News Blurbs From My Desk

Enough stuff's been happening for the past couple of days that I need to use lists to catch you up:

1. Pam's romantic novel, The Business Of Love, is being serialised on Drum magazine. They started doing it last week. And she didn't even know about it until a reader inboxed her on Facebook, asking her if she was THAT Pamela Moeng. He he! Nice to get the public attention, yes?

2. I've finally started going through the edits of the children's book coming out in September. Meeting with the illustrator on Saturday to nail down our agreement ( sent her a contract some time back).

3. Managed to finish the client reports and articles I was moaning about the other day. Yay me! I start April with a clean slate.

4. Spent way too much time today learning how to use Dropbox (www.dropbox.com ) because one of the people I send work has started using it and the audio interview was too long to email. THAT was frustrating.

I tried it before when a new client let me know he uses it to share files, but I never did get the hang of it.

5. Found out an old colleague of mine who's grown into a friend has been unemployed since Jan. He's a good journo, so I was very suprised that no one snapped him up when he was retrenched. Had coffee with another friend ( mutual friend) last night and we're now both now pushing for my friend to get placement. This reminded of how unstable the employement market can be and strengthened my resolve to invest my time and sweat into my business, so the only boss I have is the one looking at me from the mirror.

6. Managed to do some creative writing (400 words or so). I'm publishing a sample of my YA novel Hunting For Ghosts, tomorrow. It's still in very rough draft, but I hope you will like it. I'm about mid-way through the first draft, and only get to it when I feel inspired.

How has your week been?

Is That My Left Lung Flying Out The Window?

By Pamela Moeng


A bout of seasonal gut-loosening coughing, likely induced by post nasal drip caused by my allergy to some obscure pollen in the air, has gifted me with a few hours to read. Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island moved me to smile, giggle and guffaw - when I wasn't in danger of blowing my lungs through my mouth with my whooping cough antics.


My partner teased me gently for several days about the ladylike puffing that was the precursor to the gale force blasts assaulting me now. When the puffs upped their force factor, he started to mutter about infectious states. Today he's just concerned that Mrs Why-Go-To-A-Doctor because lemon, honey and a triple tot of Johnny Walker cures anything from dysmenorreah to shingles, has finally conceded that perhaps a bit of something more direct - like an antibiotic - is needed. Now!

Some might say a few days of non-stop chest-wracking coughing are good for shaking up the innards and giving one a new lease on life. I for one can only say I'd rather ride a galloping ostrich than cough my way through another meeting, where colleagues visibly inch away, fear of flu or worse etched on their faces.

The advantage of being sick during school hols is the care my soon-to-be-twelve son showed me. Dragging blankets from the bedroom to the couch, so I could watch Cartoon Network with him, and filling me a hot water bottle to comfort me, he kept me company. He didn't even flinch when cough after cough rent the air. Of course, the earphones plugged into the computer so that he could play his game without disturbance probably blocked most of the cough cacaphony. But hey! It's the thought that counts.

Minutes away from my 11.15 appointment with my GP, I feel like a fraud - the coughing has slowed down. Maybe one of my reasons for seeing a visit to the doctor as a last resort is that feeling just as you walk into her office that after all I'm really not that sick. But no, that demented gnome with a feather inside my throat is at it again. Watch out! Here comes the mother-of-all coughs - is that my left lung flying out the window?

My Blog's Most Popular Search Phrase

Thank you Rebecca E for inspiring me to check what my popular search phrase is. I found that the phrase " free novel software" was the most popular and came in many variations ( e.g. free writing software).

Anyhoo, the story is that on the 30th July 2008, I wrote a post about a novel-writing software that I was downloading. The software was free, and actually, over the years I've found it to be very useful as a way of keeping track of scenes, characters, locations and chapters. Works much better for me than Word, because the info is not in one big lump but sectioned off, and each section is appropriately labelled. Didn't expect it to be the most popular post in my blog that brings a big chunk of my search engine traffic, though.

As for my day, it's been so-so. It's a cold, windy day and somehow, I'd rather be in bed reading a novel than sitting at my desk working. But web sites don't update themselves and articles and stories certainly don't write themselves:-)

Procrastinating By Doing Other Work

Morning has been busy- delivered client documents at printers, got my SIM card RICA'd all over again ( I keep getting messages from the service provider, even though I had done it), renewed my meds precsriptions, dealt with emails/correspondence, updated clilent sites and FB pages and planted peas and beans ( with seeds from the garden). And I knew that I was procrastinating even while I did all that.

