Entries Tagged 'Craft of Writing' ↓

YONline is on again!

The start date for the next Kim Wilkins YONline course offered in the AWMonline Learning Centre is April 1. This course will be tutored by author Belinda Jeffrey, with audio lectures and class content from Kim – meaning you have access to the wisdom and support of two great authors for the price of one. So if you need help writing your novel, now’s your chance!

My second novel-length project will be getting some serious attention soon, when I start YON (Year of the Novel, for the uninitiated) with Trent Jamieson. QWC’s The Empty Page Blog has kindly invited me to post a pic of my writer’s desk as part of Project: Bringing the Ugly. So here’s where I’ll be hanging out a lot over the next ten months…

Of course, I have a proper desk in my study, with bookshelves and dust and piles of paper everywhere – but I usually lug my laptop and notes out onto the deck! It’s the serenity, and the proximity to the coffee machine, and the view…

The Writing Race is on again tonight, if you are looking for some writerly motivation and camaraderie (8-9pm AEST).

Melbourne Writers Festival update:

Robert Sessions left the UK for Australia looking for the promised land, or at least a gig in publishing. He found both, and 47 years later has headed publishing in Penguin Australia for 20 years. He spoke for nearly an hour at The Whole Shebang this morning. I wish he’d spoken for two, because he only had time to hint at issues on the horizon like digital publishing and the parallel importation of books.

He gave a brief history of Australian publishing. Did you know that, back in the day, Penguin attempted to open a bookstore? Nobody came, because readers don’t want the restriction of one publisher and its imprints – they want to graze across the full range of titles published. A sage lesson for contemporary publishers who seek to establish their house brand over author recognition.

Sessions told us about the halcyon days when the ratio of front list (new titles) to back list was 40%-60%. Nowadays it’s more like 70-30%. That means venerable old titles are written off, and vulnerable new titles have a crucial window in which to Sell or Die.
Sessions’s top tip: Penguin likes to hear from you by email. Send your synopsis through, when your project is ready, and you’ll hear back reasonably promptly as to whether they want to read more. (This from a man who carries around 60+ manuscripts on his eReader – I wonder when publishers have time to read for, y’know, pleasure. Methinks it is an enjoyment foregone by those who love the artform most – quite a sacrifice).

The next Whole Shebang presenter, Louise Swinn from Sleepers Publishing, is a younger but no less invaluable contributor to the Australian publishing landscape. Louise spoke with Brendan Gullifer (debut author of Sold) about the journey of his book. Louise, Zoe (publisher with Sleepers also) and Brendan all still have their day jobs – and perhaps we would expect this of an author, but to think of a respected literary publishing house being fueled by the passion and dedication of a pair of moonlighters is as surprising as it is inspiring.

Most fascinating insight from this panel: Louise sees books in colour, a synaesthesiac editor – her explanation of how she comprehends and develops manuscripts was like hearing Michelangelo discussing his plans for the ceiling of the Cistine!
‘There’s only one thing more painful than being a writer, and that’s being married to one.’ Brendan Gullifer’s wife approved the sale of the family home to support his writing. They have three kids. Such are the sacrifices writers are willing to make to develop their career.  And his novel sounds like an interesting window into the real estate idealism dominating the Australian psyche.

That’s a plug, folks…

So many books in the festival bookstore, so little cash to spend. I’m going with Lisa Lutz, but that’s cos I’m a crime fic fan girl. Did I mention I bagged an invite to the Davitt Awards tonight? Squeeeeeee!

Okay, Now I’ve finished my Borek (Turkish spanikopota) and my blog post, I’ll get back into The Whole Shebang. It’s another incredible opportunity  to learn about the Australian literary community. Arts VIC, City of Lit, VWC … more juicy facts and figures about what’s available for writers.

Byron Bay Writers Festival has been and gone for another year. The writers, the weather, co-chairing the Nuts&Bolts professional development seminar , doing vox pops with authors, and chairing a session on historical fiction in the SCU Marquee – it all added up to an immersive experience in the world of writing and publishing that will nourish me for months to come.

Now I am preparing for Melbourne Writers Festival. Busy month. But before I move on from Byron enitrely, I want to continue the wrap up. I had the chance to speak at length with Peter Bishop, Creative Director of Varuna, a man I am dubbing Australia’s least known and most important contributor to literary culture.

