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4:49 pm by D Kai Wilson, editor in Uncategorized
Digitalis Obscura
Issue 1
ISSN 1756-3046
Masthead
ON STAFF
D Kai Wilson – Managing Editor – http://languagedump.com
Cerys Peters – Poetry Editor (temp)
Joyce A Anthony – Editor – http://joyceaanthony.com
Sharon Wren – Editor
Features this month
Notes from the Editor
Review – Desire and Madness – review by D Kai Wilson
Five tips for the perpetually disorganised – D Kai Wilson – http://publishhacks.com
Tuesday Morning – Jeanette Angell – http://jeanetteangell.com
Review - Blood - review by D Kai Wilson
Mania –D K Wilson – http://12daysofrain.com
Ten Zen seconds Interview – Rahul Prabhakar - http://2brahulprabhakar.blogspot.com
Vigil – D Kai Wilson – http://booksbykai.com
Markets, notes and the last link.
Please note, our ezine edition contains partial posts – the rest is online at the link provided.
Our authors ALL value any feedback you’d like to give, and if you’re interested in one specific section, we’re also creating feeds of those alone. DO check out the site!
Notes from the editor
Welcome to our FIRST issue of DigitalisObscura!
I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all of our submissions - each and every one of the submissions were amazing, and I’m delighted to report that everything we received was of amazing quality.
Our reading period re-opens on the 8th of November, so I’d really love to start seeing more submissions. And by issue 2, we’ll also have our own ISSN, and a new, more permanent site design.
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/notes-from-the-editor/
Review – Desire and Madness
Desire and Madness – a collected anthology from Gloucestershire University’s creative writing students.
Desire and Madness is a simple enough premise – and as themes go, its pretty well represented throughout the works of a diverse range of students. Eighteen separate, and sometimes disparate, yet compelling voices that cover prose, poetry, and one rather interestingly vignette style novella. As the introduction states, in 2005, the final short story submissions for the term, on the fiction course was ‘Desire and Madness’, as chosen by those students and was later extended to the creative writing department as a whole, and the anthology was born. From a modern retelling of Hamlet, to flash fiction, to modern and traditional poetry, the anthology, though relatively slim, holds a lot of interesting and riveting writing.
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/desire-and-madness-an-anthology/
Five tips for the perpetually disorganized by D Kai Wilson
The five top tips for the perpetually disorganized (cue chart count-down music)
In at number five - Make a to-do list - It might seem odd, but you’re not going to be able get organized and plan your time without looking into what you’ve got to do. So, work out what you’ve got to work with, and then you can handle the rest more effectively.
At four, close your email. If, like me, you live in your email, you’ll find your time is more effectively managed if you close the time sink that is your email. Not only do we focus less well on working if you’re looking at your system tray for the little envelope every five minutes, but when it does come in, you then feel nagged, and may *have* to open it. Have a routine for checking email, even if its once an hour (but at the same time, if you’re really in a flow at that point, don’t break it)
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/five-tips-for-the-perpetually-disorganised
D Kai Wilson, the Managing Editor of Digitalis Obscura, has published this article at Mamaneedsabookcontract and PublishHacks. When not studying for her BA(hons) Creative Writing degree, she looks after her children, writes lots and supports new writers to find their voices.
Tuesday Morning - by Jeannette Angell
The telephone rings
A small thing, a sound
Ordinary, and she reaches for it
In an ordinary way
She says hello
Her mind on the children
Her mind on the meeting
Her mind on the dinner on
Saturday night, his friends from
Kansas, she says hello
She says hello.
I love you, he says
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/tuesday-morning-by-jeanette-angell/
Bio: <a href=”http://jeanetteangell.com”>Jeannette Angell</a> is the author of short stories, essays, novels, and creative nonfiction; her work has been translated into 12 languages and has appeared in 15 countries. She lives and writes in New England, United States.
TEN ZEN SECONDS interview with Eric Maisel
Rahul: What is Ten Zen Seconds all about?
Eric: It’s actually a very simple but powerful technique for reducing your stress, getting yourself centered, and reminding yourself about how you want to live your life. It can even serve as a complete cognitive, emotional, and existential self-help program built on the single idea of “dropping a useful thought into a deep breath.”
You use a deep breath, five seconds on the inhale and five seconds on the exhale, as a container for important thoughts that aim you in the right direction in life—I describe twelve of these thoughts in the book—and you begin to employ this breathing-and-thinking technique that I call incanting as the primary way to keep yourself on track.
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/ten-zen-seconds-by-rahul-prabhakar/
Eric Maisel, America’s leading creativity coach, recently ended a two-month blog tour, which started in mid-April this year to promote his new book, Ten Zen Seconds (http://www.tenzenseconds.com). Eric visited Rahul Prabhakar’s blog on Saturday, May 19, 2007.
