Category: Writing
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Victorianoir is longlisted for the Debut Dagger (and some stuff about my new book)
Saturday morning I woke up to an email on my phone telling me my novel Victorianoir has been longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger. I rolled out of bed and started screaming so loudly Justin thought someone was dead. Which they were, at least in the novel…
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Why I converted from pantsing to plotting
Plotting or pantsing? It’s a debate that comes up at every writers festival, convention or event. Do you plot your books or fly by the seat of your pants? The responses vary: some mix both, some write to uncover the story, some people prepare excel spreadsheets. I used to laugh at the people with plot…
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Sometimes it’s hard to keep writing. Then there are weeks like this.
It’s a hard slog being a writer. No matter what form you practice, rejection becomes a part of life. You’re constantly slapped in the face with your apparent failures (I say apparent because most rejections are not personal, but it’s hard not to take it personally).
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28 Epic Short Story Tips from Australian Genre Writers
With the recently released And Then… anthology chock full of amazing Aussie authors, I couldn’t resist drawing on their collective writing knowledge. I asked them for their best short story tips and they delivered!
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The Best Genre Books I read in 2016
Each year I take some time to reflect on the books I’ve read throughout the year. I read 67 books in 2016, which is a recent record for me. You can see almost all of them on Goodreads, but I wanted to highlight some of the special ones in my unofficial awards below. These books are…
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Notes from the World Fantasy Convention 2016
If you’ve seen me scrawling down notes (or in recent times, typing) at a con, you’ll know I take a lot of notes in panels. I’m interested in what people say and it helps me engage with the content. I also love to share this information, especially for people who can’t make the conventions. So…