Rozz.ie

I love travelling, writing, sparkling things, happy dogs and grumpy owners, garlic mayo, my family and my friends who understand me and me them. My name is Rozz Lewis and I live in Carlow. You can contact me at [email protected] or @rozzlewis on twitter My blog is made up of personal ramblings and any resemblance to you or anything you know is unintentional.

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When a marathon plan says that you are due to do a 3 hour run (20 miles), thinking up an excuse for not doing it is high on the agenda. Running a 10K race was my solution for at least postponing this inevitable almost-marathon. Today was the 4th annual 10K race in aid of Carlow Hospice, which started at the Rugby Club and went by Oak Park, onto the Dublin Road and then back to the start.

My wife and my running partner joined me, (Rozz did the 5K). I really wanted to break the 45 minute barrier for this race. I’ve never really gotten too near this but I had a feeling that if I got a decent start this morning I would be able to do it. Rozz wanted to break the 30 minute barrier for her 5K but neither of us told each other this before the race!

Thankfully, I did get a decent start, with my first km in under 4:30min. I found myself running with 3 others in a small group but 2 of them sped up to 4min/km fairly quickly so I slipped behind with some other guy, who wasn’t in the mood to chat.

I kept up a general pace of under 4:30min/km for the rest of the race so was delighted to get a time of something around the 43 minute mark. I forgot to turn off my time on my phone so it recorded the 0.04km extra where I was trying to catch my breath. I’ll check my official time later.

For the first time in a long time, Rozz wasn’t at the finish line to greet me. Due to my weekend travels and long runs the last month, we haven’t had a chance to celebrate my birthday properly. One of our traditions is to make a luxury breakfast for each other. 3 weeks after the big day, I got my just rewards with bagels, smoked salmon and loads of other yummy treats!

However, in bad news, my running partner hadn’t registered for the marathon yet so we decided before he left our house, (he joined us for my birthday brekkie), we would register him. We tried to do it online but it seems the closing date for entries was the 1st of October so he won’t be able to do it. To make up for it, we’ll do the Waterford half-marathon in December but in the meantime, he’s still going to keep training with me and cheer me on on the day.

Predicted Marathon Time: 3:19:57 (Ha! No chance!)

[derekcoylepoet]

'In Hopper's paintings we can stare at the most familiar scenes and feel that they are essentially remote, even unknown. People look into space. They seem to be elsewhere, lost in a secrecy the paintings cannot disclose and we can only guess at. It is as if we were spectators at an event we were unable to name. We feel the presence of what is hidden, of what surely exists but is not revealed. By formalizing privacy, by giving it a space where it can be witnessed without being violated, Hopper's power over us is exercised with utmost tact. We encounter the reticence of his paintings with our own, and our sympathy increases. Hopper's rooms become sad havens of desire. We want to know about what goes on in them, but of course we cannot. The silence that accompanies our viewing seems to increase. It is unsettling. We want to move on. And something is urging us to, even as something else compels us to stay. It weighs on us like solitude. Our distance from everything grows.'

Mark Strand, ‘Hopper’ (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007), p. 66.

Read Mark Strand’s excellent little book on Edward Hopper if you have any interest in the painter at all. It is brilliant, transformative in the best sense.

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As well as blogging here from time to time (and teaching of course!) I am involved in a few other projects, blogs and websites at present.

1. EdBlogsIE

This is an aggregate blog that brings together posts from various educational blogs in Ireland. I set it up initially so I could keep...

[writerswritecompany]

How To Write Great Dialogue

Modern novels are filled with dialogue. More than 50% of your book should be filled with characters talking to each other. Beginner novelists are often afraid of dialogue and they should be.

Writing dialogue is complicated. An author has to give the impression that characters are speaking as if they existed in a real world. However, ‘real world’ dialogue is the kiss of death in a novel. Real life has no plot. Most everyday conversations have no point. They exist for the sake of appearances. They are made up of exchanging greetings and pleasantries. Small talk is just that and has no place in your novel.

Writing Tip: An interesting way to test this for yourself is to tape a series of conversations and write them down exactly as the words are spoken. You will find people ramble on. They repeat what they have said, they struggle to find words, their grammar is terrible, and they talk ‘at’ each other. 

How do authors only include dialogue that is necessary?

One way is to read a variety of novels published in the last 10 years. Examine the dialogue. Good authors only include what is necessary for the story. Sometimes this means dialogue has been pared down to the minimum but this is necessary. Never include unnecessary conversations. Readers expect every conversation to be significant. Unnecessary conversations are the red herrings of the dialogue universe.

The Three Reasons

Authors should remember that there are three reasons for including dialogue in a novel.

Dialogue should move a plot forward. ‘Let’s go.’ is better than ‘Peter said that they should go.’

Dialogue should reveal character. Every word your character uses shows the sort of person he or she is.

Dialogue should provide information. Treat this one with care. There is a fine line between revealing important facts and boring the reader with details. Do not allow your characters to ‘tell’ in dialogue. Rather use a short summary.

