Mycelium --The project

Around 13 years ago I was struck by the maniacal idea that I was going to write a novel. It was purely for pleasure, no deadlines, a few chapters every few years.

Then a few years ago, I was in a pub explaining to friends that I was hoping to ask for a few months leave without pay from work, because my back problem was getting seriously worse.

One of them said, 'I could only do that if I had a project, otherwise I'd go insane! Do you have a project?' I had always dreamed of finishing my novel, but couldn't find a way of doing it when the very problem was too much sitting at a computer typing.

'I am going to finish the novel I started writing when I was 17 years old, using voice recognition software,' I blurted out without thinking.

Fast forward a month or two, I go back to work to negotiate this time off, successfully get it, then go to my parents' place for dinner that night. I find out that I am too sore to drive home, and am still here, 27 months later, the whole time being unable to sit or stand for more than a few minutes, in what has become clearly more than just a back problem (I now get pains in my whole body and all sorts of other weird symptoms), now diagnosed as lyme disease...after 8 years of symptoms mofos!

Fast forward six months, and I finally invest in Dragon naturally speaking voice recognition software, to use while lying down. And is thus it began...

Dragon has made me come up with some very creative errors, one of which (clearing my nose made it write the word 'fish') inspired an entire chapter or two, hence my pen name, Dragon made me do it.

The one plus side of having most other hobbies and work taken away from you, is that it really focuses the mind on your writing.

I am putting it up here to share with my friends, and also to maybe get some feedback to learn how to write better. The book in question is 'mycelium'. I will paste it up here when it has passed my editors at home.

In the meantime, I have added my second novel as a work in progress and a few short stories.

Thanks to my friend Sophiesix for showing me this website, and anybody and everybody who has agreed to read my work, or is doing it anyway :-)

About me

I live in Australia, in a little cold cul-de-sac called Canberra that we like to call the capital city. Believe it or not, that alliteration was accidental.

When I can get back to it, I like things like salsa dancing, walking up mountains, basketball, movies, restaurants, bellydance, snorkelling, and many other things that I won't go into now since they are off limits.

At the moment though, other than hydrotherapy I can only do things lying down. I am hoping to use the writing process to help me to get through this :-) While I can't work in this situation, creative writing is different because there is no pressure, requirement to be efficient and accurate, requirement to be awake during the day, or stress. I believe it can actually be healing because of the way it engages the subconscious.

I like cheese!

A note on proofreading work written using voice recognition software

When you use voice recognition software, there will almost never be misspelled words, but rather the main error is to have the wrong words there, missing words, or extra words.

Particularly, homophones, plurals, rhyming words, that instead of but, he/she/they/you, apostrophes (for example its and it's). Incorrect capitalisation may also occur.

If there is a misspelled word, it might be that the word is split in half with another word in the middle because the cursor was in the wrong spot.

Please bare this in mind when proofreading my work if something doesn't seem to make sense :-) I try to read through my work a few times before submitting it, but sometimes things fall under the radar.

Novel number two...

Meeting Room 24.07

This is my second novel based on the idea of a meeting room in a deathly tedious office which induces some kind of transformation/hallucination to destinations around this world and others during team meetings. The idea is to mix the office politics and satirical elements with the fantastical. Dare I be so bold as to call it magical realism? Probably not because that might make me a wanker.

Writing Challenge Contest (WCC)

I am a big fan of this, you can submit entries and vote on them by the seventh of each month, based on a prompt provided on the first of the month, in the Review Game forum.

Reviews

Currently not returning reviews because of limited computer use, neck pain ouchie, but will as soon as I can.