So, amongst other attributes, I’d describe myself as moderately intelligent, a fierce advocate for women’s rights, a reader of fine literature, and a writer. So how is it that this steaming pile is my reading material of choice in the hair salon? Believe me, there’s no shortage of high-brow reading material here. But my hairdresser …
Blurbs. Yes, you read correctly. Blurbs. Might seem that the writing of the novel itself is the difficult bit. Nah. It’s the blurb. (And the acknowledgments pages – another story told on another post). How to package an entire story in a handful of digestible, enticing and intriguing sentences? Nightmare. In the film and tv …
And who writes the book of rules? The older I get, the more I come to accept the conventional wisdom that the most important person to please is yourself. Don’t get me wrong. Not talking onanism here (don’t google that one…. dictionary only). And I’m certainly not advocating narcissism. Just that as we enter this …
Another writer’s conundrum rears its ugly head. So, I’m playing around with my cerebral literary babies, trying to decide which one takes my fancy (see: previous post on the difficulty of choosing a favourite – not advisable with your own human offspring, but quite OK with your story-babies.) Here’s the thing. The one that keeps …
Massive nerd alert! Is it just me, or does anyone find it mind blowingly exciting that the WORLD. JOUSTING. CHAMPIONSHIPS will be staged in Victoria in June? Hell, the history obsessive in me is excited that world jousting competition exists in the first place! Then again, perhaps it’s just me. And, yes, that is a …
As I tackle my review of the ‘pages’*, as they’re called in the publishing biz, for my next novel, ‘The Emerald Tablet’ (unapologetic plug – to be released by Pan Macmillan at the end of June), my mind turns to what I’m going to embark upon next. Yes, it’s unbelievably exciting to see my words …
It’s a perfect Melbourne autumn day. And I’m sitting in the perfect spot to clear the cobwebs and get the writing brain ticking over. A short stroll has brought me to the Elwood foreshore to hang with these fine, feathered friends. Bliss. Loving the new ‘hood. Interesting aside – until Europeans visited Antipodean shores, they used …
Bear with me. It’ll be worth it, I promise (she says with unjustified confidence). See that hand on the end of your arm? Well, consider this. Every cell in that hand was once part of something else… part of lots of things, actually. Everything that exists in the material world, from the loved ones we …
Dear Electrician, It’s possible that some people like to live with the thrill (buzz?) of live electrical wires hanging from the ceiling. Not me. Call me old fashioned, but I’d rather not take my life into my hands each time I enter my study. Which is why my books are still all in boxes and …
If you ask me (and, yes, I know you didn’t) – procrastination? Embrace it. It’s not like I waste my time on indulgences. My aimless meanderings always seem to revolve around important if also horribly mundane yet necessary tasks. But while I’m staking the tomato plants, cleaning the chook’s cage (NOT a typo. Just the …
Meaghan Wilson Anastasios 