a little fantasy * a little sci fi * a little love
The scene is only several paragraphs long. It's the last time we're alone with just the gay characters in my work-in-progress set in the nineties. In the initial draft they talk about Australian politics at the final stage of that decade. Only one other chapter examined politics and that was in an overall 1990's way. …
Continue reading "I’ve written several versions of the same short scene!"
In my last blog I wrote about writing a summary for a book submission. And although it's for a novel I'm still working on, it hasn't stopped me considering how to pitch it to potential publishers. I've created a 500 word and a 300 word synopsis, and a 200 word summary, in line with what …
I've just edited the initial draft of my novel set in the 1990s. Like any novel at this early stage, some scenes work, some need work. But for the first time I sense this manuscript needs more work than my recent novels did at this early stage. It's not because it's bad. It's because I …
During this Sydney lockdown, something has occurred to me. Over thinking is best done between drafts! I'm writing this on July 21, 2021, and as I'm here at home with my husband, my works in progress have taken a back seat. Usually, I'd be working on the next draft of a manuscript while another is …
It's hard to write a novel about 90s rave culture without mentioning music. You have to be careful not to infringe copyright. This has been a real issue with my story set around Sydney's Oxford Street in that era. I started by referencing songs without using their lyrics. Or I'd reference those lyrics without using …
Continue reading "Writing about music without infringing copyright."
I've been working hard on my novel set in the 90s. After I began the first draft last year, I had to drop momentum because of Covid. You see, I need quiet to write. That's why I often go to the library to work on a project. And the library was shut early to mid …
Continue reading "How Covid-19 made me forget how my novel ends"
Writing these blogs is helping with my research. I realised this during the past week. It's a great way for me to categorise the different themes I want to explore in my novel set in the 1990s. In the last blog I talked about my first impressions of the pages I copied from the Sydney …
Continue reading "Researching the Sydney Gay Scene of the 90s – Part 2"
A whole box of microfilm was waiting for me at the State Library of NSW. A lovely librarian arranged copies of the Sydney Star Observer from the 1990s, as well as a couple of years' worth of Capital Q, at my request. Both were significant street press which covered queer issues. The former still exists. …
Continue reading "Researching the Sydney Gay Scene of the 90s – Part 1"
When Covid-19 hit, I was halfway through a first draft. It was a novel set in the 1990s and I was writing it to celebrate a decade I was young enough to fully enjoy. I still have the outline but, at the time of writing this blog (28/10/2020), haven't looked at it since March. This …
My life has changed a lot in the past year. I don't have as much time to write as I used to, even though that issue will change by the end of the year. In one way, it's good. I'm concentrating on promotion more, instead of just writing. Where I feel this change most is …
kevin klehr - author 