Maddie

Medium: Print/Short Story

__**Ideas - 31st October, 2011.**__  I am really leaning towards three shorter stories, each exploring a time in an elderly woman's life. The first story will detail her experiences as a young woman of sixteen coming to Australia. This story will be an exploration of her experience coming to Australia on the boat, meeting her husband, and will also detail the historical context in Estonia which necessitated migration to Australia. The second story will detail her experiences living in the 1970's in upper-middle class Sydney. This will also detail the experiences of her two sons who attend school in this area, and the racism they experienced by the predominately Anglo-Celtic students. The third story will be an exploration of her life, set in 2011. This story will detail her downward spiral with dementia which has been heightened since her husband's death in 2006. I will endeavour to explore a reflection of her life, as well as providing an insight into her recent loneliness and a questioning of the person she has become (this will be not be demonstrated in a negative light, but more an acceptance that she is growing old and that she cannot hang onto her youth forever). These stories will all be in first person perspective. I have fallen in love with the idea of three perspectives, as this will allow me to create more than one concept. I believe that the three stories lends itself excellently to the idea that I have chosen, that is an exploration of three stages of an individual's life. ** 1st of November, 2011. ** I think that the first setting for my first story will be set on the ship. Whilst on the ship, my protagonist will explain the historical context and background and reasons for leaving. The conclusion of my first story will be my protagonist getting off the ship. Hm, I have an idea of how I would like to start and finish my first story, now it is just time for the research element. I am really looking forward to getting some concrete research ideas so I can start my Major Work!



The book that some of my relatives sent me. Amazing for gaining a preliminary insight into the historical context of Estonia during World War II.

10th November, 2011. Although this documentation is a little late, I have decided to incorporate a preface in my work. I have chosen to do this as I feel it serves to better understand the concept of my work, without it, I feel that my work will be very much disjointed. Continuing with my research, I have asked my Uncle for his recollections of anything my Grandmother has described to him in relation to her migration to Australia. I am also researching migrant experiences, and looking at historical fiction. Also, I am researching authors who have written in this particular genre so I can read their works. Really starting to research so I can get under way composing the first piece of my work.

13th November, 2011.

I decided to do a bit of research on authors who work with dementia today, and I came up with some really good sources to have a look at. Some of these are fictional, some are biographical. The biographical works will especially help in the construction of my major. This work is called 'Iris' by John Bayley.

21st November, 2011.

I have started to significantly research historical fiction, as my work will have large emphasis on this. I plan on reading 'Stasiland' to further explore the concepts surrounding historical writing, albeit non-fiction. I also plan to further research ideas into psychoanalytic, new historicism, autobiographical and travel theory. These will all have a significant role in my major work.

25th November, 2011.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I think my major work would be a lot more original if I wrote my stories in the form of a letter. This would allow more context. The letters would be from Grandmother to Granddaughter. Not too sure, need to clarify whether or not the Board of Studies allows this in their 'print medium' elective.

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">28th November, 2011.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I am currently researching the form of an epistolary novel (a novel written as a series of documents). Although my major work will have word constraints, my work essentially falls under the category of an epistolary novel as it will be written and constructed using several letters. I have discovered that Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' are both in the form of an epistolary novel. I also found a brilliant website that simply, yet effectively, outlines the form of a letter. I have also started the composition of my work, and am just playing around with word combinations and starting off. I was searching up the forms of a letter, and found one to Ezra Pound. This was beneficial as it was a small letter, yet still gave me significant insight into correctly constructing a letter. I will post a copy in my journal.

<span style="color: #ff00a6; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">5th December, 2011

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This lesson started off with a delectable ensemble of appetising delights. HAHAHAHAHA. But seriously, the food was amazing. Today, I've decided that I'm not researching anything. Today is just a day for purely writing purposes. I will post anything new if it eventuates. Reminder: Purchase Anna Funder's 'All that I am.' I also got rid of the idea of an epistolary novel -- it became incredibly difficult to try and get my ideas down in the form of letters. Therefore, I decided to stay with my original prose idea. I scratched the letter, and I have started to write my prose fiction. I have decided that my first setting will be on the boat. I am going to do a lot of work on imagery -- I want my audience to be consistently formulating images and ideas in their heads as they read my work.

<span style="color: #ff00a6; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">26th December, 2011

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I would like to get a copy of Ian McEwan's 'Atonement.' The reasoning for this is that the novel is set in four parts, two of the parts focus on WWII and old age/living with illness. Despite my previous post saying that I was going to get rid of the epistolary form, I've decided to possibly keep it. Instead of the letter, I'll probably just do a journal-type reflection -- difficult decisions. Regardless of in the form of prose or journals, my central storyline will not change. I will just need to adapt my story to fit the chosen text type. The epistolary form also fits in perfectly with the Advanced Module A - 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Letters to Alice on First reading Jane Austen.'

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">8th January, 2012

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Happy new year everyone. Just thought I check in with some progress. I purchased 'White Teeth' and am currently reading it. It's surprisingly a really interesting book. I'm working on some of my major, the first part especially.

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">24th January, 2012.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Met today with everyone. Really good to consolidate and catch up on what I'm doing. Have been working a lot on my second story, and am really starting to develop a storyline for my second story. Need to research more on genre, form, literary theory. Really good to get some work done after the holidays. Need to consider genre and finding academic articles to support my work. I also read an excellent book titled 'The hand that signed the paper' by Helen Darville. I really liked the imagery she employed and hope to do the same with my work.

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">27th January 2012

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">I have finally decided to scratch the epistolary novel idea, I have never kept a journal so I was finding it increasingly difficult to actually make something work on paper. I am working on a prose fiction short-story. I have started to research historical fiction, and I have accessed a number of journal articles that may benefit me.

<span style="color: #ff00a6; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">13th February, 2012.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Today I have been researching 'travel theory.' Travel theory, and literary theory in general, will be the death of me! It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a good, academic article on travel theory and what it means. It is no problem to find general websites on literary theory, but to actually find good articles is quite difficult. Can anyone help me? I have been writing and working on my work, I have about 2,000 words so far. I need to start preparing sufficiently for the viva voce, this means formulating and cementing my ideas and having a general idea of what I would like to say. This literary theory stuff will honestly be the death of me :(

<span style="color: #ff00c8; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">20th March, 2012

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I have finished my second story, and I have started work on my third. I'm really excited to have it finished. I'm halfway or so through my first story. I need to research dementia in order to make my last story seem more credible.

23rd May, 2012

I finished my major work, cool. Now time for editing, etc. :)