Game Of Thrones. Now That I Have Your Attention...

Talk about saving the most entertaining til last! Listening to a panel about one of my (and I'm assuming a number of people) obsessions was a lovely way to end my weekend. Now I know what you may be thinking:

"Hell yeah I love me some Game of Thrones"

or

"It's not THAT good. It's just fantasy porn with violence"

If you love it - then great! I have more good news for you. If you're not a major fan of it - please stick around and see how you feel. At least appreciate some of the points it makes. 

Just to clarify this isn't a post on why you should be a fan, it's more about the clever things it addresses. 

As a genre it does fit into the fantasy seen and is heavily influences by the  European Medieval era. However this isn't a show about bold and daring quests to save a princess from a dragon, but it's about that princess and a large number of others wishing to gain power. One of the members of the panel even described it as "Sopranos with battle axes". Instead of it revolving around the fantasy aspect however, it focuses more on the politics and religion of the world and in some cases is just an incredibly raw an brutal interpretation of our own patriarchal world. 

It looks at the rise and fall of certain characters, the different religions and how they influence a kingdom, and even the intense changes of climate (yes yes, "Winter is Coming" and how a lot of people higher up are refusing to believe there is a serious problem). What I particularly enjoy also is how the way you take power determines how well you hold onto it. One particular king didn't take and use his power in the best way, and as a result held onto it only long enough to marry. 

The children in the show aren't exactly treated as kids either, and are even younger in the books. In that time period it may not have been seen as such a crazy notion, but it can also reflect in our society how kids are growing up quicker than we intend.

I could go on about this book series and the TV series for a long time. But I will just leave suggesting to anyone that the next time they watch or pick up the book to just notice how their world reflects certain parts of our own. 

Unfortunately the dragons are not here. One day.

Overall I would have to say that the Writers Festival has been a real eye opener to the beauty of words, and I would encourage everyone to attend next years.

The Beautiful City and WWI

As I sat in a lecture theatre about to hear a talk on Gallipoli and the works of British soldiers I couldn't help but notice that I was one of the youngest people in the room. It was a little saddening because history is such an important and fascinating part of our lives that I think needs more credit.

Gallipoli itself translates to "The Beautiful City" and is in the area where some of the greatest wars written about took place. Homer's Iliad is one of the dominant examples in this case. What was being discussed however were not the historical events themselves, but how the writing of these events were so inspiring and romanticised in soldiers of the first world war. The soldiers even to copies of the Iliad with them to Gallipoli!

Achilles seemed to be a main role model for those who considered themselves to be heroic soldiers and I don't blame them. The way he is written, even in one of my favourite books "Ransom" by David Malouf, would make anyone view him in a particular light. Achilles was a huge influence even to Alexander the Great who aspired to become the next Achilles.

The way a war or any particular part of history is written can influence the reader. During the school years you only get to read history in a textbook throwing up information way. However there are books out there that give history life again, such as Christopher Hibbert's book on the French Revolution. But this is going off topic.

There were a group of soldiers in World War I known as the "nerds" and they were called the Argonauts. The Argonauts wrote about the war as if it was occurring in the school yard and about how they wished to re-enact the Trojan War. This is years and years and I mean YEARS after the war even took place! The Greeks did seem to have a romantic attitude to war which is evident in their writing of it which does make it appealing to others.

A man named Rupert Brooke who fought in the war was insanely influenced by Achilles, always writing and quoting verses on the way to Gallipoli and forming the idea in his mind he was going to be a modern Achilles. He was even written about in such a way, with reports of his golden hair and being a handsome man.

History is one of the reasons why I adore literature. It's amazing how influential it can be depending on how it is written. Talking about a war as if it's a love story inspires others to fight, talking about a war and the statistics fills people with deep sadness over the tragedy. It's just beautiful,
However I don't intend on going off and becoming a heroic soldier, I'll keep Achilles where I think is best, in my heart and on my tendons.

Story Blasting.

In the afternoon I was happily sitting in the back of The Hub at the Bendigo Writers Festival waiting to hear what a few High School students from the area have come up with. All I can really say is - wowsa.

There were stories revolving around the devil, gang violence, stalking, running away, cults, forbidden love - you name it.

One story was a classic vampire story which was something to admire and others had twists and turns and suspense, it just gave me a sense of happiness that this was all coming from a young group of kids.

Seeing the creativity in the minds of these students and the motivation and excitement gleaming from their faces filled me with the feeling that writing will never die out.
It also made me so happy to see that this is being encouraged by teachers and they are getting that little push to follow what they think is right. 

A few notes I made from the panel discussion showed that these students, even if they appeared young, had a sense of understanding on what they were speaking about. 