Peter spoke about his life, and how he did not follow the beaten track to get where he is. Writing is an industry of a million written and unwritten rules, but he argues that following them does not guarantee results. Rather, Peter encourages writers to be rebels, not to kotow to any particular rules or guidelines for success, but to devote your energies to challenging yourself and finding your voice. It was thought-provoking stuff for one to hear who had just spent a day involved in delivering a professional development seminar for writers. Had I just spent a day involved in telling writers the rules to follow, the recipe for success?

Upon reflection, I realise that my passion for community and professional development for writers is more about linking people together – online writing peers, industry leaders, regional writers, etc – than providing instructions. There is a wealth of resources available for writers to tap into to develop themselves and their craft, but at different points in a writer’s career, it can be difficult to know where those resources are. Writing is a craft: there are masters, apprentices, cohorts. There are a raft of tools and approaches that different writers can select for their toolkit, tailored to their own interests, genres, and stages of career.

Beyond that, Peter’s final point is one that struck a deep chord in me. There is a crucial and lively conversation, between writers and on writing, extending through the whole literary world from publishers to readers. I encourage every writer to nuture their imaginative space by finding ways to connect with this broader conversation: through festivals, writers groups, courses, writers centres, fellowships … Wherever and however you can, find your peers, your buddies, your mentors and teachers - because that will help you find your own stories and develop your own voice.

More facts that hurt my brain: Google estimates there are more than one trillion unique urls on the interwebs, not including dark web pages (not available through public search indexes).

I’m at a workshop for writers about Promoting Yourself Online with the inestimably brilliant Kate Eltham. 

So what does the enormous complexity of the interwebs mean for an author seeking to create or maintain their platform through online presence? As web platforms move towards conversation models, an expectation is forming that users can contribute and reproduce content – I’m looking at you, Gen Y! So authors, don’t worry about trying to control use of your content, because that power now lies with the users. Instead, concentrate on supporting users to find and spread your content in ways that you both want. Scatter your delectable content like biscuit crumbs to increase your findability on the interwebs. And respect the multi-channel factor: don’t expect people to leave their channels and come to you – take yourself to them.

it’s hard for writers not to get hung up on text and readers. But we need to think about photos, videos, images, podcasts etc as well as text. A great example: what did Cory Doctorow’s website look like 5 years ago? Ask the internet archive. Then compare to craphound today.

Savvy, much?

Oops, now it’s my turn to facilitate the session: twenty authors exploring different social media platforms and reporting back on how they are being used or could be used by authors. We have a great group here today, including poet Graham Nunn and debut author Belinda Jeffreys. Joanne Schoenwald just created a twitter account for her alter ego Lucy Gabrielle. She got a magazine review out of it within 15 minutes. Seriously.

The interwebs can hurt your brain and suck your time like a vampire, but it is absolutely awesometown. And everyone should spend some time in awesometown, right?

Right.

A lucky Speakeasy reader is on a writer’s retreat in Fiji with Australian fantasy author, Kate Forsyth. Katrina has taken the time to drop us a line and let us know how it’s going…

Hi Meg!

Katrina

Thanks, Katrina – sounds inspiring! Speakeasy is always happy to hear from writers about how you develop your craft.

Byron Bay Writers Festival Special Price
Feeling inspired to nurture your knowledge about the art and busines of writing? Byron Bay Writers Festival is offering AWMonline subscribers the special price of $55 (normal price is $75) if they book into the all-day seminar ‘Nuts and Bolts: so you want to be a writer’ at the Bryon Bay Writers Festival, presented by The Australian Writer’s Marketplace on Thursday 6 August. 

Please note: This discount is a special one-off offer for the Nuts and Bolts seminar only and does not include entry to the full festival.

My brain is exploding! It always does when I delve into social media strategies research.

I’ll have to read this amazing post by Angela Meyer on "…What makes a successful cultural blog" again, to get my head straight. Yes, you’ve read it already, I’m sure, but here’s an excerpt that sums up the challenges and opportunities of blogging so well:

What we can embrace is the fact that the blog is a narrative. That it is transient and linear (the blog grows as does its writer), but the pieces also exist permanently (possibly) to be recalled in google searches or through links from other sites and backtracks on your own. And while it may be linear, in a sense, it is also incredibly rich and multifaceted, in terms of the links, feeds, appropriations, communication and references one can use in single posts or threads.

Meyer also articulates the power of the personal in blogging, as opposed to the ‘neutral reporter’ viewpoint that is the benchmark of professional journalism (and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, btw). So what do you think? How much of the personal does a writer need to put in their blogs and websites? How do you create and maintain a successful persona for your online presence?