The main tasks for  for the day are to:

• Deal with the look and feel of a section in a client web site I'm working on. The section looks ugly, to be honest. And not very user-friendly.
• Write two short articles for client newsletters.
• Fill in documents to register as a service provider for a new client. The forms are four-pages long, so I'm not looking forward to the actual task, though I'm happy to land the client.
• Send out a bunch of promo emails for a client. 

What's your plan? And what do you when you procrastinate on tasks you're somehow not in the mood for doing? 

Did I Say Persistence Pays?

Flower girl by Alison McKay

Weeks ago I mentioned I mentioned that my friend Alison McKay, who's an upcoming artist, had started a Painting A Day series. Alison is a single mother, has a fulltime job and is also working hard to establish herself as an artist. So, the wonderful news is that a very well-known Johannesburg gallery has agreed to exhibit her series in April 2012 (for four weeks). And on top of that, last night at an exhibition, a company bought 10 of her paintings (not part of the ongoing series).

I've known Alison for close to 20 years now (maybe) and I don't know how many times we've talked about our creative careers, the challenges and how we can work around them. And sometimes, accomplishing these goals seemed like a distant dream that would never happen for both of us. But lately, she's been investing everything she can in her dream, never mind the sleepless nights. And it's wonderful to see it all come together.

Anyhoo, I guess I just wanted to say that if you have a dream, no matter how difficult it seems to accomplish, keep plugging away. Your time will also come.

Congratulations Alison. I hope more people fall in love with your art and buy it. And I'm certain the exhibition next year will be a success.

P.S. She's the friend doing my company and blog logo.


.

Daisies By The Roadside

By Pamela Moeng

Quickly checking the rearview mirror, I simultaneously slowed down and eased my silver Toyota Corolla off the highway. I glanced behind me again, checking on the flow of traffic, and to either side of the car for tsotsis before I gingerly stepped out. About 20 metres behind me I could see the pothole that had burst my tyre and put me in this sticky situation.
“For heaven’s sake!” I shouted across the field to my left, thankful that no-one in the cars, taxis, buses and trucks passing could hear me.

The trip back from the coast had been going so well and now this. Traffic had been heavy what with all the post Festive Season revelers returning from the Cape, but overall the drive had been an opportunity to compose my list of New Year’s resolutions and mentally prepare myself for a return to real life. Real life as opposed to being waited on hand and foot by the friends who had been my hosts for two weeks in the windy city of Port Elizabeth. I thought wistfully of those friends now as I opened the boot of the car to check for the fluorescent triangle, which I put a few metres behind the car.

Persistence Pays

Having one of those days where you feel like you're spinning on your wheels. Started the morning on the client web site refresh job, which is still ongoing. The design looks nice, and I wish I could just sent client an email saying "the job is done!" For now, I can't.

I still have to make sure that everything makes sense to me and all my queries are answered and the library and search functions work seamlessly. . Gah!

The bright spark in my day is that I queried an international publication and they asked me to send them a short article on the issue. And a para-statal I've quoted jobs for ( at their request, I might add) finally said yes. I was beginning to wonder if responding their requests for quotations was a waste of my time, cos I never got awarded anything. Or if there was something inherently wrong with my proposals.

Note to self: persistence pays. It will even get me to finish the content refresh job and present client with a beautiful site.

So, how's your day going?

What Do You Think?




Here's the draft logo for the blog, as promised. We're still at the concept stage, but I really like the pot. Also, we haven't decided if we're going to leave it as a pencil, or if we're going to colour it.  Should there be a fire underneath? Anyhoo, the "words, words, words" works for me because that's what I'm about. My business and my blog are about words for print, broadcasting and digital. Words for poetry, short stories, articles, novels, non-fiction books.....

And does Storypot underneath the pot work for you? The business logo would probably be a variation of this, with the company name rather than blog name being used. It has been suggested I have Damaria at the bottom left side, Senne at the bottom right side and Media under the pot, cos it's the media that's setting my pot on fire or some such thing.

