Milly Schmidt: On Stapling Your Rejections to Your Chest (and wading into battle)
My last guest in the attic for this year is Milly Schmidt. I've become an avid follower of Milly's blog since I first came across it earlier this year. I hasten to add that I'm one of more than 5,000 followers—we all love her down-to-earth, honest posts, and they're...
Stephanie Parkyn: On Building Heart (and finding writing wisdom in unlikely places)
Today's writer in the attic, Stephanie Parkyn, and I have much in common: we're both debut authors, we're both published by Allen and Unwin (or soon-to-be), and we've both lived in Launceston,Tasmania—I grew up there, and Steph now lives there. Steph writes...
Shahina Braganza: Converting Chaos Into Order
Most of the guests who visit the attic are people I've met relatively recently, but today's guest and I first met many years ago in Hobart, Tasmania, when she was still a schoolgirl thinking of studying medicine and I was a much younger mum and doctor. We lost contact...
Kali Napier: Getting Personal
My guest author this week is Kali Napier. I can't remember exactly when Kali's path and mine first crossed, but over the past six months or so we've become friends as our books are being released within a month of each other. There's nothing like sharing the pathway...
How to Write a Book Part #6: How to Write a Book (Again)
My guest in the attic today is one of the most generous writers around, always happy to share her experience and knowledge—her blog posts, articles and podcasts certainly helped me as a fledgling writer. She's also one of the busiest people in Australia, and somehow...
Theresa Smith: The Bend in My Writing Road
I have a very special guest today, one well known to almost every female writer in this country through her work as Historical Fiction Editor with the Australian Women Writers Challenge. You couldn't find a bigger advocate or a more generous supporter of...
Sasha Wasley: We Need to Talk About Writer Jealousy
Today's post by Sasha Wasley really resonated with me, as I'm sure it will with other writers. I've certainly felt the sting of jealousy and found it hard not to compare myself to other writers, wishing for their writing talent or success. In today's post, Sasha...
How to Write a Book Part #5: Seeking Feedback
It’s no news to any writer that seeking feedback on your work is one of the hardest things about this writing business. Yet, if we want to be published, at some stage we must put our words, stories and characters out there to be scrutinised by others. It’s as...
Jodie How: Writer or Tortoise
Today I welcome emerging Western Australian writer, Jodie How. Here's Jodie's take on creativity and how, once she'd discarded her romantic notions of being a writer, she found what worked for her: 'If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s persistence. I’m the...
Karenlee Thompson: Conversations With God (or Who Dares Wins)
My guest in the attic today is Karenlee Thompson. Her post tells the story of how she garnered all the bravado she could find in order to approach someone she revered—the 'God' of the title to this piece—to not only read her collection of short stories, but to...
Linda Strader: ‘Dear Diary …’
Although this series is open to any writer from anywhere, most of my guests have been Australian. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce an international guest, Linda Strader, who visits the attic from the USA. Read Linda's story about writing a memoir and getting it...
How to Write a Book #4: Learning the Craft
In a previous post for this series, I wrote about how hard it was to wear ‘L’ plates again after deciding to become a writer in my early forties. Today, I’m going to talk about how I actually learnt the craft of writing. At the time I started writing,...
Karen Lee: If the Cloak Fits
A few weeks ago, after I shared this How to Write a Book post, a writer I didn't know emailed me. That writer's name was Karen Lee, and she told me that she'd read my post whilst at the hairdressers. It was the first time she'd visited a salon in the five years...
Fiona Robertson: Beginning Again
Every week I say I'm honoured to share the post for the attic and you're probably sick of reading that phrase. However, each week I am honoured to share the guest post, as well as humbled and a little thrilled that someone has written such a moving and thoughtful...
Tess Woods: What Makes a Real Writer?
Today I welcome Tess Woods into the attic. I'm so proud to share this essay because Tess is a dear friend of mine. It's written in her inimitable style and with her trademark length (she's never short for a word 😉 ). You won't regret taking the time to read it,...
