I’ve suffered through many stages of writers’ block over the years. With each project it has manifested itself differently, like a virus that changes its biology just to thwart my immune system. Just when I figure out how to beat it, it pops up again in another form, each time stronger and more elusive. Each […]
Category: Vikki Wakefield
Perth Writers’ Festival wrap…
I don’t know what it is about writers’ festivals, but I always get on the homebound plane feeling bereft, as if someone’s taken an ice-cream scoop to my lower belly. This post is likely to be brimful of post-festival love, but I’ll try to be professional. Wednesday, 20th: I stepped out of the airport to […]
Sticks and stones…
I don’t read too many bad reviews of my books. Not because they’re not out there (they are) but because I have three things buffering me against them: a kind publicist, a dearth of tech-savviness, and my own fear. I only stalk a few select blogs and they’re written by people I suspect fit the […]
My angle on finding focus in writing …
or why writing is a bit like cinematography. I took the following pics when we were camping a few days ago (yes, I know I’m an abysmal photographer). It occurred to me much later that this series of shots mirrors my approach to writing. It’s funny how the mind works. Sometimes, when I’m stuck, I […]
‘The Next Big Thing’ meme…
Thanks to Paula Weston and Fiona Wood for asking me to sign up to this. I wasn’t going to participate in this meme because so many other wonderful authors are on the brink of a new release and I’m barely out of the gate, but here we go – it sounds like fun. Here’s my […]
Rant: Why editing can ruin writing…
As the family archivist, I suck. I throw away my kids’ masterpieces, the artwork they’ve toiled over, the stories they’ve perfected. I don’t keep their schoolbooks and I don’t take enough photos of those important occasions like school concerts or birthdays. I’m a watcher, I sneak up on them when they’re not looking. I keep […]
Rant: Honesty or diplomacy? That is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to band with fellow YA writers To deflect the slings and arrows of adult criticism Or to take arms against shitty writing and wooden people (and glitter) And by opposing it (or them) end them. Sorry, Shakes. If there’s one question I hate to be asked, it’s this: […]
Rant: Don’t ask me for writing advice…
A writer friend recently lamented about the impossibility of moving on with her manuscript until she had made her previous pages perfect. And they were never perfect so she couldn’t get any momentum going. I rolled my eyes and started my spiel about self-sabotage and shitty first drafts and made her promise to write a […]
From the archive…
Here are some old pics I discovered when I was cleaning up my phone. They played a part in some of the setting and action scenes in Friday Brown. They were taken on my father-in-law’s property at Mt Jagged, Fleurieu Peninsula, SA. This was how I imagined the scrub surrounding Murungal Creek, but perhaps a little less green. […]
Rant: book bloggers harm literature…
So says the chair of Man Booker prize judges, Peter Stothard. You can read The Guardian article here. I don’t usually weigh in on the arguments spawned by articles like this. I’ve been a journalist and I know how spin works: put a sting in the title, irk the minority, kick back and enjoy the […]