The End

The final two words of the manuscript took 347 pages and over 112600 words to acheive but I'm finally there.

A big rewrite is in order, but not right away. I want some fresh air first.

Characters can be so anoying.

Merlene's comment below has prompted me to slap everyone of the characters, and put them back in their place. It's a tough love situation we are in here, I told them. They can appear in the second and third books of the Gillespie family's trillogy, but for now the important thing is to sit quietly, while I finish the first book.

I need to be strong during the rewrite and cut their influence back a bit, and not allow them to take over the novel, by edging others into the background. Following a guideline was the ony way I could keep the story moving forward and stay aligned with the plot.

For those who have helped with comments and critiques thank you. I hope that you will reconise your recomendations when the work is finished.

This little distraction I am on now is really me just pumping up my own tyres, therefore I had better get stuck in, and finish it.

Terry L Probert

Nearing the end now

It is One fourty Five in the afternoon, and I am nearing the last of the novel. It will take two short chapters to resolve and I have to resist the temptation to expand the story further. While it feels good to be at the end there is some sadness that the characters I have grown to know will cease evolving.

Maybe they contain within them, the beginings of a trilogy.

Time for lunch and then get back into it.

Updated Info

Today I have changed the title of this page to make it easier for readers to find.

Progress on my novel Kundela is strong and I have gained a lot of writing assistance by attending the Wordsmiths of Melton. Another initiative of this group is a Novel Writing Workshop, which is presented by Merlene Fawdry. Merlene has enhanced a sense of accomplishment in each member of our group through her encouragement and willingness to pass on knowledge.

I recommend any emerging writer to take a look at her website and access her well of knowledge and ideas.

Click here for Merlene's website: 

http://merlenefawdry.blogspot.com.au/

Today marks the 100,000 word milestone in my novel Kundela. this means that I am nearing completion and while my characters are fighting for space in the story, I have to remain focused and work to the outline.


I expect that I will be ready to take my manuscript into first draft after the week end. so my goal for this week is to complete the last two chapters.


I have included a brief synopsis below:


KUNDELA                    Ancient bone of revenge

Synopsis

Kundela is a murder mystery set in the Finders ranges of South Australia. The year is 2009, it is late spring and the country is wilting from a seven-year drought. Our main characters the Gillespie family have lived on Warooka’s Well for three generations. The time line of events is short and the novel’s plot evolves over less than a six-month period.

Joe Gillespie finds a dead steer, it’s been clay-panned, (butchered on its skin) the animal was a favourite and in prime condition. It is not the first time that Joe has found remains of similar cattle thefts this year. However this event triggers a chain of events that introduce a few ghosts from the past, causing the Gillespies to re-evaluate their farming business and their lives.

The mystery unfolds as Joe and his wife Laura arrive home from a weekend in town to find their home and outbuildings supposedly trashed by a bikie gang.

They agree to search for the gang’s location before reporting the incident to police. Joe and Laura find their camp at Corroboree Bend in the Horseshoe, a geographical phenomena with only one entry point. From the safety of their lookout above the camp, they spy a young woman. She is naked, tied to a big Harley motorcycle, and about to be raped by a gang member, Joe and Laura are obliged to take action and rescue her.

At Police Headquarters in Adelaide, Joe learns someone other than the bikies have ruined his property. Their interview turns nasty as the abduction case against the bikies falls apart when the young woman dies. The police turn on them, and charge the couple with causing criminal damage.

Knowing his family is in danger, Joe breaks the Official Secrets Act by revealing his past to police.

 
Returning home, Joe finds his prized mob of cattle poisoned; they litter the creek and low scrub of the well paddock. He is puzzled. This is the place where he had found the clay-panned beast a week earlier. Angry, he races to the homestead only to find more poisoned animals, and even more devastation. Joe notices a flash of reflected light from a ridge above the homestead, and realises that he has driven into a trap. The story continues as he tries to out run his pursuers

The police suspect him of murdering his pursuers, and grill Joe again. He teams up with a Senior Constable from the Stock Squad and they set about capturing the fourth member of group targeting him. While discovering why this evil has visited their family, the Gillespies uncover uncomfortable secrets from their past.

 

Two stories of love wind though the text, the Love shared by Joe and Laura, along with some intimate moments shared by the other characters, and love of the land on where they live, and loyalty linking the people in Joe and Laura’s life together.

The story has a complex group of main characters and although a complete fiction has a sense of probability.

Wurugi: the begining

It was a warm and sunny morning when Wurrigi was born. His mother, Attunga, and the older women of the camp had spent the night on the banks of the billabong. It was a beautiful place where canoe trees reached into the clear blue skies of spring and the mountains at the edge of the speargrass plains reflected in the cool water. Since the Dreamtime, his people had camped here when the yellow blossom of the wattle trees scented the air, living on the tucker that Minindooc the water dragon had provided since creation of the earth and the Minindoo people. The men of the tribe were tall and fierce warriors and the women were the most beautiful in all the land. While the men hunted, the women wove baskets and made fish traps using reeds that the creeks that flowed into the billabong. They would make flour for damper from the spinifex seeds by rubbing or grinding them between stones. This morning Attunga didn’t go out with the rest of the group it was her time, staying in camp with her mother and sister to welcome her baby into the world. They chanted, calling to their ancestor to help Attunga bring her baby into the world. Swaying back and forth their song grew stronger. The rhythm soothing the pains Attunga felt as the baby moved inside her. As the sun rose across the plain, a beautiful orange and purple sky reflected in the billabong. A slight ripple gently lapped the shoreline and their song echoed across the stillness. In the distance, magpies warbled and a small grey kangaroo with her joey were drinking beside the tall green reeds.

Wordsmiths of Melton

Hello everyone, Blogging is a new experience for me so welcome to Wurugi the Warrior Without Ears on Blogspot. Over the past three weeks I have joined a writers group in Melton. The group, Wordsmiths of Melton are a small but tallented band of writers with a common love of writing. Led by Frank Ince, we meet each Wednesday and critique each others work, this is very beneficial as it pushes each writer to improve their skills at a much faster raate than if working in isolation. Over the next couple of weeks I will post Wurugi's story here as it is this story that really helped me to believe that I could write a novel. Please drop back from time to time for a visit and read how Wurugi overcomes a difficult set of circumstances to grow into manhood and lead is tribe.