While you’re thinking about that, you might like to refer to some handy reference material addressing how ‘digital infrastructure will affect where and when artists engage with their audiences’:

In less than five years, most Australian households and businesses will be able to access data-rich content such as games, TV, enriched social networking and movies, as a result of the Australian Government’s roll-out of the National Broadband Network. Most Australian households will also convert to digital television.

As uptake of digital technologies increases, these platforms will play a more central role in the production, distribution and enjoyment of arts content. With the shift to online culture come new challenges, opportunities and questions.

This snippet is from the introductory paragraphs of the new Art Strategy for the Digital Age by the Australia Council for the Arts. Speakeasy applauds the Australia Council for its forward planning and initiative in embracing the digital medium, and hopes we will soon see some innovative strategies from traditional Australian publishers as both artists and entrepreneurs move forward into the conceptual age.

~

Aurealis Award-winning speculative fiction author Trent Jamieson led a brace of AWMonline subscribers to an amazing evening’s writing achievement. The Writing Race tally from last night gave our standing record of 10,529 a nudge at 10,426 words. The generosity, skill and talent in the Australian writing community is a wonderful thing.

As Trent says, ‘…write hard, write what you love, and edit until your eyes bleed.’

There is so much writerly goodness around the interwebz this week, it totally rocks!

The international publishing industry news that came out of the Sydney Writers’ Festival is fascinating, including developments in India, China, and Canada – all very relevant to Australian authors. Stay tuned for an overview of facts and figures in an upcoming post, which will convince you not to fall into the trap of seeing the US market as the holy grail of publishing opportunities. AWMonline plans to follow up through forum discussions with some of the presenters, including literary agents, scouts, and publishers from around the globe.

The crime of romance is a hot topic, with the upcoming Conference on Popular Romance Fiction being held to coincide with the annual meeting of Romance Writers of Australia (Brisbane, 13-14 August). The program covers an incredible range of topics, including cross-genre information that will appeal to a range of writers – I’ll be attending the session on forensics, for sure. Cross-genre romance is an international trend, with Washington Romance Writers also attracted to villainy.

Opportunities for writers abound. Check out Varuna House’s amazing publisher programs – deadline 31 August. Queensland Writers Centre is running a national program for fiction writers, the Hachette Manuscript Development Program again this year. Last year’s crop resulted in some highly successful projects. Deadline for this year is 24 July.

A couple of final clicks:

Brilliant tips for any writer from an editor’s POV: Jeremiah Tolbert on 5 Lies Writers Believe about Editors. Leave your unrealistic expectations at the door, but do bring a healthy bar tab.

Twitterers, take note of these practical pointers from Chris Brogan on making yourself more retweetable. I love the reminder to leave room in your 140 character budget for the retweet, because people will be less inclined to retweet if they have to edit your tweet: such an astute observation of online behaviour. 

Writing Race Update: Lee McGowan led the Racers to an all-time record of 10,560, bringing us to a running writing total of 61,922 words - the equivalent of a long YA manuscript! 

Do you lean to the left, and explore cultural or political issues with a journalist’s eye or a poet’s pen? Then read on for a publication opportunity that’s right up your alley…

Speakeasy spoke with the most erudite Jeff Sparrow, who has given us the skinny on Overland literary journal.

Sp: When did Overland start publishing?

JS: Overland began in 1954, emerging out of the Realist Writers Movement. Its foundation editor was Stephen Murray-Smith.

Sp: What genres does Overland publish, and who is your audience?

JS: Overland publishes fiction, poetry, reviews, essays, memoirs and most other literary genres. Because of that, it’s difficult to define an audience but it’s probably safe to say that Overland readers are generally people looking for an alternative, aesthetically and politically, to mainstream corporate culture.

Sp: What are you looking for in submissions?

JS: Overland is an explicitly political journal, with a generally left-of-centre orientation. That doesn’t mean we necessarily seek didactic submissions. In general, though, we look for writers who have something to say and know how to say it.

Sp: What are your upcoming deadlines for submissions?

JS: Our next deadline is 1 June. We generally don’t run themes so deadlines aren’t that significant – if we can’t fit a quality submission in one edition, we will run it in the next. [See Overland's submission guidelines here.]

