Watch your language
My mother used to call me a slut. One step into my bedroom and she’d cast her eyes despairingly to the ceiling and berate me for my sluttish behaviour. It wasn’t until we’d lived in Australia for...
View ArticleFictional characters are real people too…or they should be
I recently* watched an interview with author John le Carré, in which he spoke at length about life as a spy versus life as a writer and the importance of story and character. Stories, he said, are “the...
View ArticleConflux 9
It’s always great to head off to Canberra’s annual Conflux, where I can catch up with friends and make new ones. It’s a chance to find out what everyone’s up to and celebrate successes. There are...
View ArticleEditor Q&A: Part 1
A couple of weeks ago I decided to open the floor[i] to questions: writing worries, query quandaries, or questions about the deeply mysterious hooded figures world of editors and editing. The following...
View ArticleEditor Q&A: Part 2
Gather round! Gather round! For it is time for part 2 of Editor Q&A. Last week, I explained that these posts were the consequence of a social media question time[i] I held a few weeks ago. I’m...
View ArticleOn writing skills: Professional writing versus fanfiction
Part A This post isn’t about getting fanfic professionally published. Nor is it an attempt to disagree (or not) with authors such as George R. R. Martin who stand directly against fanfiction for...
View ArticleOn writing skills: Professional writing versus fanfiction (Part B).
Previous post: (Part A) Part B: How fanfic can help you write better I first dipped my toe into reading fanfiction because I knew some authors I had worked with had started that way. It seemed like an...
View ArticleThe writer’s editor: a project
If you’ve ever read this blog, or accidentally engaged me in conversation, you’ll know I have Quite Strong Feelings about editing. And writing. And how editors and writers relate to each other and...
View ArticleThe Writers’ Process: an adapting, evolving, creating and editing masterclass
Hey! If you’re going to NineWorlds Geekfest tomorrow, I’ll be teaching a master class* on editing for writers. To be honest, I’ll be teaching it even if you aren’t coming tomorrow, but it’ll be better...
View ArticleThe Writers’ Editor Project – a survey…
As some of you may know, last year I began a research project called The Writers’ Editor, intended to explore how authors in different genres and fields create and develop their work; their writing and...
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