The Dead Girl by Melanie Thernstrom is one of those books that has been popping up on my 'must read' lists for years (it was first published in 1990). It's a memoir written by a young college student who's best friend was brutally murdered.
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How a freelance writer finds paid work
This blog outlines 10 different strategies for finding paid work as a freelance writer -- it's for new freelancers or anyone thinking about a writing side-hustle.
Whenever I'm lacking belief in my writing or stuck on a client project, I only have to take a quick visit to an old book to find some relief. Monet by himself.
Boy and Brother
Boy and brother visit the cemetery burn candles and remember their Mamma.
Successful Freelance Writers Know How To Manage Their Time
Your success as a freelance writer -- and this is true for any self-employed person -- is critically linked to your own personal productivity. And I'm not talking your ability to use Productivity Apps and write a to-do list.
Quick Tips For Better Business Blogging
Business blogging is done for one reason, and one reason only. To get people on our websites. And we want them to stay awhile too — check out our content, join the newsletter, and eventually buy something.
Essential Qualities of Successful Freelance Writers (Part 1 Writing Skills)
A successful freelance writer is not just someone who makes a lot of money, but a person who is creatively engaged in work they love, delivering high quality copy to their clients.
Moon Creatures
I love the night culture of the Philippines and how the twilight turns headlights into the moon. After the hot sun sinks and before the moon rises.
To be able to put words to the pain is the beginning of liberation. Jean Vanier -- Seeing Beyond Depression. It's wonderful to feel some energy within myself again for writing. Feeling enthusiasm about anything at all is something that…
Donations: where does the money go exactly?
Maybe you've seen the donation buttons on my website and wonder what I do with the money -- I hope this post will give you a better understanding of what I do, and even inspire you to do more in your own community.
What equipment do I need to start a Writing Business?
You don't need a pile of techie stuff or expensive subscriptions to start a freelance writing business. The best advice I can give you is to concentrate your purchases on the things that will support uninterrupted writing, efficient communication, and…
Growing up
Last night I found a cute little video of Jerry singing. He got hold of my phone not long after he came to live with me in 2015, and watching it caused me a few lamentations about how fast he's…
Losing Rosemarie
Our beloved Rosemarie died suddenly on Sunday morning. If you have been following my blog anytime over the past 5 years you'll have seen many photos of Rosemarie and her family. Her mother had taken her to hospital Saturday night,…
“Stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions … the truth is that what we call ‘interruptions’ are precisely our real life -- the life God is sending us day by day.” C.S. Lewis Hello writing friends. It's been a…
Website upgrade
Hi friends. Thanks for stopping by my website. Things are gonna be looking a bit wonky for the next few weeks -- as I upgrade and get it ready for my new online learning centre and digital download service. It's…
Mangroves
seated the sunshine flecked, with salt
Her Own Shadow
What days are these? Where you can only be found -- inside your own shadow.
All The Way
Most Fridays Jerry and I have breakfast in the Lapaz Public Market before I take him to morning class. We have a simple breakfast with native coffee. It's our Friday treat. So one morning a few weeks back -- as…
Why my blog feels like the ‘Mary Celeste’
Yesterday I read some excellent writing advice on medium.com. Shouting out @tijmenr, who's medium handle I stumbled across yesterday morning while coffeeing and blog browsing in Starbucks Iloilo City. I wish I'd heard it 2 years ago. And when I…
Reflections on a writing practice
For the last five years I've been writing everyday, and over that period have evolved from a sometime poet and blogger to a full-time professional writer. This blog is a short reflection on my writing practice and the art form…
Dengue
Yesterday afternoon Jerry's classroom was fogged for dengue mosquitos. The entire Province of Iloilo is currently in a dengue emergency which includes both Estancia (where Jerry's family, all our friends and sponsored kids live) plus Iloilo City itself. All hospitals…
7+ Freelancing facts they don’t mention in the brochures
Now don't take me the wrong way here, I love my freelance writing life. But I've seen more than one marketing blog that seriously overstates the benefits of freelancing (probably for the purposes of recruiting students/trainees into their freelance learning…
Pineapple Vending
vending pineapples with urgency money. exchange. quick. before the street guard surge Walking out of the money exchange kiosk I found my path blocked by a tricycle stretched with pineapples. A young man was urgently slicing his wares into plastic…
Subay
Subay. It's the Hiligaynon word for ants. Actually it's the Hiligaynon word for one ant -- if you have more than one ant, or a group of ants -- it's mga subay. Mga Subay. In our apartment Jerry calls me…
Last Night’s Rain
tiny bubblets lodge in a spider's trap last night's rain © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine An evening downpour in the Philippine tropics is followed by intense morning sun, giving life to every rivulet and bubble before they transform back to cloud.
