I’ve been tagged by Dianne Touchell (Creepy and Maud 2012), one of the most authentic authors writing for young adults today. Di will be publishing her new YA novel with Allen & Unwin in 2015 and you can read about her writing process here. I’ve also been tagged by Rosanne Hawke (Marrying Ameera, Shahana, Mountain […]
Category: Writing
On book angels…
A couple of days ago I posted a vague tweet about ‘book angels’ and promised to follow up. I’m always interested in the stories behind stories, so here’s some insight into mine. I’ve been lucky with the people I’ve met on my writing journey—either that, or the YA/children’s writing and publishing community is populated by […]
Young writers, strap on your boots…
Young writers aged between 14-17, check out the SA Writers’ Centre Teen Bootcamp being held during the October school holidays. You’ll find the program here and below is a quick overview of my session on Wednesday, 2nd October. Registrations are closing soon! Plotter, pantser, necromancer One of the questions most commonly asked of a […]
Lautrec’s Ghost…
It helps Zachary to make deals with himself. If the knock-off bell goes on time, he’ll do something about the dog, maybe call the animal shelter. If it’s late, he’ll walk out without looking. If the bell goes early — and it was never early — he’ll pick it up and take it home. It […]
Rant: fear is the root of my writers’ block…
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 […]
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: 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 […]