When I tell people that I am writing a book, I get one of three standard responses; 1) I could never do that, 2) Do I have a great story idea for you? Or 3) Oh, wow! I’ve always wanted to do that. The people in the first category are probably the smart ones…
Tag: Writing
Meeting your protagonist
There are countless articles and writing courses that tell you to know you main characters before you start writing. Not just what they will do throughout the manuscript, but why they do those things. What is their motivation, history, personality? The list goes on. The need to know your character like you would a friend…
Knowing what is a short story and what is a novel
A trouble I sometimes have in sorting out my various story ideas is; what is a short story, and what can support the length of a novel? Unfortunately, there is no hard a fast rule. Most stories can go either way, but will lean more to one side or the other. If you are having…
When Travellers Stay Still
I recently went to Tasmania. I finally made it down south and rented a car to drive around much of the state. It was a busy trip, with the car being loaded most mornings, a different bed each night and the days full of as many adventures as possible. It was exactly how I used…
Writing advice
Possibly the most useful piece of writing advice I have ever received, came from my year 2 teacher. She was a passionate and dedicated teacher who inspired and challenged her students to write more often, and to write better. Despite the fact that I was only seven years old at the time, she taught us…
The Great Wall of Mexico and other strange musings
There are some people in my life, who are amazed that I can come up with so many stories. How could I possibly be so creative and make all the stories so different? What they don’t understand is that the wonder is two-directional; how can they have such a solid grounding in realty? I wonder…
I tried, I failed, but it was fun!
As you know, the Lifeline Book Fair was on in Canberra this weekend. I had a plan, a cleverly constructed plan. I knew that my usually strong will power breaks whenever I am around that most precious of commodities; books. I planned to take in just $50 and limit myself to this amount. After all,…
Writer’s Block
At my work Christmas party last year, a friend asked me how I had gone in NaNoWriMo. I explained that the story was underdeveloped and so I had not been able to advance it as much as possible, and that there were some difficult parts in it (the two main characters were both song writers…
Researching fantasy
I’ve have recently started research for my next manuscript, and it is on a topic which I know very little about. I have checked out books from multiple libraries and have raided the children’s sections, just in case there was something basic that should be general knowledge by my age. And all the while I…
NaNoWriMo
With 1 week and 14,000 words down in NaNoWriMo, this is what I have learned; It is easier to write when you have a fully formed idea of what you are writing. Taking a little extra time to think about the details you write into a scene, character or dialogue can significantly enhance the story,…
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