Poetry.
Additional line by Laura MacKenzie:
Sweater, trousers, briefs and hat,
woollen socks and a fine cravat.
Ungodly Trifles - a rambling blog post about how I “finished” my novel called Ungodly Trifles
I am “finished” my novel, in the sense that I wrote the whole thing from beginning to end and have begun the process of showing it to other people. I am not finished in the sense that I’m done working it on it. Because there’s still plenty of work to do.
I started writing Ungodly Trifles around October 18, 2007. I’ve been working on it off and on since then. Half the book’s been scrapped in that time, and I’ve written and rewritten all over the place.
I wrote the ending while Laura and I were in Europe. I don’t know exactly when it was, but we were on a train. I didn’t count the novel as finished at that time because I knew I had to write new chapters around the beginning and end of the book, and heavily rewrite other parts and edit a whole lot of the book.
And so I completed that writing, rewriting and editing mission on February 8, 2012 at 11:33 pm, in a parking lot looking out onto Halifax Harbour.
But now it’s “finished”. It still needs a lot of work, but it’s all there. For those keeping track, that means that it took me four years, three months and 21 days to write it.
Laura and Nina are the first two people in the WHOLE WORLD who get to read it. They will contribute the first wave of feedback and criticism and editing suggestions. Then, my friends Cameron and Kathleen have signed up for round two. I’m glad to have people who are so eager to read the novel and help with making it better.
It’s weird and exciting to have Ungodly Trifles being read by other people, because save for a couple of really early chapters that I had floating around, I haven’t spoken a word about what the novel contains to anyone, really. It’s just been me in a vacuum.
But last night, Laura and I talked for an hour or two about all the characters and the various events of the book and who she likes and dislikes and why she likes or dislikes them, and it’s very cool to hear about the world and characters I created from the point of view of someone who is not me.
She’s not finished reading it yet, but she’s really close.
And now I’ll stop rambling and I assure you I will write better blog posts later.
12 Steps To Success In ANY Field
By Vincenzo Ravina
1. DO something that matters. Drop the chaff from your work-life and focus on the good-times.
2. Leverage your social media CLOUT.
3. Make the most of what’s there by RAISING your profile.
4. MODULATE your vocabulary to include the most popular Google keywords, like ‘cats’ or ‘funny cats’.
5. STOP to smell the roses. Write reviews of how yesterday’s roses compare to today’s roses versus the roses from your childhood and ENGAGE with your SOCIAL AUDIENCE.
6. BE daring.
7. Dress the part. Model your wardrobe after what you see in your mindstream for what you’re projecting to BE in five years.
8. FIND your niche by choosing two things you like and mashing them together. For example: If you like mayonnaise and guitars, trying packing a guitar full of mayonnaise and then selling it to like-minded people on Etsy.
9. ENGAGE with your LIFE-SOCIAL MAYONNAISE GUITAR CONSUMER-FRIENDS.
10. Convert BUSINESS CONTACTS into LIFE CONTACTS.
11. DEVELOP your mantra. Mine is ‘BE successful’.
12. Make a BUDGET for supporting others in your SHARE-CIRCLE. REAP the benefits of success and share them with your SHARE-CIRCLE, like me.
Take these tips into your life and watch your LIFE-PROFIT increase tenfold. Have these tips worked for you?
That’s right. That’s what’s new. Two new buttons on the old Navigation Express Tool-Dongle (TM).
The first new addition is the “Creative Writing / Fiction” button. That will be seeing some new content in the next few months, as I complete my novel. But clicking there right now won’t sending you screaming into a contentless black abyss! NO NO NO. You’ll find Vampires Vampires and the Bittersweet Fudge-Bag, the picture book I wrote, and Ezra James Houndstooth-Clark’s Field Guide to ANIMALS of the WILDERNESS.
The second and final new addition is a link to Junior Pigeon, the site I run with Laura. It has been updated sporadically, but will be seeing a wealth of new content shortly!
I’ve also changed the colour of linked text on the site from grey to blue and removed some of the unnecessary buttons like the “Mobile” button, the “Twitter” button and the “Questions/Comments” button. You may also notice that if you come to this site by means of the domain Vincenzo Ravina Dot Com, the default landing page is now the About page, which has been ever so slightly updated with new information and links.
