yikici | Mindi Anderson

ROW80 is getting (me) Organised!

Thursday’s (Belated) Topical Tête-à-Tête:

Firstly, I want to say I am saddened by what I have seen in the news and what ordeals you have had to face on the East Coast. I have just seen reports of another bout of storms; hurricane Katia and a tropical cyclone on the Gulf I do hope these do not come inland and cause any destructions; you are all in my thoughts and prayers, I do wish you all to stay safe and out of harm’s way. I’m sending you all a little something -I hope it brings you good luck; the Irish swear by it. Secondly, I want to apologise for the lateness of this post (I seem to have lost my synch with my daily routine -hope to get back on form soon(ish) -I have been working on my schedule at least, so that is something positive, for more details see below). Today’s topical discussion is rotating about how things stand with me in relation to the writing world -I thought it is rather apt considering my recent sign-up to the Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign.

(As always, there is a pdf document at the bottom of the post for those who may find this a difficult read.)

ROW80 is Getting (me) Organised!

I have had an odd few weeks and I am certain you all are aware of how erratic I have been (maybe erratic is the wrong word choice, but I’m tired and that’s the closest word I can find, so I’m sticking to it) -the word erratic is more geared at my working pattern rather than my own person… There has not been much stability on that front and I worked out why thanks to my new ROW80 page and progress bars over on the right of this page -now why did I not do that sooner! It seems I have been allocating a lot of my time to writing blog posts as opposed to my actual Novel (no wonder that’s been a wee bit stagnant *shakes head in bewilderment*); therefore, I have had a rethink and made slight amendments to the schedule -just so I can breathe a bit better; I was beginning to suffocate -Eak! So, that’s sorted and taken off my ‘to do list’ (geez, there’s so many things to do -I think I’m going to see stars) *faints* -ok, okaaaaaaaaaaay I was pulling your leg. Now let’s get back to some serious stuff…

Flash -A-aaaaaaaaaaaaa

Don’t ask me why, but that song (yes the one from the rather cheesy film Flash Gordon) is playing in my head over and over again -I just had to use it as a title because, I want to talk about -yep, you guessed it, FLASH Fictions. (I know, I know -very bad sense of humour; but I’m tired -that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!) As you know, I have become addicted to writing flash fictions and now the collection of stories has amalgamated to a total of 10+(ish) since I started back in April 2011 (word count being 6125 in total). From your responses, there has been a few stories which cried out to be expanded further and the other stories were appreciated as they were. As time progressed I began to think about these, and one of my main thoughts were (and still is) is to collate them in a book as a collection of short stories; some I’d work on (e.g. Moon of Change being a firm favourite amongst you all) and those that work well without any developments will just be edited to perfection. Therefore, the question on everyone’s lips (including mine); which of the following stories would you like to see being collated in this book project of mine I am about to embark upon:

A Demise of my Own Doing

First Impressions

The Quest for the Hidden Dagger

My Safe Haven

The Keepsake

Moon of Change & Moon of Change – The Prologue & Epilogue

St Pauls at High Tide

Ferocious Fireworks

Once-Upon-A-Time

I’d appreciate it if you could select your top 5 and list them in preference order and let me know which one’s you’d like me to developed further. Please note them in the comment box below or email me directly at ozlem@yikici.co.uk -I aim to ensure the forthcoming collection’s word count is near 10,000 words; which means there will be a couple of surprise stories/snippets added to make the count. To make this interesting and give you some incentive to participate, I believe a contest is in order (my very first one); I will select 5 people’s name from the list of commenter’s’ below and they will receive a copy of my book once it is published. Exciting huh? Well, what are you waiting for… get-a-voting-and-a-compiling…

and Finally…

Before, I head off to the land of Zzzzzzz’s (which I need to get going to very soon(ish)); this is for those who missed my very first interview over at meanderfit.com -aptly titled ‘Ozlem Yikici – The London Novelist‘. If you want to find out how the interview went please pop over to Mindi’ blog and have a read -as well as a wander… Well, that’s me done and dusted -so to speak, wishing you all a good night and I will no doubt have words on Saturday, until then, stay safe, be happy, keep smiling and don’t forget it’s a beautiful world out there in the vast universe we call Earth!

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As you already know, thoughts and comments are encouraged as always -even if it is just a word -as ‘all good discussions start with just one word‘.

Pdf document: ROW80 is getting (me) Organised!

If there is a topic you would like me to look into and explore in my own yikici-kind-of-way then please feel free to leave a suggestion in the comment box below or for those of you who are a wee bit shy drop me a line via my contact page or email me at ozlem@yikici.co.uk

September 1, 2011 yikici 2 Comments All the Posts on yikici, Flash Fiction Challenges, Goals, Networking & Motivation, Narrative, Words from yikici, Work in Progress (WIP), © 2011-2012 Ozlem Yikici. bearings, blog, collection of stories, contest, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Challenges, Goals, Networking & Motivation, Interview, meanderfit, Mindi Anderson, Short Snippets, Stories, writers' platform-buillding campaign

Sabotage the Community – Sabotage your Work

*Stop Press News*

Before continuing with the actual post, I have some exciting news to share with you: I have been blessed with being interviewed by Mindi Anderson over at meanderfit.com -aptly titled ‘Ozlem Yikici – The London Novelist‘, if you want to find out how the interview went please pop over to Mindi’ blog and have a read -as well as a wander…

My ROW80 Update will follow the article below –scroll down to the end if you do not want to read the next bit (I won’t take any offence –well, I’ll try not to ).

