Karen Herbert: Mount Stupid Again
Please welcome Karen Herbert to the attic this week. Karen and I have crossed paths a few times over the years, as fellow members of the WASO chorus and as hockey mums, so I'm thrilled to have her in the attic as a début novelist. Her crime thriller, The River Mouth,...
Querying Agents and Publishers
I've made another video and in this one I talk about querying agents and/or publishers. I include a few pointers on what you need before pitching, whether to try for an agent or publisher first, how to research which agent or publisher might be a good fit for you, and...
David Allan-Petale: From Fact to Fiction
Well, I could say the locusts have taken over the attic this week: David Allan-Petale has come in to talk about his book, Locust Summer, and his metamorphosis from journalist to author. On the face of it, the two seem similar – both are writing, both tell stories –...
Zoë Deleuil: The Accidental Novel
I'm excited to welcome Zoe Deleuil, to the attic this week. Zoë is from Perth, Western Australia, but now lives in Berlin with her family. I remember running into Zoe at the Perth Writers Festival a few years ago (in the women’s loos, of course!), and chatting at...
Writing About Hard Stuff
One of the most common questions I get asked by other writers is how to write about things that are hard to write about. Topics like past trauma or difficult family relationships or things about which we're embarrassed. In this video, I talk about how I trick myself...
The Big Thing I Learnt From Writing My Second Novel
Three years ago, I wrote a blog post for Allison Tait about 10 Things I Learnt From Writing My Début Novel. All of those lessons were incredibly important, but there was one thing I didn't learn in the writing of that first novel, which I talk about in this video....
Some Thoughts on Suicide and Death and Grief
With that heading, this post probably doesn't require a CW, but if you're not in a place to read about this topic right now, close the tab and don't scroll down. This post hasn't captured everything I want to say, perhaps because it's too soon, but it's a start. A few...
Emma Young: Confessions of a Hopeless Book Nerd
I'm thrilled to welcome Emma Young to the attic this week. Emma's novel, The Last Bookshop, was recently published by Fremantle Press. Having worked in a bookshop and as an avid reader herself, it's only fitting her post is about books. I remember chatting to a...
Polly Phillips: Writing As Therapy
I'm so excited to introduce this week's writer in the attic, début author, Polly Phillips, as we recently spent a balmy Perth evening together, along with another couple of Perth authors, talking writing and books and life. Polly’s post today continues those themes...
Irma Gold: The Ideas Tree
I have a little story about this post: About three years ago, I asked Irma if she'd like to write a post for the attic. She said words to the effect of: 'I'd love to, but would you mind waiting until my novel is published?' It's been a long time but I'm thrilled to...
Josephine Taylor: On Being Disappointed
The stories in this series often inspire—stories of disappointment and rejection that ultimately led to success. Today’s post embodies all of that and more. Josephine Taylor didn't set out to be a writer, but after vulvodynia completely upended her life plans, forcing...
How to Start Writing
Back in the day, I used to blog quite regularly (I wrote about that here), mainly because it enabled me to put my thoughts and experiences into words, and publish them without asking anyone's permission. I liked, too, that I could edit a post after pressing Publish,...
Julie Sprigg: The Privilege of Telling Other People’s Stories
Welcome to Writers in the Attic for 2021 and kicking off the year is WA writer Julie Sprigg. Julie talks about turning the journals she wrote while working as a physiotherapist in Ethiopia into a memoir. Writing about a country and culture that's not our own and...
2020 Stocktake
At the risk of repeating what everyone else is saying, I’m pretty sure most of us will be waving a hearty good riddance to 2020 at midnight tonight, booting it over the nearest horizon and hoping for a kinder 2021. A year without a new pandemic is high on my priority...
Ewa Ramsey: Not Writing Made Me The Writer I Am, and Other Scary Stories
After a much-needed break from blogging over the past couple of weeks, I'm happy to pop back in today and welcome début author, Ewa Ramsey, to the attic. Ewa's novel, The Morbids, was recently released by Allen and Unwin. In this piece, Ewa muses about the reasons she...
