Hannibal Lecter. Voldemort. Nurse Ratched. Kylo Ren. Cruella De Vil. All memorable villains who not only stand the test of time but who also play a huge part in turning a good story into a great one. Creating a memorable villain is one of the keys to a successful novel.
When we think about writing and then promoting a novel, sometimes it’s easy to overlook one of the greatest marketing strategies at your fingertips: a great title. Writing a title for your novel can be the first thing you do – or the very last. Some authors will come up
I recently had the opportunity to interview bestselling author (and AWC presenter) Dr Kate Forsyth about her novel The Crimson Thread. We took a deep-dive into Deep Point Of View – and the conversation was so good, I simply had to share. How would you define deep point of view?
Kate McCaffrey is author of Double Lives, her first novel for adults. She is already experienced at writing young adult novels, which include Destroying Avalon, In Ecstasy, Beautiful Monster, and more. Kate is also working in several different genres from contemporary women’s fiction to historical and middle grade books. She
“Character drives story.” It’s one of those writerly maxims you hear over and over, and something I teach regularly to writers of all ages. But to make it work, you need to create a character your readers will care about enough to go along for the ride. For me, compelling
Katie McMahon is a medical doctor and author of The Accident. Her first novel, The Mistake, was published internationally in 2021. Katie has also written articles for The Age and The Quarry. She grew up in Frankston, and now lives in Hobart with her family. Katie chats to Valerie Khoo,
It takes a lot of work and know-how to write a book that appeals to a wide audience – so much so, that we decided 5 top tips were simply not enough! So here are six more top tips for writing commercial fiction, direct from authors we spoke to on
Belinda Murrell is an award winning, internationally published author with a history of writing in her family that spans over 200 years. Belinda has written more than 35 books including ‘The Silver Sea’ and ‘The Golden Tower’, a time slip fantasy series set in a Renaissance Italian inspired world, The
What does it take to write a book that sells to a wide audience? Is there a secret to creating popular, accessible stories? We’ve curated this selection of writing tips direct from authors who have been featured on the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast – click the
Reece Carter is the author of A Girl Called Corpse, which was published after an international bidding war between publishers vying for the book. He grew up on his family farm in Tammin, Western Australia. There was an unfortunate lack of witches and ghosts though, so Reece had to find
Shannon Meyerkort has been riding high since the release of her first book Brilliant Minds: 30 Dyslexic Heroes Who Changed Our World. While the idea initially started as a personal research project, it turned into a hugely popular book when Affirm Press offered her a book deal.
We’re heading into my favourite time of the year and it has nothing to do with tinsel and ham or any other festive celebration. Nope, the best period of any year, for me, is that weird period between Christmas and New Year. Long days with nothing much to do except
Jo Riccioni is the author of the young adult novel, The Branded. She is also a short story writer and creative writing teacher. Her first novel The Italians at Cleat’s Corner Store won the fiction category of the International Rubery Award and was long-listed for the New Angle Prize in
Ellie Marney is a New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning crime author who has gone behind the scenes at the Westminster Mortuary in London and interviewed forensic and technical specialists around the world in pursuit of just the right details for her brand of pulse-pounding thrillers. Her titles include The
Ah the allure of summer. Where you can sit outside getting sunburnt, frantically waving flies from your face, while sweat falls from your skin in salty cascades… On second thought, why not stay inside in the aircon and learn a new skill instead? For those of you who would much
Sean Williams is an award-winning, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of 50 novels and over 120 short stories for adults, young adults and children. His original fiction includes the novels Honour Among Ghosts, Her Perilious Mansion, Twinmaker, Impossible Music, and more. He has contributed to shared universes such as Star
Minnie Darke is the author of With Love From Wish And Co, The Lost Love Song, and the bestselling novel Star-crossed, which won the Margaret Scott People’s Choice Award and is now published in over 30 countries. Minnie also writes under the names Danielle Wood and Angelica Banks. She lives
“I have always been a big reader, and I thought it might be interesting to learn some new skills. I didn’t really intend to do anything with them, but that’s not how things panned out!” Gabriella told us.
Her latest romance novel All’s Fair in Love and Tequila is set to be released by Harlequin/HarperCollins in December, while her previous manuscript Tulips from Mal was a finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award and is available now independently.
Julie Fison is a Brisbane writer and travel lover. Her debut novel for adults, One Punch, is a contemporary family drama following two mothers at the centre of a tragedy. Julie has also written many books for children and young adults. Her work includes the Hazard River adventure series for
Is your manuscript ready for feedback? You’ve done it! You’ve typed the words ‘The End’ and your manuscript is complete. You might want to submit it to a publisher. Or maybe you want to get some feedback from some trusted beta readers or fellow writers. Well, hold off on that
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