Rahul Prabhakar works as a technical communication professional with Samsung Electronics Company Limited, South Korea. He is a leading member of the Indian technical writing community, having spearheaded several initiatives to elevate the profession in the country. Rahul has a Bachelor’s of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering and a Diploma in Advertising Management. His blog, titled, “When the Muse Strikes!” highlights global challenges related to technical communication, along with links to his published work. Refer to the same at http://2brahulprabhakar.blogspot.com
Review – Blood
Blood, by Nigel McLoughlin is beyond words. Moving, deeply riveting, and most of all standing as both a marker (for lessons learned, in discussion of terrorism through poetry) and inspiration.
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/review-blood/
Mania
R–U–OK?
Yeah–Yeah
I txt back
before adding another dozen lines to my
essay. There’s a scrap of paper beside me
I’m scrawling lines of a poem that are singing
to me, from the cheap seats, insidious, in my head.
As an afterthought, I realize, I need to tell him something else.
So, I send another
I–haven’t–slept–4–days
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/mania/
D Kai Wilson is the award winning poet responsible for 12 Days of Rain. Her poetry was included in the Eppie award winning ‘Oestara Anthology of Pagan Poetry‘. When not at University studying for a BA(hons) in Creative Writing, and running after her kids, she can be found editing for Scribe and Quill, Digitalis Obscura, and writing articles at PublishHacks.
Vigil
I can’t see that thief that lives inside of your head
But I can be some courage at the side of your bed
And I don’t know what’s happening and I won’t pretend
I said my goodbyes years ago – when this all first started.
You were different then – brighter, yet…I don’t know – there’s a spark in you now that you never had. A purpose I suppose. You’ve got a reason for doing al this at last, putting us through this again and again.
Is it wrong to wish you dead? Is it wrong to wish you gone?
http://digitalisobscura.com/vol/2007/vigil-by-d-kai-wilson/
D Kai Wilson is the editor of this site - her fiction can be found at BooksbyKai and is spending the month of November doing the Nanowrimo.
She also blogs at Languagedump.
Market notes
One of the biggest issues MOST writers have is finding markets for their work – so this month, we’re going to recommend the two of the most vital resources any writer can use.
http://duotrope.com – a great place to find many markets, Duotrope also includes information such as response times, the chance to submit your own information to these statistics, and more.
A must use site; it even includes ‘theme’ based submissions, in their own calendars.
http://writersmarket.co.uk – recently made free, we’ve been testing this and so far so good. At present we’re unsure whether it’s permanently free or a trial, but no credit card or PayPal information was required to sign up.
Blogs of note
Mamaneedsabookcontract – Mama Needs a book contract is a really amazingly cool project where seven ‘mamas’, myself included, blog about all things writing, parenting, and life in general.
Terry Heath – a relatively new blogger on the scene, he’s a great writer and has many points that make you think – plus he’s a Nanowrimo participant to boot!
The last link
Today is November 1st – a day, traditionally reserved for the biggest hopes of writers everywhere in the writing community. Just in case you missed all the fuss, check out http://nanowrimo.org, and give yourself 30 days of hope, fun, revelation and most of all, amazing writing as an early Christmas present!
Digitalis Obscura is produced in association with several projects. All material copyright their authors - if you’d like to use their writings PLEASE contact them.
(C) 2007 D Kai Wilson and the contributers featured in this Newsletter (where applicable, in association with their own works)
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Check out our Guidelines and Editorial calendar - we're looking for editors! Email me at editor at digitalisobscura.com for more information.Oldies, but Goodies!
Hi guys!
Thanks for the overwhelming support for this project so far - I’m delighted that so many people have taken to it, and taken WELL to it.
I know that the honorarium is causing some consternation - if I could pay more, I would, and as soon as we can, I WILL. This project is not [...]
R–U–OK?
Yeah–Yeah
I txt back
before adding another dozen lines to my
essay. There’s a scrap of paper beside me
I’m scrawling lines of a poem that are singing
to me, from the cheap seats, insidious, in my head.
As an afterthought, I realize, I need to tell him something else.
So, I send another
I–haven’t–slept–4–days
Frenzied, exhilarated, deeply awkward.
I’m falling. [...]
Ok, relatively simple one for you.
Are you guys joining in on the Nanowrimo? What are your plans? Are you looking forward to it?
(remember, you can sign up for our discussion FEED and find out when we post NEW discussion points)
It was midday, but feeling tired and somewhat upset about the condition of the world, I was reading in my bedroom when, for some reason, I looked out the window and saw a large red kite drifting by. Not so strange in itself, but, instead of various ribbons dangling from the kite’s tail, there [...]
The telephone rings
A small thing, a sound
Ordinary, and she reaches for it
In an ordinary way
She says hello
Her mind on the children
Her mind on the meeting
Her mind on the dinner on
Saturday night, his friends from
Kansas, she says hello
She says hello.
I love you, he says
She barely listens, his voice
Is ordinary, part of her being,
Part of her thoughts, [...]
What's the dilly, yo?
Heart medicine - for writers
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