The thigh bone’s connected to...?

I used to think historical writers had it toughest of all.

Imagine having to make sure all the elements in your story remain true and authentic to the period. Historical writers respect their readers. They assume readers know and love the eras they set their stories in, so they make sure the details are as accurate as possible. They research, research, research.

While world building in a futuristic or paranormal story sounds easier, I’m sure ‘just making up alternate and futuristic worlds’ come with their own challenges, such as: being innovative but original and still feasible.

So what about those of us who write present day stories – the contemporary novel (set in modern times). I’m here to tell you that we have our own challenges such as: keeping up-to-date with current affairs, trends and – my big challenge – technology.

Truly...I know the thigh bone’s connected to the knee bone, but what’s my iPod connected to? Last I heard a blackberry was a fruit! Argh!

What do you write - past, present or future - and what challenges does that bring to the writing task?

Straight-jacket anyone?

I’ve never understood poker-machine addicts.

My mother was one. On the sunniest and most spectacular of days, her favourite thing was to sit inside a dark room at a machine and drip feed coins into it hour after hour (I believe they take notes now – oh dear!).

She barely stopped for food in those days – a ciggy and a Riesling usually did the trick.

Not for me! You wouldn’t find me inside on a sunny day, sitting in front of a machine and....oh dear! I guess you would.

It appears I’m addicted to writing. Worse still, I’m addicted to writing competitions. To me writing competitions are the ultimate tease. It’s just like mum used to say, “One more coin – just one more. I can’t walk away now. The next one might be the winning coin.” I now hear myself saying, “Just one more writing competition. The next one could be it. If I walk away now, I’ll never know, or worse, another person could step up and take the winnings and I’ve spent so much time feeding words into this blasted thing...blah, blah, blah."

Oh dear! I think I need help. Straight-jacket, anyone? Better still (since it's hard to type in a straight-jacket) is there a Writers’ Anonymous out there anywhere?

Hello...my name’s Jenn...and I’m a writing-comp-aholic.