On Ted Kooser, Journaling and Playing With Poetry

On Ted Kooser, Journaling and Playing With Poetry

It doesn't happen very often, but every now and then I read or hear about something and it strikes me immediately as something I must do. This happened to me in October 2020 – I was driving home, watching the road, probably thinking about the next thing I had to do...

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Writing the First Draft is the Hardest Part

Writing the First Draft is the Hardest Part

People talk about plotters versus pantsers, and those who write their books sequentially versus those who write them ad hoc. But not many talk about those who enjoy writing a first draft and hate editing, and those who despise the messy first draft but love the...

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10 Things I Learnt From Writing My Second Novel

10 Things I Learnt From Writing My Second Novel

It's been a while since I've blogged. For many reasons, including that I’ve had my head down finishing off Novel #2, I've been busy scribbling Novel #3 (over 50,000 words in already) and I've been working on a few other projects (see below). I'm incredibly grateful to...

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Querying Agents and Publishers

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...

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Writing About Hard Stuff

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...

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How to Start Writing

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,...

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2020 Stocktake

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...

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Guest Post: Re-Discovering the Joy of Writing

Guest Post: Re-Discovering the Joy of Writing

This week I popped over to Lee Kofman's wonderful blog and wrote a guest post. It only took me five drafts before I was able to articulate what I really wanted to say about the struggles of writing a second book compared to the joy of writing a first, and all the...

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Varuna 2019

Varuna 2019

So I've returned home from Varuna, a writers' house in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of NSW. I've spent time at Varuna before (see here and here), back in 2014 when I was the recipient of a residential fellowship, so I knew it was exactly what I needed at this point...

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12 Tips on Giving a Good Author Talk

12 Tips on Giving a Good Author Talk

As a published author, you're expected to speak at writers festivals, libraries, book clubs and to writing and community groups. But, if you're anything like me, the notion of public speaking might fill you with terror. I'm not, by nature, a public speaker. Speaking...

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Three Things I Need Before I Can Write A Novel

Three Things I Need Before I Can Write A Novel

At the end of last year, I wrote a post called The Trouble With Second Novels after I'd abandoned my second attempt at writing a second novel. At that time, I was trying to keep myself buoyant because I was feeling rather deflated—I'd hoped to have a...

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The Trouble With Second Novels

The Trouble With Second Novels

This afternoon while it was 38ºC outside, I sat at my desk and opened my current manuscript. It had been a while since I’d written and, although I've missed creating sentences, I'd needed the break. I've been working on my second novel for most of this year. So far,...

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Social Media For Writers

Social Media For Writers

A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to send me your questions about social media. I received quite a few, too many to answer all in one post, so I chose the questions that seemed to have the broadest appeal. As you'll see, my answers are lengthy as I've tried to write...

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How I Got An Agent

How I Got An Agent

A few weeks ago, Lauren Keegan invited me to be part of her monthly blog series, How I Got An Agent. You might remember Lauren from this amazingly honest and moving post she wrote for Writers in the Attic last year. She wrote about rejection,...

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