*Continue*

Just a quick note: I apologise for the silence -I’ve had a tough couple of weeks with low moods and then I was encouraged to mingle with family and friends and babysit Ava therefore; I have been away from my novel, my blog and the social media circuit. Whilst I was away, I hoped my first article back would be on a positive note (about developments on yikici) but I had to speak, silence in a time like this is not good to anyone, here’s my voice, here’s my thoughts…

(As always there is a pdf document at the bottom of the post for those who may find this a difficult read.)

Image sourced from: http://www.thetimes.co.uk

SABOTAGE THE COMMUNITY – SABOTAGE YOUR WORK

It has been over a week since the chaos hit the streets of London and then the rest of the UK… As I sat safe indoors, these were the thoughts that transpired…

I sit in front of my laptop (yes I have solved the issue with the broken adaptor); I listen to the sound of the police sirens as they drive past through the streets, in pursuit, in preparation; I hear the helicopter up above, tracking, reporting; I feel helpless… Will a repeat of last night endure or will our Police force prevail… There are plenty of speculations, some have hope, others do not… Is this where humanity has come to -a bunch of youths demolishing, uprooting people’s livelihood -communities trashed, local businesses ruined and homes burned… I ask why…?

I never thought I’d see a day when such violence could violate our streets, our communities; it was like a free-for-all -no rhyme, no reason -although there are others who would have you believe otherwise…where do you stand, what are your thoughts? This topic is vast and may have many underlining reasons behind it and for this purpose; it needs to be discussed to be understood –if possible. This is a tough subject to analyse and for the purpose of this blog I will look at it from an alternative artistic angle as well as it’s gritty form. In some odd ways this has made me think about how we; as artists, writers -creative-beings, how we sabotage our own works -be it intentional or not and with this in mind I plan to tackle this vast, macabre topic and try to mirror it with how we bring that into our works and possibly into our lives.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

When the news of the rioters hit the screens, I immediately thought it being a little too ironic; what with Rupert Murdoch, the Government and our Police force being questioned. I may have come up with a million and one conspiracy theories in that small space of time (ok maybe I’m exaggerating that a wee bit –possibly a million theories ). It was highly amusing to note that the three key figures, who were needed to address the country and tackle the problem at large, were on annual leave (holiday) and it was uncanny that our Police force seemed outnumbered against the unruly youths. These alone just prompted questions in my mind as I watched various parts of London ransacked, demolished and/or go up in smoke. This all happened as the nation watched. There were various accounts through the media (and reliable sources I know) that certain communities came together and chased the rioters off their streets. Dalston saw a group of Turkish and Kurdish men (young and old) guard their shops/restaurants; Green Street’ Muslim residents said enough is enough as the time for breaking their fast came (it’s the month of Ramadan), they stood firm –the yobs did not linger. By day three of the riots all three key figures returned to the UK and the Police force was strengthened –soon the calm came. With it a beautiful sense of community sprung up; they call themselves Riot Clean Up (follow them on twitter @riotcleanup or their hashtag #riotcleanup). A bunch of volunteers took it on themselves to organise a clean up where needed –a tear came to my eye when I heard; kudos to all who took part and still are spending valuable time in maintaining it. From the chaos a calm settled, from the grim a glorious day -my only hope is that this will get better as I cannot see how this will fare if it gets out of hand.

Image sourced from: http://www.guardian.co.uk

SABOTAGE THE COMMUNITY

‘We’re getting back our taxes’ they said to bystanders/reporters as they trashed their neighbourhood; did they not think of the local independent businesses who would suffer from the damage they’ve caused –not to mention who would be pocketing the price of their mayhem. If only ‘getting tax back’ was that simple –I am certain there would have been more riots if it was the case, but sadly it is not and in the end taxpayers will be forking out extra to meet the extra expenses. It angers me, it really does; I understand that maybe some –or maybe the vast majority of communities have been affected by the budget cuts; youth clubs and social enterprises for youngsters has been withdrawn, university fees have rocketed to unmentionable amounts of money; all this does not condone what they did. The more I think about it the more it seems like an act of opportunists jumping in, to riot, loot and rampage. Acting like yobs is not a way forward; all this has done is cause fear in some communities and create a negative impact on independent businesses. What part of this is an admirable feat? It saddens me that our children are part of this ugly episode; they still fight against the police, our society and us. Where they believe they attacked the Government and hindered the tax system –they, in actual-fact, sabotaged our communities and hindered our growth in this slow economic farce. Not to mention how this will affect their family, friends and themselves.

To this day Police sirens can still be heard and it seems that it will continue like so for some time.

Here are some interesting links I’ve stumbled across whilst I was researching information on the riots: British use Social Media to Coordinate Riot Clean Up, Muslims Defend London During London Riots, Communities Rally for Riot Clean Up, The Guardian’ Blog on the Riots, Turks police own district amid rioting.

SABOTAGE YOUR WORK

The act of sabotage is a nasty bit of work –especially the intentional kind like I’ve mentioned above, but what about the unintentional ones –the ones subconsciously created by you… You know, when you’ve written over 10,000 words on your novel and abruptly decide it is pants and so you throw it in the bin –or, like me, you take up a painting project and become annoyed that a part of the painting does not work, so you decide to trash it (see examples above and below -brownie points for those who notice the apt ‘The End’ sign?). This also can be evident in your life, your relationships, your business, your career –how many times have you ruined it and thought ‘ooops my mistake’. We are prone to sabotage all aspects of our lives and works –even our health. Think of what you may have sabotaged or witnessed as acts of sabotages and let us know your findings.

ROW80 UPDATE

I have been extremely bad since my last update and not achieved much (just this post –it’s over 1,500 words so I guess that counts for something). I have decided I will create a ROW80 page under the Social Interactions tab and organise my goals there. For the time being I will stick to my goals as planned and any adjustments I make I will make public this Sunday (hopefully). I hope the rest of you ROW80 stars are doing a better job than me –keep the good works going!

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