By Angela Meyer On my desktop is a whisky wheel, a device that’s supposed to help you with your tasting notes when sampling single malts. Does your drink have a touch of black pepper on the nose? Or is it orange blossom? Is it lactic or nutty on the palate? Is the finish more toward […]

By Cassandra Dean and Lucy Clark Cassandra and Lucy provide insight into a common mistake. In their capacity as editors, they come across the same misstep all too often – a rush through scenes and situations, so that all emotion and depth is lost. A reader wants to feel the emotion deeply, wants to experience […]

If you are not fortunate enough to have an editor then a little distance between the completion of a first draft and an edit can be useful. Time to forget what you were actually writing about can help the writer to approach the story as a reader might. Can you answer these questions? What is […]

About Writing Australia, the collaborative network of state writers’ centres, including ACT, NSW, NT, SA, Tasmania and Victoria, launches our new Digital Writers in Residence program. From June 2014, writers from each state and territory will take up digital residencies to blog, host readings, forums, talks and discussions. Each residency will have its own focus. […]

52 Tuesdays is a locally produced feature-film by Adelaide-based collective Closer Productions. It explores the relationship between a mother and daughter over a year, a year in which the mother decides to transition to become a man. 52 Tuesdays was filmed once a week, every Tuesday, for a year – with the scripts for each week constantly evolving, […]

By Emily Davis In general I’m a bit of a communic-a-tard. This is kind of like being a lactard (allergic to milk), but perhaps with slightly more serious connotations and consequences. I can assure you I can write, and read and speak, and I’m not too bad at a boozy dinner party when I’m tasked […]

Here are some great writing prompt sites to help you bust through any moments of writer’s block (or just keep you in an internet spiral all day long):  Writing Prompts on Tumblr Creative Writing Prompts  Awesome Writing Prompts Daily prompts sent to your inbox  200 Fantasy Writing Prompts  Spec Fic writing prompts  (don’t forget to […]

By Mark Dapin I started my writing day at six o’clock this morning, when I printed out and proofed the first chapter of my upcoming military history book. I’m already weeks behind schedule with the book, which has to be in the shops in November. I must complete another chapter before the end of the […]

by Rose Hartley As I fumble my way through the second draft of my novel, writers’ guides call out to me from every corner of my bookcase, claiming to be able to help me craft a story that someone might want to read. The latest one I’ve picked up is Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story, […]

By Fleur Kilpatrick Every now and then you have that moment: the moment when you realise just how foreign the workings of your brain are to the majority of the population. Yes, it turns out that it is you who is the alien. Don’t be alarmed. Our minds are so complex and individual that every […]

Here are some editing tips that we’d like to share we you. We also have a copy of this article on our website. There are many different ways to edit your work. Some writers edit and polish as they go, while others wait until they have a complete first draft. Allowing yourself freedom during initial […]

By Jane Turner Goldsmith I was cured of my writers’ block one autumn day in Toronto, about 15 years ago. I was attending a creative writing session at the library. The room was packed; they had a series of Canadian authors presenting their ‘how to do it’ tips. It was cold outside and cosy in […]

David Chapple shares his top five short story writing tips: 1. For me plot is usually just an excuse to push a character around. If you develop a good, three dimensional character the plot often writes itself. 2. A character doesn’t have to be sympathetic to be engaging. If they want something enough a reader […]

By Paul Greenway I always open my Travel Writing Workshop with this first rule of travel writing (although I ignored it myself).  While it is possible to make money writing travel articles for magazines and websites, it is unlikely – but certainly not impossible – that you’ll earn a decent living. But you can at […]

Recently, we held a Life Writing/Memoir Bootcamp. We offered participants an opportunity to showcase a snippet of their work on our blog. Here are some pieces from some very brave souls. Biographical Achilles in Fearful Momentum by Terissa Sheperd Memories may be selective, heart driven, sense driven, ego driven.  There is a natural ‘papering over’ […]