Predictably a slower writing week with the kids and teachers all back at work, but the draft hit 57,000 words so it continues to take shape, 1949 being the focus year.

Research took me into fascinating spaces, including the Collingwood Carlton game on August 6 at Victoria Park, a low scoring affair in windy and wet conditions that saw Collingwood win by 3 points and move to the top of the VFL table.

Also of interest has been research into 'little Italy' - Carlton and Lygon Street and the Italian residents. One fascinating fact I unearthed was the 1948 legislation that led to people in Australia becoming Australian citizens on January 26 1949. Prior to that date, all so-called Australians were actually British citizens because no Australian citizenship existed. Post-1949 changes, Australians were technically dual-citizens of Australia and Great Britain.
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Research also led me into the TB wards and treatment for returned service people post WW2, and I discovered my father actually spent almost 8 years recuperating from his bout of Scarlet Fever and Rheumatic Fever that left him with a bad heart for the rest of his life. He contracted the illness in 1944 while in Darwin and was not repatriated from Daws Park Repat until 1952. I received his war record transcript last week.

The target this week is to finish the 1949 chapter and move onto Mum's adventures in Tasmania. Let's see how things develop.

With work back in full swing, writing time has been precious this week and the project first draft manuscript has only grown by 4000 words. However, the story has shifted to Melbourne, particularly around Heidelberg and Carlton, and that brings new research to the table.
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Merri Creek is a setting for one incident in the story and I had to look up where it is and found myself delving into its history. Turns out historians believe it is the only place since white arrival where a treaty was officially drawn up and signed between the local people and settling whites in 1835. Of course it was rescinded by the New South Wales governor and plenty of dispute about whether it was fair or even actually happened has taken place since. This is one brief example of the information around the history:
 https://www.portphillippioneersgroup.org.au/pppg5be.htm
​I enjoyed the synchronicity of stumbling into the research as Australia Day weekend unfolded.

Carlton's background during and shortly after World War Two is also fascinating - fundamentally a suburb of slums and cheap medium and high density housing. Again, plenty of reading from various sources including this quick example: http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00294b.htm
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Back into work tomorrow, but planning on adding more to the project as the week progresses!

This week has seen the project reach 50,000 words at the end of the chapter 1948. The story moves to Melbourne and the Heidelberg Repat - I see a short trip on the horizon.
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Research has led to finding The Embassy dance hall - now the entrance to Adelaide Arcade - and more about the Repat at Daw Park, including the fabled air raid shelters. Still a lot of ‘holes’ in my detail, but people supplied excellent sources for me to follow up.

Walking in even the semi-fictional steps of my mother in her teens is fascinating and brings her closer than ever.
Drafting-wise, this first draft is a plot, character and setting identification process. This is the easiest part I suspect.
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Back to full-on work this week - last week was a busy but gentle start: curious to see how my planned self-discipline to write something daily holds up in the face of education ☺️

Project update:
A week along on the current writing project - 44,000 words in draft, marking I think around the halfway point for the first draft. Tomorrow I'm back at work again, so I will have to schedule my week around writing to keep the momentum powerful!

Research for this has been fascinating so far. I finally identified where the Argosy Palais was on the Seacliff esplanade: it's now a collection of units, the original ballroom, ice rink etc having been demolished in 1959. A fabulous book - Sea Change by Jim Blake published by Wakefield Press has provided brilliant information for my work.

I also caught up with my 92 yo uncle, Bruce, who features in the work, fictionalised, and spent a couple of hours beginning to hear his stories of the late 1940s in Adelaide. I'm hoping to hear more stories from him, and also my other relatives who I've not been able to keep contact with since Mum passed.
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I also located the West's cinema in Hindley Street where events take place in one part of the tale. Again, historical society records provided useful info on the cinema's interior and architectural features.

Next challenges are to research more on the Repatriation hospitals, at Daw Park and Heidelberg.

No, I'm not dead, and I've been busy. After completing the first full edited draft of the apocalyptic diary novel, which I still don't know what to do with as far as publishing goes, I've launched straight into drafting a new novel set in the 1940s based loosely around my mother's formative years up until she met my father. So far, I'm 27,000 words in and the project is fascinating (and requiring a huge amount of research). The project is ambitious - to fictionalise a real life in a way to make it a faithful recreation but not pure fact. I interviewed Mum back in 2011-12 for most of the main events, and she was excited about the project, but I'm left to fill in the gaps since she passed in 2013.
The other update is that while I planned to make 2019 a year of writing, work has lured me to reconsider and so I'm staying on in a slightly reorganised capacity, focussing on supporting staff with digital engagement from ELC-12. However, I'm making writing a priority again and plan to get some serious progress in separate projects.
I'll add regular posts here, now that I'm finally back in the writing place I enjoy. I've always wanted to start a blog - maybe I will yet...