I’ve just come home from five wonderful days at the Sydney Artists Retreat, which I try to get to every year. On the drive back, I happened to listen to a fantastic podcast from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) with Liz Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear) discussing creativity. OneContinue reading “Creative play”
Category Archives: Writing
Dictation for writers
One of the great myths about writing is that it only occurs when you’re typing on a keyboard (or writing by hand, if you prefer). In my case, however – and I know I’m not alone here – a great deal of my ‘writing’ takes place when I’m away from my desk, often when I’mContinue reading “Dictation for writers”
Fiction vs non-fiction
Well, I have some exciting news – my first non-fiction book, Communications for Volunteers: Low-Cost Strategies for Community Groups is out on Monday! It’s an introductory-level communications handbook for grassroots volunteer groups, which I was inspired to write through my own volunteering experience (I realised that many volunteer groups don’t have a good understanding ofContinue reading “Fiction vs non-fiction”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 9: Troubleshooting
It’s taken four months, but I’ve finally finished the first read-through of The Iron Line and I’m starting to overhaul it. I naively thought the second book would be easier than the first – because I know what I’m doing now, right? Wrong. The first draft of Greythorne took three months to write and I let itContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 9: Troubleshooting”
Celebrating two decades in print
Today marks 20 years since my first piece of writing was published, which, quite frankly, is terrifying. I was 12 years old and in Grade 6 when I was selected to take part in a ‘Newshounds’ program run by our local paper, the Maroondah Mail. Four students from local schools were chosen to write one article perContinue reading “Celebrating two decades in print”
The three-volume novel
I’ve just fined reading Amy Ewing’s Lone City trilogy (The Jewel, The White Rose and the newly-released The Black Key). The series is basically a mash-up of Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and it’s solid if unexceptional. But what I found most interesting is, although it’s billed as a trilogy, the series is in factContinue reading “The three-volume novel”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 8: The first edit
After letting The Iron Line ferment for six weeks or so, I’ve just started editing it. This first read-through is always a bit painful, although it has its upsides too. Sometimes I come across a particularly well-turned phrase and get a little ‘I can’t believe I wrote that’ thrill, but more often than not, allContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 8: The first edit”
The Jinx Kite
I had a conversation with some other freelancers recently about how our culture loves to celebrate youth, and particularly the wunderkind, whether that’s in business, the arts or whatever. We were discussing how we’d like to see more stories of older people who may have come to their field late, but nevertheless blossomed, and itContinue reading “The Jinx Kite”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 7: The first full draft
Well, it’s done. I’ve finished the first draft of The Iron Line. I should be ecstatic, but to be honest, I feel a bit, well…flat. I can’t remember how I felt when I completed Greythorne, but I think it was probably more elated than this – probably because it was the first time, so it felt likeContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 7: The first full draft”
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Click image to view full photo essay Last week I had the privilege of being part of an amazing art exhibition at the Annandale Creative Arts Centre in Sydney, called Creative Conversations with Women of the World: Access Denied. Artists and performers were invited to respond to the theme of women’s inequality globally, in whicheverContinue reading “The Stories We Tell Ourselves”