I'd really like to hear your views on this, cos once I decide on the logo, I'm going to have to live with it for a long time :-)



Bafokeng Officially Open Fantabulous Private School

 

Auditorium of Lebone II College at night

 

Last week Lebone II,  a college of the Royal Bafokeng, was officially opened in Phokeng, North West Province. I've previously mentioned on the blog that I'm from Phokeng and am very proud of how the village has/is developing?

So, I managed to get info about the school, and some pics, and since some of you have expressed interest of where I come from, I thought it would be okay to publish the stuff here. As you can see from this pic, this is a really nice school. And it's definitely a HUGE improvement over the one where I started my education, which was under a tree :-).

Anyhoo, their press release says:

The opening marks an important step in upgrading the education system throughout the entire Bafokeng region, which serves about 20,000 pupils in 45 schools.

 

Fireworks at the launch

 Founded by the late Kgosi Lebone II in 1997, the College admits talented children and develops them into leaders and agents of change. The College aims to provide young people of diverse backgrounds with the inspiration, education and opportunities to make a positive impact on the Royal Bafokeng Nation, South Africa, and the world.

The Bafokeng vision for education reform includes interventions in literacy and numeracy, mother-tongue instruction in the early grades, effective school management, and strong parental involvement.

Lebone II serves as the flagship institution in all these areas, and provides extensive opportunities to the pupils, teachers, and school leaders in the surrounding schools.

George Harris, Headmaster at Lebone II says “Lebone II aims to be a light to this particular community by provoking collective thought around excellence and by resourcing our neighbouring schools through teacher development and training, principal development, and exposure to excellence and best practice models of education in the 21 century.”

Whilst the majority of the College’s children come from the twenty-nine villages of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, thirty per cent come from outside the area, ensuring diversity in the student body. More than 50% of the pupils receive some form of bursary. Lebone II offers boarding for students in grades seven through twelve, as well as a 13th-year programme that offers an extra year of academic preparation, life skills, and community service prior to university.

The present leader of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi says: “My brother Kgosi Lebone II, and I shared a passion for creating a school that would combine world class education with the unique context and culture of the Bafokeng. Lebone II is the product of this vision, and will serve as an educational laboratory that weaves education and development ever more strongly through the fabric of our society, for the benefit of present and future generations of Bafokeng and all South Africans.”

More congratulations

I also want to congratulate Tiah and Judy for their short stories published in the latest issue of  Itch magazine. Itch is an online publication, so please hop there and read Tiah's A letter from a spinster (age 50) to a gentleman (age 28) and Judy's Heroes Day.  BTW, have you guys noticed that Judy has been a very busy bee lately? Keep sending your material out to publishers, Judy.

Congrats To Judy Croome & Weekend Update

Congratulations to Judy Croome, who has a short story, poem and watercolour published in the anthology: “Notes from Underground,” which  is now available for sale at Amazon.com in both Kindle and print editions. Judy is also running a competition, giving away 4 copies of the book ( either version) for her readers. So hop on to her site if you have a minute.

Had a nice, quiet weekend mostly indoors ( rained way much on Saturday and Sunday ). But I also had some thinking to do, because someone with a great vision made me an offer I have a hard time refusing. It's a great magazine, makes a difference in people's lives, run by a woman who is trully passionate and committed to her cause. But joining her would mean neglecting some of my own work /being very stressed trying to juggle too many responsibilities/even abandoning my dream for hers. So I had to write one of those emails where saying "No" hurts. Made me wonder if people actually hear all your exaplanations after you've said No?

My friend Alison McKay drew me a really nice logo for Storypot while doing one for my business. And I think it really fits in with what Storypot is about. I'll show it to you tomorrow. We're still working on the business logo.

Have lots of writing to do and need to update sites. And a friend of mine is coming over for tea later in the morning.......

Sleep Therapy

A good night's sleep got me out of my doldrums. Managed to put a big dent on the big site project that was driving me dilly. Sent prelim report to client and additional brief to designer.

Also caught up on a series of small client projects that were bugging me because they were sitting there waiting while I slogged on with the long-term project. Finished them, emailed documents to client with invoice.

All in all, it was a very good day, even if there was hardly any creative writing involved. Now I no longer hyperventilate when I think about my list of things to do. though I still have a lot to do.

Note to self: Things are not always as bad as you  fear, even if your list of things to do looks like the Joburg White Pages (phone directory).

