What is a Writing Retreat? Culture Shock!

A lot of writers struggle to find the time to actually write. Among other things, we have family commitments, paid work, sleep and shiny things on the internet to juggle before any writing gets done. So I couldn’t wait for this weekend – an entire weekend of writing on a…

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How to Get Kids Writing

Earlier this week my 10-yr-old son Brandan and 9-yr-old daughter Ophelia were featured in our local newspaper, The Manly Daily, in an article encouraging more kids to get writing. This is Brandan and Ophelia’s third year entering our local council’s writing competition and their stories have received praise in the…

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Would You Live Off-Grid?

As a writer of speculative fiction, I often think about the future. I love disaster and apocalyptic stories, and sometimes wonder if I should do more to prepare for possible calamity. On a basic level, I should probably keep some bottled water and tins of beans in the garage. We…

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The Write Tribe

Today I’m over at The Write Tribe, ‘the home of dynamic writers’ groups’, talking about the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group – why I started the group, how it’s supported my own writing (and sometimes hasn’t!), challenges, changes and advice for anyone wanting to start their own group. It’s a brief…

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The Throw-Away Culture of Forbidden Words #semantics

It’s my birthday today! So I thought I’d treat myself by blogging one final time about semantics: the meanings of words, how they change and what that says about us as a society. I love semantics! If you’re interested to know about the words ‘fear’, ‘worm’, ‘starve’, ‘bachelor’, ‘honest’ and…

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Words Reveal Who We Really Are #Semantics

Thanks everyone for all your messages about I Fear Me The Worm. Semantics is such an interesting topic! So I’m bowing to popular demand and blogging about the meanings of words again. As I showed last time, creativity can influence language development, as can scientific progress. But would it surprise…

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