Writing a Novel is the distillation of nearly ten years of Richard Skinner’s experience of teaching the Faber Academy program of the same name. It answers questions from ‘Where will I get my ideas from?’ through to ‘Should I write in first or third point of view?’. Drawing on advice given by every writer from […]
Writing
How to be a writer when you don’t want to write literary fiction
I’ve done pretty much every kind of writing there is, apart from features writing and underwriting. My current day job is digital strategy and web content writing – I translate complex technical concepts into plain English and make sure people can find them when they search in Google. I’ve also done copywriting, article writing, fiction […]
In conversation with Louise Allan, author of The Sisters’ Song
Louise Allan’s first novel, The Sisters’ Song, is out now from Allen & Unwin. The manuscript was shortlisted for the 2014 City of Fremantle—TAG Hungerford Award and awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship. I absolutely adored The Sisters’ Song. Set in Tasmania, it’s the story of two sisters and how music and motherhood break their hearts but […]
Where novel ideas come from – How I build fictional worlds
I write speculative fiction, which means I build fictional worlds that aren’t quite like the world we live in. Spec fic worlds can be completely different – dragons and white walkers – or just a little bit different – like an oppressive regime which strips women of reproductive freedom a la The Handmaid’s Tale. (Only […]
My manuscript is going to the London Book Fair! – #LBF17
The 46th London Book Fair starts today. 25,000 publishing professionals from 124 countries are meeting in London to talk about books and my manuscript is going to be there. Publishers from dozens of countries (okay, so maybe not all 124 of them) are going to be talking about my novel, Maternal Instinct. I may be just a tiny bit excited. […]
7 things I’ve learned about signing with a literary agent
Two months ago I finished re-drafting Maternal Instinct – the working title of my first novel – and started to research publishers and agents in Australia. Last week I signed an agreement with FinePrint Literary Management – a literary agent in New York – to represent my novel to publishers worldwide. It’s not been a particularly conventional journey. Here’s how […]