Anyway, I'm still at sea as to what to do with mine. Ideas on a postcard?
Hi Rachel,
I definitely do recommend submitting to journals and building up your writing "CV", that's the advice I received, it's a great idea. Also, send to competitions. And as for being "too short" - poppycock! It's "too short" for their taste but there are more small presses who love flash fiction. A case in point: Rose Metal Press' Annual Short Short Chapbook Contest. This opens tomorrow, deadline Dec 1st, and they want "25–40 page double-spaced manuscript of short short stories under 1000 ".
Also, check out the Short Review's reviews of books with flash fiction, and see who published them. Some are full flash fiction collections. Good luck!
Huge thanks! I'll get on the case for the chapbook comp!
I just had this aweful "doom" moment of thinking, crikey, I've spent the best part of ten years whittling down my short fiction to as short and punchy as possible for what?
Anyway, positivity reigns.
Thanks again!
Can't believe I spelled "awful" wrong! Apologies! Why am I here? Oh, yes, to say thank you and tell you I entered the chapbook comp!
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