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The Path to Story
Back in February of 2017, I blogged about a story that was about to be published. That story was ‘The Banksia Boys’. And in June just gone, that story won the Australian Shadows Award for Short Fiction for 2017. Having already previously blogged about the creative inspiration behind the story, I thought this month I’d…
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3 Tips for Blending Prose into Narrative
This month I complete my short series of posts on how I write descriptive prose. (Apologies for the lateness!) If you’ve been reading them thus far, you’ll know how much I love reading well written and memorable description. If you haven’t, you can read Part 1 and Part 2 to get the full story. For…
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3 Layers of Descriptive Prose
This month, I continue my short series of posts on how I write descriptive prose. I love descriptive prose — the kind so vivid I have to pause and relish it a moment longer. In my last post, I deconstructed some of my favourite passages of description in an effort to find what makes them…
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Examples of Descriptive Prose to Inspire Your Writing
I love getting lost in other people’s writing. And nothing more so than in a well-written piece of descriptive prose — something that is so vivid I have to pause and relish it a moment longer. It’s something I’ve definitely tried to emulate in my own writing. (And, if beta readers and writing group colleagues…
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How I Beat the Not-Enough-Time Excuse
In last month’s newsletter, I mentioned that I have three open story submissions at the moment. This is unprecedented for me. And it surprised me, too. I often lament at how little time I seem to have to dedicate to writing. Sure, when the opportunities arise, I wring every last second I can from them.…
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Milestones in the Writer’s Journey
I hate failing. (I know, I know. Extremely unhealthy place to be mentally. I’m sure when I can afford to do so, both in time and money, I’ll unburden myself to a good therapist.) It took decades for me to realise — intellectually, if not emotionally — that failure is an essential part of learning.…
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The Story Behind ‘Old Man Red Gum’
I’ve mentioned in this blog previously how much I love reading about the inspiration behind stories I’ve enjoyed reading — Stephen King is especially good at this. Since my flash fiction piece ‘Old Man Red Gum’ has just been published in Midnight Echo #12, I thought I’d do the same. ** Spoiler warning ** ‘Old…
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Best of 2017
It’s that time of year again — packed shopping centres, a procession of end-of-school assemblies, bottlenecks of last-minute work requests, a seemingly eternal blend of people, food and drink. It sometimes feels as if every waking (and some sleeping) moment is consumed by other peoples’ wants and needs. I always look so forward to taking…
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The Nature of Fear
Last month, I blogged about my fear of writing and how some of Carrie Fisher’s wisdom has helped me learn to work despite it. This has prompted me to delve further and find out what it is that actually paralyses my creativity. What do I fear? My fear is an adaptable little mite, nibbling away…
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Staying Afraid
Writing scares me. And not in a good, exhilarating way. The act of sitting at the keyboard or with pen in hand, on the brink of creating something, more often then not petrifies me. I can sit there for what feels like hours fighting the urge to flea, to shred the notepad or smash the…