K.M. Allan: Learning From Your Words
I came to know today’s guest in the attic, KM Allan (no relation!) through her fabulous blog which is full of writing tips and tricks. So, I’m thrilled to welcome her to the attic today: KM Allan is the author of the urban YA fantasy series, Blackbirch....
Susan Francis: Why I Write
I never tire of reading about why writers write—the reasons are many and varied, and the pathways as divergent as each individual writer. But what always strikes me, too, are the similarities: that feeling of never quite belonging, of never quite being good enough....
Maya Linnell: Write What You Know
A huge welcome to my guest in the attic this week, Maya Linnell. Maya begins her post by saying, ‘Writing advice comes in all shapes and sizes’. What an understatement! And it can be so contradictory: write for yourself but keep your audience in mind;...
Kerri Turner: Getting Physical With Your Book
I think two of the biggest struggles for every writer are finding (a) their writing style and (b) their writing process. It involves a lot of trial and error, writing hundreds of thousands of words, and studying writers we admire. Kerri Turner joins me in the attic...
Imbi Neeme: In Conversation With Herself
Today I welcome Imbi Neeme as my guest, with an attic first—an in-conversation with herself! I’ve never met Imbi but if this quirky post is anything to go by, I’m looking forward to the pleasure one day. Please read on, as Imbi tells Imbi about how it...
Katherine Johnson: Plotting Your Own Path
I have another author in the attic this week: my friend, Katherine Johnson. Katherine and I first met at the Tasmanian Writers Festival in 2018, where we were fellow panellists, and we’ve stayed in contact since. Katherine’s post is about how fiction...
Donna Mazza: A Desk of One’s Own
I’m thrilled to have Donna Mazza as my guest in the attic this week. I’m sure all writers will relate to her post about writing desks and rooms, as we all yearn for a place to write that’s beautiful and tranquil. But this story is also about...
Thuy On: Documenting Life In Poetry
Most of the writers who visit the attic are novelists, so I’m very happy to welcome a poet as my guest this week: Thuy On. Today, Thuy writes about changing course from critic to poet, and how documenting a particularly turbulent period of her life became a...
Vikki Holstein: Including Trauma in Storytelling
This week’s guest is a repeat offender in the attic. Her first post, in 2017, was about her struggles to get published, so I’m thrilled to welcome Vikki back today and share the good news that her first novel, Breaking Storm, has been published. Breaking...
Amanda Niehaus: A Change of Plan
All art is autobiography, so they say, and I know this to be true. Every story says something about the writer, regardless of their intention or, indeed, consent. Many writers draw from their lives for their fiction, and often return to the same themes in their books,...