The Supporting Act

Remember that people don’t just utter words when they interact. They act, they move, and they use body language - intentionally or unintentionally. Friends may walk or drink coffee as they speak. A young mother may jump up to prevent her child from crawling away. A woman may cross her arms as she listens to her husband.

Writing Tip: Introduce a habit with dialogue. Your villain might flip a coin when he speaks. Your love interest might smoke when he or she speaks.

Said

Novelists should ignore the many posts suggesting 50 words to use instead of ‘said’. Said is perfect. It shows the reader who is speaking. It keeps the reader focused on the dialogue. When characters mutter, proffer, utter, cry, growl, and grin words, the author just looks silly.

Writing tip: Read your dialogue out loud. Your tongue will trip over all the nonsense words. Remove them.

Accents and Dialect

Follow speech patterns rather than misspelling words. It takes a dedicated reader to muddle through idiosyncratic vernacular. Add the odd foreign word to show the speaker is not English.

Like everything else in writing, perfecting dialogue takes practise. Write every day, and include dialogue in that writing if you can.

Image created by Writers Write at Someecards

 by Amanda Patterson

Source: Writers Write

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[derekcoylepoet]

I love the Chinese characters. A simple poem.

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[theclearlydope]

I wonder if there is a dating site for those who’s suffer from being totally done with hearing “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines.”

via bestnatesmithever: blameaspartame: GlutenFree Singles™

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A great idea for an e-safety poster

[derekcoylepoet]

Poets, be mythologizers of the world around you.

Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are artists of one kind or another. The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world.  Joseph Campbell

[derekcoylepoet]

‘All men must make their way come Independence Day…’

Here is my offering for Bastille Day - there are different types of independence day.

Here is a very good, slightly raw version of Springsteen’s ‘Independence Day’. Interesting to hear him say it was intended for his 1978 album ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’; of course, it did not make it onto vinyl until ‘The River’ (1980). 

Watch out for the great emotional vocalization at the end - can poets attempt something like that ever? What would it look like on the page?

[rozzlewis]

Open Public Meeting to discuss a National Strategy on Literature Irish Writers' Centre, Monday, July 2nd at 8pm The Literature Sector is facing enormous change and enormous uncertainty at this time. If the whole sector does not rise to this challenge, we may find that the infrastructure and conditions that nurtured the art in the past have been seriously eroded. The Literature Sector includes writers, readers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, administrators whose organisations deliver vital services, everyone who has a stake in this complex process of delivering the written word, with its inter-related, inter-dependent factors. This is a caucus-style meeting with an open agenda, and has been called by Jack Harte, Chairman of the Irish Writers' Centre, and member of the Steering Committee of the National Campaign for the Arts, whose discussion document, Towards a National Strategy on Literature was circulated to politicians before the last election, and is worth reading before the meeting. It is envisaged that such Caucus meetings will be called at regular intervals, convened and hosted by other organisations and in countrywide locations, in order to hone a comprehensive approach to the problems that face the sector. Items for discussion will be prepared beforehand, but items of importance to anyone in the audience can be raised from the floor. Louise O'Reilly, National Coordinator of the National Campaign for the Arts, will attend and give a resume of the active campaign being conducted on behalf of the whole Arts community. It is essential that the Literature Sector becomes more involved in the National Campaign, and we will have some discussion on this too. (Source:Irish Writers Centre)

[rozzlewis]

Carlow Writers’ Co-operative group is based in the town of Carlow. We meet every 2 weeks in the Teach Dolmen, in a very atmospheric bar upstairs. We all bring a piece or two of work with a copy for each member to read along. Afterwards, feedback is encouraged and we have some lively but helpful debates!

We take a break from the meetings over the summer months and this year we culminated the writing year with a reading of our work for the Eigse Arts Festival. Carlow County Libraries had approached us and asked us to work with a scriptwriter, Ken Bourke. We met him each week for 6 weeks and he stimulated us to write about objects like metal, fire and water. Towards the end, we began to prepare for the reading. Most of the writing group had not read their work in public but each and everyone did a fabulous job! On the night, we had a wine reception and a visit from the local paper’s journalist.

I’ve put together a couple of tips for those of you who want to try this in their own writing group. i hope they help you and make you read and write the best you can!

Perform-A reading is a performance, so to speak. Remember, your audience are using their auditory learning style now so vary your tone and pace.

Practice-practice reading your piece in front of a mirror and with a live person.

Prepare-visit the venue beforehand, checking for sound and how it will carry to the back of the room. We made sure that the writing group were all interspersed throughout the audience. We were very fortunate that we had a full food buffet and wine, tea, etc. even a mug of tea and chocolate digestives are a treat to you and the audience.

Dress-A gentle reminder to each of the writing group reminded us that this was a professional and important event. The audience deserve the best and most attractive reader! Make an effort, dress up and glitz up!

Programme-It’s a good idea to write a simple letter and list of readers taking part. This gives the audience something to focus on as it’s hard to listen for an hour! Make sure you mention your sponsors!

