Writing
spring writing
Sep 14th
I have been writing productively at my weekly residency at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Which may be why I haven’t been blogging at all! For my birthday I was given a book “Writing from the inside Out” which talks about writer’s block as something to work with rather than something to get over. I also read Jane Smiley’s 13 ways to read a novel which has sections on how to write a novel. What I took away from the craft section of the book was her guidance on editing, how often you have to smooth out the climax and restructure with an eye on pacing during the redrafting process. Which is what I’m doing now with my new novel “The Other Shore”. I also handed in my masters thesis which has really set me free. Being aware of a supervisor or a publisher reading my work makes me constipated creatively I think. I like writing because you do it in the privacy of your own mind. Having said that my next public outing is at the Melbourne International Arts Festival from Oct 22-25 as part of the Go Show in Footscray. I will be workshopping “I could be you” the commissioned play by White Whale Theatre with Diana Nguyen and Ai Diem Le as my actors as part of a series of community experiences in the west.
writing itself
Jul 20th
It’s been a while since I posted- so here is a brief run down of what I’ve been up to:
Silence was sold out 4 shows out of 5. Unfortunately it did not get regional arts victoria funding to tour. Currently I’m putting this show on hold- I have two other exciting projects I want to get my teeth into.
White Whale Theatre have commissioned me and 4 other writers to write a short play on a Melbourne suburb for their Melbournalia 2 season.
I’m currently writing a new novel! Tentatively titled “I could be you” it is a culmination of the past three years of ideas that have gestated and finally sprung into life. I am much indebted to the Footscray Community Arts Centre for giving me a desk and a space to write in, close to one of the best views of Melbourne from the Maribrynong River.
I have cut down my counselling days from 4 to 3 which has restored my sense of balance. And I am a fortnight off from handing in my masters work- which I am happy to leave behind me. I have learnt a lot from Kathleen Fallon and Jennifer Rutherford and I achieved two of my aims- to become better read and get kickstarted writing again- but the two and half year process felt rather constipated.
Last week saw Nam Le in conversation with Cate Kennedy. He gave a very intelligent answer to the oft asked question of ethnic writers- what does your cultural community think of your writing- and he said it ranged like any other part of the community. He also talked abouit the perils of being boxed in as an ethnic writer and how his collection of which only two draw on his Vietnamese background explodes expectations and the possibilities.
I see his success as a great gate opener for the rest of us- and shows Vietnamese writers can do anything!
free at last- almost
Apr 15th
I wrote the 80 word “intention to submit” statement for my masters in creative writing today- free at last- almost! I’ve found the journey really interesting, without Kathleen Fallon I would have quit all together. I have learnt that I can write academic discourse in english literature at postgraduate level and I’ve read a lot of interesting texts as well. The creative process for my novella has been a bit painful, the gestation period was long and it was an effort to write. But in the process I’ve learnt about layering my drafts and playing with voices in the text so it has been useful.
Silence was workshopped and redrafted over the weekend which was intense but also a great process lead by Melanie Beddie the dramaturg and Gorkem Acaroglu the director. With their input the play is now more stylised and less naturalistic which is fantastic! Bring on the hungry ghosts I say (with the aid of fog machine and projections).
So now I have some head space for the Footscray Arts residency and my next new work. I’m reading Women Native Other by Trinh Minh Ha which has a great prologue about story telling and ancestry that has resonance for my next theatrical work.
Peril’s inaugural Board meeting is happening in August- more excitement with three people flying in from interstate. I’m thrilled that Peril is getting bigger- and maybe well get funding soon- applications TBA.
and then
Apr 3rd
I have been trying to plan ahead with my creative endeavours and have discovered to my amazement that I’m booked up till mid next year. The residency takes up the remainder of 2008 and the “Return” project the first half of 2009 a project initiated by Caitlin Nunn for the Big West festival 2009 for her Phd. Myself and other Vietnamese-Australian artists will be devising artistic works responding to multi generational interviews about “Vietnamese-ness” and “Australian-ness”.
Finally the Melbourne City Sangha (for lack of a better name so far) has met and trying to establish a regular pattern of meeting on Sunday afternoons. We are Thich Nhat Hanh followers so to speak, and meditate with the Melbourne Zen group for an hour then meet separately to discuss the dharma through readings in the second hour. We met last Sunday and I was moved almost to tears during reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings- I felt it had been so long since I had engaged in the practice truly (it’s been a year since I was in Vietnam). The most poignant thing I took away from the dharma discussion that afternoon was to smile at my negative habit energies. When I do this, it provides a shift in me and again almost makes me cry although whether with joy, relief or release of sorrow it’s hard to tell.
Once upon a time in the West
Nov 28th
Went to the Asian/Australian Values Workshop in Wollongong on Asian-Australian Literature which you can read about in Peril Issue #4 at www.asianaustralian.org.
Once upon a time in the West a series of short films of which I made the first- Remembrance- is being shown at the Big West festival this week. They are really good short docs (except mine which is a fiction) portraying life in the West, The sort of hour that I would like to sit John Howard and Pauline Hanson in front of and make them watch.
Kathleen Fallon my creative supervisor is leaving Melbourne Uni. I’m currently doing a masters in creative writing and this throws things out a little. I really value my creative life and want to make it more of my life- and it appears one of the ways to do that is get a Phd and move into academia/creative writing. The other is to move into psychotherapeutic story telling which there isn’t the space for at RMIT Counselling Service. I could do more community orientated art work, and group projects- Caitlin Nunn is doing a Phd which involves getting us (meaning the Vietnamese-Australian artists I hang out with) to interview our families and talk about the return home and home and produce themed art from it. It may lead to production at Big West festival 2009. I had initially thought that I would concentrate on getting a book out or in process in 2008 and this is already happening to a degree.
Silence has got production dates 21 May to 1 June 2008 at La Mama Theatre. This fulfils another one of my dreams and I’m thinking of converting it into a film script.
There is so much I could do- and not enough time or money to do it all at once. I tried to draw up a life plan for the next few years to sort out what I want to achieve (and the best way of doing it). I did this two months ago and I’m already roving all over the place!
