This is a snippet from a brief talk I’ll be giving at the SA Writers Centre this Thursday on the subject of what editors do.  Whenever I tell people I’m a book editor, and the conversation doesn’t swiftly move on, their first question is usually, ‘So what do editors do?’ Their tone is that of […]

By Vikki Wakefield One of the questions most commonly asked of a writer is: where do you get your ideas from? Short answer: ideas are everywhere. An idea is  the brilliant start to everything, a comet of the imagination, a blazing possibility that will fizzle and die if you don’t pay it some attention. The  […]

By Lia Weston As writers, one of the few statements we can probably all agree on is that art is subjective.  There’s wriggle room within that definition, too; you can appreciate (or learn to appreciate in some cases) the work that goes into a particular piece even if you can’t stand the end result. I, […]

Here is a Q&A with digital innovator, Emily Craven: Who should focus their professional development in interactivity and digital stories? Teachers, educators and anyone who wants to engage with children and young adults. The youth of today are immersed in digital culture, social media, video, audio and images captivating their attention and driving their imagination. […]

By Malcolm Walker Continued on from this previous post  …The psychological motivation of characters can also have a bearing when thinking up names. If a particular character is serious or frivolous, sensitive or uncaring, happy or sad, does the name you settle upon reflect or enhance these traits or does it work against the grain? […]

By Libby Parker I’m a huge fan of Astrid’s work and her workshops so it was an easy decision to make to book her Write with Spice workshop on Sunday 18 August at SA Writers’ Centre. Astrid has an aura about her. She is warm, disarming, engaging and a wealth of knowledge! She gives practical advice to writers of all […]

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 softens towards the end of […]

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 emphasise the features that are […]

By Alan Baxter You’ve heard the old adage, I’m sure. Write what you know. That’s all very well, but it’s actually a terrible piece of advice. After all, we all know some stuff, but not much in the grand scheme of things. And if we only write what we know, we’ll soon run out of […]