The ways we write can be as important as what it is we write, says Bethanie Blanchard. The little rituals or habits, the strange superstitions we have about composing, the things that must occur if we are to have any success.
Writing
Writing on writing: how to kill cliches dead
Harry Birmingham has been professional writer for more than ten years, but it was only when asked to produce a How to Write book that he came to think systematically about the craft of writing.
In a city of literature, new writers emerge
Emerging writing events are sprouting up all over the country this June. A Melbourne festival for fledgling scribes shows writing takes many forms.
Daily Proposition: Get writing, damn it!
When it comes to procrastinating, modern man seems spectacularly adept at finding new and ingenious ways of avoiding writing that dream novel, article or screenplay, laments freelance writer Dan Hanks.
Probing the probers
The latest sexual assault allegations against Collingwood football players gave sub-editors Australia-wide a chance to bust out their favourite legal healdline term: probe. Mel Campbell examines the sub-editorial antics.
Do you write for yourself or an audience?
It’s a common issue with authors: who is the target audience? For an intensely private activity, writing can have very public repercussions. And the sweet innocence of a first novel can never be replicated, notes Jessica Au.
How Twitter makes you a better writer
Twitter isn’t just for networking and making pithy one-liners about your lunch. Twitter is a great tool for improving your writing by helping build buzz about yourself and forcing you to edit your work.
The good bits of bad writing
The best way to improve your own writing? Read crap work, from lousy poetry to an embarrassing first novel. If the internet has given us anything, it’s unprecedented access to terrible writing.
Want to write a book? Become an editor
Usually being a writer and being an editor was a complete different kettle of fish. But is it actually advantageous for a young author to work in the publishing industry or does that just cause writing and reading fatigue?
Keep it simple, stupid
New technology makes journalists jump straight to the chase, as opposed to newspaper articles which are too long, too boring and provide context we already know. When it doubt, delete.
Writing tips from Peter Carey: train, practise, stretch every day
Author Peter Carey dishes out advice for wannabe scribes, comparing the training and dedication needed in writing to that of a professional sportsperson. Plus, stop watching TV. Or looking at the internet. Uh oh.
We are all authors now
Two scientists have plotted the number of published authors per year since the year 1400, finding that with the rise of social media, the number is growing nearly tenfold every year. Authors — once an elite minority — will soon be a majority.
Tips for authors on how to get words on the page
One of the challenges of writing is … writing. Here are some tips that I’ve found most useful for myself, says Gretchen Rubin.
