Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

With this RSI thing I’m not getting to the computer much at home. I’ve got the dictation software at work and at home but it’s still hard going not being able to type at will, so to speak. I feel I have this backlog of ideas chasing around in my head in the night keeping me awake and all I want to do is get to the computer and write them down, but I know that I can’t.

I don’t sit here sending out stories. I’m not tweaking the ones that I know I have an idea of how to fix. The object of this post is not to whinge so much as to talk about what I am doing. I am writing in a way. I’m working on hard copy, taking my time to read through Ruby heart at present. I was pleased to find areas that I can improve on so when I can work on it, I can fix them and eventually end it out.

I have also taken the opportunity to attack my ‘to read’ pile. I find reading helps me to improve my writing by expanding my ideas, by allowing me to studying technique and by keeping me entertained. And while this is going on my RSI is slowly improving. Not fast for enough me, but it is improving. I also can’t knit or crochet. Arrh!

Meanwhile there’s been some edits for the story appearing in Damnation and Dames, which to be launched at Swancon over Easter. It sounds like it’s going to be a very funky anthology and I really wish I was going to be there for the launch. However I’m not going to be.

Now that I finished the read through of Ruby heart, it shouldn’t be too much work put through the changes. These I can do with the dictation software or by hand (as long as I am very careful and don’t spend too long at the pc). However, I am finding I’m suffering from a lack of motivation at the moment. It could be that James has just had some surgery and I’ve got some health problems and the general level of chaos around here due to family members coming and going. I do need to be more resilient though, because it’s just life and I have to live with it.

University started up again and I’m studying English grammar. I have to prepare a presentation for Thursday on transitive and intransitive verbs. It sounds daunting , but I should be able to cope. That reminds me of any those textbooks…