Category: Fiction writing

Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How to write your book’s acknowledgements page

The world is divided into two types of people – those who pore over the acknowledgements page at the end of a book and those who don’t even glance at it. If you’re an aspiring author, whether of fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry, I recommend you join the first

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Carolyn Swindell’s brilliant novel ‘We Only Want What’s Best’

Carolyn Swindell was working in a “high heels and business suit job” in corporate responsibility when she decided to enrol in her first AWC course.

“The biggest thing about the courses is the permission you give yourself to be a writer by investing in yourself,” Carolyn told us. “I had been shy about admitting this ambition, but going along and sitting with other aspiring writers and learning the craft and the business was such a boost to my motivation and my skill level.”

Carolyn put that motivation and skill to good use, with her debut novel, We Only Want What’s Best, out now with Affirm Press.

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

You’re invited to Zewlan Moor’s picture book launch!

We are so thrilled for AWC graduate Zewlan Moor who is celebrating the launch of her debut picture book Nothing Alike on 19 August. Zewlan never imagined that she would be a published author one day until she started listening to the ‘So You Want to Be a Writer’ podcast.

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Enter the 2023 Stiletto Awards

Attention Australian crime and mystery writers! The 30th Scarlet Stiletto Awards are now open. Here are the details from the Sisters in Crime website: Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories turn 30 this year and are offering a record $12,720 in prizes. The

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

From physiotherapist to published novelist

Megan White loved to write during high school and university, but always in a wishful way. It was only after taking the course Creative Writing Stage 1 that she realised she could take her love of fiction further.

Creative Writing Stage 1 taught me how to write a scene which instantly changed the way I looked at writing,” Megan told us. “Having a little knowledge in craft meant I could begin to take writing a little more seriously. It meant that becoming a writer felt more attainable as something you could learn and practice and less about being a natural prodigy.”

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Claire Thompson fulfils her dream to be a published picture book author

Deciding to write picture books was literally a lightbulb moment for media and communications manager Claire Thompson. Each time she put her newborn baby in the carseat, the interior lights flashed on, so Claire and her four-year-old invented a story about a magic baby. She immediately realised she wanted to write a children’s book and enrolled in the course Writing Picture Books a few days later.

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How to create a book series bible

You may have heard authors, particularly authors of book series, talk about their ‘bible’ when discussing their writing process. And no doubt you realised they were talking about the notebook or document that helped them to keep track of characters, relationships, settings and other important information in their book or

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

4 writing books you need

Do you love a new writing book as much as I do? Even after co-writing my own book about writing (‘So You Want To Be A Writer: How To Get Started While You Still Have A Day Job’), I find myself adding new writing books to my shopping cart way

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Business writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Six simple tips for proofreading

Proofreading is an art, a science and a challenge. At first glance, it’s a simple proposition. Read your manuscript to ensure there are no mistakes before you send it off to be submitted or published. But, as any experienced proofreader will tell you, there are pitfalls along the way. For

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

‘It’s never too late’ and other great writing tips

The So You Want To Be A Writer podcast has become a feature of the Australian publishing landscape since it first appeared more than eight years ago. Since that day, the podcast has been downloaded more than 2.5 million times and featured hundreds of writers, who’ve shared the ins and

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is your protagonist too comfortable?

The best moment of every author talk I ever give in a school is when I share the dirty secrets of being a professional author. “Writers are horrible people,” I say, to a response that varies from gasps (grade three) to blank faces (grade eight). “Writers are mean and they

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is it time to bring back the author blog?

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s been a sudden rise in the number of authors who’ve begun blogging again. Around ten, and even five, years ago, blogging was a big part of building a platform or profile for many authors, and I count myself among them. It was

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is your publishing offer legit?

The So You Want To Be A Writer podcast community on Facebook is a wonderful place to be on those days when a writer posts about their first publishing deal. The excitement is palpable and the goodwill is genuine. But I confess my heart occasionally sinks when I see that

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Do you need to write every day to be a real author?

Do you need to write every day? I was scrolling through Facebook this week when a post stopped me in my tracks. It was by Pamela Freeman, bestselling author and Director of Creative Writing at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Pamela wrote: “I was thinking today about the ‘you must write

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Making sure your manuscript stands out in the slush pile

How often do you wish you could corner a publisher and ask them exactly what they want? What are they looking for? How do they know when they’ve found it? Well, never fear, for I’ve done it for you. I asked Laura Sieveking, Publisher, Children’s Books at Scholastic Australia, for

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