I'm doing it now. Procrastinating, that is. I have my notebooks out, my laptop at the ready. I know what I have to do to dive into the next section of my short story. Instead, I'm doing a post - which I love - and reading about the latest election results here or overseas, and … Continue reading The Procrastination of Writers
Tag: writing
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Writer*
Loneliness may be in vogue these days. In a rare interview given recently, actor Brad Pitt admitted to feeling lonely - ever since childhood it seems. If this is so, I wondered, what hope is there for the rest of us? The loneliness of the writer, though, has its own unique qualities; its benefits and … Continue reading The Loneliness of the Long Distance Writer*
The Zen of Writing
Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. Homer Simpson From what I learn about Zen Buddhism (it’s been a long lockdown) it is incumbent on us as individuals to let our feelings in – be they negative or positive. We should welcome them, especially those unpleasant thoughts that … Continue reading The Zen of Writing
Slow Writing
Wiradjuri writer, Tara June Winch, gave this advice to entrants for Australia's SBS Emerging Writers' Competition in which she is a judge:"When you read your story aloud, when you edit and read it again and again, your work becomes the fire pit reflected in your eyes.' To read more about the competition, View here. The … Continue reading Slow Writing
The Eye watching the ‘I’
Among other skills, US teacher Kaylie Jones runs memoir-writing workshops. At the first one I attended, she explained that the good memoirist uses the omniscient Eye to watch over the more personal ‘I’ of the narrator. In seconds flat, she was at the whiteboard drawing an eye in the sky that observed and informed the stick … Continue reading The Eye watching the ‘I’
Finding that Mentor
It’s said that writing can’t be taught. But why not? Tobias Wolff taught George Saunders at Syracuse University, and look where that got George. All the way to the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2017. Saunders speaks admiringly of Tobias, who once warned him: “Don’t lose the magic.” Early in his career, George’s fiction … Continue reading Finding that Mentor
The Car Park
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
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
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
WRITINGS AND MUSINGS OF MARGARET MCCAFFREY 