‘But Margaret, you seem so nice,’ a writing colleague said to me. ‘How do you come up with this stuff? Where does it come from?’ I shrugged. First of all, I’m not that nice. Secondly, being a writer is different to being a human being. The human is there to get along in the world, … Continue reading Writing Bad
Meet Author Barry Lee Thompson
Barry Lee Thompson, member of our group Elwood Writers, guest interviews about his newly released book, Broken Rules and Other Stories, on the website 'In Their Own Write'. There, Barry discusses his writing process. For him there is no such thing as writer's block. If he gets stuck, he works on something different,, dipping in … Continue reading Meet Author Barry Lee Thompson
Going Away to Write
Bob Dylan’s house in Malibu is sure to be gorgeous, apparently looking out over the sea. But when a reporter asked him where he composes his music, he replied, ‘In a hotel room.’ Tom Wolfe (The Bonfire of the Vanities) was rumoured to have locked himself in a hotel at his editor’s insistence to finish The … Continue reading Going Away to Write
Lily Campbell’s Secret, by Jennifer Bryce
Elwood Writers founding member, Jennifer Bryce, last year published her first novel Lily Campbell's Secret. This Australian story is set post World War One, at a time when Australians were putting their lives back together again after their men had fought in Gallipoli and on the Western Front. With war as a backdrop, newly married … Continue reading Lily Campbell’s Secret, by Jennifer Bryce
Broken Rules and Other Stories, update — Barry Lee Thompson
Barry's book Broken Rules will be released by Transit Lounge on 1st September. Barry is a friend and colleague from Elwood Writers and this is his first collection of short stories. Some early reviews have appeared. There’s a write-up in Westerly, here, and one from The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, here. The book’s release … Continue reading Broken Rules and Other Stories, update — Barry Lee Thompson
Upcoming Anthology from Elwood Writers
‘But if a book has brought you from one place to another, so that you see something you didn’t see before, you’ve arrived at another point.’ James Baldwin, The Paris Review 1984. My writing group, Elwood Writers, is to release its anthology in November of this year. Every Second Tuesday is a collection of fiction, … Continue reading Upcoming Anthology from Elwood Writers
Winter
From the website of Elwood Writers, news of a forthcoming program on Vision Australia Radio.
Writing in Bed
An original bad boy of American literature, Thomas McGuane, (Ninety Two in the Shade, The Missouri Breaks) tells us that these days he writes in bed. He’s in his seventies now and as a successful novelist is past caring what anyone thinks of his practice. The admission raises the question: where do we do we … Continue reading Writing in Bed
Ten Good Sentences
Ernest Hemingway has advice for writers: “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know." We know this is harder than it sounds. Secretly, of course, we are looking for more than one. So was he. But one sentence is a good place to start. A while … Continue reading Ten Good Sentences
It’s Back to School for Elwood Writers
The Elwood Writers will feature on the ‘Back to School’ edition of Cover to Cover for Vision Australia Radio on Friday 26 January 2018. Our group has collaborated with producer and presenter, Tim McQueen, to compile a program comprising poetry, fiction and memoir on multifaceted notions of school. I look forward to sharing my two … Continue reading It’s Back to School for Elwood Writers
WRITINGS AND MUSINGS OF MARGARET MCCAFFREY 