Greg Gerrand

19November2008

And then there’s this sort of thing…

Posted by Greg under: Movies; Video.

19November2008

Where is Yotsuba& volume 6?

Posted by Greg under: Comics.

Alas, it looks cancelled. I’m seriously thinking of importing the picture-books from Japan.

19November2008

Writing it out

Posted by Greg under: Writing.

One of the most valuable pieces of writing advice I’ve ever read was the suggestion of John Gardner in his Art of Fiction to write out - literally copy word-for-word - writing of authors you admire. I think Gardner’s suggestion began and ended with Joyce’s “The Dead”, but I’ve taken to doing it with pieces of writing I want to thoroughly pull apart and understand. It’s a different feeling altogether from reading the piece.

Below are the last seven paragraphs of I Capture the Castle. I think it’s the best ending of anything I’ve read in a while, even though from a plot as a checklist of events leading to a resolution point of view it’s kind of lacking. I think I understand a bit more about how it works so well now. I’m not sure if it works without reading the book, or if reading the ending without reading the book “spoils” things (I imagine not), but here it is:

Only half a page left now. Shall I fill it with ‘I love you, I love you’ - like Father’s page of cats on the mat? No. Even a broken heart doesn’t warrant a waste of good paper.

There is a light down in the castle kitchen. Tonight I shall have my bath in front of the fire, with Simon’s gramophone playing. Topaz has it on now, much too loud - to bring Father back to earth in time for tea - but it sounds beautiful from this distance. She is playing the Berceuse from Stravinsky’s ‘The Firebird’. It seems to say: ‘What shall I do? Where shall I go?’

You will go to tea, my girl - and a much better tea than you would have come by this time last year.

A mist is rolling over the fields. Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?

There was mist on Midsummer Eve, mist when we drove into the dawn.

He said he would come back.

Only the margin left to write on now. I love you, I love you, I love you.

19November2008

Getting there

Posted by Greg under: Nanowrimo; Writing.

Slowly getting things in order on the new computer. There’s far more of a data-hole than I originally thought: lots of writing seems to be missing, and iPhoto decided to eat all the photos on my iPod.

Man, I’m gonna back up like CRAZY from now on. I’m ordering a tiny portable hard-drive tonight, and later on in Dec I’m getting a desktop hard-drive.

I’m abandoning the National Novel writing thingy. Total SNAFU, combination of thievery, moving etc has sapped my brain somewhat. I’m going to finish two short stories, one in particular seems apt in at the moment - it’s about friendships, loss, hesitancy and miscommunication. Those are showing up in another story that wants to be written next - it’s likely it’s a chapter in a novel called “Spook” - originally a comic book script/series idea.

Ah, ideas.

9November2008

Back Online

Posted by Greg under: Writing.

But very busy today. More tomorrow.

Note to self: don’t try to move house and start writing a novel in the same week again.

1November2008

Novel-writing day one, part one.

Posted by Greg under: Nanowrimo; Writing.

Finding Aid for the Van Aelst Island Incident Papers, 20–.

ACC 4283.148.05  

Collection Overview

Access Conditions

Administrative Information

Provenance

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Series I. Infestation. August-October 20–.

Series II. Expression. October 20–.

Series III. Aftermath. October 20–.

27October2008

Maria Island rocks

Posted by Greg under: Pix.

Both meanings. Am back, more soon.

22October2008

Two years???

Posted by Greg under: Uncategorized.

date : Tue, Dec 12, 2006 at 5:04 PM
subject : Rooftop cinema? Rooftop cinema!!!

Hola!

I have discovered what is potentially a marvellous thing - there is now a rooftop cinema at Curtin House in middle of town. I very much wish to try this, although as there is a “Bill Murray” festival next week, it might have to wait until next year.

Still… rooftop cinema!

http://www.rooftopcinema.com.au/

-G

4October2008

Believe I’m stompin’

Posted by Greg under: Music; Video.

2October2008

Pony!

Posted by Greg under: Comics; Writing.

Ah, Kate Beaton has brought back the pony. This cheers me immensely.

I’m currently reading Cassandra Pybus’s book on the Orr affair. With the right artist, I’d love to write a graphic novel on this whole thing. It would not be very sympathetic to Orr, but that’s rather inevitable if you actually consider the facts of the case (rather than the rubbish that went around at the time).