How To Write a Book #2: Take Your Writing Seriously
Continuing with my series on ‘How to Write a Book’, this week I thought I’d write on another aspect I found particularly difficult to put into practice: Taking my writing seriously. I’m never comfortable giving advice—I prefer to write about my...
HOW TO WRITE A BOOK #1: Give Yourself Permission to be a Learner
I’m often asked questions about my book. Things like: What’s it about? (Family, music, dreams) How long did it take to write? (Six years) What inspired it? (Many things—life, things I’m interested in, family stories) What made you want to write a book? (I wanted...
No More Edits and That’s a Promise.
Last week, I finished editing my novel and sent it back to Allen and Unwin. A few days later, one of my editors emailed to say: ‘It has been such a pleasure to read the revised manuscript this week. I think you’ve tightened the pace of the novel and fleshed out...
Eliza Henry-Jones: Discovering How I Write
I have the extremely talented Eliza Henry-Jones in the attic with me today. Eliza is on the eve of launching her second novel, Ache. I first heard of Eliza in an interview with Natasha Lester in 2015, just after her first novel ‘In the Quiet’...
Marie McLean: What Writing Means to Me
I’m yet to meet today’s writer in the attic, Marie McLean, despite the fact we both live in the same city, we’re both writers and we encounter each other almost daily online. We’re hoping to remedy that soon, but in the meantime I’ll...
New Release Date for ‘The Sisters’ Song’
I have a new date for my book’s release: January 2018. Whilst this means I must wait another four months’ to see my book on the shelves, it also means that I have more time to complete these final edits and get my novel into tip-top shape. Once this...
Natasha Lester: My Attics and My Children
I’m bouncing around the attic today because I’m thrilled to be hosting this essay by my special guest, Natasha Lester. Natasha is not only an award-winning writer, but she’s a constant source of writerly knowledge, support, and encouragement for...
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...
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...
Vikki Holstein: On Writing Alternative Romance
Welcome to the second week of Writers in the Attic for 2017. Today, another interstate guest joins me—Vikki Holstein. Vikki is a romance writer, but of romance with a twist. I admire her ‘I’ll show them’ attitude, and that she’s prepared to...