Back in October, Caroline Graham was chosen from 120 entrants to be QWC’s Year of the Novel Online Blogger, winning the chance to write a novel in a year with the wonderful Alison Goodman and the AWM Online Learning Centre.
Caroline’s been settling in and hard at work. Her posts will appear both here and on the QWC blog once the new site is up and running (launching soon).
Follow Caroline through the ups and downs of writing, share her experiences, and post your comments! Without any further ado… here’s Caroline!
How do you do?
Hi. How do you do?
Unfortunately, as this is a blog, I cannot engage many of the social niceties of human introductions. I can’t shake your hand, or invite you in for a nice cup of tea. Or tell you how much I like that lovely sweater you’re wearing.
But allow me, at least, to introduce myself.
My name’s Caroline Graham but my friends and family call me Caro. The good people at QWC have allowed me to enrol in Kim Wilkins’ Year of the Novel course and blog about my experiences. I’m not sure what it was about my application that impressed them but I do boast the following nerd-cred:
• More cardigans than the average nanna
• A compulsive cross-wording habit
• Prior experience vandalising in the name of good grammar
• Enough books at home to make me worry one day I’ll be found under a pile of Robert Frost, my toes eaten off by my cat.
My background is actually in journalism and I’m currently teaching at Bond University but I’ve always loved creative writing. I’ve just finished writing a collection of short stories and it seemed like the next step would be writing a novel – I was just a little scared to take it on my own.
But now, with a whole online community of other writers going through the same doubts, fears and triumphs, I’m going to give it a shot. I can’t tell you too much about the project itself because the ideas are still a little new and tender, but it will be a magical realist work about a man who suffers from forgetlessness. A sort of inverse amnesia, at first his incredible memory had seemed like a blessing. However, he finds himself gradually crushed by the weight of every sad, lonely and terrible thing he has ever seen and heard until, unable to sleep, eat or drown out the memories that tumble around his head, he embarks on a journey he hopes will finally help him forget.
I’ll try to be as honest as possible about my writing process, even if it means revealing embarrassing errors and panic attacks and shameful word counts. And if that makes you feel better about your blunders, great. And if you share your own experiences in the comments – even better. Hemingway said that “writing, at its best, is a lonely experience” but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes, knowing someone else out there is as crazy as you are, is just about enough.
So yes. Nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to being crazy together.
Oh, and I was serious about your sweater. It looks delightful on you.
13 comments ↓
Hi Caroline,
I just wanted to wish you luck with YON. I did the same course a year or two ago now, and wrote my novel through it. Kim is a fantastic tutor and having online ‘friends’ doing the same thing is so encouraging. I look forward to reading about your experiences…
Dawn
This looks interesting. Any idea how often we can expect posts/progress updates? I’d love to follow along.
Hi! Caroline’s already written a couple of posts, so we’ll put those up over the next few days, then Caroline will be posting fortnightly on Fridays, the next post coming on 25 November, all the way through the year until September 2012!
Hope you can follow along and keep posting your comments and thoughts. We’ll be co-posting on the brand new QWC website after it launches soon.
Cheers!
Thank you so much for the well wishes, Dawn. The early weeks have been a bit stressful, but it’s so nice to have other writers to bounce off and a support network of people going through the same thing! I hope the rest of my experience is as successful as yours.
And MacEvoy, I’d be delighted if you followed along!
A fitting testament to a collection of books and cardigans… Very much looking forward to following your progress.
I really enjoyed the first post and am looking forward to keeping up with your progress. Keep up the good work!
Hi Caroline
Best of luck. I will be fitting you into my reading schedule.
I’m looking forward to being crazy together too.
Good luck Caroline just stumbled on this only hope I can do it again. Would like to look each fortnight. Always knew you had a good story in you.. Sally xx
Go Caro! That collection of short stories is amazing.
Hi Caroline. Look forward to following your blog : )
Hi Caro’, good to meet you. You sound like you’re full of enthusiasm and gusto with which to tackle the work ahead. I’m also a Frost devotee and have what I am sure is a psychic reincarnation of one of Ernest Hemingways cats living with me. I wrote my first novel this year at the age of 43 after 20 years of aborted attempts but still feel I have a lot to learn and am looking forward to doing the YON next year also.
Just do what I do when the doubts really set in, remember that someone publishes Jackie Collins. That always makes me feel a bit better. Looking forward to more posts. In the meantime happy writing. Barbra-Lee.
congrats, caro! and to think, i knew you when you weren’t quite this famous – back in the days of carrots. now you’re into cardigans (to say nothing of sock monkeys) and toe-eating felines: leaping from one strength to another in such a novel way. all best always! – mike
Hi Caro. Welcome to the blogosphere. Your writing is so Personable it makes me feel like I already know you. Well done!
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