Sp: Do you have any new developments or events to promote, and it came up really

JS: At the moment, we’re promoting a series of events at the Sydney Writers Festival, including a major presentation by Germaine Greer and the launch of Overland’s special symposium on climate change. Check out Overland’s SWF events.

Sp: Any thing else you would like to add?

JS: Overland runs a group blog from its website. The site also makes recent editions freely available online and so is a great way to check out what the journal is about.

~

Craig Bolland’s article "Practice Makes Perfect: Writing Short Pieces that Sell" is a very useful guide for writers seeking to develop their craft into a freelance profession. It’s available to AWMonline subscribers under the Writing Resources tab, in the section for emerging writers.

Tonight’s Writing Race features special guest Lee McGowan. Lee’s first novel was short listed in the 2007 Queensland Premiers Literary Awards Emerging Author category. Lee reviews for Bookseller + Publisher and has been posting a weekly football fiction blog. Join us at AWMonline forums, 745pm AEST for an 8pm start to write alongside Lee and the Writing Race crew.

Last week, AWMonline subscribers spoke with Australian YA author Michael Gerard Bauer during an online forum. The dynamics of having so many enthusiatic writers put questions to our internationally successful guest quickly created a warm and vibrant conversation. Here are some highlights from the discussion:

Kate: How conscious are you of the influence of your locality when writing?
MBG: Quite a bit. I taught at Marist Brothers in Brisbane and I based the school setting for “Don’t Call me Ishmael” on that. I felt the Ashgrove location a great deal in The Running Man and made a conscious decision to use the real suburb and street names in the story because it was based on some childhood memories of growing up there.

Robyn: Do you think having been a teacher has helped you as a writer, and if it has, what have you found most valuable about it?
MBG: Yes, definitely. I think it gave me a good understanding of the people I was writing about. I certainly couldn’t have written ishmael as well without drawing on my teaching years. During teaching I also read lots of YA books and loved them. Now when I visit schools to talk I feel very comfortable in that environment.

Samantha: What are some of the things that helped you make the trasition from full-time teacher to full-time writer, Michael?
MGB: Desperation to write the story was one thing! Having a very supportive wife who continued full time work helped a lot too. And some great good fortune.

Lynn: Do you work solely on one project at a time or do you mix it up?
MGB: I work on one project at a time but there has always been the next story in the back of my mind that starts to take over when the first one comes to an end.

Samantha: What does your writing week look like and how has your success, and associated PR obligations, impacted on your ability to write new material?
MGB: My writing week looks like a bit of a shambles most times! I’m trying to be more consistent and organised with my writing. On a good day I would have an early walk (really helps with ideas) have breakfast, write till lunch and then for a few hours after lunch. I have had to think more in the last 2 years about balancing writing and school/festival vists because sometimes I’ve been away for 5 weeks in a row interstate. You have to make space for the writing.

Kate: As a former teacher, and as a writer for young readers, what are your thoughts about encouraging creative writing in young people?
MGB: I don’t mind encouraging kids to enter comps. It gives them a structure and a focus for their writing. As long as winning or getting a prize is not the main objective but more simply a way to practice their writing.

Jim: I can understand the joy and passion of writing, but what is the most frustrating part of your successful life as an author?
MGB: I really feel blessed to have the chance to be a full time writer so I feel I’ve got nothing to complain about … but … I guess like every writer it’s when the ideas in your head end up all clunky on the page and that hard struggle to get it right. There are great rewards of course when you do it. Also wanting to write and not being able to because of other commitments.

Elaine: Do you recommend having an agent or trying to find a publisher?
MGB: I can’t say much about having an agent. I don’t have one but I know some authors who do and swear by them. I tend to do everything myself and I must admit sometimes I think it would be nice to have someone negotiate contracts etc for you. My overseas sales have all been organised by the rights people at Scholastic.

Joanne: Do you have a critique group or circle of people that you use to help you with your projects?
MGB: No, I don’t. I think I’m too self conscious to be scrutinised! But I know people who do and find them a great source of support and inspiration.

Jodi: Do you think your teaching background has led you to write YA novels? What are you working on at the moment? Do you ever think you’ll write/publish more short fiction?
MGB: Yes, I think my teaching has led me to YA novels. Although i tend to write stories that I like rather than think too much about aiming them at a particular audience. Must be my arrested development that they end up YA! At present I’m writing a shorter novel – 25000 – words where the narrator is a 11 yr old boy. he tells the story of his dog’s life but also reveals things about his family. i’m not sure who will want to read it but I have to write anyway.

