2017 looks set to be a big year...

Image and text copyright Quinn's Quill 2017

2016 was a bit of a whirlwind year for me in more than a few negative ways - the arthritis didn't really stop giving me gip and I had secondary problems because of that, while stress levels and such were fairly astronomically high as well.

Anyway, lets change the tone and make things a little lighter. 

Ever since I was teensy, I have loved to chat - to anyone - family, friends or strangers. I just loved talking to people, telling them things and hearing their stories.

Then when I got a fisher price tape recorder, I imagined myself in my own version of RTE and took great pleasure in interviewing everyone in the house (the tapes are adorable  and we still have one somewhere), I was only six or seven I think.

Also, as a child I was notorious for repeating things people said word for word (not great if I happened to have overheard an adult conversation or something I didn't quite understand, but still readily regurgitated), so listening was a skill I had from an early age.

Both Mam and Da are and were, very creative and arty people. Da could take to basically any instrument, he could sing, fix, make or craft anything (as kids, all of the really cool things like doll houses or elaborate castles were all made from scratch rather than bought), turn his hand to any craft or area and could paint, write and do much more besides.

Mam then is also musical, can sing, write stories and poetry and is great at things like upcycling and reusing things (nothing ever gets thrown away, though the excessive hoarding has lessened over the years) and also gardening, making baby blankets or little soft toys etc.

Then between myself and my six siblings, we all have various degrees or smatterings of that creativity or arty nature in some way.

Some of us can sing or play music (I do both of those abyssmally), others are great at anything technical or computer oriented, others office work or admin, teaching and being patient, and then I found my forte in reading, writing and chatting to people - luckily these all work seamlessly together in my work as a journalist.

So, now that for no apparent reason I have gone back to the year dot with my origins as a journalist and how made for this career I was from a young age, let's skip forward to where we are at now with the writing lark.

Since I graduated from my Masters in Journalism way back in 2010, I have been working constantly as a journalist, which I am told is rather unusual, as a lot of people cry foul that the work is not there. 

It is there if you are willing to put in the hard graft and don't expect to be working regular office hours and be home every weekend and evening. It is a vocation and you have to love it to stick at it, because you just couldn't do it for a long time if you resented any aspect.

I love what I do and that old adage is certainly true, because I genuinely never feel like I'm at work, I mean yes I get tired or cranky, but that's just being a human with normal limitations and thresholds.

So, after working for almost a decade in the industry, I took a step back after the summer of 2016 and decided to leave my permanent job (not an easy or light hearted decision) and try to find another direction for my life, which may help my health and general overall life outlook improve.

For the first time in more than ten years, aside from bouts of being very ill and not being able to do anything or function to a relatively acceptable capacity, I had time off to do nothing.

At first, it was like a holiday, but without the wage coming in, so you do have to reign that in and remember that all of the funds will not last forever and that bills will still come out of your bank by Direct Debit.

Then, I just went on mad sprees of reconnecting with friends and family and visiting people, I had the life of Reilly sipping tea, having boozy lunches and going for nice walks and lush day trips. Again, you would swear my bank account was bottomless.

Because of the arthritis, I was lucky in a way because I had the luxury of taking my time to find this new direction in my career, as I had the Disability Allowance to fall back on and literally survive on. 

It's not much, but it does the trick and certainly takes fighting about money out of the home situation.

So, after a little bit of initial floundering about, I started to write a novel - my first and a deviation from what I usually read, it's a crime thriller and myself and Daniel started writing it together on the way home from a mini break in Europe when the flight was delayed and cabin fever was starting to set in.

That has since been shelved-ish though I dip in and out of it when I'm in the right mood and it will get finished eventually, but sure there's no rush.

I have also always fancied myself as an ideas person, an entrepreneur if you will, but never thought of myself as having any real business acumen.

To combat this and seen as I was not working, I did a few courses with Ballyhoura Development Ltd., mostly on tax, pricing, profit and meeting other like minded people. Well worth it for anyone thinking about doing anything a little bit different or outside their comfort zone.

