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....
Alison Booth: A Tale of Two Very Different Sisters
Readers and writers of historical fiction will enjoy today's post by Canberra-based writer and ANU academic, Alison Booth. Alison talks about the evolution of her novel, The Philosopher's Daughters, about why she chose to tell it from dual viewpoints and why she...
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; write every day...
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 feels to be...
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 enables us to...
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 improvisation, and how...
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 poetry...
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 Storm is the...
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,...
Clare Griffin: Women of the Skies
Easter Promises, a fabulous new historical fiction anthology, was published just before Easter (as the title suggests!), and this week's guest writer in the attic is one of the authors in that anthology: Clare Griffin. In her piece today, Clare discusses her love of...
Anne Buist: Now Breathe and Push
At first glance, you wouldn't think books and babies had much in common, but, believe me, they do, as anyone who's ever done both will attest. Anne Buist is a psychiatrist and the Chair of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She has thirty years of...
Lauren Chater: Mother Midnight – In Praise of the Midwife
I spent last week at 'virtual' Varuna on a writers' residency that didn't require leaving home or breaching isolation restrictions, but meant I could mix with other writers, share and discuss writing, and basically feel normal again. It was perfectly timed for...
Natasha Lester: These Are the Times for Stories
This week's guest in the attic is my very good friend, Natasha Lester. Ten years ago when I started writing, Natasha was one of the first authors to offer me a helping hand, an encouraging word or an answer to a question. Over the years, we've become firm...
Suzanne Moore: Writing Mothers – Living in The Place Between
Writers in the Attic is back for 2020! I was actually planning on taking a break while I finished my second novel, but Covid's thrown all our 2020 plans into disarray! Authors rely on book tours, writers' festivals, library talks, workshops and book clubs to help...