I always like to shop in Red Kangaroo Books in Alice Springs at the end of our Desert Writer’s trip. I’m hungry for more desert stories and in the past I’ve carried home Fishtails in the…
Writing at the end of the rainbow
There are times in this writing business when it feels like we have to wade through cement to get the words on the page. Othertimes it feels as effortless as stepping out and finding a rainbow…
If only I had a procrastination antidote
Imagine a world where you can do all the things you dream of, like writing your book or script without self-imposed obstacles, avoidance or procrastination. Somehow we’ve forgotten that… ‘The writing itself, once you get down…
Breakthrough Writing
I love the moments on our writer’s retreats when the breakthroughs start to happen. You would hope for it on a course called Breakthrough Writing, as our annual Fiji retreat which finished last week, is aptly…
The magic of mutual mentoring
Recently I was asked to speak at a professional development seminar for writers in Sydney, organised by the Australian Writers Network. On a panel called The Midwives of Your Manuscript (the other speakers were Jean Bedford,…
Back to the writing – going for gold
In Australia February is the month of going back to school, back to work and why not add – back to the writing. Of course it is always ‘back to the writing’ for us especially if…
Making a resolution to write when you can!
When New Year comes around it’s always a good opportunity to renew your writing resolutions. However we all know how hard they are to keep. With the best intentions we may set our goals too high…
Finding writers nirvana
We all have moments of finding writer’s nirvana – those times when there is no separation between you and the page, when the writing flows in one continuous stream of inspired imagery, language and metaphor, when you…
Seize the moment – the best time to write is now
My students are always coming up with great reasons they can’t write – I’m waiting until I get a break from work, finish the renovations, til the kids start school, til the kids grow up, til…
How to write your book on a weekend
The writing itself, once you get down to it, doesn’t take long. It’s everything you do to avoid writing that takes up all the time. If you put your mind to it you could write a…
Entering the doorway of your writing
‘Narrator voice is the doorway through which the reader enters your story’ – so I have been telling my students all week. Gary Disher mentions this in his great little book Writing Fiction. I’d never thought…
Reading the signs when you write
If you have never been to Mission Beach you have to go. Forget the fact that Cyclone Yasi did its dance there early in the year and knocked it for a six. The famous (cyclone resistant)…