Had another enquiry from a blog reader.  I'd written in 2009 that a marketing company called to tell me that I'd won a trip to Jamaica and I was going to attend the presentation. I'd forgotten to post a follow-up, and he wanted some feedback because he'd received a similar invitation( different prize). I was glad to share my experience, so the guy doesn't have to waste his time attending the event. Felt nice too, that he saw Storypot as a credible source of opinion. Something else to perk up my spirits?

So how was your day? Good plans for the upcoming long weekend?

The Flame of Love, By Pamela Moeng

The little red robot man turned green as Andi clutched her bag closer to her body. Throbbing in her pumps, her feet barely touched the ground as the crowd surged across Market Street. Head aching from the heat – Jozi in midsummer was an oven – she moved toward King’s Parking garage.


Fifteen minutes later Andi’s silver Yaris slid into Von Brandeis Street. Traffic was heavy – by the time she drove through the gates into her townhouse complex the sun was setting. Opening the sliding glass door to the evening breeze, she turned on the television. The cast of Isidingo was like family. Three years on, but Andi still wasn’t used to arriving home to an empty house.

After a pre-packaged salad eaten standing against her kitchen counter, she rinsed her fork and the plastic container. Her contribution to the city landfill was hitting overdrive what with all the takeaways she consumed. Just that morning Siza had rebuked her.

“Andi, my friend, it’s enough now. What would Thami say if he could see you like this? You dress like a refugee, your hair is a mess, and you hardly eat.” And then, gently: “Life goes on…”

Some Harsh Lessons Learnt

Spent some of the day working on a long-term project that's been giving me fits. Left me exhausted and irritable, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. The big problem is that I under-estimated the amount of work I'd need to do to sort out something. Now I've had to dedicate hours to it. It's not the client's fault that I didn't understand the scope of the work, so I'm not going to back to her to whine. Note to self: next time, insist on access to the back-end of a web site before quoting for a content refresh job.

I'm learning more than I wanted to know about the letter of the contract. I generally ask clients to pay 50% of fee for projects, but did not enforce that on two projects because I knew the companies and the people.  Now both projects are done and I'm having to follow up repeatedly for the money. Chasing money makes me very uncomfortable. And the second client simply said they didn't use my document (ergo, they're not paying.)  For a moment there, it knocked my confidence because I wondered if what I did was such a bad job that she'd say that. But I'm also very disappointed with myself because the person in charge of the project is a life-long friend. And while she's asked for advice and help ( in the name of friendship), this was the first time I insisted on it being a business deal ( I can't keep giving it away and was starting to feel used). Yet sadly, I'm not suprised she did this, because when it comes to work, the signs were there; I just ignored them.

But not all is doom and gloom. I got back the edits for the children's book coming out in September. So I'll need to rework the manuscript, taking the editor's advice and comments into mind. It's one more step to publication.

The Gems Hiding Out In Our Hard Drives

I spent the past couple of days going through my laptop hard drive to review the stories that I’ve written to assess if any of them can be made publishable. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Distance from the stories gave me perspective over them, so I no longer hated them as I did when I first finished drafting them.

So I gave a few of them a quick edit and emailed them to some trusted readers to ask for their opinions. Thank you Pam, Janet, Laura, Gaynor, Gillian, Ilva, Alison and Lynn for agreeing to read my various manuscripts. Much appreciated.

 I was relieved by the initial responses from some of my readers: Yes, there are some errors in the manuscripts. Yes, there are a number of things that could be improved. And the stories certainly need a strong hand of an editor. But overall, there is something to work with.

The lesson that sort of registered is that, if  write regularly, you can build a body of work that could potentially be published. It may take you years to actually have something worth showing to publishers/self-publish, and it may be a diamond in the rough, but as Tiah reminded me recently on one of her posts, writing is rewriting. And having a manuscript to fix feels ever so much better than wondering if I will ever get the first draft finished in the first place:-)

To all my others online friends who might be interested in doing some beta reading for me, please email me directly. I have a story that I think would fit pre-teens I'd like someone to read. I need to know if the plot line  and theme works, whether I tell too much and need to show more, and whether the length of the story works for that age group. The story is still a very rough draft, so constructive criticism would be very welcome. Many thanks.


Spending the day doing some intensive client writing; have a deadline to meet.