Some of them were just writing to a point where they were seeing how the story played out, others had the endings planned and just had to find out how to get there.

It also showed that they had an understanding of teasing their readers and not giving too much away all at once. 

The most important thing I found was that one point a majority of them agreed on was that the encouragement from schools helped them want to write.This is something that should be encouraged more at schools because it is a great way for someone to express their creativity and emotions with words and sentences, not just terrible stick figures.

My first day at the festival had just made me more excited for what is to come. So far it has inspired me to do so much. I can't wait for the rest of the weekend.

The Struggle of Beginnings and Ends.

I love the idea of writing a story. Sometimes I have so many ideas running through my mind at once and I just hope I can write them all on paper and have a story magically appear. But when the time comes and I'm sitting down either at a laptop or pen in hand ready to write, I am hit with this wall. The wall just stares me down and says, "How are you going to start? Where do you even begin?", and all of a sudden everything disappears. The first few lines of anything will make or break the text. The words introduce you into this new world full of people and places and things that I just want to explore and dive deep into.

But then another problem occurs. I get too deep into the world that I can't get out and finish. I'm caught in the web I created. It just makes me appreciate the end of a story more knowing that someone was able to do it. I also feel jealous that they can do it.

Speaking of beginnings and ends - I will be beginning my adventure at the Bendigo Writer's Festival this weekend and I am excited. The next few days I will be filling your eyes with Festival goodness and enthusiasm.

If you're interested in any information about the weekend full of writing and reading and fun (oh my) check out their website and have a look around:

http://www.bendigowritersfestival.com.au/

Validation Sensation and Deleting Contemplations.

Lately I have been contemplating whether or not to delete my Facebook profile. However for some reason it feels like such an outrageous act to do. I mean, it is only a website. The problem is, there are some people that I can only contact through this website. Plus there are now groups to join that keep me informed on my classes.
So it's really the latest debate in the 21st Century: Is social media ruining the way we communicate?
Like everything in this complicated universe, there is never a black and white perspective to this question. There are positives and negatives to social media and depending on different people you'll have different quantities of good and bad. Personally, I do see positives with my experience but it's really the questioning of what's the point.

I like Facebook for the simplicity of being able to network with so many people. Like I previously stated about groups it has made it a lot easier to communicate a message to a larger audience than individually calling people or sending a large SMS to a number of contacts. I also love seeing the adventures other people get up to. I have some friends who post their artwork or videos of them singing and it makes me feel connected to their journey in that way.

On the flip side, it makes me feel like it's a numb connection. I witness their journey and feel happy for them, but it's not a real sense of happiness, it's more just observing and "liking". It's amazing how we feel good just because someone "likes" an image we posted or a status about our adventure on the bus. Family and holiday photos can't just be enjoyed by the person but some people feel that their holiday wasn't that great unless they put a photo up to show people how great it was. But then it can't be that great if only one person likes it right?

Another point that gets to me personally that I really feel weird about are birthday wishes. The first time I had a birthday and I was on Facebook I thought "I wonder how many people will wish me a happy birthday". These days I just avoid Facebook altogether. The strangest thing is, I feel as if receiving a text message is more personal than someone just typing it to me over Facebook. I mean it's practically the same message, but because it's sent to my phone privately as opposed to a wall I feel like that person cared more than all those who sent it on a website.

I'm not writing this to sound like I'm some social media elitist who is better than that. I'm writing it because this is how it can feel to me. I have an Instagram account which is practically me putting photos up of my average existence just so people can like it. I am from what people call the "me" generation and I don't blame them for using that term. We've grown up with these websites feeling that our lives aren't seen as anything exciting unless everyone knows about it and "likes" it.

Social media hasn't necessarily "ruined" the way we communicate with one another, but it certainly has altered it. I'm probably not going to delete my Facebook because it's not that I want it. I need it. That's the scariest part.

I am a Writer in Action.

I love writing. I love how a sentence moves. I love how small marks affect the way we read, and interpret a sentence. I love how a combination of letters can form to create the deepest of meanings. I love how the repetitive use of a phrase can sometimes add weight to the impact of a message.

I also love reading. I love how confident a piece of paper is when there are words on it. I love how it can range from a quiet whisper to a loud scream just by the use of CAPITALISATION. I love how some people write in a way that makes you feel as if you are floating down a stream of thoughts and emotion. I love how others write straight forward with no nonsense.

I love how it makes me feel to write out my every thought, taking the jumbled cluster in my head and laying it out evenly onto the sheet. I love the sound of a keyboard on a computer when I am inspired to write. I love how it looks to see work that I have written, all based on things I love, to be published for the world to see.

I just love writing.