Sep 1, 2007

The Inaugural Girl Clumsy Writing Challenge

Friends, Bloggers, countrymen (and internationals!) – lend me your brains.

No, I haven’t turned into a zombie. What I need is your help in getting the ideas casserole stewing – so I can pick and choose the tastiest lumps to serve up steaming hot for your degustation.

OK, so the food analogy ran out of calories, but the point is this:

I have decided to challenge myself to a full month of writing. The only rule is that I must post something every day. My aim is to write interesting, entertaining and hopefully informative articles on a wide variety of topics. To this end, I’m taking suggestions. I want your ideas! You might like to read a travel story, a school-days anecdote, a look at the latest pop-culture icon. You might give me a relationship you would like to see explored in a short story. Perhaps you’re interested in my take on a famous historical event or person. Maybe you’d like me to visit a place, or store, or person and discuss my findings. You might like me to review a film, play, or public transport service. Ideas for interviews are welcome too. Basically anything goes.

I’ve decided to finish the challenge on October 13 – my birthday. It will probably go a day or two beyond this – especially if I do decide to go to that nerve-racking high school reunion. But it hopefully will give me something to look back on with pride on the anniversary of the day I came kicking and screaming into the world. So this gives me a start date of September 13.

Between now and then, I hope you’ll throw some ideas around and leave them in the comments section. I will post my ramblings here, and I will credit you if I use your idea.

Here’s to a hopefully rewarding literary challenge!

4 comments:

  1. Hiya,

    There is a shop in Lutwyche Road at Lutwyche called "The Retro Stop". It is packed to bursting with clothes, accessories and paraphernalia of bygone eras. Check it out, I'm sure amongst the pith helmets, safari suits, twin sets and taffeta ra-ra skirts there should be something to evoke memories or at least provoke a reaction of sorts to write about...

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  2. Feel free to ignore any of my suggestions, and here are some more (I just figure too many suggestions are better than none):

    What's your take on the channel 7 AFL medical records publishing? Where is the line between the individual's privacy and the public "right" to know about issues? have you ever had an ethical dilemma at work? How did you deal with it?

    Californication. Seen it? Heard about it? Is it all hype? Will it rot our brains and undermine the morals of our society? Does it need quite so many boobs to make its point? Do the boobs matter?

    Do you have a list of things to do before you die? Should you? What is on it that might differ from the majority (if you have one)?

    What's one thing you always wanted to learn about but never got round to looking at properly?

    Take someone who ordinarily go to the art gallery (maybe that's you(?)), and write about the conversations you had, or the perspectives they shared on some/one of the pieces. Most people have an opinion on art, they just don't think about it very much.

    What is your favourite family anecdote/story?


    I hope these were the kind of starting points you were after...

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  3. Hey Renee - thank you!

    Those are great suggestions, and some more than a little challenging. Just for starters, I've barely followed the AFL medical records case, so that will require some research!

    I will definitely be using some, if not all of those suggestions for pieces. Now that people are suggesting things though, I feel a little bit like I may not have considered this fully when I decided to take on the challenge... it might all blow up in my face!! ;)

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  4. Having recently been forced to use the train the other day, it became evident that here is an "ettiquette" or rules that are applied...

    One being you must NOT make eye contact with anyone...

    another, is the way dissaproving glances are made...

    and the requirement that you must have an mp3 player or a book to keep you from having to discuss or acknowledge anything that your fellow travellers have to say...

    And where do the conductors hget their vocal training from?? Is pronunciation or enunciation a foreign concept???

    And busses are not any better..

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