Writing Groups

On Saturday I attended the inaugral meeting of our local writers' group. I'd recently come to the realisation that a very high percentage of people in my suburb are creative types. So when my friend Gaynor, who recently joined the magazine ZADifference, introduced me to writer and producer Anita Khanna ( she who won an award from the South African Film and Television Awards for The Mating Game, a TV series that was broadcast on SABC), talk naturally inched towards finding a way to support each other with our creative projects.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical that it could work. I've joined a writing group before, and showed up for one meeting, but life happened and it's so much easier (and rewarding) to connect with other writers online.

But Gaynor was soo eager and I do need to get out of the house once or twice a week:-). So I agreed to the plan to meet and the first meeting went wonderfully well.

We had a good representation of new and experienced writers, and the discussion went well enough that we  scheduled the second  meeting. It is a closed, by invitation group, with members hopefully coming from our suburb or surrounds. We believe that this will make the group manageable.

I left the meeting with my head buzzing with new insight on how I can improve  my writing business, the way I craft stories and how my life impacts on my writing. I was also dazzled by Anita's generosity of spirit: she lent some of the writers her books ( which deal with aspects of the craft), recommended a few more ( that she'd loved but no longer had) and she even showed us a draft of a 20 minute script she'd done because she couldn't get over the story buzzing in her head, essentially showing newbies what a movie script looks like.

Some local writers couldn't come because of their life demands,  and others travel through work. So it was suggested that those who cannot attend in the flesh can Skype into the monthly meetings. We all have laptops and PCs, so it should make participation easier if one can't leave home that day. Nice, yes?

So. Do you belong to a writing group? Have you ever joined one? What did you like/dislike about writing groups? What would you want from one?

Thank You For The Warm Welcome

By Pamela Moeng

So now with the big build-up the pressure is on for me to produce – profundity, hilarity, at the very least entertainment. The mountain of online sludge holds some precious metal but all that shines isn’t platinum, not even in Rustenburg.

Between the Day Job, the Children, the Man and the must-do’s, should-do’s and absolutely gotta-do’s, there isn’t much time for penning the literary masterpiece that don’t we all think we’ve got in us?

"Find out what you’re good at and passionate about and your All Stars or Jimmy Choos will be skimming their way along the road to success," says one leadership guru I met.

But my 24-hours a day isn’t spandex – it keeps me confined to the usual not-quite-the-right-size-for-the-hips that I want to force into them. All that is a preface for don’t expect an oeuvre the size of Zambia and don’t make my blog your must-have with your morning cup of comfort.

But like that nosy neighbor who keeps knocking on the door at the most inopportune time wanting to chat, I’ll be calling ‘howzit?’ across cyberspace often enough for us to hopefully become friends. I've convinced the owner of the joint to publish some of my short stories so that I can get your take on how to improve. The first one was published on Friday. Feel free to comment!

For now, thanks to my friend D and all of you for the warm welcome. I look forward to getting to know you and getting your take on my view of the world.

Soccer Mom, By Pamela Moeng

The first of the short stories by my co-blogger, Pamela Moeng, as promised. Enjoy! And please leave a comment? The next story will be published next Friday.
Damaria

......................................................................

Soccer Mom, By Pamela Moeng

Lindy whistled shrilly between her teeth. “Go, Neo!” she shouted. “Kick that ball!”
A few of the other parents watching the soccer match looked disdainfully at her - Lindy ignored them. She paid a mountain of money for Neo to attend this snooty school and by God she was going to make sure she got her money’s worth, including cheering on her son township style in his first match.

Unfortunately despite her loud support, Neo’s kick sent the ball straight into the goalie’s arms. Not an auspicious beginning to a soccer career, but then Neo was only nine and a bit small for his age.

An Artist, A Writer, A Musician, A Graphic Designer And Lots Of Business Correspondence

I thought yesterday was going to be a more restful day, but it wasn't. In addition to the laptop/modem shopping, I did a lot of businesses correspondence. I didn't realise how much stuff I deal with everyday as a matter of course.

Here are some of the things I did yesterday:

1.  Updated Storypot again. Pam has given me a series of short stories, which I'll slowly make available here for your reading pleasure. They'll go online every Friday, starting tomorrow. And yes, I've already loaded them up and scheduled them, so we're all set.

2. Edited a client document and emailed it with invoice. Yay!

3. Reviewed an illustration of one of the major characters in my children's book. I loved what Jenny Nijenhuis, the artist did the first time I saw it but I wanted to see it again, just to make sure it I make a well-considered decision.

