Writer’s conventions have powerful utility for the aspiring author. I suspect they are pretty damn helpful for seasoned writers, as well.
I recently spent a long weekend at Conflux, the annual speculative fiction writer’s conference held in Canberra. I’ve been …
Update: as you’ll see on the right, the art accompanying my story for the upcoming issue of Interzone looks
remarkable (click for larger image). The rest of the preview for the September-October issue is available here. I believe it …
I’ve been struck by a bolt of literary lightning flung from the gods of science fiction. My injuries are unbridled joy, creeping paranoia, and a sudden case of stage fright.
So as I mentioned two or three weeks back, I’d …
Well, I’ve finished the first draft of my novel. The natural corollary of this is telling you what you should learn from my experience.
There’s a paradox with writing advice. The people who most need it, and those that seek …
I’ve never been the subject of a press release before and certainly never expected to be called a potential writing ‘new talent’ in one.
No, not at all.
Now – a press release from the police saying: “Canberra man arrested …
Review of Starve Better: Surviving the Endless Horror of the Writing Life, by Nick Mamatas
Starve Better by Nick Mamatas is an entertaining, engaging, occasionally caustic introduction to the writing life. If you’re a writer looking for some sage advice, …
It’s not true, of course. Authors such as Orwell, Ishiguro, and Camus were formative influences on me, as were many others.
However – and as you can probably tell from this website – if I were allowed to choose only …
The first short story I ever wrote, The Volunteer, managed to earn a spot in an Asia-Pacific speculative fiction anthology. I’m told it’s uncommon to sell your first short story, and was very pleased to find a home for …
Writing fiction is tough. I’ll tell you that for free.
It has a degree of difficulty far above that of non-fiction. Aside from the fact that bringing distinct characters to life, painting vivid scenes, churning out snappy dialogue and finding …
Fiction writing has only been with me for a year, maybe eighteen months. I knew it would be a lot tougher than writing non-fiction, but I never quite realised how tough.
I have a number of short stories currently doing …
