Thank you for the favourable comments! It seems the idea is good, so I'm going to propose the following and ask you to tweak it if you want to, and get back to me.
How about...
~ we start off now-ish and aim to have completed our books by Christmas, revealing all to our adoring public at New Year? That gives us slightly less than 6 months
~ we need to find something to kick things off and inspire us. Suggestions please! I throw into the ring a novel, Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg, ISBN:1860461670 and a poem, A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman (and yes, this is the poem that inspired my Gossamer Bridge book) but I'm very happy to use something else
~ my thought was to make an edition of our books (nothing like a challenge!) so that when we're finished we can each have one of everybody's books and there would be at least one complete set left over to exhibit. I got 5 positive responses from this blog plus a couple on Twitter plus me = 8 people interested, so perhaps 9 copies to make if everyone takes part
~ question: is it easier to have a team blog (i.e. we can all post to the same blog about the project) or a Ning community...? Tell me what you think. By the way, the name 'bookartsclub.blogspot.com' is currently available for a Blogger team blog
~ so at the moment what we need to do is agree a source book, a timescale and how we're going to communicate what we're doing with each other. By the way, I don't have email for everyone who's expressed an interest so it would be good if you could email me with your contact details if you want to take part
4 comments:
questions questions questions!
ok - one thing at a time...
communication - I'm fine with either ning or blogger (I'm more comfortable with blogger... but hey - I'm a creek girl - I can adapt)
time line - oh boy once there's a date put to it one has a sudden rush of 'eegad'.... whatever suits the masses I'll just deal with - masters to be finished up with by nov.... so, knowing my working style - in reality, I'll start REAL work on this after I get that out of the way
source material - and I suspect this is going to be the hardest one to find common ground eh?.... righto - I'm more of a poetry than novel type of girlie (not that I understand poetry mind you - only that I appreciate the variety of interpretation and individualised response... that means I figure I don't look like a total dork for not 'getting it' and can justify a strange result!)
but
perhaps I should open myself up to a novel again... (it's been a very very very long time since I tried a new novel - I'm one of those re-read the jane austen favourite people - yes I'm sad, I know) so I'll have a stab at a chosen novel if that's the consensus - but I don't feel up to suggesting anything (other than a J.A. of course!)
and whilst I'm blabbing away - kudos to you sara for masterminding the project... I'm feeling a slight tingle of anticipation (but it might just be my chill-blaned toes acting up again....)
Hi Sara,
I think this is a terrific idea and I would love to be a part of it. I'm a little worried about my ability to "complete" as I haven't produced anything substantial this year, but perhaps this is just the sort of thing I need to get myself focused.
So, here's my 2 cents worth -
communication: I don't really mind either way, but if we are only a group of 9 or 10, I wonder whether we need all the bells and whistles that go with ning
source material: I can't help thinking that a poem might be the go, just because it's a lot easier to get to the end of it. Despite the fact that I'm a very keen reader, I was always the one at school who hadn't read the set book one week before the exam, simply because someone told me I had to read it.
I also wondered, if the group turns out to be all Australian, maybe we could look to an Australian author? Just an idea.
Finish date: hmm, tricky! but it would be fun to be a part of the next Focus on Artists Books in Mackay early next year, or something similar.
Two cents from me...I found out today the dates for the Book Awards (here in Mackay) and have posted on my Artists Book page and Robert Heather has added further information in a comment.
Your suggestion is a lovely one, Sara.I'm sure you'll have the 9 0r 10 "takers." If I was more confident in my abilities I'd be in.Maybe the next one?
Good luck, anyway.
hi sara,
what a wonderful idea.
i like a challenge and this will be one for me on many levels - blogging, ning???, and producing 10 or so books by December...but sometimes biting off more than you can chew and having to chew like crazy is just the thing.
I love the idea of using some sort of text as a source for the project - maybe we could choose an idea (or headline, or place, or issue, or value) and the artists can find their own text to go with it. Is that too wishy washy?
i'm happy to go along with anything that is decided - it's such a great idea.
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