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 |  This is my blog & my hope, writing daily will help me see my progress and log supporters. |
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| In the previous four months, I ingested a lot of meth, and during this time, I didn't write one creative word. In the past two weeks of not using meth, my word count is around three thousand...not including this blog, answering emails and replying to reviews. It was like this last time I stopped using (even more so)...there's a jam in the system (meth) which causes a backup, and soon after I discontinue using, creativity erupts like a volcano, spewing ideas like lava into my unprepared mind. I haven't a hope of capturing most of them to use in any future work. At best, I will retain a few, if I am quick enough to document them in my diary before the next idea floods my compromised mind. There were a few unfinished works that sat stagnant, coincidentally for four months, which are my first priority to finish, add the required amount of polish, check and recheck for grammar and flow and release upon the unsuspecting world (or the twenty or so people who might read them over the coming months). I don't write to be popular or in the hope of being discovered and getting a publishing deal...which it turns out, is lucky for me. I have by now learned that the only way to achieve those things (being discovered, the popularity along with the adulation and incredible book deals) is to either sell my soul to the devil, in which there will be consequences I will later regret. Or sell my soul to a publishing house, in which there will be consequences I will later regret. Or self publish, in the hope that I will, at the very least, get my money back...although the reality with this approach is there will (likely) be consequences I will later regret. Someone did once warn me that there is no money in creative art, but at that early stage, I didn't even realise that writing WAS art. Nowe dat I am moore edumacated in dis ting wee b callin wrightin, I undastand wat dey waz on abowt. I write because I love to write, and just because I have given up on the idea of being the next J.K or Clancy or whoever is trending at that time, doesn't mean I have less to say or don't want many people to read my words. Hell, I'd be happy to give away my time...to collaborate, to help a fellow writer pursue their own desires for that which I have forsaken (for a mention on the inside sleeve of their best seller, of course). I've spoken to one person (thanks Graywriter) who tried to prop up my failing ambitions of ever getting published, but even he only writes articles for magazines and the like (no disrespect intended, and to me, any writer who can make a few bucks from this art is doing better than the other 95% of us who never will). But, as far as writing and publishing a novel or other serious piece of work, it looks like self-publishing or selling that soul is the only way to go...no matter how good the work is. And, for the sake of being able to tell anyone who cares to listen (party conversation) that I am a published author, when in fact I paid for the privilege myself...thanks, but I'll pass. Perhaps I could just say (like the one that got away) that I NEARLY got published once. Is this just another sad story, only without the happy ending (which is not my style at all...the happy ending that is)? Or perhaps it's the story of a writer who gave up before he even tried...because someone once told him 'it was too hard'? Or maybe, it's the story of a man who simply loved to write, and didn't care much for fame or fortune, only that the words he wrote would be appreciated by those who cared to read them. |
| For those who remember my planned trip to Thailand...I was due to fly out of Brisbane at the end of January 2022. Around two weeks before, I received an email from my travel agent advising me that the airline (Singapore Airlines) had cancelled one (or more, they never would specify) of my flights. The situation with Covid 19 made this a fairly common event. The travel agent advised it would cost me $50 for them to apply to the airline for a refund. I wasn't happy about this (either the flight cancellation or the fee to recover my money, as it wasn't me who cancelled), but resigned myself to the facts as they were, and agreed to the demands. That was four months ago and I still haven't received my $2000 refund, and I believe that I never will. I'm a Google Local Guide (Level 6) and write reviews of local businesses, restaurants and services I encounter. I also review internet companies, all in order to help others make educated decisions based on others' previous experiences. Now, you would think that given this fact, I would use reviews to make my own decisions on what companies I use, but unfortunately in the case of the travel agent, I failed to do this, and now look at this failure as a very expensive lesson. The company is called Flight Network. So, if you are looking to travel and wish to use an agent, DO NOT use this company. They are based in Canada, but have subsidiaries in most developed countries. All the reviews I have read since are the same...one star because unfortunately, this is the lowest rating that can be given. They take the money and won't refund it when they cancel...which they do...a lot. It's a scam, and myself and many others are the victims. No amount of emails or phone calls will get our money back, and as hard as this is to swallow, it is what it is. These people operate with impunity. They know they can take people's money, steal it, never fulfil their promises and get away with it. Remember their name...Flight Network...a scam company. |
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