Frogs’ Legs
It rained and rained in the middle of the night and Jerry woke up to the shrieking sounds of frogs below his bedroom window. He eagerly grabbed the military grade binoculars given to us last year when our friends Kevin…
What I love most about being a freelance writer
There is plenty to love about freelancing. If it weren't for my freelance writing business, as an Australian I would not be able to stay in the Philippines and take care of Jerry -- the small boy I met wandering…
Your narrative
each new sun lights layers your narrative sensitive to light © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine
Seeing things
Seeing red flowers. For the first time. Seeing red flowers. Everywhere. Seeing. For the first time. It's amazing when you see something for the first time. It grabs at you and pulls you in, and you love everything that's bright…
Book Review: Poetry in the Making by Ted Hughes
This excellent book by Ted Hughes is a collection of the programmes he wrote for the BBC Schools Department ‘Listening and Writing’ series.
Are you a freelance writer, or a paid employee?
If you're considering making the transition from paid employee to freelance writer or consultant, make sure the working relationship you have with clients doesn't breach the taxation laws in your country. This blog explains the difference between true freelancers, contractors,…
Splashed with red flowers
Kid's water park excited shrieks wet selfies. Splashed with red flowers. ‘Tita Mel, you have little red flowers on you’ cried 11 year old Jerry as we were leaving a kid’s waterpark yesterday. Underneath the steps of a shrieking watercoaster,…
Getting all the kids back to school 2019
Each year (with the help of friends and family), I use the money I earn as a freelance writer to support about 20 Filipino kids in their schooling. Throughout the year family and friends (and even a few people I've…
Of trees
keep the secrets of trees close
Rearranging the shadows
inside shadows a young fish passes beyond the mangroves
Green and Red
Everything is green and red TODAY. Jerry picked up a red flower today and asked me to photograph him with his favourite colour. I love living in Jerry’s magical world of flowers and butterflies.
The sun has gone
the sand scorched heat and absence our monsoon rains are late this year and tonight (at last the night) the dogs will sleep inside fresh holes dug to the cool sand not like this burnt afternoon dusk, where the sun…
On the low tide
young palm frond turned, green to burned gold on the low tide © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine
What exactly is a freelance writer anyway?
The earliest 'freelancers' were hired soldiers or 'free lances' who sold their services to kings and rich landlords to defend soil and property. They were an important part of medieval warfare. Things have changed a bit since then and this…
Book Review: Faith by Tim Costello
Faith by Tim Costello My rating: 5 of 5 stars It is easy to speak highly of book where you agree with nearly everything the author has to say, and in some ways acts as an endorsement for some of…
El Niño
mid-summer heat settled shouts out curling leaf fronds brown and cracked clear voices cry rain hear us rain When my mother and sister arrived in Iloilo City 2 weeks ago, they both asked about the brown stuff they could see…
Boy on Bike
I can ride I can ride I can ride ... He shouts like every kid who ever learned to ride Then hits a tree [not pictured]. Hiring a bicycle for Jerry to learn to ride in the gardens of the…
Crammed in a Van
Sitting in a taxi not fitted with seatbelts, I spotted this group of young men on their way to work. Their van was crammed so full of catering equipment (chairs, tables, tents, and serving trays) -- the workers who would…
The Red
In our family, the iPhone 6 Plus that I absorbed from a finalised Telstra Plan in 2016, is colloquially known as ‘The Red’. Factually, The Red is a piece of melded sapphire glass, aluminium, graphite, cobalt et al that somehow…
Holy Week Processions
One of the things I love best about the Philippines is their strong cultural observances, customs and traditions. You don't have to be Catholic (or even Filipino) to get swept into a Holy Week procession and become part of a…
Art or Autobiography
Is it possible to see a piece of art and not look for yourself? Or arrange each piece without turning it into your own autobiography of lost toys, lost time lost poetry, and lost vindications? Not today. Blogging-U: This blog…
A Visit From Australia
It's been 5 days since my mother and sister went back to Australia. And apart from the picture of me when I was 13 that mum brought over and gave to Jerry, it's hard to imagine them even being here…
When You’ve Just Gotta Dance
Isn’t it just the coolest thing when you’re sitting under a shredded tarpaulin on a stinking hot day — at a school after the Grade 6 graduation — and you look up and here’s this little kid in the full…
As another school year ends
Jerry has just finished Grade 4, receiving his very first recognition medal and awards. It was an exciting experience for both of us, especially when you consider that just 4 years ago Jerry was wandering around the local pier (not…
How to Get Your Books Back Without Using Violence
