News update
And in other news
Sunday, June 7th, 2009 | News update | No Comments
And in other news I’m writing and doing all sorts of things while waiting for our flight. Update of our adventures by the numbers:
- 15 minutes until we board our plane for Los Angeles
- 45 minutes until the plane takes off (nominally)
- 10am Monday we leave Australia, we travel for 14 hours and arrive 7.30am Monday. Ah the joys of time travel.
- 7 days in Los Angeles
- 10 days in Portland
- then 6 weeks at Clarion
- 1-14 days amount of time I need to have my ankle in a brace. Given my physiotherapist will be on another continent I’m going to go for the conservative end of things.
- ?????? amount of time we will live in America.
It still hasn’t quite sunk in. We’re going, we’re on our way. I am so full of enthusiasm and excitement. We are in a state of becoming.
5am Melbourne - After the Emerging Writers Festival
Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | Conventions, News update | No Comments
The Emerging Writers Festival is over. I had a rocking good time. Met some lovely people. Had the brain juices stimulated, challenged, soothed and had some of my wackier ideas encouraged! Beware.
As always, I didn’t attend most of the panels I intended to go to. Instead I wandered from interesting thing to interesting thing and like a jellyfish followed the currents that found me. There were times when I was juiced up on the best drug of all (ideas), mind and mouth rambling and brain sparking off in all directions from good company.
There were some times when I was asked some really hard questions about my own work, discovered some deep emotions and subtext to my graphic novel script that I had never realised. I felt confused, sad, struggling, lost and around my own writing - going back to my hotel with a laptop full of mud… And built a bridge, got over it and wrote important words. There is still some difficult work to be done (and dusted before Clarion), but I’ve made an important breakthrough… now I just have to hold on to it.
If I do something with 10% of the ideas I’ve had at the festival it shall be a good year. I got up at 5am this morning, with three articles bubbling in my head. Dragging myself up before the morning light I ignored those concepts completely and wrote a comic script instead. I thought it would be a good fun fluff piece (if slightly disturbing) for Tango’s new anthology Love and War. But as I wrote it, dammit, I realised it had a deep and meaningful subtext directly relevant to the theme of the anthology. Ben Hutchings would be the perfect artist for it if he’s available and willing. The working title of the comic? Love and Spandex.
Numbers, Ankles and Visas
Monday, May 18th, 2009 | News update | 4 Comments
It’s been a full few weeks. Here’s a little by the numbers.
- 6 whole days until I leave Canberra
- 4 whole days to pack up most of the house and prepare an awesome farewell
- 3 torn ligaments in my right ankle
- 3 visits to the physiotherapist and 1 ankle brace
- 1 set of x-rays showing no bones broken
- 2 Visas, one for Mike(y), one for me. America here we come!
- 1 night of rockband, singstar and pata pata pata pon until 3am with friends
- 1 night of Eurovision and friends
- boundless, the sensation of blessedness around the good people I have in my life.
And here’s a picture of my bruised ankle from a few days ago. Since then the migration of bruising to my toes has contined in a black textured manner, the swelling has gone down further and the bruising over the ankle has faded. This happened shortly after my last post on accident prone lizness… the pen really is mightier than the sword. Owwww!
Liz's purple bruised ankle
Little liz - the accident prone years
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 | News update, clarion | No Comments
… no the accident prone years would mean just about any year. I am writing this with a strapped finger after getting a deep slash in my finger while examining suitcases.
I wrote up this anecdote to share with my Co-Clarionaters, we’re getting to know each other and Mr
The scene. Midnight, an eight year old Liz is cutting up a chocolate syrup bottle with stanley knife (box cutter). The plastic is really hard and I am tired and impatient and get careless. The stanley knife suddenly swishes really smoothly through plastic and over one of my fingers.
There’s a lot of blood. Everyone is sleeping and I know I shouldn’t be up and I don’t want to bother anyone and I don’t want to get into trouble so I stifle any kind of sound and try to apply first aid.
My parents, woken by random sounds and movements late at night find a bathroom with blood splats and a messy pile of bandaids that keep floating off.
My parents say “What’s going on?” with some urgency.
I hide my hand behind my back and say “nothing” convinced I am going to be in the biggest trouble ever for being so stupid with a knife.
I don’t get into trouble at all and am whisked off to hospital where I get a tetanus shot, many local anesthetic injections and get two stitches. I watch with fascination as the thread passes through my flesh and somewhere in the back of my head I’m thinking “Wow this will make a great story.”
I’m particularly pleased that I will remember this as I’m still cross that I don’t remember breaking my leg when I was three ’cause that was really cool and my leg bent at a funny angle. It’s very unfair I don’t remember breaking my leg especially because my brother says that when you break a limb it heals to be stronger and so my chances of ever having a broken leg again have been reduced by 50%.
