‘You have to write the first draft of your novel to find out what the b***** book is about.’ Tom Keneally at the 2010 Adelaide Writers’ Week.
Writing the first draft of a novel or short story can be daunting, scary, puzzling, confronting or fantastically exhilarating. Often all those things at once!
When I was writing my [...]

This blog about writing is four years old.
Cue: the sound of wild cheering, strains of “Happy Birthday” and the popping of corks drifting through cyberspace.
[Editors note: corks popping? Why wasn't I invited??]
Yes folks, this blog about writing is now officially 4 years old today. It has crawled, stumbled and staggered across the pages of literary [...]

Writing a novel - a writer’s journal: part 20
Rewriting and editing: is there a difference?

There is a fine line between rewriting and editing. One of my lecturers is quite adamant that there is a huge difference. I see them as distinct but closely related. What you call them is not important. It’s the process that [...]

Searching, searching, searching - doing Research

One of the interesting aspects of writing my current novel is the research that is involved. Normally, especially when writing short stories, I have a vague idea of the plot and characters and just blaze away with the first draft. During rewriting I will tidy up the story and make [...]