All quiet on the western front...

The Bootcamp troops have been fairly quiet of late. Each camp is doing it's own exercises, and members are preparing for either the Brisbane conference or the Clayton's online conference.

Sandie and Anita are now also on assignment with the RWA web team (they can blame recruitment officer Wood for that one. Sorry, gals). Anita and I are also preparing covert operations for August, and I've decided to name us Clayton's Angels (we're nowhere near as hot as Charlie's variety, but we're craftier and can wield a red pen with great power! *slash*).

Our technologically advanced weapons are shiny (and new, in the case of Anita's digital camera! *wink*), and we're ready to strap on our boots in the name of Bootcamp. We'll representing you, and promise not to embarass you (!) like attack other delegates, scream "Hup, two, three, four" at passersby who aren't even attending the conference, or demand push ups from tired-looking delegates who've been partying all night and are falling asleep during sessions.

So, for a final roll call, Bootcampers, and other RWA members - who's going to be fatigued with their fatigues on in Brisbane, and who is doing Clayton's in fatigue-appropriate pyjamas?! Phew. What a mouthful!

:-) Mon

Stay in touch with RWA

For those of you who aren't aware, RWA now have their own blog and twitter.

Check out the blog at: http://romanceaustralia.wordpress.com/

And the tweets at: http://twitter.com/RWAus

Countdown to the Conference!

It's exactly one month until the Romance Writers of Australia's 18th National Conference. For members who aren't attending the Brisbane conference, that's four weeks until the Clayton's 'online' conference (Sandie will probably post some more info about this as it gets closer).

As you may already know, the Brissie conference sold out. So, for those of us attending, it's a matter of getting ourselves organised. That includes deciding what to wear (come on, it should be a priority!) and what to pack.

Well, the picture above is an idea of what to wear at the Friday night cocktail party (Arabian-inspired costume a must). During the day sessions, something professional or semi-professional should suffice (nice jeans and a coat would be fine, I gather?). The Awards dinner would be a semi-formal affair (I'm guessing) so an elegant outfit would do. I think I've covered everything in the clothing department?

Now, technology wise, I'll be lugging my laptop to Brissie, as well as my IntelliPen to take notes. The digital camera will be in my pocket (to catch all the inappropriate moments, so watch out!) and my mobile phone will be handy to text through all the news and gossip to the Clayton's team.

I hope I've thought of everything. I'm not kidding when I say I'll start packing in the next week or so. I like to be organised when I travel. I don't like leaving things behind, and it stresses me when I forget. I must also pack the headache tablets because I have a feeling I'll be a little worse for wear by the end of it all!

So what so you plan on bringing to the conference? Any essential items to help you make it through the weekend?

:-) Mon

Sounds of Silence

After a recent discussion with fellow Bootcamper Jenn, I've been mulling over the use of sound in our writing.

It's important to remember to include mention of the senses in your writing: the smells, sounds, tastes, sights and tactile images need to be shown to the reader.

Characters going about their lives with no influence from sound will stand out to a reader. It's not natural.

But the inclusion of sound can be difficult. How do you describe some sounds? And how do you avoid the use of the same descriptive word, particularly when attributed to speech (eg grunt, snigger, sigh)?

Although sometimes I think the use of silence can be just as powerful as sound.

I thought it might be useful to point you to one site I have found helpful: The Bookshelf Muse (thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com) which regularly composes thesaurus entries, and one of the subheadings for each topic is sound (although a fantastic site when writing any descriptive passage).