After that, I came up with and developed the idea of a magazine and I toyed around with a few business models, pricing plans and profit and loss structures (ooh listen to me, that's all thanks to the Ballyhoura courses).

The upshot of all of this is that on March 30, 2017, Quinn's Quill online magazine for Munster became a business and was launched into the world of internet trading and online publications.

While I was only weak for the idea of a physical magazine to have and to hold, the costs of printing, distribution and many other costs were astronomical (like €20k or so for each monthly print run and that is a very high potential revenue loss on a monthly basis) and it made more sense to build on the online brand I had spent years cultivating with this blog (my online baby now that the empire is growing, I jest).

Ok, I will concede that my degree, MA, training I did in mobile journalism with RTE a few years ago and the social media workshops I have delivered all armed me pretty well with the skillset to launch this almost unaided (thanks to my sister Nici though who has been like my website guru, giving me tips, hints and advice between running around after her two young boys and getting ready to welcome a little girl into the world pretty soon).

Other than the cost of registering the company name (€20 online) and a few bits here and there for online ads and sponsored content, and then registering as a Private Limited Company, I have spent very little money and did all of the grunt work myself, in terms of design, layout, templates, uniformity, social media platforms and secondary content.

The vision for Quinn's Quill is that it will be a one-stop shop for all things news, entertainment, competitions, local advertising for all of Munster and much more besides.

I also have to thank the writers who have all generously agreed to provide content on a regular basis for no payment and the people who will be taking on internships, work experience stints and commission based sales roles.

I am a driven, ambitious and hard working person and the beauty of working like this online is that I can work around my health, how well or ill I am feeling and my own schedule.

So for now, take a gander at www.quinnsquillmunsternews.blogspot.com (a new domain is coming, but it will take a little time to build), Quinn's Quill Munster News on Facebook, @quinnsquillnews on Twitter and Instagram and email quinnsquillmunsternews@gmail.com if you wish to receive email updates. 

Chat soon dear readers, Sandy

Leaving home for the first time - an Erasmus diary

Leaving home is a hard thing to do, but for most University students, it is part of their course through the Erasmus programme and is unavoidable. 

Some take it on as close to home as possible and go to the UK, coming home most weekends, while others use the opportunity to go somewhere unlikely and experience a completely different culture. 

I was one of the latter and I went to Norway on Erasmus, while in the University of Limerick.

Starting this month, the Quinn's Quandries blog will play host to an Erasmus diary by Cork girl Áine Curtin. This is the first entry just before she got ready to leave. 

I have enjoyed reading her work and following her on her travels, so I hope you will too.

Áine Curtin who will be writing an Erasmus diary for Quinn's Quandries.

Leaving home for the first time

BY  ÁINE CURTIN

I suppose the first thing I need to do is introduce myself, my name is Áine Curtin and I am going to Ghent, Belgium on Erasmus until Christmas as part of my New Media and English course in the University of Limerick.

I am a third year student and this is by far the biggest challenge I have faced in the quest to earn my degree.

I have enjoyed a summer at home in Rockchapel, North Cork, doing next to nothing and taking things easy, watching an obscene amount of TV and YouTube.

Thankfully, I am not taking on this Belgian terrain all on my lonesome, I am being joined by three of my closest friends from college, Eilís, Maoilíosa and Roisin, so I’m hoping that the dreaded homesickness I’ve heard so much about will not strike too often.

Despite the recent terror scares in Belgium, a topic I spoke about on air on Live95FM, while doing my work experience, I am not reluctant to travel to that part of Europe.

While the attacks were unthinkable and deplorable in every way, I feel that you cannot let terror rule your world and I will not let it stop me from pursuing a dream to study abroad, see what the world has to offer and living my life to the full.

The lead up to leaving my cosy bedroom and the wonders of familiarity

I have been going crazy with worry the last few days trying to organise everything, planning what I will and won’t bring with me.