4. Sent the first draft of an ebook (non-fiction) I finished writing to a fellow writer for review. Many thanks writer Judy Croome, for your very constructive criticism. I like that you told me what didn't work for you too. I especially loved Ella Fitzgerald video and will take her advice too.

5. Listened to tracks from an album that's still in development by Ezbie Moiloa, an old friend who has worked as music director and a keyboard player for Hugh Masekela and is very well-regarded in the music industry, though personal fame has eluded him. He is a childhood friend and we drifted apart over the years ( due to work and life commitments). But he has always been as committed to his music as I was to my writing. So when a mutual childhood friend popped in to visit and I asked after him, she brought out of his album, which is still in development, for me to listen (friend is involved with development process. I think she wrote the lyrics.)

Anyhoo, I know I'm biased: I always believed that he was very talented, and that it was a pity that mainstream music lovers had not  discovered him yet. But the tracks I listened to? They're the kind I'd pay cold hard cash to own the album. And I'd recommend that you do the same too. Especially if you liked Jabu Khanyile, Hugh Masekela, Vusi Mahlasela.  And if you don't know who I'm talking about? Ezbie will broaden your horizons:-) Friend says album will be launched in April. And yes, I'll remind you on the blog.

5. Asked a friend who's a graphic artist to do a logo for my company. Money's tight, so we're trading services for each other, rather than actually exchanging cash. It's about time I bit the bullet and got a more professional look for my business, don't you think?

6. Sent a couple of emails to clients and proposals/quotations for potential clients. Let's hope some of them bite :-)

7. Catching up on friends' blogs....

P.S. My hyperactive self is coming back, yes? For those of you wanting to earn a living as a writing, you'll find out pretty fast that there is a business side to writing. I'm very grateful that most days, I actually have the space to create something that's not a letter or a blog post and get paid to do it.

What have you been up to?

Trusty Laptop Bites The Dust

Many thanks to you all for checking out the blogs I developed with the girls who took part in the Feminist Technology Exchange.  The event went very well, and I want to do more of this kind of work. As Lee Cahill, one of my writer friends said,"Knowledge like this gives young women a voice ... "

But being out there interacting with groups of people in person, fighting through traffic at the end of the day also made me appreciate my work and life. It was nice to be able to just take the few steps to my home office to get to work today. Which reminds me: my old Acer laptop finally gave up the ghost. It still turns on/off, I can type documents on it and even play a CD and video. But, the S in the keyboard no longer works, the screen sometimes goes off ( living me with white light) and quite frankly, I no longer trust it do client meetings and presentations with it. And for the past two days, it wouldn't even recognise my modem, though it worked when I was in range of a wireless hotspot. So, I'm retiring it.

I saw a nice machine at The Matrix Warehouse near me, going for R3200. Package includes MS Office 2010 pre-installed, and it has 3 USB ports, a CD writer, camera etc. I think I'm going to go for that one. It only has 2Gigs of space, but I have external drive with space in the tera range, so no worries there.

Also managed to get some blogging and editing done; though not as much as I would have liked.

So how's your day?

The End Of A Long But Productive Workshop

I'm about to wrap up the workshop for blogging for the Feminist Technology Exchange. The sessions were productivem though demanding and sometimes even frustrating for the girls. But they  set up their own blogs, they put up a few posts there. The poor girls were exhausted after that!

Anyhoo, I just wanted to introduce you to some of the girls. please check out their blogs and leave comments where possible:

C.J.J

arendsechaleen-chalie.blogspot.com

cupper

http://minicupper1.blogspot.com

http://mtlomelo.blogspot.com//hello.l

 

ayandatwotwo

ayandatwotwo.blogspot.com

 

shirlz' life

lady-ciara.blogspot.com

 

Angela

angela-annasebola.blogspot.com

 

luna wa una

lunawauna.blogspot.com

 

miss sunshine 808

misssunshine808.blogspot.com

We also created a Facebook page for the online safety for girls called :

 

KEEP YOUR CHATS EXACTLY THAT

http://www.facebook.com/Keep-Your-Chats-Exactly-That/156817174374432

Lots of Writing.. And Blogging News

Yesterday I waded through the writing process like a freight train, writing, writing, editing, writing..... It's about bloody time, that's all I have to say.  In addition to normal client work, where I'm finally beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing for one web site revamp, I also wrote two articles for an online publication, sent them to a friend to edit and am submitting them today. The company  put out a call for submissions. I also finalised my workshop presentation for the conference taking place Monday - Wednesday and sent it to the client.

