Sydney School of Arts & Humanities
Impressions
No 2 - 2025
ISSN 22093265
I thought dinosaurs were extinct, but then ... look what I found!
We go to an awful lot of time and effort searching for months, even years sometimes, in hopes we will find their fossilised remains to be carefully examined and preserved in our museums. There is something inherently human in our need to never lose sight of these amazing beasts, as if their fate is forever tied up with ours, especially as we face the consequences of our own making.
The catastrophe that was about to unfold began one morning in early spring some 66 million years ago. Dinosaur babies staying close to their mothers' sides as they foraged for food, others heading for the river to drink and wash their huge bodies or tend to their wounds from the previous day’s encounters.
Huge Flying dinosaurs gliding overhead through the pristine air. 'Oh, isn’t this marvellous! What a beautiful place to roam and multiply our species!'
What they did not know was that a huge asteroid from a gravitational interaction with giant Jupiter was now on a collision course with earth and that within a matter of minutes the world they had lived happily upon for thousands of years was about to undergo a change so deadly it would completely wipe them out.
With lightning speed, as quiet as it was silent, the huge asteroid hit the Yucatan region in what we now call Mexico, setting off a 10-metre high seismic wave.
Within a few minutes this wave of extreme heat, not unlike the heat from molten rock, incinerated everything for miles around.
The eco system was completely destroyed along with the dinosaurs, their fossilised bones impacted by the blast in such a way that palaeontologists have no doubt as to the force of this deadly event.
The nuclear winter that followed lasted for thousands of years, with only those smaller animals who could burrow deep into the earth's surface escaping the fallout.
It's hard for us to imagine such an event happening today and yet when we watch images on our screens of the wild fires around the world - sudden devastating floods and cyclones - we have a small glimpse into the vast natural forces at work in the universe.
The warning: never get too comfortable!
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Story credits:
Text: Meg Mooney
Photos: C V Williams
HIRE AN EDITOR
"We believe in writing and creative expression, the telling of stories, and the joy, reflection and learning that comes from sharing the writing and reading experience. We provide the tools to make that possible."
Sydney School of Arts & Humanities (SSOA) is a boutique publishing house with a suite of optional services leading to and including publishing. We work closely with our local community and business community and the City of Sydney. Our office is situated at Millers Point in an historic hall, and our primary focus is to encourage clear writing and literary expression.
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Writing is an intense process, but once the work has been produced to first draft or even second draft stage, many writers need a good editor to polish up their work. The editing process includes sentence structure, punctuation check, grammar check, word usage, sorting chapters, sequence and flow of narrative/subject matter etc.
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Charges for this service are by the hour, as the level of edit varies greatly from one manuscript to another. $80 per hour on average is the fee, depending on the size of the document. A list of sample editing rates is available. Please note that costs vary depending on how much work a manuscript may need. We’re very happy to discuss each author’s requirements on an individual basis, as well as business writing requirements.
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To contact us about editing services click here
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Examples of the types of editing you may require are shown below:
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TYPES OF EDITING SERVICES
Developmental editing
This involves closely working with authors, helping them develop a manuscript from its initial concept. The editor may help with genre, plot, themes and character, and make suggestions based on market analysis.
Substantive editing
The editor works to improve a manuscript however necessary, which may include rewriting, restructuring and research, as well as helping with character development, style and voice. Beta readers can also play a helpful role at this stage.
Copy editing
Also known as line editing, the copy editor won’t generally address issues of plot or character, or change the voice and tone, but will suggest amendments for better style and clarity as well as correcting errors. Depending on the nature of the book, this may also involve fact-checking and cross-checking references.
Proofreading
This is the most basic form of editing: looking for spelling errors and typos, which are now mistakes that Amazon will penalise a manuscript for.
If your work is for private use only (for example, for friends and family) rather than commercial distribution, we offer a publishing-only service or a video memoir program.
Editing for Business Writing
Those clients seeking assistance with business writing should contact SSOA here.
Contact us now to find out more.