![An Early Xmas Gift to Myself: Time to Write](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MR.jpg?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
![An Early Xmas Gift to Myself: Time to Write](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/MR.jpg?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
![When Good Enough Isn’t](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/When-Good-Enough-Isnt.png?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
When Good Enough Isn’t
I’ve just returned from a holiday to Tasmania, my birth state. I went back for my cousin’s 21st birthday, and tacked a couple of days on at the beginning for writing. I stayed in a cottage at Branxholm, a rural town in the northeast of Tasmania....![More On Writing a Novel: Feedback](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4-copy.png?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
More On Writing a Novel: Feedback
In my last blog post, I talked about some of the lessons I’ve learned while writing a novel. Besides learning how to write, I’ve also learnt a fair bit about editing, having revised my novel countless times now. There’s a lot more involved in editing...![10 Things I’ve Learned About Writing a Novel—An Incomplete List](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/10.png?resize=800%2C675&ssl=1)
10 Things I’ve Learned About Writing a Novel—An Incomplete List
My novel began life as a short story about a young girl in the 1960s, but it has grown into a family saga beginning in the 1920s and ending in the present day. In writing it, I sometimes feel as if I’ve bitten off more than I...![My Writing Process](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DSC_1609-Version-2.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
My Writing Process
I’ve been tagged by two writers to join in a blog hop about writing and the writing process: Laurie Steed is a short story writer and Patricia Hackett Prize winning author from Perth, Western Australia. His work has appeared in Best...![Writing With(out) Kids](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Writing-Without-Kids-2.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
Writing With(out) Kids
I haven’t spent much time on my novel since I returned from Varuna. There are many reasons for this—every time I’ve sat down to write, the phone has rung, or there’s been a knock at the door, or a child tapping on the attic door, or...![My Journey to Writing](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Whale-2.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&ssl=1)
My Journey to Writing
If someone had asked me a decade ago what I would be doing in ten years’ time, writing a novel would not have been on the list, nor on the horizon. It wasn’t even on the planet. I’d always thought of myself as Maths/Science orientated as I...![Why I Walk](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WHY-I-WALK-2.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
Why I Walk
Every day I walk—it’s become something I have to do. It keeps me sane, as well as fit. The dog enjoys it, too. I need to exercise outdoors—I’ve never been a fan of gyms. One year, I bought a gym membership for $440 and used it eight times. At only $55 per visit,...![2. Trusting My Voice](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/FINDINGVOICE.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
2. Trusting My Voice
I think I’ve learnt to do this. Finally. When I started writing, I was embarrassed to show my ignorance, so I tried to sound literary. I’ll show you: ‘The mountain rose out of the horizon and watched over and nourished the district, like a good mother. She sent...![1. Toss the Plan](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/TOSS-THE-PLAN.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)
1. Toss the Plan
Yes, I have a first draft. It’s complete – well, as complete as a first draft can be. It’s printed and sitting on the desk next to me: a pile of A4 paper that looks nothing like a novel. I’ve learnt a lot from writing this draft. Practical things, like how to...![Coming Out](https://i0.wp.com/louiseallan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/COMING-OUT-1.png?resize=940%2C675&ssl=1)