By Danielle Clode Writing well requires much the same set of skills no matter whether we are writing fiction or nonfiction, but the success of fiction often rests in part on the architecture of the whole story or book. In nonfiction it is structure at the level of the sentence and paragraph that is often […]

Susan Murphy is a South Australian based romance author. Her works include Confetti Confidential: They Do, I Don’t  and  Annabel’s Wedding. Currently she is our writer in residence, and will be working on a historical romance during her time at the Centre.   What attracted you to the romance genre? What’s not to love about romance? To […]

We asked Twitter what was the best writing advice they’ve ever heard. He’s some useful tips we collated:   David Grayson ‏@sasanof  “Find your own voice” Christopher Hitchens http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/06/christopher-hitchens-unspoken-truths-201106 …   Janie Mac ‏@jatosha If you’re stuck, that’s ok, but just write something, anything, for 10 minutes. Write first, edit later. #amwriting     calanthe_b ‏@calanthe_b  […]

By Fiona Inglis  What you are selling Who to sell to How to sell, where to sell – fairs, co-agents How to pitch How to build on momentum I begin every talk I ever give – not matter what the subject – by telling people they need to have something worth selling. It applies to […]

Applying for a grant? Our Director, Sarah Tooth, gives her top tips for a writing a successful grant: Include EVERYTHING but ONLY THE THINGS that they ask for. For example, if they ask for three pages of writing, don’t submit zero pages and don’t submit ten pages. Just submit three pages. Great support materials are […]

  Work on one thing at a time until finished. Start no more new books, add no more new material to Black Spring. (Apparently he’s giving himself this advice.) Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand. Work according to the program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed […]

by Melanie Casey ‘Life is stranger than fiction.’ It’s a quote we hear often and recent events in Adelaide have had me pondering the fine line between fiction and real life. The very sad passing of Rose-Marie Sheehy who was homeless and believed to be living rough at the time of her death brought home […]

While navigating the streets of Sydney from one festival event to the next, author of 48 Shades of Brown, Bachelor Kisses, and most recently, Analogue Men, Brisbane’s Nick Earls speaks to Madeleine Manglaras about the Sydney Writer’s Festival, the joy that is Netflix and the difficulty of sourcing good quality pistachio gelati. How many festivals […]

By Megan Sougleris Fear. Like Springsteen said, ‘it can turn our hearts black and fill our souls with devils and dust’. I think at times, it’s easy to become our own worst critic. And with something as intimate as writing, fear can often rule us. Whether it’s finding the motivation to get those words down, […]

By Madeleine Manglaras As all current and past university students would know, it’s only when you have multiple assignment deadlines looming that you decide the best way to avoid the blinking cursor on the blank page is to escape interstate for ten days. The lure was Sydney Writers Festival, held between 18 May and 23 […]

Last week was National Reconciliation Week. Carissa Godwin shares how writing can contribute here… As Indigenous Australians, we are often encountering obstacles that can be a little unimaginable for people who have co existed with the rest of their known world without interruption. Being Indigenous, for me, and upon observation I feel, is a series […]

By Katrina McLachlan When we imagine a photojournalist most of us visualise a rugged, tanned middle aged man carrying a number of DSLR cameras as he captures the emotion and drama of the daily news events that dominate our print and online media. While there are sure to be many who fit that description, the […]

By Greg Barila Join Greg at the Adelaide Digital Boot Camp You’ve got a Facebook page. You’ve dabbled with LinkedIn. Hey, you’ve even logged into Twitter once or twice (but you didn’t inhale). C’mon admit it! You probably think you’ve got a grip on social media, don’t ya? But if you still think a Meerkat […]

By Katrina McLachlan It’s irresistible, isn’t it? Human beings are drawn to stories. When we share our experiences through stories, we pull others towards us. We find common ground. Stories let us laugh, cry and learn together. Stories help us know ourselves. Stories let us know each other. Stories forge connections and build communities. Whatever […]

By Sarah Keenihan It feels like everyone is on social media now. My sister, my dad and even my twelve year old cousin sends out “selfies” and tweets onto the world wide web every single day. In Australia alone there are now more than 2.5 million tweeters, 4 million people using Instagram and nearly 14 […]