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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Rose Van Son: Unravelling the Self
In the attic this week is my dear friend, Western Australian poet, Rose Van Son. Rose is a huge supporter of the WA writing community, so I'm thrilled to be able to share her words here in the attic. In this post, Rose write about her childhood memories, her...
Skylar J. Wynter: Interview With An Alter-Ego
I have a début author on the blog today, whose book, Pieces of Humanity, a collection of poetry and prose, has just been published by Daisy Lane Publishing. Skylar's a member of one of my mentoring groups, and it's been a thrill to watch the lead-up to...
Mirandi Riwoe: Doesn’t Everyone Want to Be a Writer?
Today I welcome much-lauded writer and author, Mirandi Riwoe, to the attic. There's so much gorgeousness in Mirandi's post about her childhood writing dreams, the first book she ever wrote and her surprise at discovering not everybody wants to write. So read...
Monique Mulligan: A Conversation With My Character
I'm so thrilled to welcome this week's guest back to the attic, Monique Mulligan. Monique has been a visitor here on quite a few occasions, including when she wrote a post for the attic in 2016 and more frequently when we shared a photo every Wednesday as...
Dan Kaufman: The joys and perils of writing autofiction
This week, I welcome Dan Kaufman to the attic. I'm sure readers will appreciate this piece, not just for its humour but also its honesty: not many people have the courage to parody their behaviour or that of their gender. I take my hat off to you, Dan, in...
Rebecca Higgie: Writing in Secret
I'm thrilled to have Rebecca Higgie, début novelist and winner of the 2019 Fogarty Literary Award, join me in the attic today. Oh gosh, I can't tell you how much I related to her post. As I read, I was reminded of the years I wrote in secret, and of the many...
Christine Bell: Who Am I to Write This Book?
I'm thrilled to welcome author Christine Bell to the attic. Chris signed up to write this piece way back in April, when we didn't know each other. However, for the past couple of weeks we've been writing together almost daily, albeit via a screen, at the...
Karina Kilmore: From Fact to Fiction
My guest in the attic this week is Karina Kilmore, who writes about how hard she found the move from journalism to crime writing and how much of herself she unwittingly wrote into her character. Please read on: Karina is a finance journalist during business...
Judy Powell: Writing Crime
I don't believe I've had an archaeologist visit the attic before, so please welcome Judy Powell to tell us about her historical crime novel, The Brisbane Line. Judy is a historian and archaeologist who has a passion for bringing the past to life. She's...