For those who missed part 1 of this truly inspiring interview with intrepid writer and transformational blogger, Tania Pryputniewicz, see previous post. And for those waiting in anticipation of more nuggets of gold and words of wisdom, read on!

Me: A suggestion you make in your post entitled “…

For those who missed part 1 of this truly inspiring interview with intrepid writer and transformational blogger, Tania Pryputniewicz, see previous post. And for those waiting in anticipation of more nuggets of gold and words of wisdom, read on!

Me: A suggestion you make in your post entitled “…

I recently had the very good fortune of discovering a woman who has committed herself to exploring the outer limits and capabilities of the blogosphere, or blogging to you and me. Tania Pryputniewicz is a woman with a vision, which amounts to no less than the positive potential capabilities of the internet to connect individuals of like mind, leading eventually to intellectual, emotional and even spiritual transformation for all involved.

Intrigued? I was smitten by Tania’s…

I promised a review of Meg Waite Clayton’s novels and tonight, having just closed the last page in her book The Wednesday Sisters, seems like the perfect time to do so.

A few weeks ago I wrote a short article on what ‘women’s fiction’ means to me. In a nutshell women’s literary fiction refers to writing by women which…

‘Women’s fiction’ is a relatively new genre of writing, through women have been writing for centuries. Indeed the first ‘officially’ recognized novel as we understand the term today was penned by a mediaeval Japanese women back in the 11^th century – Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki. Highly recommended.

However it…

A miscelleny of blog posts and advice on preparing for NaNoWriMo

Throughout October a common theme runs through many of my favourite blogs – preparing for NaNoWriMo. I thought it might be a good idea to gather some of my favourite posts from the past few weeks into one easy-to-find resource. But these posts are not just pertinent for those planning to participate in…

I said I would do it last year. But I didn’t.

I think I said I might do it the year before. But I didn’t.

This year I’m not even going to pretend. I won’t be doing it.

I am of course talking about NaNoWriMo.

For a brief time I considered it. I rather like the seductive idea of writing a novel (!) in 30 days. I mean how easy is that? Except of course that I know how hard it is, not just to write a novel, but also to commit…

One of my greatest writing challenges is how to generate ideas for my short stories. Mostly I find that it is only by actually sitting down, opening my lap top, a new Word document and hitting those keys, that the story starts to emerge. It seems that I have to write it into being. And I’m surprised at this? Why??

Still it would be a little bit reassuring if just sometimes I had a bank of ideas which I could turn to, something to refer to on those days when no stories come. I hesitate…

I’m writing again, and have been, on a more or less daily basis since last May, since my father’s birthday, his first birthday after he died last September. That was the day when I finally opened up a special word document on my computer and began to keep a log for the first time ever of what I was writing. It felt somehow significant, as if taking this action on this particular day, not the day before, nor the one after, but on the 22^nd May 2012 imposed a layer of meaning upon…

One of the many valuable, and highly recommended, exercises suggested by Priscilla Long in her invaluable writing book The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A guide to Art, Craft and the Writing Life pertains to engaging with sentence work. Priscilla urges her students to collect exquisite sentences (and also…

[Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. ISBN 978-0-307-27082-5]

Though she is the author of two novels, Anne Michaels is first and foremost a poet. Before publishing her first novel in 1999, she had already won prestigious prizes for two poetry collections. But whether penning poetry or prose, Michaels is an accomplished wordsmith, whose…

Like many wannabe writers I vacillate between spending my time on ‘serious’ literary writing, or on the fun and intensely pleasurable writing to be found between the pages of many women’s magazines. Apart from the obvious differences between the content of both approaches, there is also quite a difference in the parameters within which one must create the story. Hence there is invariably a definite and precise word count to which you must adhere if you hope to be published in a…

Recently a lovely blogger, Elin Gregory, left a comment on my previous postingand amongst her many nuggets of wisdom, which she freely and generously offered to me, a beginner in the wonderful world of fiction writing, there was one which stood out especially. Elin advised that I write what I…

As a wannabe writer one of my very favourite pre-occupations is to lose hours and hours reading books and blog posts on the most interesting topic in the world – how to write a novel. I’ve been reading books about how to write for years, but making the jump from general writing ‘how to’ suggestions to the positively overly ambitious dream of penning a novel (who do I think I am?)has required something of a leap of faith. In fact it has taken huge courage to commit to this enterprise, not…

It seems that I’ve been nominated for another, not one but two, blogging awards. Who’d have guessed that lil’ ol’ me would warrant this level of attention. Being a true blue introvert, how on earth will I cope with the spotlight shining down upon me? Guess this is my moment of glory, and I…

Recently I’ve been wondering about how exactly to study and learn the craft of writing. For years I have listened to and heeded (though admittedly somewhat sporadically) the advice to write regularly, preferably every day. I have taken on board the injunction that in order to be a writer I must necessarily write. (Duh! )

But lately I have been experiencing a strong sense of writing in a vacuum. Yes, I do my writing practice, either journaling, or in response to a writing prompt from…

‘Cliff Notes’ for Eden’s Garden

Recently I read and reviewed Eden’s Garden by Juliet Greenwood. I chose this particular novel because it…

I used to think that my best writing came when I waited for the Muse

to appear before sitting down to write, then writing furiously until

my inspiration was spent.

In time my tactics changed. I discovered that if I took a little time

to read the work of some great writer before beginning to spill my own

words on to paper then I was more likely to write something a little

bit worthwhile, though I must add here that ‘worthwhile’ does not

imply useable as…

Like all writers I love to read. Long before I ever picked up a pen to spill my own words upon the virgin page, I devoured the words of others. Beginning with Enid Blyton mysteries and the adventures of Biggles, I rapidly progressed to the classics, reading Jane Eyre when I was a mere nine years old.

I remember the day well. I was bored, and my mother handed me a copy of this great classic in an attempt to find me something to do. That was it. I was smitten. In love with the greatest…

Everybody writes for their own reason. Some write because it’s their job. Some write because they enjoy keeping journals. Others write for healing. Or to find meaning in life.

I write for all these reasons, except for the first one. I don’t have a job. Yet. I am hoping in the future to fill in the occupation blank on forms as ‘writer’ . Maybe I will check out how that feels on the next official form which falls on my door mat. Come on, Mr. Postman, post those bills!

But the…