Reading Gizmo

I saw this on Facebook, and thought it very appropriate to show on my blog, it would either be the greatest thing in the world, or really annoying to get used to.

Creative writing group

Hey,

I'm thinking of starting a creative writing group in Gawler for teenagers and young adults. So I'm putting it out there, what sort of things would you like to see in a writers group? What days are best over the summer holidays? And any other ideas you think might work.

Thanks!
Meg

Graphology - update

In my very, very limited research Google books has pointed out a few interesting facts about Graphology -

• It has been studied for a long time, possibly back to 1000 BC in ancient China, Aristotle and Shakespeare also made reference to graphology
• basic analysis can seem like common sense - example: a timid person as a timid handshake and timid handwriting to suit.
• Interestingly, more distinguished characters apparently frequently write with very 'bad hands' - I take this to mean that messy handwriting can be a sign of distinguished character?
• Gender cannot be told from handwriting (though can be told by the language - Thank you Criminal Minds)
• Your handwriting will usually reflect your mood
• Each aspect holds different indications - 
• The shape of the letters indicate intellect
• slope shows affections
• the more punctuation the more care they have
• flourishes indicate showiness
• connections indicate logic
• The loops in a letter G can indicate social abilities, example, small g loop indicates being socially selective, while a large g loop indicates they greatly enjoy and indulge in social company.
  

These are the first of my rudimentary notes on graphology, please not this was done for fun and taken from online books, Graphology - the Art of Handwriting Analysis by Julian Moore, 

What Handwriting Indicates: An Analytical Graphology by John Rexford and The Five Minute Therapist.

Publishing and Getting Noticed

My new advice for people who want to publish - enter competitions.
I recently won the state selection for the somerset national novella competition, and as a result my love of writing has doubled and my confidence as a writer has been reborn. Thanks to this experience I'll have a contact at penguin who's an editor and can look at my work, and even if I hadn't won, writing that novella was a great experience.
Competitions are a great idea because getting yourself noticed over other authors is really all you want. You want a publishing agency to look at you and see someone who will put in the effort to make the book sell (and that's a fair bit of effort, I assure you). So you do have to prove your persistence and passion for writing for them to want you. Competitions are a great way to show this, practice your skills and try out new ideas, and they provide a reason to write (who doesn't love that?).
Because of this novella competition I got to attend the Somerset Literary festival, and there got so much wonderful advice from many authors, like sending in work to literary magazines, or never selling your copy write and using Twitter and Goodreads to build a platform for yourself and your work - a process I am steadily making headway on.
Just attending literary festivals is a wonderful thing, and you can ask the authors themselves what they did to get themselves published. Even if entering competitions and going to these places don't get you noticed, they will help build your skills and help you become a better writer. That, and honestly, the festivals especially, they're a lot of fun.

Happy Writing!