Introductions and breaks-Have a couple of lines to introduce your piece/s. Don’t just launch into them as the audience will have no context. If you are reading 2 or more pieces, stop for a few seconds to signify the end of the first piece.Then, introduce the next piece.

Applause! Wait for applause. Some of the audience started clapping after one of our writer’s first story, which was unexpected! Take it in and enjoy it!

Look up and smile-Look up at your audience at various points throughout the reading. Connect with them, this will keep their attention.

Facilitator-Try to get someone to open up the evening, we had the Head librarian introduce us and Ken introduced each of the writers in between. This makes it really professional and keeps your audience focussed.

Your writing-This is the most important thing, in my opinion. Make sure your writing has been checked and edited. You want to read and look the best you can but you also want to write the best piece you can. That is the aim of the reading. Get your best stuff out there!

I felt very down after my reading was over. It had been such a great experience to be involved in and I felt proud of all of us for reading our most personal creative writing. So, we are aiming for another reading and anthology next year! We will possibly learn more the next time. I’d love to hear from you if you have given a reading and have some tips to share. Rozz Lewis

[rozzlewis]

Today, the Irish Writers' Centre will begin their attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "Most authors reading consecutively from their own work". If you haven't seen it, check out the programme here. The Irish Writers' Centre will be open to all those wishing to attend, but if you can't be part of the physical audience, you can still be part of the virtual one. The LIVE STREAM of Read For The World that will begin at 10am (Irish time) today, June 15th. If it doesn't work, use this link: http://dub.qtelmedia.com/writersEvent/. Thanks to liveoneveryscreen.com for their help and broadcast support. If you have any questions or queries, please call us at the Centre on [phone]

This post was scheduled using future tweets, a handy way to schedule your posts before a set time. http://futuretweets.com/

[rozzlewis]

Essentials of Writing Fiction workshopwith Claire Keegan & Viv McDade

This workshop will run in The Millrace Hotel, Bunclody On July 14 & 15, 2012. It will incorporate lectures and discussions, audio clips and movie scenes, group and individual writing exercises. Participants will read sample texts which illustrate specific characteristics of well and poorly written fiction. Short examples, handouts and reading recommendations will be provided. Participants will be asked to write an opening page before they come to the workshop. This page will not be reviewed: its purpose is to give you an understanding of some of the difficulties in getting started and to provide a piece of 'raw material' to which you can apply (both during and after the workshop) some of what you have learned. The workshop will begin at 10h00 and conclude at approximately 16h00 on both days. A booking can be made by sending an e-mail (with Essentials of Fiction Workshop in the subject field) and your telephone number to [email protected] The €250.00 workshop fee covers tuition & tea/coffee only. Your tutors: Claire Keegan grew up in Wicklow and studied English and Politics at Loyola University, New Orleans. Her debut collection of stories, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year and won The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. The second collection, Walk the Blue Fields, was published to huge critical acclaim and was chosen by Richard Ford as his book of the year in 2007. Foster won the Davy Byrnes Award, was published in The New Yorker and shortlisted for the Kerry Fiction Prize for Irish Fiction, 2011. Claire has also earned an outstanding reputation as a teacher of creative writing. She lives in rural Ireland. Viv McDade was born in Ireland, grew up in Zimbabwe and lived in South Africa and The Netherlands before returning to Ireland. An English and Psychology Honours graduate, she was Head of English Department at Hillside Teacher Training College in Zimbabwe, before moving into management and consultant roles in South African and European organisations. After her return to Ireland she completed an M.Phil in Creative Writing at Trinity College. Her stories have been read on radio and published in literary journals and anthologies, including the 2011 Faber Book of New Irish Short Stories, edited by Joseph O’Connor. In April 2012 she received the Hennessey Emerging Fiction award for 2011. She lives in Dublin and is working on a collection of short stories.

[rozzlewis]

Getting ready for open-air concert in potato square, carlow tonight for eigse opening!

[rozzlewis]

Eigse carlow are doing some cool stuff this year...we've got these amazing pop up shops all over the town. Buzz's Bar is turning into an art gallery today. A big opening at 7 featuring art, wine, music and random celebs....

[rozzlewis]

Eigse carlow arts festival opens today with a bit of roller skating in Visual, Carlow. Everything can be done in principle is an art commission by Brian Duggan... Where you can enter a world that is private and public... Thats what I'm told! Eigse opens tonight with a huge party in the park, open air concert, art exhibition, wine reception and nice food(again, so I'm told!)

[rozzlewis]

Come hear me read a couple of stories and my first attempt at poetry! Our group, the Carlow Cooperative Writers' Group have been working hard! In association and supported by the Carlow Library and Eigse Carlow Festival, we have nearly completed a series of workshops with Ken Bourke. On Tuesday, 12th June at 6:30 in Carlow Library, we will read 2 of our pieces to an audience(we hope!) Afterwards, we take the literary chat to the very literary Carlovian pub, Teach Dolmen. There will be a great range of genres, content, style amongst the flash fiction, short stories and poetry. Oh, and the very lovely Mr. Lewis will be reading his stuff too! Yipee!