Thursday 11 August 2016

Final Thoughts

Mildura Writers Festival was a wonderful experience for me. I feel that I have learnt a lot about myself as a reader and writer through engaging with the sessions and fellow Writers in Action students. Prior to the festival, I had virtually given up on myself as a writer. At the end of this festival, I feel inspired and ready to start writing again without stressing about how it will turn out, just writing without fear. On our final day, we went on one of the paddle steamers to do a writing exercise. Look around and write about what you see, hear and smell. I found this particular exercise very useful as there was a lot to see, hear and smell, meaning there was a lot to write about! I wrote quite freely, starting purely with observations and creating small snippets of poetry from there. I felt rather proud of what I produced so I shall share some of it below. It was hard to say goodbye to my fellow students of Writers in Action. We all connected quickly with our common interests in reading and writing.  It was lovely to not only enjoy the festival events and get so much out of them but to also make new friends and learn from them, too. I’m keen to get back into writing again with all of this inspiration. As Emily Bitto signed in the Writers Festival book: “I feel like a writer again!”

Paddle steamer snippets:

Steam, gas, stench, strong, burning plastic, unpleasant.
Murky brown-green water.
Movement - slow, still, calm.
Water - unclear, unknown, mysterious - What is below? What is above?

Boat - juxtaposes the calm, stillness of the natural environment - blue plastic chairs - smell of burning plastic (but not quite plastic, something else).

Pipes coming down to the river - human meets nature (human versus nature) - a constant battle.

A flag to let us know where we are - identifier - we're here, not there. Victoria versus New South Wales, somewhere in between.  

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