I have a serious problem with limiting myself with luggage (I have been known to bring seven bags to the Gaeltacht), so I plan on utilising whatever packing hacks I can find online and no doubt, emergency supplies will be brought over with family visitors or maybe even sent with a care package of home comforts (hint hint).

We have a lot of communication going on between the group members travelling and it can be a bit daunting, but the positives most certainly outweigh the negatives and it means that I am up-to-date with what has to be done and for when.

There is a crazy amount of paperwork to fill in and things to remember, for example, when going on Erasmus you still have to register with and pay fees to your own college.

I am a terrible person for leaving things to the last minute, I won’t be surprised if there is some emergency in the process of getting settled in my new home, so you can look forward to some stories of pure stupidity.

The one thing I am most worried about (aside from losing my passport) is the homesickness.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a serious home bird, I have spent the summer at home and have absolutely LOVED it!

I know it will be tough at times, but thankfully we live in a world of social media, where it takes minimal effort to keep in contact with home. Dad has already expressed his desire to learn how to use Skype! That learning process in itself could merit an entire entry in this blog, so we shall wait and see.

If I am honest, it has only hit me today that I am going to be in another country until Christmas, I am extremely excited for the weekend of travelling, which lies ahead. 

One of the reasons we chose Belgium was because of the opportunity to travel to the likes of France, Luxembourg, Germany and The Netherlands. We have plans to travel as much as our pockets and schedules allow. So more of that to follow!

Overall, I am equally excited and nervous about this, and hopefully I can keep you entertained with my many tales from Belgium.

Tot ziens!! (That means ‘see you later’ in Dutch)

Áine.

Book Review of Daughter by Jane Shemilt

 
**** A very good book, which is hard to put down.

 

I am a recent convert to thrillers and still wouldn’t be a huge fan, so this book was a bit of a gamble.

I’ve always been a big reader and would have read believable fiction when I was younger and this graduated up to light chick lit when I was in college, because a lot of my college reading for New Media & English was fairly heavy going and now I’m really into thought provoking and involved fiction, but will also read non-fiction, fantasy (to an extent) and now crime thrillers, apparently.

I have a deep disdain for the term page turner in reviews, so I won’t be using that here, because I believe that to be the most fundamental of elements to any book – even if it’s complete crap, you can still literally turn the pages.

This book will haunt people and particularly parents, as it makes you question your very own moral compass and the core of your being, as you start to unwittingly question every move you’ve ever made with your child, every time they’ve said they are at a friend’s and every time you’ve left an argument hang in the air to fester and morph into something uglier with the passage of time.

The author develops an entire story around the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ and it is truly terrifying.

The story begins as every good story does, with the mundane and the ordinary and then it skips between the night of Naomi’s disappearance and one year later in the present – weaving an unsettling tale of intrigue, loss, desperation and the unyielding will of a parent to never give up on their child.

“They have a picture. It’ll help. But it doesn’t show the way her hair shines so brightly it looks like sheets of gold. She smells very faintly of lemons. She bites her nails. She never cries. She loves Autumn, I wanted to tell them. She collects leaves, like a child does. She is just a child.” If this sentence drew you in, this is just a flavour of what is contained within the story.

After a year, Naomi is still missing and the Malcolm family has been torn apart, but will the truth bring them closer together and reunite them all or will it drive a further wedge between them?

There are a lot of unanswered questions, but in a good way and the book brings up a lot of family and personal dilemma situations and it would make a great choice for a book club, as the potential for discussion and debate is almost endless.

 

This book is available from Jim Hyland’s General and Educational bookshop on 22 Lower Cork Street, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork for €8.99. For more information or to avail of a special discount in association with this blog, please call in store, ring 022 24528, email hylandsbooks@gmail.com and quote Quinn’s Quandries when purchasing. Happy frantic page turning and tea drinking (wine if it’s the evening or it’s a chilly Winter’s day).

A quick guide to Quinn’s Quandries star ratings;

***** A book so good, you don’t just read it, it takes over your life and you tell everyone you meet to read it immediately.

