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From small things do bigger things grow — cubs into lions, acorns into oaks, ideas into stories and then collections of stories and then worlds. Some time ago a friend tossed me an idea “challenge” — a story about a … Continue reading
Category Archives: Inspiration
It’s Sunday afternoon and in the background on the TV is the charity concert raising money. A whole day of music by big names. One band talked about which members of the band had families who have lost everything . … Continue reading
I’m a little tired. This is the Australian art of understatement. Right now, we’re using that a lot. If an Australian tells you that they were affected by the fires, check (don’t ask them – find out in a more … Continue reading
We’re used to impossible adjectives right now in Australia. We think we will get used to what’s happening, but we never do. It’s all personal and it’s all much bigger than any news report has been willing to show. Let … Continue reading
If you’re a pantser you are not in sole charge of the work. The characters, the plot, the theme, all chip in and drag the book to new and exciting places. You want them to do that. This is the … Continue reading
“Don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous…” –Rumi As the year draws to a close, I reflect that it’s been, as Mark Twain put it, “One damned thing … Continue reading
For years, when people described pantsing vs plotting, I listened carefully to everyone. I was trying to work out what I was doing wrong. I was doing nothing wrong. I was flying by the seat of my pants… my way. … Continue reading
The first bit of advice for the aspiring pantser is the least useful of all. You have to begin it. You have to have some dim idea of what the work is going to be like, and you have to … Continue reading
Once in a while I find out I’ve missed something important in the book world, some classic that’s been out forever that I somehow never noticed when it was first published, something that turns out to be wonderful. Then once in a very great while I find something I wish I’d read thirty years before it was ever published.
Continue readingMy sweetheart and I walked over to Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden on Sunday. This gorgeous park, set into a hill, was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration and includes thousands of roses along with assorted trees, a … Continue reading