In case you've missed updates elsewhere, my short story Thylaseen is out now on Kudzu House Quarterly. In addition, my review/think piece, called Winging It, is now on the Criticism Masterclass at the Emerging Writer's Festival is, voila, also available to read at The Writers Bloc. Everyone involved was courteous and easy to deal with, … Continue reading Double take
Review: The Paper House
A fragile thread Finally, I've finished reading The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan. It could be the newly diagnosed a-typical asthma, but this novel has winded me. I had to pause while reading it, sometimes for a week, because it was painful, but also because I wanted to dwell in it in a way I … Continue reading Review: The Paper House
Winter of Content
It's been bitterly cold and dark in Melbourne, but the sun has been shining on me this week. I got a present in the mail from the Stella Prize as a thank you for their support. That was unexpected. Nicer still was a flash fiction piece being accepted by Fewer Than 500. After several years … Continue reading Winter of Content
Writer: Know Thyself
The process of becoming aware of your writing style, and more importantly, your mistakes, can take a while. Like poker players with tells, errors and odd phrasing, or word tics, can follow any wordsmith through their works. I have fall back phrases, and repeated words I make the effort to eliminate, even if I have … Continue reading Writer: Know Thyself
Mid Year Writing Stock Take
In Australia the end of June marks the end of the financial year. Retailers hold sales, and everyone works out if they need to make more deductions ahead of preparing tax returns. Then it is July and the pace slows a bit amid winter's chill, except for accountants. For me, it's time to take stock … Continue reading Mid Year Writing Stock Take
Abstraction Distraction
I'm in online writing groups. They are peopled mainly by novelists, and mainly those who self-publish. What's interesting is a proportion of novice writers seem more concerned with publication theory than writing practice. For example, when posting working drafts, this cohort worry about how to define it for Amazon. Some sling single chapters or incomplete drafts … Continue reading Abstraction Distraction
Taking advice as directed
Last week I attended the Emerging Writer's Festival Criticism Masterclass. The main thing, absolutely the main thing I got from it, was to pitch. Write and pitch, imitate and make contact, read and practice. But mainly, pitch ideas. I'd never really done that before, but, reader, I did. I pitched one idea to one place … Continue reading Taking advice as directed
De rigueur Degas
I thought I would have more to say about seeing the works of Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Victoria and maybe I will. However, more time is required to mull viewing more than 200 pieces all together in the first major retrospective since 1988. It's true that I learned things, both from the art and … Continue reading De rigueur Degas
Circle of Writing
The endless round of editing, pulling apart and putting back together continues. With writing, there's always more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done, in between life and work and the required commute and chores and sleep. If you've been following along, you may recall I had a collection … Continue reading Circle of Writing
Darkness & then Light
If the work of Jan Sensbergs was heavy with the portent of industrial annihilation, across the corridor at the National Gallery of Victoria (Fed Square) it was all feathery lightness. I wanted to see Sensbergs, but the bonus was remembering Luminous: Australian Watercolours 1900-2000 was also on display. It was a welcome contrast. The art … Continue reading Darkness & then Light
Writing Bec 