I've had several assessments done on two books. One was very recently. The others were for my first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, more than ten years ago. This process should be eye opening. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. With my first book, a woman who was recommended to me provided three assessments …
Writing Tin Men and Scarecrows – Part 2
I've just completed the first draft. Well, kind of. The final scene has been written but I haven't reviewed the manuscript yet. I'm about five thousand words less than my ideal word count, which is common for my first drafts. I'm considering adding a flashback sequence which will give more depth to the flawed relationship …
Organising an author reading event
Eight months ago I began this process. Sydney WorldPride was asking for submissions for what seemed like their fringe festival component known as Pride Amplified. To be featured in the print edition of their festival guide, I had to submit the many things they asked for by mid year. So, recovering from Covid, I began …
Writing Tin Men and Scarecrows – Part 1
I'm halfway through the first draft. But I've just changed the text from past tense, third person limited, to present tense, first person multi point of view. While I was reading Holden Sheppard's The Brink, I was taken by how personal his book felt with different characters narrating in the here and now. My gut …
Book Review: Johnno, David Malouf
"We don't have the characters now that we had in the past." That was said by a work colleague back in the 90s who was talking about how younger generations didn't have adventures any more, like people had in the past. So, they were watered down versions of themselves. They hadn't built themselves to be …
Feedback from my Writers Group
Recently, I searched for a writers group. I wanted one with writers more experienced than me, and I now meet monthly with a group that includes two screenwriters with three decades of experience each, and a published non-fiction author. I submitted the first two chapters of my current WiP for review. I hate anyone reading …
My first novel is 10 years old!
Drama Queens with Love Scenes is a decade old. My tale of two friends who end up in the theatre district of the Afterlife went through eight drafts before Charles River Press initially published it in December 2012. So, on this very important milestone, I thought I'd share ten facts about my first novel. 1. …
It takes years to write a novel
Ten years ago I attended a workshop at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. The author gave us an insight to the industry, but the most important thing I learnt at this session was the art of letting your manuscript rest between drafts. I mean, really rest. Not a couple of weeks, but at least three months. …
I got a bad review
I got a bad review. To be honest, it's a proper critique. The reviewer was honest about what worked for her and what didn't. And it hit me hard because she is a fan of two of my other books. This review was posted a week later than originally scheduled and in that time I …
Impostor Syndrome
How do you deal with Impostor Syndrome? I asked this as part of a social media chat group I'm part of and one particular answer stayed in my mind. "I've noticed it's triggered more by success than failure. Success makes me frightened that I won't make the mark..." Over the past couple of years more …
kevin klehr - author 