Luke: I know Dinosaur Knights has only just been released, but are you working on your next project yet? Can you tell us anything about it?
MGB: I’m enjoying trying to write [my latest story] from a young narrator’s POV. It means my language has to be simple and straight forward. I want to tell a powerful story with simple language. Some people might say I use too much imagery and symbolism and exaggerated similes/metaphors in some of my previous novels!

Robyn: I’ve been reading lately that YA and kids books seem to be selling well – better than books for adults even – despite the ‘global economic crisis’ .
MGB: I think children’s books particularly in Australia are so strong and well written so maybe they are better placed to weather the storm.

Meg: Thank you to all our wonderful forum particpants – you have created a fantastic, informative discussion that shows such enthusiasm for the craft of writing. And special thanks to our guest, Michael Bauer. Your generosity in sharing your experience with our beginner and developing writers from around Australia has enriched us all, Michael. You’re a treasure!

MGB: Thanks everyone, this has been such great fun! Thank you for your wonderful questions. I hope I’ve managed to make some sense with my answers. I might have to have a lie down now though …

Written something terrific? Wondering what to do with it? Speakeasy is profiling a range of contemporary Australian literary magazines to show beginner/developing writers the wealth of opportunities to have their short works published.

The Lifted Brow is a progressive and experimental Australian literary and music journal. First published in Brisbane, The Brow’s team now operates from lit-zine central in Melbourne, and has bagged some big-name overseas guests like Neil Gaiman.

Talking about the first edition of TLB, editor and founder Ronnie Scott says “We funded it through a few $100 ads from local businesses, but still came up short. A bunch of our friends got together one Friday night and had a bake-off; we made fudge, cookies, cupcakes. We dressed up the most attractive person, a writer named Sarah Grey, and went out into the Valley at about 2am with all the baked goods in a cellophane-lined basket. Right up until the sun came up, Sarah would step out of the shadows and innocently sell the baked goods to Valley drunks, and that made up the shortfall. The first edition had a print run of, I think, 300 copies, then another 200 when we sold all those. It was on cheap, grey paper and saddle-stitched, the idea being that (a) you could roll it up and put it in your pocket – disposable aesthetic – and (b) we could only afford cheap, grey paper and saddle-stitching.”

As well as its strong aesthetic, setting The Brow apart from the crowd is it’s proud refusal to “distinguish between established and school-aged artists; overseas and local artists; genre and literary fiction; and between writing, art, and music" while still demanding works are up to “world standard". This offers a broad range of genres for writers wanting to submit their work, including comics, fiction and non-fiction pieces (up to 1,200 words), songs, and poems. And their slushing process means every contributor gets a fair deal: “For issue five, I basically did the submissions as they came in. The No pile is easy, the Yes pile is easy, but the Maybe pile is disgustingly hard. We had about a hundred stories in the Maybe pile this time, from which we needed to pick, say, twenty. At that stage, Jane [York] came along and helped refine it. But the Maybe pile was halved and halved again too many times to count.”

If your submission is accepted, you can look forward to Ronnie’s dynamic editing process: “I look at the white page and feel afraid. Then I make a little red pen mark and feel good. Half an hour later the page is covered in red pen and I feel very, very ashamed. But the story is better. Most of the stories are edited really heavily. After that initial hand-edit, I type it into Word with "track changes" on and send it to the author. They send it back with maybe half the changes approved, half disputed. Then I send it back with half their disputes approved, half explained/argued further. It goes on like that, argued in more and more detail, until we’re both happy with it.”

The Brow do one themed and one unthemed issue per year. As editor, Ronnie gets the final word on what direction each issue takes: “The Brow basically publishes ’stuff I personally think is exciting and good’, and of course that will change, and the magazine with it. From the next issue onwards, we also have some contributing editors from around the world who are going to herd things our way that I wouldn’t otherwise see. Blind submissions [i.e. unsolicited] are the most exciting things to get.”

TLB6 is themed as an atlas of the world, and submissions are due by 1 July 2009. Brow launches are a total blast, with music and cheap mags and lots of fun, so get along if you can, whether you’re a contributor or a fan!

For those of you who are new to submitting, and are worried about dealing with possible rejection, read this post by emerging author Angela Slatter, and laugh while you learn.

Writing Race update: Last night’s Race with special guest Joanne Schoenwald achieved a huge total of 7,484 – which brings us to a running total of 46,169 words.