neXtDRAFT 60. Return of the rains

Published: Sat, 07/06/19

Welcome new subscribers. If this is your first neXtDRAFT you'll find poems, stories and pics about my life as an adopted mum (and freelance writer) living between Australia and the Philippines. Each edition I share my best tips for creating a writing business and working as a professional writer serving clients from all over the world.

Here in the Philippines I support about 20 kids from a rural municipality with food, books, uniforms and love -- it's my way of encouraging them to go to school and maybe one day out of poverty. You'll read their stories here too.

neXtDRAFT is delivered to your inbox every Sunday and I hope it will inspire you to get writing and create your own writing practice. Again welcome, I'm so glad to have you part of the neXtDRAFT community.

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Melinda J. Irvine

https://melirvine.com.au/

Good Sunday friends, and welcome to neXtDRAFT 60.

Return of the rains.

After the floods and typhoons of last year you would think I'd never want to see rain again. But when the wet season finally rained itself into Iloilo City last week I was so relieved.

After all, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence -- and now the rain is here, it's green on every side of the fence.

It hasn't rained here in earnest since early January, and after 5-6 months of intensifying tropical sun you find the heat has lodged itself into everything -- bricks, concrete walls, tricycle seats, tree trunks, lounge chairs, sleeping mattresses.

After months of it you niggle at the thought of going outside -- and if you do -- you willingly spend 30 pesos on a little face towel sold by wandering vendors who knock on the window of taxis or peddle their wares outside hospitals and schools.

And in the schools (well at Jerry's anyway) it is compulsory to bring a face towel and spare shirt to school everyday. The kids are not allowed into the classroom dripping with sweat. They have to wait outside until they have towelled themselves down and dried off.

At home in my writing office (also doubling as my bedroom) I crank up the air-conditioning and plug the windows with little towels. There is no insulation between the concrete roof, walls, and ceiling of the apartment, and it takes more than a few pesos each month of the dry season to bring that room down to a comfortable working temperature. Or sleeping temperature at night.

Look at our beautiful Eunice, on the way to fulfilling her dream (since kindergarten) of becoming a paediatrician. A few weeks ago Eunice started her university studies in Iloilo City (pharmacy), she's pictured (above left) in her shiny new lab coat.

With help from my Uncle Richard (who tirelessly sells off the family stamp collection), a few random donations (big thanks to the people who drop bottles and cans off at my parents house to be sold as scrap), and of course -- the proceeds from my writing business -- we're sponsoring her through 10 years of medical studies.

You can also see Eunice (right-side picture) with a message she sent to my father 3 years ago when he was in Sydney hospital having heart surgery. She's a lovely person and well deserving of her sponsorship.

And just when you think you can bear it no longer. When you've forgotten every curse and swear word that ricocheted from your brain the year before (as cars swept sewerage-drain mud over you, as the house flooded daily, or when you could never get a taxi, or the tricycles to school were always full).

You forget it all when the first real rain of the season comes in.

It's like a collective energy of relief. Kids race out into the street. Mums (who've been paying 50c-$1.50 for every gallon of water they use to wash clothes, dishes and kids) grab every container they can find and shove them under eaves and flooding downpipes.

You open every window in the place, finally turn off the air-con and stick your head out the window. You let the falling rain touch your face, lips, and tongue. You think you'll never bet sad again.

That's until 3-4 days later when it's still raining. You can't get a taxi. A car swamps you in sewerage-drain mud. You clamber into two different public jeepneys carrying your Grade 5vrs box of heavy school books for a class project.

You're almost at the school when a late text comes in -- school has been cancelled for the day.

Your brain ricochets curt thoughts.

Ahh the grass is still greener on the other side of the fence. (But at least the concrete has cooled down, and our 2 story apartment building DOES NOT FLOOD).

Till next week friends, wishing you all happy writing time and a little bit of rain.

Mel xx

PS: that's Jerry and I on our first vacation in April 2016. At the last minute he convinced me to let his best friend Rolando come along -- I was still full of new-mother enthusiasm back then. We take our vacations on our own now.

Jerry and Tita Mel on vacation last month

Sincerely,

Melinda J. Irvine

[email protected]

sky settles

over the sun, late.

storm arriving.

Subay

Subay. It’s the Hiligaynon word for ant. In our apartment Jerry calls me Ant Killer, but what would you do with swarms of little black ants that sting?

tiny bubblets lodge
in a spider’s trap
last night’s rain

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.

I’m a professional writer making my way in the world of business. The WritingBiz section is for anyone wanting to make writing a career (or at the very least make some money writing). Each week I share a few ideas on how to find writing jobs, work from a home office space, as well as how to setup your writing business and run it profitably.

Tax Tips for Writers

The financial year has ended and we are officially in tax time. I wrote this post in late 2017 and it remains one of the most popular and widely read on my website.

Of course I've updated it a few times since then. (I hope you are regularly updating the stuff on your website and blog).

Setting up your writing business correctly from the get-go gives you the peace of mind to get on with what you do best -- writing. And in 2019 to beyond there is no need for any professional writer to be managing their accounts from a shoebox filled with crumpled receipts and an excel spreadsheet.

#taxtime #writingbiz

WRITINGBIZ TIP #22

Keep website text clear and simple.

Writing online content for websites and blogs is different to other types of writing. It’s harder to concentrate when reading text from a computer screen or cellphone, and we tend to read faster and understand less (because we miss stuff) than if reading from paper.

“When we are reading from a screen, only one section can be seen at a time and the available reading surface area is limited. If you read a printed medium such as a book, several text areas are available simultaneously and it feels easier to form an overview and make notes in the margins.”

University of Stavanger

Research has proven that website visitors expect a personal and upbeat tone, and tend not to bother reading long-winded copy that requires endless scrolling. At the same time there are more than 1.94 billion other websites competing for your reader’s attention. If you are going to keep them interested, write your website content in a conversational style — so it can be read quickly.

Content Writing Q&A

Read my answer on Quora

Writing tips, poems and stuff on the blog

For more stories, poems, articles and book reviews follow my Wordpress blog. Please share with your friends too.

Back Issues of neXtDRAFT

https://melirvine.com.au/nextdraft-back-issues/

Use the password: luvdapeepsumeet

From the vault: July 2017

Back in July 2017 we were living in Estancia and I spent many afternoons wandering the roadside capturing photos and poems of the rice paddies. Visit the blog for some little poems celebrating the way the sun strikes each and every rice stem or strand.