In short, Genrecon was a blast! Held at the State Library of Queensland, it was three days of learning, participating and making new friends. This was the third writing conference I've been part of, and as well as listening to some amazing speakers, I was invited to be on two panels and got to present …
I physically can’t write at the moment
I currently can't touch type. This blog is being dictated directly to my phone. I've had reconstructive surgery on my left arm so when I move it over the keyboard it hurts like hell. Why was I operated on? I snapped a tendon from lifting a heavy suitcase into a taxi during my extended travels. …
Getting a manuscript ready for submission
A father and daughter team were on the radio the other morning. Like me, dad obviously enjoyed the house party days of the nineties. He told his daughter (and us) about the Primal Scream track, 'Loaded'. Hearing people still affectionate about that decade is why one of my WiP's is set in that era. I'm …
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Leaving my laptop behind
I'm about to leave on an extended break. As a writer I had already decided my laptop, Huey (yes, he has a name), was coming with me. My husband was also considering bringing his. We both have matching laptops, just in different colours. We weren't trying to be a sickly sweet couple when we bought …
Our first radio interview
Rebecca Langham and I were interviewed by Rhianna Patrick for ABC radio. This is the first of two major author opportunities for me this year, and although I have played radio presenter many times, being an interviewee was a little more daunting. I suggested a chat about queer literature to Rhianna over a year ago. …
Obsessing over Chapter Four
As you may know, my writing is more sporadic these days. Gone are the days when my fingers regularly tapped frantically in the hope of churning out a best seller. Now there is more time to obsess over each chapter before I return to my trusty laptop. In the past I have lived with the …
Looking back at my Writer’s Notebook – Part Four
I'm still not even halfway looking back at my old notebook... But I'll make this my last musings on its contents. One thing that's surprised me straight away is that I originally was going to title the last in the Angel and Actors series novels, Drama Queens and Demonic Beings. So glad I didn't. There …
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Looking back at my Writer’s Notebook – Part Two
Notes on first time publishing, working with your editor, and writing villains is what I'm sharing with you this week. Last week I told you that I'm browsing through my first notebook, rediscovering its contents. Many of its initial pages are devoted to rewrites of my first novel. The next few pages are from seminars …
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Looking back at my Writer’s Notebook – Part One
I filled my first writer's notebook. My friend, Brett, gave it to me as a present for my birthday over ten years ago. It also came with a lovely pen on which he engraved 'The pen is mightier than the sword'. Inside the notebook, he wrote an inscription of which some of the lines are: …
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The cliff hanger
Do you round up your chapters or add a cliff hanger? This was a question posed by someone using the #writingcommunity hashtag on Twitter. My answer is that I initially rounded up chapters until an editor made me stop. Her reasoning was that if you round up your chapters into neatly self contained stories, then a …
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