By Malcolm Walker Shakespeare asks, ‘What’s in a name?’ and answers by telling us roses smell sweet whatever they are called. But Tim Winton’s character Rose Pickles out of Cloudstreet is anything but sweet: her character comes fully armed with thorns for most of the story – even though she […]
Blog Articles
Emerging Writers Survey Results
In the middle of 2012, we ran a comprehensive survey with South Australian emerging writers to identify their needs and wants in the industry so we could better provide for their professional development and foster their writing journey. We received nearly a hundred responses and we celebrated the results at […]
Sizzling the Page – Writing Erotica
By Astrid Cooper Anyone can write erotica—it’s just sex scenes strung together. Right? W-R-O-N-G! To be successful in the competitive erotic fiction market you need more than hot sex on every page. Sometimes you don’t even have to have that much sex in the story to sell like wildfire. What […]
Writers Resources – an ongoing discussion
By Malcolm Walker Believe it or not one of the books I find most useful is the Macquarie Dictionary. When looking for a spelling I’ll often come across a word I’ve never encountered before and that can begin the process of interrogating ideas and relationships I hadn’t thought about before. […]
Disability Project – Writer in Residence
By Sarah Tooth An important part of SAWC’s mission is to help build a diverse literary culture, and to support voices that may not often be heard in the mainstream. To that end, we work hard to develop and support writers from a range of backgrounds, particularly those who may […]
How To Write a Eulogy
By Dorothy Shorne ‘How long had you known him?’ A common question I am asked after I have delivered a eulogy. In most cases I have not had the pleasure of meeting the deceased. What I have done is listened carefully to his nearest and dearest as they relate to […]
Emerging Writers Festival – a wrap up
By Vanessa Jones This year I really had no excuse not to go to the 10th Emerging Writers Festival at the end of May. I was invited to be part of a panel, my Adelaide and Melbourne writing buddies would be there and I could go to represent the SA Writers Centre. So […]
A Lost Recipe – a diary extract
By Liz Harfull I have just returned from an extraordinary few weeks, travelling more than 6000 kilometres to meet some of the show cooks that will feature in a national version of the Blue Ribbon Cookbook, due out in March 2014. The wonderful conversations and cooking sessions that I shared with […]
How to Write Great Web Content
By Danae Sinclair Great content never asks readers to work for what they want to know. Great content meets reader expectations, helps them toward their information-gathering goals and it gets your message across clearly. To break it down further, here are three things to be mindful of when creating web […]
The Internet: Not So Scary – a wrapup
By Jillian Schedneck On Saturday 8th June, Romance writer Cassandra Dean guided workshop members through several steps to successfully market and promote one’s book (and create a personal brand) online. Class members learned that the most important tool in online marketing is a personal and professional website. Authors must try […]
Top Ten Tips for Writing About Place
by Kerryn Goldsworthy JOIN KERRYN FOR THE WORD FOR WORD WORKSHOP IN JANUARY. * Remember that ‘place’ is an elastic term: it could mean ‘Australia’ or ‘Adelaide’ or ‘the Beehive Corner’ or ‘the place I came off my bike when I was ten’. * When describing a place, try to […]
Robin Hemley’s Nonfiction Master Class – A Wrap Up
By Jillian Schedneck Robin Hemley approached this masterclass by giving the nine experienced nonfiction writing students specific and applicable advice on their nonfiction projects. In various stages of conception and completion, each class member spoke in turn about their projects, from a family’s experience organic farming in Italy to an […]
Seven Musts for Online Promotion
Hi peeps, Cassandra Dean here, with a few hints and tips for online promotion and marketing as a writer! 1. Have a website. Make the design of it simple and easy to use. Update it regularly. 2. Blog. Blog regularly. Blog often. Blog about random shizz you’re convinced no one […]
Writers Resources – an Ongoing Discussion
By Stephen Lord Our regular volunteer, Stephen Lord, discusses his most valuable resources for writing. The most important resource I have is my writing group. Writing is a wretched, solitary and miserable business even on good days, and I couldn’t be without a support network of like-minded souls. They are […]
Why Write Picture Books?
By Katrina Germein Join Katrina for her Perfecting Your Picture Book Story workshop. One very good reason not to write a picture book: you’re hoping to retire on the royalties. Let’s talk actual figures. The standard royalty paid to a picture book author in Australia is 5% of the full […]