Last week I was having coffee with a new friend, and she was suggesting things for a newbie to do here in Iloilo City. Museums, galleries, historical sites ... the type of stuff to help you get to know a…
Easter Moon
flying late my Easter moon alighting Dubai
My Big Fat Freelance Life
It's time to talk about that forbidden subject ... the topic that no freelancer wants to discuss with you. The horrifying amount of weight it's possible to gain if you spend your whole life in front of a computer screen,…
Putting out fires
wet skies falling over burnt bits of land My Uncle Richard emailed me his latest watercolour a few days ago -- inspired by the "water, wet skies and bits of land" (he told me) of the NSW New England. Yet all…
Next to the Sun
standing next to the sun I saw the city shine © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine
Freelancing: why you need a writer website
Freelance writers are independent agents who write for a wide range of publications and media. It's absolutely one of the best things about being a freelance writer -- our freedom to write about the topics we love and leave behind…
Memory of a Kiss
glowing on the beach lighting her long hair, carried cool before their kiss
Leaves by the Riverbank
barbed blade and broken midrib, cobweb netted vein cover river sand in your story
Street Cat
Posturing Above his subjects Always a street cat, still
Faded
her painted smile outstretched the years of silent heat and stormed cloud
River Warrior
He is beautiful. Representative of an ideal. But never forget, he can never be real.
Vexillology
little flags cerise black red flapping in the wind
Above the kitchen
wind strikes hollow bamboo sticks against long since seashells
An Imperfect Drawing
Allowing yourself to write sloppy sentences, or draw an imperfect picture, or to keep playing a song with gusto when you miss a chord is great way to invite your timid, self-conscious creativity out into the open. When you allow…
Becoming a ‘successful’ writer
A few months ago I disabled the ‘show likes’ facility on all my blog posts. Like many of us, the yardstick for measuring the ‘success’ of my writing had been reduced to how many people had ‘liked’ or shared something.…
A Ballet of Water
“like ballet” said a young voice “like a ballet of water”
Fueling a Creative Life
While I'm writing I love to be surrounded in books, pictures and musical instruments. For the past few months I've been working on my new writing space and freelancing office, decorating the walls with cut-up art books. It seemed a…
Book Review: The Everyday Work of Art by Eric Booth
Imagine finding an award winning book (signed by the author) -- that teaches you how to awaken the extraordinary in your life -- in a second hand book bin for less than $3. ‘The Everyday Work of Art’ by Eric Booth is…
A Book for Poetry
a gift handbound pages for poems
Ways To Quickly Improve Your Writing
"The morning pages are not supposed to sound smart -- although sometimes they might. Most times they won't, and nobody will ever know except you." Julia Cameron The Artist's Way None of us emerge from the womb accomplished writers. And…
Spinning
shrieks of excitement birthday wrappers all torn spinning toys spin -- for hours
Accessing my local library from anywhere in the world
How wonderful to live in a period of time where you can be anywhere in the world and still use your local library. Even better when you spend 10-11 months of the year abroad with a 10 year old boy…
The Beat of the Drums
In the distance the drums continued to beat. © 2019 Melinda J. Irvine [lmt-post-modified-info]
Freelance writer: 5 essentials for living and working overseas
Being able to work from anywhere that has internet signal or mobile service is absolutely one of the best perks of being a freelance writer. And in this blog I'll be sharing some of my experiences, as well my 5…
Handle With Care
we hold in our own hands EARTH and OCEAN do we hold them as carefully as our wallets? This stunning painting by Ilonggo artist Marrz Capanang was created during Artivism 2.0 (Iloilo City, Philippines) earlier this month. Artivism is a…
Winter Monsoon
Three goats out — eating winter monsoon sod Three goats run — running mid-season squall
Creating great marketing tools for your freelance writing business
Do you have a sales and marketing kit to send out to leads and proposals to new clients? This blog is a practical guide for freelance writers needing a quality set of marketing tools to support query letters, client proposals,…
Book Review: ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ by Li Cunxin
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin My rating: 5 of 5 stars 'Mao's Last Dancer' has become a favourite of mine and I read it again between Christmas and New Year -- well listened to the audiobook compliments of the…
Happy New Year Friends
Our new year burst into view through a network of fireworks, unison'ed countdowns, and plastic horn blowers that stretched as far as we could hear and see from our little balcony. And I remembered what it was like to be…
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Writers
What are your plans for your writing business? Do you have enough time to write? Do you know who your readers are? This blog applies the principles in Stephen Covey’s classic book: 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' to your writing business.
