I’ve neglected the poor old blog a bit lately, but for probably the best reason a writer can have – I’ve been writing. Quite a lot, actually. The Iron Line is now about three-quarters of the way through, and I’ve also started a non-fiction book under the auspices of my business called Communications for Volunteers,Continue reading “5000 Words Per Hour”
Category Archives: Writing
Community arts
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending five days in the gorgeous Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, at the Sydney Artists Retreat. This is an annual gathering of artists run by the Annandale Creative Arts Centre, which is based in Newtown, Sydney, and it’s a close cousin to the summer school IContinue reading “Community arts”
A day at the circus
Last weekend I did something I haven’t done since I was six years old. I went to the circus. And it was fabulous. Circuses seem to pop up in our area relatively frequently (once or twice a year) and each time I see the spires of a brightly coloured tent I think about going, butContinue reading “A day at the circus”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 6: The paper anniversary
When my husband Tristan and I first started dating three years ago, we had a ‘food-for-stories’ deal – he’d make me dinner and in return I’d read him the next chapter of Dragonscale, the long-running young adult fantasy novel I’d been writing off and on since 2007. We each thought we got the better endContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 6: The paper anniversary”
Local history
I live in Queanbeyan, a smallish country town just outside Canberra, and one of the things I love about it is I’m constantly stumbling on new nooks and crannies, despite having lived here for four years. The other day, for instance, I went for an afternoon walk and found myself down by the river. WalkingContinue reading “Local history”
Out and About
I’ve been AWOL from the blog for the last month or so as most of my energy lately has gone into getting my new business, Pure Arts Communications, off the ground. But I’m starting to hit a rhythm now and am loving the freelance life, not least because it gives me the flexibility to doContinue reading “Out and About”
Travellers’ tales
I made a whirlwind interstate trip this week, and it reminded me of this article I wrote a couple of years ago about the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. How are the two connected? Read on… * I’m afraid of flying. Not in the way that I’m afraid of spiders, or needles – which provokeContinue reading “Travellers’ tales”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 5: #amwriting
There are few things more frustrating as a writer than seeing all your writer friends using #amwriting on social media when you’ve hit a slow patch. Thankfully though, despite a few false starts, I can now once again claim to be part of that select, productive group (hooray!). I recently left the full-time workforce toContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 5: #amwriting”
Anatomy of a Novel Part 4: Dead ends and U-turns
As I’ve said before, books, like laws and sausages, are things you may not want to see getting made, and this is why. I think there’s a popular perception that authors just come up with a great idea and then write it down, but the reality is much messier. It’s not so much taking aContinue reading “Anatomy of a Novel Part 4: Dead ends and U-turns”
The best present for writers
The thing about being a writer is you always get given notebooks for Christmas (not that I’m complaining – I love a good notebook!). But this year, an enterprising friend made me something very special.