I get a day off school to recover and I traumatise my little sister for years and years with slow graphic descriptions of watching needle and thread go through flesh.
Even at eight everything was material to observe and absorb to use for later and my technique for any kind of trauma or scary thing is “this will be useful material”.
Liz Bio vs 2
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 | News update | No Comments
With thanks for the kind crits, here is version 2:
A zombie love story, a seed that breaks through and changes the world, the quest to be cool through the power of snake skins or the disillusionment of of a nuclear physicist are a few of Liz’s tales. Dark and macabre or playful and delicious - she writes stories about hope, strength, survival and change. Liz writes across many media and genres, but comics are her major passion.
Liz carves out a diverse career as a freelancer, frequently working in educational comics as a writer, editor, project manager, talent scout and artist liaison. She has run creative workshops for a range of organisations, including the National Museum of Australia, Conflux and the Young Music Society. She even gets paid for writing creative works and essays, on spec or by commission. She has worked on and off as a Life Model for nine years. Prior to become a freelancer she worked as researcher, union organiser, refuge worker, circus manager and providing consulting and support to the community sector.
Her comics have been published in an array of publications, including Meanjin, The Girl’s Guide to Guy Stuff, Eat Comics, Something Wicked and in the collection Songs Dreams and Nightmares. She has supported and written for lip magazine since its inception. Her work is often psychological, poignant and she loves gritty urban fantasy. Her anthology, Dreams of Tomorrow, won a Bronze Ledger Award for Small Press of the Year. On Boxing Day she appeared nude in the Canberra Times to support the Parisian Life Model Strike and in January 2009 her musical Comic Book Opera, written with composer Michael Sollis, was performed for the first time.
If you want to find out more check out www.lizargall.com , drop her a line or say hi.
Your views wanted - new Bio
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | News update | 2 Comments
The art of Bio is a strange and mysterious one. I’ve been reworking one for the Emerging Writers festival in May.
What do you think? Does it interest you? Does it inspire you to come along to something I’m running? Does it inspire you to employ me?
Bio:
Liz’s stories often take people to dark places and then bring them out the other side. Stories about hope, strength, survival and change. Never one to hang out in the dark too long her stories can also be playful and delicious. She writes across many media and genres, but comics are her major passion.
In June 2008 she put the management of Warehouse Circus into new hands and plunged into the life of a freelancer. She works in educational comics as a writer, editor, project manager, talent scout and artist liaison. She has run creative workshops for a range of organisations, including the National Museum of Australia, U-Turn and the Young Music Society. She even gets paid for writing creative works and essays, on spec or by commission. She has worked on and off as a Life Model for nine years. Prior to taking the plunge she has worked as researcher, union organiser, refuge worker, circus manager, consulting and supporting for not for profit organisations to have better practices and be more prepared for emergencies.
Her comics have been published in an array of publications, including Meanjin, The Girl’s Guide to Guy Stuff, Eat Comics, Something Wicked and in the collection Songs Dreams and Nightmares. She has supported lip magazine since its inception. Her work is often psychological, poignant and she loves gritty urban fantasy. She’s even has won an award or two. On Boxing Day she appeared nude in the Canberra Times to support the Parisian Life Model Strike and in January 2009 her musical Comic Book Opera, written with composer Michael Sollis, was performed for the first time.
If you want to find out more check out www.lizargall.com , drop her a line or say hi.
Taken to Twitter!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | News update | No Comments
I have now joined the twitterers. I blame Stephen Fry, he’s so intelligent and lovely and his love for it has infused me. It had been tempting me for sometime, given that lovely smart people like Liz Gorinsky and Mary Robinette Kowal Twitter. I have read enough about twitter and seen enough evidence that I know it can be a meaningful part of my day… I don’t like grabbing a social networking tool just to play the who’s got the most friends game. I am, very imaginatively http://twitter.com/lizargall
Here’s the lowdown on how I use my various social networks:
Myspace - I call it radio myspace, I don’t like the interface, I don’t like the ads, but it is the best place to collect musicians! I am hopeless at remembering the names of musicians I love, so this serves as a useful way of capturing them. By looking at who musicians I love friend I also expand my acoustic horizons and find new and interesting bands.
Facebook: A great all-rounder. My website (this post right now) is syndicated on it, my twitter account posts to it. I like the clean look, it feels nice checking in folks, gives me a good sense of connection and has an open airy feel.