**** A very good book, which is hard to put down.

*** A decent read, but nothing to get too excited about.

** It would help you to pass away a few hours.

* Wouldn’t bother reading all of it.

 

Don't just point and shoot - some basic photography tips and hints

When I finished my MA in Journalism more than five years ago and set off enthusiastically into my first job in The Evening Echo in Cork (Ireland), I was lucky to be going into a job that matched my training (and some), but since then every single job has brought with it more duties and extended roles.

Now, instead of being the journalist and features writer, I am in The Avondhu in Mitchelstown where I source and write the stories, decide where they will go in the paper, secure advertising if appropriate, take pictures, sub-edit, proof read and I also liaise with clients and customers to build professional relationships.

One of the biggest shocks of the extra duties that I was given when I first came to The Avondhu almost four years ago was that I was handed a very professional and daunting look camera and after I was given some perfunctory tips, it was a case of point, shoot and make sure you get people's names for captions.

When I look back on my first pictures, I don't cringe, but I do say a silent 'thank God' that my writing was good enough to prop up my very poor photography skills.

One of the main problems was that I was a trained journalist, but I also had to take photographs - now I still consider myself a journalist first and a photographer second, but I love taking pictures now and I truly appreciate what they can add to my stories.

My interest in photography has developed so much that I will now catch myself saying things like 'hold on, let me get my phone' so that I can freeze a perfect moment in time or capture that once in a lifetime flicker of an eye.

In light of all of this and to get to my point, I thought I would share a few tips that might help people, who like me had to take on something like this without any formal training or for people who want to use pictures to enhance their own writing and works.

TIPS AND HINTS;
- When taking scenery shots, use the third rule, which gives the image nice symmetry and makes it more aesthetically pleasing. Basically, make sure that each element takes up a third of the shot.

- If you are taking a picture of between one and four people, take it like a portrait and go full length, but make sure that the background is quite plain or that it enhances the picture (a nice scenic view or a blank canvas like a wooden door or painted wall all work well as backdrops and that is worth remembering - it is a backdrop, so don't let the scenery out do the subjects), otherwise take it landscape and just take in their head, shoulders and a little bit of upper body.

- For larger group pictures, avoid pictures that have everyone in the same position looking quite static and almost bored. Instead, make it more interesting by getting them to form a semi-circle or soften the shot by getting the people at each end to turn in slightly towards the others.

- To capture a relaxed and natural picture, tell a joke first and get them to relax - if you can capture that natural and often goofy smile, your picture will tell its own story.

- Avoid staging pictures in front of windows, large glass doors or under bright lights, as it will distort your subjects' faces.

- For children, get them to look at the lens and tell them a little story about a fairy living in the camera - it will capture their imagination and also get them to stay still for the half a minute that you might need. A double click function also works well here, as the camera will take four or five shots for every image and it eliminates the problems of children blinking, poking each other or gazing off into the distance. If you are not doing this professionally, but only taking pictures of little cousins or nieces or nephews, it is unlikely you would have things like toys, props and other accessories that professionals would have on hand for these shoots.

- Even if you are not a naturally organised person, get into the habit of creating folders on your computer and categorise these into the year, month and event using keywords that you will later associate with the photoshoot. This will not only help with archiving, but it will also make referencing very easy. I also format my SD card each week after I have saved the pictures onto my desktop and I keep a spare card in my camera bag. On that note, I also keep a spare notebook, spare batteries for my flash and spare pens (I should keep a pencil too, as a pen won't work if I'm outside in the rain) in the bag as well.

- With a fancy and advanced camera, it is easy to get bogged down by detail and get carried away worrying about the tiny features that you will probably never need to rely on. My advice here is to get comfortable with the equipment and then just set everything to Auto and let the camera do all of the thinking until you are more savvy with it.

- Finally, please don't just point and shoot - if you do, your pictures will reflect that. Take time with the pictures and give them the effort and attention that they deserve.