The Good, the Bad and the I'm Sorry, What?

by the Geelong Cereal community

Hi folks, and welcome to the first edition of The Good, the Bad and the I'm Sorry, What?

Each month our panel of writers will answer three questions. Two will be serious questions that relate to writing, and the third will be something off the wall, just for fun.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed! Your candour and creativity have made compiling this really fun!

1) What has been the highlight of your year so far as a writer?

Martin Smith:

Sitting in a sun-filled back garden whilst my one true love potters amongst her flower and vegetable beds and hearing her laugh as I read her one of my stories.  

Steve Gray:

Writing for a series. It had not really crossed my mind. The idea was put forward, and then, as if by some divine intervention or magic, the ideas started to flow. I used a character and her business setting from an earlier Novella I had written, which led to so many possibilities. Before I knew it, I was engrossed in the whole scene, the characters and had developed a fascinating bunch of characters. Oh, and a trip to Spain, with a stop off in Singapore, there and back. A fabulous time was had.


Pam Swanborough:

I finished the miscellany I'd been tinkering with for a year or so, and it took ages to lay out to my satisfaction. But it has turned out pretty darned close to the vision I had. While the audience is probably tiny, the feedback is great, humbling, and sometimes makes me laugh: having the words 'brutal' and 'stunning' in the same sentence is a new one on me.

Nic Brasch:

Getting manuscript assessment of novel manuscript and receiving constructive, instructive feedback that will inform draft number eight. (And having an article published in The Age).


Phoebe Hancox:

Getting to publish the strange strange poetry I have written and having people give me their interpretations. It's always fun to see how different people interpret the same work.

Adam Stone:

I recently received high praise for a short story from an author with multiple published novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Miles Franklin. Such encouragement provides me with the resolve to forge ahead with my headlamp and pickaxe.

Another highlight this year has been a short musical I have written, incorporating some songs for which I wrote lyrics some years ago. I'm hopeful of finding a performance home for this play before the year is out. 

Brett J Cole:

Hearing my children's books are loved all the way over in Belgium.

Mel King:

There have been a few; it's been a damn good year so far. The Finest 500 was pretty special, not least because it is really hard to tell a story in 500 words, especially for someone like me who likes to waffle on and on. I can barely say "please pass the salt" in less than 500 words most of the time.

I was also chuffed to finally write a poem that wasn't laughably bad, and have it accepted into a collection (it's only taken me fifty years.) Although someone still complained that my lines were "longer than the Flemington straight" haha.

But I'm going to say, sincerely, my favourite part of this year so far has been building this community with all of you. I'm stoked that I've had the opportunity to be part of Geelong Cereal 2.0. It's a lot of fun.



2) What has been the biggest obstacle, hurdle or distraction to your writing so far this year?

Martin Smith:
Cloudy days.


Steve Gray:
My health, on returning from overseas, a five-week cold, which turned into a sinus infection... Then, way back at the start of the year, I spent a week in hospital with a sore back.


Pam Swanborough:

Energy; a sad thing happened unexpectedly in January, and working on the pieces about loss became horribly immediate, and at the same time a sort of threnody – a strange experience. File glitches just added an extra layer of ugh.

Nic Brasch:

Finding time. 


Phoebe Hancox:

The largest hurdle to my writing this year has been finding the time where I can sit down without distraction. Often when I have time to sit down and write, I have external things going on to distract me. Though when I am inspired, I just don't have a moment to sit down and write.

Adam Stone:

I have negotiated the obstacles, and I've cleared the hurdles, but it's the distractions that tend to steer me off track. Principal, commander, the don of distractions is that necessary evil, work. Oh, the great prose I would write were it not for this burdensome beast!

Truth be told, I'm a believer in the old adage, "If you want something done, give it to a busy person”. We will all find time for that which we are passionate.

Brett J Cole:

Burnout and Facebook hiding my book posts.

Mel King:

Everything that I listed as a highlight haha. I can't seem to stop taking on new projects that stop me from editing my one true love – my novel – and publishing it xD
I can't say I'm not having fun though.

3) All forms of transportation have been banned. You must choose a real animal, scaled up or down to the size of a horse to ride as your primary vehicle. Which animal will you be parking in your garage, and why?

Ferris Knight:

My initial thought was a cat, with a bit of a bias due to owning two. But I imagine a cat with a case of the zoomies, and then being flung across multiple lanes of traffic at abrupt stops. I love the idea of flying around on a ladybug. I don’t want to ‘fly’ fly. Despite having jumped off a bridge and out of a plane, I’m actually a little scared of heights. But if I could fly low and slow, I’d enjoy that. Plus, I’d get to fly above the traffic, and as a result get more of a sleep-in.

Martin Smith:
A red-lipped batfish. Why?  Cos as every gal—and (increasingly) every guy—knows, one should never leave home without donning a killer red lippy.

Pam Swanborough:

I'd like to say an otter please, because I'd happily live in an estuary and only go places an otter can go. But this is too dry a country for otters, darn it. So can I have a serval please? I have no idea who's going to be in charge at any given moment when we journey out together, but I can live with that. The journey is as valid as the destination, yes? 


Nic Brasch:

An eagle because it has wings. Great view from up there.


Phoebe Hancox:

I would like a large duck because they seem like an all-terrain vechicle, they swim, they run and they fly.

Adam Stone:

A pelican, of course! They have the ability to stay aloft for hundreds of kilometres at a time, gliding on rising warm air currents. A trip to Melbourne for a sporting event, concert, or show would still take around 90 minutes from Ocean Grove, but the likelihood of my pelican dropping me off halfway and advising that I have to catch a bus the rest of the way (if I'm lucky enough to get a seat) is low.

My pelican would wear a crown to reflect its majestic standing amongst the other, inferior animalistic transportation. We would catch fish together, sit on any number of piers and bollards to survey the waterways, and I would marvel at its *power and dignity, unhampered by sentiment. 

If I may put forward a slice of personal philosophy, I feel that Man has ruled this world as a stumbling, demented child-king long enough. And as his empire crumbles, my precious pelican shall rise as his most fitting successor!

*Lyrics excerpted from the song ‘Devil’s Food’ written by Alice Cooper, Bob Ezrin, Kelley Jay, performed by Alice Cooper (and Vincent Price) © 1975 Atlantic Recording Corporation 


Brett J Cole:

A wolf, because a horse-sized wolf is a must!

Mel King:

An Australian Tiger Beetle. They run at up to 171 body lengths per second, which is proportionally faster than a cheetah. If I put mine in an embigerator and blew it up to the size of a horse, it would go around 1500km/h or about three times the speed of a commercial jet.

They also cope easily in extremely hot temperatures and can run comfortably on scorching hot sand. You tell this dude 'the floor is lava' and he just laughs in your face (and then eats it). At horse size, he could carry me from Geelong to Darwin in about two and a half hours. That's quicker than getting a train to Melbourne in recent times.

Also, look at that face and tell me you aren't getting out of my way when you see me approach on my trusty steed. They are notoriously vicious killers; even their larvae ambush passers- by and eat them.

I shall call him Horrorcles and all shall fear me!

Thanks for joining in, everyone. If you would like to be part of the next edition of The Good, the Bad and the I'm Sorry, What? and you haven't already, please register your interest by emailing thegeelongcereal@gmail.com