Advice for writers.
You have a good idea for a story, but don’t know how or where to start? Maybe you’d like to create a book, short story, life story or memoir? Even seasoned writers can struggle with the question of how to start. As well as writing amazing stories (he he!), I…
At the end of last year, a member of the writers’ group I run withdrew a piece of writing they’d submitted for critique due to a lack of confidence… inspired by their partner. She had shown her husband the piece, her first ever, and he hadn’t liked it. This triggered…
‘Tis the season to be jolly, or in the case of writers… the season to get creative and seek feedback on our endeavours! I know a lot of writers, and the vast majority of us look forward to this time of year, when we can step away from our usual…
The concept of releasing powerful feelings through artistic activities, ie ‘catharsis’, was considered as long ago as Aristotle in his Poetics, 384-322 BC, where he said a tragic play should provide an outlet for the audience’s emotions of pity and fear. Centuries later, scientists now confirm that turning to words…
Last night I gave my judge’s report at the Mosman Literary Awards 2019, held at Mosman’s Barry O’Keefe Library. This annual prose and poetry competition attracts budding writers, poets and playwrights from schools across the state, all of whom compete for a share in the $2,000 prize pool. I’m the…
Many years ago I was sitting in a seminar at Writing NSW and a speaker said 99% of the writers in that room would never get published. I looked around. About 150 people were listening. Still, I knew then and there I’d be in the 1%, because I wouldn’t give…
Check today’s date – because ten years from now life as we know it will no longer exist. A simple diagnosis from your doctor will involve consulting your genome sequence. Climate change will have altered every landscape. Virtual reality will be fully integrated into our everyday routines. We may not…
