The Story Behind the Story: My Great-Grandmother
In the lead-up to publication of my novel, I want to write a few posts about the inspiration for my story. Last year, I wrote about my grandfather in 'The Story Behind the Story'. In that post, I talked about how as soon I started writing my novel, my grandparents'...
Writing is Rewriting
Back in 2013, when I finished a first draft of 'The Sisters' Song' (which was called 'Ida's Children' then—I'm still getting used to calling my child by a different name), I had no idea how much editing and rewriting lay ahead. I thought four, maybe five,...
I’ve Been Editing …
My apologies for being so quiet on my blog lately. As most of you would already know, I've been doing the structural edits on my novel. They're notoriously hard—just ask any author—and I had only one month in which to complete them. That month also happened to be...
My Writing Goals In 2017
I've been quiet on the blog lately and I apologise. My excuse is that in this part of the world, it's school holidays, and I've wound everything right back so I don't spend all day in the attic and neglect my family. School returns next week so I'm gearing up for...
The Story Behind My Story: My Grandfather
In the lead up to publication of my novel, I'd like to write more about the 'The Story Behind the Story': the genesis of my novel, and the people and places that inspired it. My Grandfather My paternal grandfather was one of eighteen...
Is Blogging Worth It?
Blogging is a big commitment. I've done it for three-and-a-half years now, and there have been times I’ve been tempted to let it lapse. When it's felt like too much of a burden, another deadline, a time-sucker. I’m not a quick writer, and I can’t...
On Signing a Publishing Contract and Getting to this Point
So, at long last, I got to sign one of these: A publishing contract. It took a while to reach my hot little hands and as soon as I'd signed it, I had to return it to the publisher for counter-signing, so I haven't been able to gaze at it and...
I Have An Agent!
Just in case someone didn't hear me shouting it from the rooftops of Facebook on Monday, I have an agent. Yes, a literary agent has agreed to represent my novel, Ida's Children. That's a big step forward for Ida and me, as she's experienced...
Rewrite is Done!
I finished rewriting my novel last week. The elation and relief! I looked back over my blog posts and saw that I'd started rewriting it in early June last year, so it took me nearly nine months to complete. I won't reiterate how hard I found it at times and how many...
The Story Behind the Story
ON WRITING 'THE SISTERS' SONG' My novel, ‘The Sisters' Song’, has evolved and that’s the only way to describe how it came into being. It’s nothing at all like what I set out to write, and this draft, Final Draft 3.0, is very different to Final Drafts 1.0 and...
An Early Xmas Gift to Myself: Time to Write
For the past few months, I've only been able to snatch brief spells of writing time due to Year Twelve exams, school camps, graduations, speech days, and general running about for the end of the school year. There was...
My Non-Writing Week
1. I haven't written any new words or edited any old ones in my novel for a couple of weeks. The kids are on school holidays, except for my Year 12 daughter who is sitting her mock exams. There have been concerts, camps, birthdays, and I...
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. I've stayed...
Humps and Troughs
I thought I'd squeeze a blog post in before the end of the financial year—so here's an update: The Novel: Unfortunately, I don't have much to report on this front, except that I'm stuck. So stuck, I'm considering seeking help. When I wrote the previous blog post,...
Storyboarding and More …
I know I said I was taking a break from blogging, but I thought I'd give you an update on what I've been up to over the past week. The Novel As you know from my last blog post, I'm rewriting Ida's Children. I'm not thinking...