Worldbuilding in historical mysteries: Alison Stuart (Writing as A.M. Stuart)
I often liken writing to a painting … rough sketch through to finished oil painting and it is the attention to detail in the background that brings a painting to life.
Author Blogs
Where authors talk directly about their life, their books and many more things.
What little birds tell us: Wendy James
Metaphorically speaking, the creative habits of writers and birds aren’t so far apart: our storytelling is a form of singing, our flights of imagination a simulation of the real thing.
Maryrose Cuskelly: Confessions of an accidental crime writer
Maryrose Cuskelly didn’t set out to be a crime writer. She actively avoided it because she says,”I wasn’t sure I had the writing chops for it.” Time has proved her wrong!
The ‘Unlikeable’ Victim: Laura Elizabeth Woollett
Love ’em, hate ’em: Melbourne author Laura Elizabeth Woollett says writing unlikeable characters can be cathartic.
From stage to page
Actor-turned-author Anna Downes tells us how she now uses drama techniques in her written storytelling.
Hitting the wall
Author Rebecca Freeborn shares her very intimate experience about the highs and lows of being a writer.
Cross-genre Writing: Catherine Jinks
“I can’t stand to see a good idea go to waste.” Catherine Jinks explains how she happily straddles multiple genres, including romance, horror, cute kids picture books, and thriller crime fiction.
TV drama Vs the novel: The pros and cons with Debra Oswald
Through most of my forty years as a writer, I’ve jumped between novels, plays and television scripts. Across all of those, the mission feels essentially the same – doing my best to conjure up intriguing characters and a story that will be gripping, moving, surprising but always plausible. If you peeked into my house when …
Everyday psychopaths: Kelli Hawkins
Writing a crime thriller marks the author as a slightly suspicious person; perhaps even a downright shady one – or so I’ve recently discovered. My debut novel, Other People’s Houses, was released in March and I’ve lost count of the number of friends and family – even strangers – who’ve asked how, and why, I …
Number 10: The milestone or the millstone? – B.M. Carroll
Having just submitted my tenth novel, I find myself reflecting on the craft of writing and some of the challenges that come with having a long backlist. I was in my late twenties when I started writing my first novel. Writing was a hobby, a way of escaping the stress of my corporate job. I …