During our Melbourne lockdown, 2020, we were each allocated one hour of exercise per day. I drove to the local car park, which overlooks an oval surrounded by trees, and beyond that, a river. There I would just sit before my walk. This was a most splendid moment for me. It was winter, so I … Continue reading The Car Park
Ethics in Memoir
As part of Elwood Writers online anthology launch, host Lee Kofman had prepared a question for me on the ethics of writing about one's family. ‘Margaret, your memoirs in this collection feature various family members. What are your main ethical challenges when you write about others and how do you deal with them?’ The launch … Continue reading Ethics in Memoir
America
I have always loved America. The United States of America, that is. From the moment Huck Finn sailed down the Mississippi with the runaway slave, Jim, I was sold. I loved the English classics, but for me American novelists like Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald drove the story forward. Their novels – the one … Continue reading America
An Invitation to the Launch
As promised! Elwood Writers' anthology Every Second Tuesday is about to hit the shelves, and we'd love you to join us online as Lee Kofman launches the book with Readings on Wednesday 9 December at 6:30pm (AEST). This is a free event, though booking is required in order to receive the meeting link on the … Continue reading An Invitation to the Launch
The Online Launch
Troglodyte that I am, I’ve resisted the idea of an online launch for the new anthology Every Second Tuesday from Elwood Writers https://elwoodwriters.com (EW). In fact, I’ve resisted FaceTime ‘anything’ for that matter. When it comes to books and launches, I assumed I'd miss the buzz of a real launch, as when EW member Jennifer Bryce … Continue reading The Online Launch
Going Away to Write
Bob Dylan’s house in Malibu is sure to be gorgeous. Apparently it looks over the sea. But when a reporter asked him where he composes, 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 Kandy-Kolored-Flake Streamline … Continue reading Going Away to Write
Writing Bad
‘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 the Author
Barry Lee Thompson, member of Elwood Writers, has a guest interview in relation to his newly released book, Broken Rules and Other Stories. The interview features on the website, 'In Their Own Write'. Barry talks about his writing process. For him there is no such thing as writer's block. If he gets stuck, he works … Continue reading Meet the Author
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
WRITINGS AND MUSINGS OF MARGARET MCCAFFREY 