A confession: I never have a plan when I sit down to write a new book. And that is the most liberating thing, once you get over the fear of not knowing where you’re headed. All you need is one idea for one scene. One idea. Simple right? How ideas fit
In Episode 46 of So you want to be a writer: What’s in a name? Mapmaker Chronicles cover reveal, why Allison is not sponsored by her husband, getting the most out of writing competitions, how not to write an obituary, why writers have such a hard time writing about sex, what
Saggy Middle Syndrome. We all know what it is. A novel that starts brilliantly well – vivid, intriguing and compelling – yet somehow, around the middle of the book, you find yourself beginning to yawn. You check the pages to see how many are left before the end of the
Bernadette Foley has worked as an editor and publisher in the Australian publishing industry for over 25 years. Her career had also taken her to New York to work with the Penguin Putnam publishing company. She has spoken at writers’ festivals and conducted editing and writing workshops around the country.
Each week, we chat about the quirks and anomalies of the English language. This week, it’s Australia Day, so we put on our cork hat and decipher some local language… Q: Hi AWC, have you finished your last minute Australia Day gift shopping? I’m hoping the shops will be open till
So you’re working on the next great novel. How do you approach it? An intense burst of 5000-words-a-day locked in a dark room with no Internet connection? A scrawled dozen words here and there on trains, waiting at the bank or in between sets at the gym? Or a leisurely
In Episode 46 of So you want to be a writer: Become an enthusiastic respite in the lives of your readers, Elizabeth Gilbert to release a book on creativity, ask the HarperCollins editor part three, the basics of endings, winter weekends, Writer in Residence crime thriller author James Phelan, how you
2015 is set to be an exciting year for Lisa Chaplin, Australian Writers’ Centre graduate and author of The Tide Watchers – to be released in June. Not that the years that have come before have been particularly dull. We asked Lisa some questions recently, and here’s what she had to say…
At the new year, there was a quote doing the rounds. It went something along the lines of “today is the first page of a 365 page book – make it a great one.” (Hang on, hasn’t that just described a diary?) Anyway, after clicking “like”, I started wondering just
We love it when new annual story competitions are announced, and this one – from the English Speaking Union (ESU) in Queensland – is particularly noteworthy.< Named for its emeritus professor, Roland (Roly) Sussex, the contest is on the hunt for original, previously unpublished short stories – and will award
We spotted Megan in Sunday Life recently! Congratulations Megan! If you have a success story to share with us, you can do so right here. We’ll share it with the world! For more success stories, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Each week, we chat about the quirks and anomalies of the English language. This week, we’re extinguishing any confusion between two similar words… Q: Hi, I have a quick question. A: Well you’ve come to the right place. Q: Seriously? But we usually ramble on. I need this to be answered
One of the key concepts any writer needs to understand is “Show, don’t tell”. If you haven’t already read our explanation of this, check it out here. For many, this explanation just clicks. But let’s recap. “Telling” is like a statement of fact. Here’s a “telling” sentence: John was bored.
In Episode 45 of So you want to be a writer: Hello 2015! A new storytelling platform, write 93,000 words in six weeks, the Thiel grant for online writing, are you at the right age for your breakthrough book? Think small for freelance writing success, the book ‘The art and craft
Dialogue can be one of the most challenging parts of the writing process. It takes skill to write dialogue that is convincing and which takes your reader on a seamless journey through your story. When you’re writing direct dialogue (the exact words spoken) here are some important factors to consider:
You probably know Nigel as our presenter for Writing About Interiors, Style and Design, but he’s more than just an expert on freelance writing – in 2012 he completed a research masters in Creative Writing (as you do) and this year he’s launching his first novel: King of the Road.
Each week, we chat about the quirks and anomalies of the English language. This week, quiet please, we get advisory… Q: So time for another Q&A huh? A: Yup. Hey, what’s that on your head? Q: Don’t I ask the questions? A: Right, okay. Off you go then. Q: What’s this
We love hearing from our students no matter what they have to say, but when we hear of a student being published, we just want to shout it from the rooftops! We’re a little scared of heights, so we’ll go with a blog post instead. Wangmo says: Hi everyone; I
Each week, we chat about the quirks and anomalies of the English language. This week, it’s a new year… Q: Happy New Year AWC! A: Thanks, and you too. May 2015 be filled with many more questions and answers. Q: Absolutely! And on the subject of New Year’s – do I
If you have a young adult or children’s book story in the works and want a deadline to work towards – today is your lucky day! Perhaps unlucky day if you wanted that deadline to not be in the first half of 2015… But the good news is that submissions for the Text
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