creative writing | creative life
Stand aside! There's writin' to be rescued! Okay. This was supposed to be the Day Three post of my self-imposed, pre-Christmas blogging challenge. I wrote most of it—then lost my mojo and my faith, got distracted by Christmas preparations, and, erm, abandoned the writing. But it's never too late to rescue our darlings, is it? …
We have a new bakery in our little town, dear reader. It's actually the old bakery rejigged. They have revamped and stoked-up the ancient wood-fired oven and they're making posh bread and fancy biscuits. And they have a hole in the wall where they serve totally ACE coffee. And it's all VERY exciting. Yesterday when …
Continue reading "Australian House and Garden. Keeping it Real."
My childhood memories of Christmas are pretty darn scratchy, dear reader. Not patchy. Scratchy. Like chook scratches in loose dirt. Hard to decipher. Vague. No hint of a plot. And yet. Some of my favourite glimpses (I won't call them memories) are from the Christmases we spent at my aunt and uncle's dairy farm on …
Rambling writer alert! Read at your own peril... I have very little to offer you on this Thursday afternoon, dear reader, and yet I still feel compelled to pick up a pen and scratch a few lines. Perhaps I should write in my journal and keep my muddled thoughts private. But. I am sitting here …
Hey there bloggy reader! Are you on my mailing list? If you'd like to hear from me more often, and if you want more of the 'insider goss', sign up for my museletters. I write once a fortnight with creativity tips, news from home, pretty stuff to inspire and support you. Meantime, here's a copy …
Storytime, dear reader. Many years ago, in fact it was LAST CENTURY, I worked as a nurse. (Think 1980s. Think Princess Di, shoulder pads and Estee Lauder, All Day Berry Basket lipstick...) I trained in country Queensland and once I obtained my certificate, I toddled off to the big smoke (aka Bris Vegas, aka Brisbane), …
There are some words that always make my ears prick up: Creativity Bewitched Enchantment If anyone's talking about these things or tossing these words into their copy, I'm there. I can't help but pay attention. It's like 'once upon a time'. Or, 'long ago and far away'. Or 'gather round'. Such words and phrases speak …
Pull up a chair! Grab a latte. A Lady Grey. A shandy. Let's chat! I was going to call this blog post, 'What's Wrong With This Bloody Story?' But on second thoughts that title might be misleading. Who's story? Which story? Your story or my story? See what I'm sayin'? Let's narrow it down. Don …
The other day I followed a link to a promising webpage. I was interested in what the business had to offer and I wanted to see who was behind it and, if I felt a connection, I was going to sign up. Get involved. I got to the website and guess what? No face. No …
From time to time I send out this download to the creatives on my mailing list. I wrote this download as a blog post ages ago, in response to a wildly common question:How do I know what I'm writing?Say what?The thing is, when it comes to writing books for children, people (especially newbies) get bamboozled. …
Continue reading "A Freebie for You. Plus, Let’s Celebrate Picture Book Month!"