Archive for May, 2008
Imagine finding 99 reasons not to write … I probably could
I have been out-procrastinated. In fact, while my own tendencies to put off writing have been waning recently - I actually seem to get my fingers on the keyboard more often than I used to - Anna from the Zwei Sprachen blog has been busily writing lists about why she’s not writing. Which in itself [...]
Should creative writing be studied?
Sometimes I really regret that I didn’t study creative writing at university. I was really encouraged to write throughout primary school, and in early high school a couple of teachers were also quite complimentary about my writing skills. But as university choices loomed ever closer, and I was able to get good grades in other [...]
The great manuscript print-out
As I type this, quite literally, I’m sitting a way back from my desk (finally, I understand the value of the wireless keyboard!) so that I can supervise the printing of my novel’s manuscript. It’s the first time I’ve printed the whole thing at once, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t trust my printer [...]
Novel revision: A procrastinatory update
Yes, procrastinatory is a word, even if my spell-check doesn’t agree. Trust me, I’m an expert on this subject.
Anyway, as you know, I’ve been revising my novel. In fact, my fingers are itching to get typing on my next novel, and I can feel my brain starting to plot it out below the surface. But [...]
More awards: Christina Stead prize worth A$40,000
Since I’ve started paying attention to the awards available to writers - particularly Australian novelists, because it’s good to have dreams of what I could achieve one day! - I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see that some very good writers are getting decent amounts of money to reward their achievements in creating great literature. Of [...]
Book sale madness - but don’t tell my husband
With impeccably fortunate timing, my husband was out of town when the local library chain had their annual sale of books they no longer need. Such sales, here in Perth at least, are typically held in dingy underground car parks that are badly lit and have an odd smell. This one was no different, except [...]
Stuck for a character’s name?
Remember how I’m the queen of procrastination? Well, not long after I discovered the Titlescorer website, I read a post on the Writer’s Technology Companion blog about a website that generated random names that you could use for your characters. I checked it out but was disappointed to see it was only going to spit [...]
The “it really happened” defence
As I’ve been revising my novel, particular situations have been reminding me of all the rules I’ve ever used and heard about writing fiction, and one of these is what I call the “it really happened” defence.
The “it really happened” excuse is the one bad writers (and I guess sometimes some good writers too) use [...]
Learning from reading: Catherine O’Flynn’s “What Was Lost”
My budget doesn’t extend to actually buying too many books these days - especially at Australian prices - but you might remember I was excited to receive my copy of Catherine O’Flynn’s What Was Lost last month. I’ve been keen to read this book (which won the Costa First Novel Award in 2007 and was [...]
Revising my novel: The good, the bad and the ugly
I felt quite positive when I blogged that I would finish revising my novel this month, but let’s just say now I’m having good days and bad days.
Sometimes, the task seems insurmountable. I’m working from a combination of my bright orange cards with plot points on them, an organised transfer of some of these into [...]