Blogging/Storypot news

 

There has also been some developments on Storypot. The other day I mentioned that my friend Pamela Moeng was going to share her writing wisdom by starting a blog. Well, turns out she's not. Because I had this BRILLIANT idea that she should co-blog with me here on Storypot. She loved the idea. I hope will you will too.

 

So over the weekend, I'm going to make some small changes to incorporate Pam as a team member here. I'm not sure what she's going to talk about, or how often she'll blog. I told her she should regard this as her home and do whatever she likes. As long as she plays nice with you all, of course:

So here's Pam's biography

Pamela Moeng was born in the small town of Lewistown, Pennsylvania in the United States. She grew up there and did her BA Literature at the Pennsylvania State University in the United States. She came to South Africa in 1987 and completed an MA in English Education at Wits University in 1999.

 

She was a feature writer for a small weekly newspaper for three years in the USA and worked as an editor for both Macmillan Boleswa and Heinemann Publishers for a combined total of more than eight years. She has worked for the South African government in two different departments for a combined total of more than seven years in the field of communications.

 

Her published works include:

• English in Our Lives teachers guides grades 7, 8 and 9 for Heinemann
• Let’s Use English teachers guide grade 8 for Heinemann
• Learning Arts and Culture Can Be Fun learners and teachers guides grade 5 for Nasou via Afrika

She recently published six supplementary readers through Cambridge University Press for Rainbow Book Boxes. The titles include both fiction and non-fiction. She has also edited the Oxford University Press publication Starting Your Own Business in South Africa 11th Edition and contributed the chapter on women in business. She writes poetry and contributed poems to Wo(ban), a book of women’s poetry under the Arcane imprint. Her first novel was published this year by Nolly Books.

 

So? Was it a brilliant idea to get her to chat here with you on a regular basis, or was it a brilliant idea? I'm off to lunch, and to write some more.

 

Have a good weekend. And welcome, Pam. I hope you'll like it here.

 

Giving Girls The Tools To Communicate Online

Had a great client briefing for the Feminist Technology Exchange Conference in Johannesburg, where they gave me details of the workshop I’m facilitating.
The conference, which is hosted by WomensNet, is on the 7-9 March and I’m going to work with 10 post-matric girls, introducing them to the Internet, blogging, social networking and e-advocacy. In the process, we're also going to set up their individual blogs on Girls’ Net,  put their profiles on Facebook and Twitter and develop an online safety page for girls page on Facebook.
I'm also going to introduce them to the basics of online writing/blogging, and we’ll develop at least 15 text stories and 15 audio pieces to upload on their blogs and promote through their Facebook page. Finally, we’re all going to link our blogs to each other, comment on each other’s posts, send links of our posts to our social networks, so that the girls can learn how to promote their blogs posts ( and by doing so, do e-advocacy).
You likey? I do too. By now you know how I feel about empowering people, teaching them how to use technology express themselves/market their causes/ businesses/ products. So this workshop fits me to a T.

What I would like to ask  is that you occasionally join us on this journey. I’m going to post links to the girls’ posts here on my blog during the three days, so you can see what we're up to.

• Please read some of the girls's posts when you have 10 minutes to spare.
• Offer your advice on writing and promoting their blogs.
• Comment on the issues they address etc.
• Share some of what you know with them.
• Where possible, point them to web sites or blogs where they can link up with more blogging girls.

Bits and Pieces of News

1. Polished up my company's profile. I've been in negotiations with three experienced writers to marker their services under my company's banner, and we've finally come to an agreement. This is a good thing - it means I can take on more work, which they will deliver on based on their expertise, I can scale down on my own workload. Once I'm happy with the company profile, I'm going to start contacting companies and organisations I want to work with.
2. My participation at the Feminist Technology Exchange has been finalised. But we changed tracks and I'm going to facilitate the Girls' track. I'm looking forward to the conference, which takes place on the 7-9 March. 
3. Feeling better. So much better that I even took out my callenetics video and thought about doing some exercises from it. It's been so long that I've been well enough to even consider exercise beyond walking! The new doctor was also satisfied with my progress and gave me a referral for the gastrocscopy specialist.
4. Cut my hair. That also helped me feel better, freer.