Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I Have Writer's Block...

Ok - So it's probably the most over used phrase known to a writer, but hey, its the truth and if it weren't then I'd probably would've thought of something clever and witty to say... but i didn't, because I can't...

The situation is as follows: Logged on this morning to find an email from HM&B requesting my full manuscript for the partial I sent which included some, but not a hell of a lot of revisions.
Yeah - happy dance and all that. I AM stoked, but as I read the revisions carefully, I panic. I have to REWRITE stuff, think of new scenes AND still polish nine chapters, two of which are incomplete...

I sit down and open a file that has not seen the light of day for a good six weeks and then... nothing, nada, zip.

Maybe a spot of surfing, checking my email, visiting face book might get me in the mood? Uh no, still not a single word... After a while it dawned on me...I officially have writer's block.
Sigh. Perhaps tomorrow might be easier?

Monday, October 5, 2009

Inspiration in the strangest form




So I just got back from a trip to Hong Kong and LOVED it. But the whole time I was there I trying to find a way of weaving my experience into my existing ms. Because we were there for dh's work, I had some time to write, and one gloriously smoggy afternoon as I sat perched at my laptop with an expansive view of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour in my sights it hit me...
My existing MS is set in the Hunter Valley, deep NSW wine country. How on earth am I going to marry country Australia and the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong? The answer was born from an experience from the night before. After a night on the town, we headed to our hotel and seeing as though it was well before the witching hour, we made a beeline to the 'Sky Bar' and as the name suggests, it is situated way up there with a fantabulous view of Hong Kong at night. One of the may great things about the Sky Lounge Bar is their Wine Room. You are given something resembling a credit card and you can access their wine dispensing system (see pic). Basically, you can have a taste, half or full glass of a various selections of wines from around the globe, and for a wine lover like me, this is heaven! So I inserted my card, surveyed the selection and paused... Hmm... not many Aussie wines on the list, in fact not a SINGLE one! And come to think of it, Aussie wines were absent on many of the menus in other restaurants and bars in HK, their alternatives, bar the NZ wines, were average to say the least. And THAT lead to a light bulb moment...
WHAT if my hero, the new up and coming CEO of Australia's oldest wine empire set his sights on breaking the HK market? WHAT if he whisked the heroine to HK for a romantic week? What would they do? Hmm...

So tell me, what's the strangest way you've gotten a light bulb moment or some form of inspiration???