Writer, editor & reader
While reading the Gillian Mear’s biography a few months back I discovered that when The Mint Lawn was reissued she had the opportunity to make a few changes. Yet she more or less left it how it was. Perhaps she simply didn’t have it in her to go back to that book. It was so … Continue reading 5 ideas to help you finish a piece of writing
All the animals at Berlin's Anoha museum are handmade from recycled objects by various Berlin artists The cure for many ills, noted Jung, is to build something, and this is the epigraph and theme of Amanda Lohrey’s atmospheric novel, The Labyrinth (Text). It’s my second read by a Tassie author this month and further proof … Continue reading Amanda Lohrey’s ‘The Labyrinth’ and making things by hand
When I started writing my psychological suspense novel, The Night Village, about a new mother and her strange houseguest, I pictured the story unfolding in my old flat in Hackney. And then, in the same way a dream will suddenly shift location, my characters were all somehow living at the Barbican Estate in central London. … Continue reading Why the Barbican makes a compelling setting for a novel
Recently I listened to author Tara June Winch talk about her Miles Franklin Award winning novel, The Yield. Here are some notes from the evening.
When writing prose, it's easy to get stuck on the mechanics of the story – who is speaking? Was the baby asleep in the last scene? Could it really be dusk already? .... and the writing itself can sometimes feel secondary, just a means of getting your characters from A to B. So turning up … Continue reading Writing workshop: using place names in your writing
While ordinary writers paddle between the flags at the beach, a poet will free dive the Titanic. They go there. And yet, the word poet just sounds so genteel and lovely.
Starting a new blog has been on my to-do list for a while. A social media presence is helpful for writers, and as I am currently revising my novel in the hope of having it accepted for publication I need to start now. However, in October 2018 I moved with my family to Berlin, my … Continue reading To do list item 245: start blog
Zoe Deleuil 