Linkedin - Really helps me put my business head on, makes me think in a business-like manner and is a different sharing environment. There are interesting posts from the groups I’m in and I get to see how other people frame themselves. I don’t hang out regularly (perhaps I should), but I get stuff out of it every time I do.
LiveJournal - this website is syndicated on LJ and I have another LJ account that has been going for over nine years. It’s not a secret account, but I don’t publicise it as it is my most intimate space on the internet.
Comics Workshop now on 24 February
Monday, February 16th, 2009 | News update | No Comments
My Comics workshop planned for 17 February will now be held on the 24th - we have encountered some logistical difficulties.
Making Comics – writing, drawing and scheming!
When: 2.30 – 5.30 Tuesday 24 February
For: People aged 12-25
Where: U-Turn
Corner Chandler Street and Swanson Court
Belconnen ACT 2616
This workshop is free, thanks to the great folks at U-Turn who are all about:
Supporting young people aged 12 to 25 years, through recreational, educational, and health promotional activities, programs and community-based projects.
U-Turn organise a whole range of activites for young people in the Belconnen region - http://www.bcsact.com.au/
Comic creation drop in workshop in Canberra
Monday, February 9th, 2009 | News update | No Comments
Making Comics – writing, drawing and scheming!
Serious, silly, gritty, funny, bizarre or poignant. One panel to 300 page sagas and beyond. Stick figures, photo realism or crazy collage. The world of comics is an amazing place.
An informal comics creation session for experienced hands and those who’ve never tried it before. Liz Argall will tailor the drop in session to what you want to learn and where you’d like to take the craft - draw, doodle, write and where to after that? Lets make some awesome comics.
When: 2.30 – 5.30 Tuesday 17 February
For: People aged 12-25
Where: U-Turn
Corner Chandler Street and Swanson Court
Belconnen ACT 2616
This workshop is free, thanks to the great folks at U-Turn who are all about:
Supporting young people aged 12 to 25 years, through recreational, educational, and health promotional activities, programs and community-based projects.
U-Turn organise a whole range of activites for young people in the Belconnen region - http://www.bcsact.com.au/
2008 review continues, two festivals in detail - Emerging Writers Festival and ACT Writers Festival
Thursday, February 5th, 2009 | Conventions, News update | No Comments
Going to conventions costs money, costs time and I’m very aware that it can be one of the best investments a writer can make, or a procrastination tool and a bit of a junket. Here’s an analysis of two of the festivals I went to in 2008, I’ll get to the rest later, so I’ll have a good memory/knowledge base for what festivals and conventions I’ll go to in the future and might be useful to others trying to decide on events.
Emerging Writers Festival
This was my first Emerging Writers Festival, held down in Melbourne. A great festival focusing on the craft and content of writing. There was a great collegiate feel and thanks to attending a panel on what publishers want I was inspired by the new directions of Meanjin and this lead to more published work. The Making of the Scientist, essay plus comic was published in the December issue of Meanjin, although it was written and approved many many months before.
I really enjoyed the down to earth attitudes of my fellow writers. No whinging, a good work ethic and on the whole an understanding and a love of the craft. I know a successful playwright who will not go to writers festivals, has never been… because, well he thinks they’re too wanky. I think I could lure him out for this one even though he’s very much an established writer, he’d get lots of value out of it (and get to grumble in a very entertaining manner about these whippersnappers).
My favourite panels were about the process of creating a specific work. Rather than boiled down generalisations or focusing on a specific aspect of the trade creators spoke about the process, start to finish, of getting something published. Fascinating stuff, great food for thought and having that structure really cut down on twinkish repetitive questions from the audience, while inspiring interesting questions and conversations. Their Ambassador scheme was absolutely brilliant and I hope they do it again. I flew down just for the festival and it was well worth the cost.
ACT Writers Festival
Volunteered for my local ACT Writers Festival, and really enjoyed my volunteering experience. Through this festival a whole range of knowledge and experience crystalised, I took another step forward and started writing much better pitches. My slim novel In Her Own Words is still getting rejection letters, but they are now personalised rejection letters with nice comments about my writing. Onwards and upwards! After the collegiate vibe of the Emerging Writers festival I did find the ACT Writers Festival… well, it felt more fragmented and… I hate to say it, whingier. The Emerging Writers Festival had some innovative ways to deal with this problem, but a lot has to do with who’s in the audience and how they dominate the space.
The pitching competition was fantastic, and very well run. It was great to see how other people present, see the judges comments and afterwards the judges were generous with their time when giving further crits. Not the sort of experience you get often and I’m so glad the Writers Festival Pres poked me into entering. Lots of good stuff, was great to meet new and old friends and there was a lovely sense of community - though in classic Canberra fashion it can take a while to find.