Book Review: Faunaverse Tasmania
'Faunaverse Tasmania' is a book of 26 fun and funky poems about the unique wildlife and flora of Australia's island state (Tasmania). It doesn't matter whether you are a kid or all grown up, you'll delight in Alex and Jane…
Disconnectivity
connecting each to each building to building house to house pole to pole pod to pod me to me you from you post from post tribe from tribe boozer from boozer each from each disconnecting © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine
Book Review: ‘Cold As Ice’ by Lee Weeks
Cold as Ice by Lee Weeks My rating: 3 of 5 stars A few weeks ago Simon and Schuster featured Lee Week’s British ‘DC Ebony Willis’ crime series in one of their newsletters. The first book was free, and books…
Christmas Time is Here
My adopted son Jerry was selected earlier in the year for the school choir (or Glee Club), we changed to a new school in June so it's all still quite new for him. Here is their Christmas performance live on…
Book Review: Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou
This wonderful book was found in a shelf of ripped and jaded books in a little department store in the rural Philippines. I've been waiting until Christmas to post my review, and what a wonderful time to read it again.…
ARTIVISIM: public art with a social impact
there’s art on the streets over every broken wall we see ourselves in paint there’s art on the streets in every broken leaf (or the dirty sea) we see ourselves we paint there’s art on the streets in every broken…
Marvin
a gentle voice speaks his heart in poems and paint A little poem for Marvin and all who speak their heart using a paintbrush. Pictured at Artivism 2.0 Iloilo City -- public art with a social impact.
Lion
camouflaged lion between birds & bamboo two restaurants and a salon © 2018 Melinda J. Irvine
Book Review: Dead of Winter by Lee Weeks
Dead of Winter by Lee Weeks My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was promoted for free on Kindle and Apple Books in this week's eNewsletter by Simon & Schuster (26.NOV.2018). It's the first in a crime thriller series…
We’ve Moved
oh let me introduce you to our new place -- we call it home and like a little prince (with mother Queen) we each of us have a throne it has a lovely concrete driveway so we're out of all…
Ngaduun (crab)
ngaduun captured by hand back a decade, or more REFERENCES Gumbaynggirr Language Names National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/education/2010GumbaynggirrLanguageDatabase.pdf Gumbaynggirr Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-op http://muurrbay.org.au/languages/gumbaynggirr/
Book Review: A Separation by Katie Kitamura
A Separation by Katie Kitamura My rating: 4 of 5 stars First, if you are expecting a page-turning psychological thriller (as I was) don't buy this book. 'A Separation' is certainly unsettling and makes you feel awkward (and at times…
Cloudy
rock pool shook by the north shrilled wind cloudy
Along the Rural Road
neat rows of pointed pines along the rural road one wild daisy
Out Past the Breakers
when you look inside the tides what do you see?
Another Life
Squinting. Another life through the cracks.
Ethics for Copywriters (Part 2 of 3) snake oil, misleading copy, and duplicate text
Ladies and gentlemen, attention, please! Come in close where everyone can see! I got a tale to tell, it isn’t gonna cost a dime! (And if you believe that, we’re gonna get along just fine.) Stephen King Needful Things Copywriting…
Fashionistas
torn by the staples the haughty magazine fashionistas My Uncle Richard created these incredibly beautiful, yet haunting portraits by tearing and collaging pieces of glossy magazines. I found them leaning against a window pane in his house.
The Window Sill
on the window sill bottles sitting in echoes memories -- not dust
Astern
more than 10,000 low and muddy tides she stands astern. still
Drooping She-oak
drooping limbs flailing she-died -- not quickly