How to turn your commute into characters
Bored on your trip to work? Perfect! Why not use that time to fill your stories with fascinating, well-rounded characters? Character creation is central to
Bored on your trip to work? Perfect! Why not use that time to fill your stories with fascinating, well-rounded characters? Character creation is central to
Dear readers, are you ready for a challenge? Our competition is a little bigger than usual this month – in terms of the prize AND
Ineluctable (adjective) “This means impossible to avoid or inescapable. It comes from the Latin ‘to struggle’. So you might say that it reached an ineluctable
The Australian Crime Writers Association recently announced their shortlist for the 2016 Ned Kelly Awards for best in Australian crime writing. We were thrilled to
Now, for more than two years, WE have known how brilliant Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait’s weekly chats on all things writing, blogging and publishing
Recently, to celebrate the shortest day of the year, our CEO Valerie Khoo asked our community (via our weekly newsletter) to create a 23-word short
Crime. Murder. Espionage. Mystery. It’s a world filled with more evil and crime than you can shake a sharpened stick at – where people save
In Episode 118 of So you want to be a writer: Are you writing a hybrid book? Discover the people writing poetry as a service and the
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
We couldn’t help but notice that there is a play opening in Melbourne called Convicted on a Comma: The Trial of Roger Casement. It’s the
Stentorian (adjective) “Do you know what stentorian means? It actually comes from Greek mythology. A stentor was a herald with a loud voice. So the word
In Episode 117 of So you want to be a writer: A new documentary on the romance writing industry, scientists discover what causes writer’s block and seven
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
Bombastic (adjective) “I know it sounds like an explosion, but actually ‘bombast’ is an old word meaning material used for padding. These days, it often
This week, we’re chatting with writer Isabelle Li – author of A Chinese Affair. So, tell us Isabelle, for those who haven’t read your book,
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
In Episode 116 of So you want to be a writer: A book of tweets from writers who should be working on their novels and a history
Predilection and Propensity (noun) “Predilection is almost the same as preference. So you have a predilection for wearing black. Or a predilection for peanut butter
Hot off the press is the first novel from Australian author Rajith Savanadasa, Ruins. “A stunning debut novel from a fresh voice in Australian fiction,
In Episode 115 of So you want to be a writer: Five entrepreneurial tips for authors who want to up their game and an English teacher’s hip
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
Throughout the month of July, we have another book pack up for grabs. We’ve curated five fabulous female authors’ books and bundled them together with
Soporific (adjective) “I love this word. According to the Macquarie Dictionary, it means ‘causing or tending to cause sleep’. So you might say that someone’s
In Episode 114 of So you want to be a writer: Discover which author broke through after four flops and the author afraid to listen to her
Bored on your trip to work? Perfect! Why not use that time to fill your stories with fascinating, well-rounded characters? Character creation is central to writing fiction – great characters can keep people reading long after their bedtime, and bad characters can have a reader dropping a story in mere
Dear readers, are you ready for a challenge? Our competition is a little bigger than usual this month – in terms of the prize AND the word count – and we can’t wait to see what you come up with! The crime and thriller short story competition We challenge you
Ineluctable (adjective) “This means impossible to avoid or inescapable. It comes from the Latin ‘to struggle’. So you might say that it reached an ineluctable conclusion. Or that it is ineluctable that my cat Rexy is going to land a modelling deal one day soon because of his amazing beauty…”
The Australian Crime Writers Association recently announced their shortlist for the 2016 Ned Kelly Awards for best in Australian crime writing. We were thrilled to spot a couple of familiar faces among the acclaimed authors. Candice Fox, our amazing presenter of our How to Write About Murder course, is up for her
Now, for more than two years, WE have known how brilliant Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait’s weekly chats on all things writing, blogging and publishing are. But it’s always nice to get a little extra recognition – as we did this week when So you want to be a writer
Recently, to celebrate the shortest day of the year, our CEO Valerie Khoo asked our community (via our weekly newsletter) to create a 23-word short story that had to contain the words WINTER, WRITER and SILHOUETTE. That was the only rule. The challenge certainly struck a chord! We were overwhelmed
Crime. Murder. Espionage. Mystery. It’s a world filled with more evil and crime than you can shake a sharpened stick at – where people save the world from certain destruction, where spies, terrorists and thugs abound, and where the killer could be someone in your very own home. It’s also
In Episode 118 of So you want to be a writer: Are you writing a hybrid book? Discover the people writing poetry as a service and the predictive text generator writing fan fiction. We dive into the huge self-publishing success of romance writers and share the meaning of ineluctable. Our writer in
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, in an upcoming Q&A… Q:
We couldn’t help but notice that there is a play opening in Melbourne called Convicted on a Comma: The Trial of Roger Casement. It’s the world premiere of a play written, directed and narrated by Brian Gillespie, marking the centenary of Casement’s execution on 3 August 1916. If you’re not
Stentorian (adjective) “Do you know what stentorian means? It actually comes from Greek mythology. A stentor was a herald with a loud voice. So the word stentorian is used to describe a loud voice or sound. So you might say that when Darth Vader was angry he expressed this in stentorian
In Episode 117 of So you want to be a writer: A new documentary on the romance writing industry, scientists discover what causes writer’s block and seven ways to make yourself a better editor. Scrivener fans rejoice: Scrivener is now on iOS. Plus: discover what editors look for on an opening page,
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re casting a protagonist spell…
Bombastic (adjective) “I know it sounds like an explosion, but actually ‘bombast’ is an old word meaning material used for padding. These days, it often refers to pompous speech. Like ‘he had a bombastic way of talking’.” And to hear Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on
This week, we’re chatting with writer Isabelle Li – author of A Chinese Affair. So, tell us Isabelle, for those who haven’t read your book, what’s it about? “A Chinese Affair consists of 16 short stories, exploring the experience of recent Chinese migration to Australia – what it means to
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re amid the action… Q:
In Episode 116 of So you want to be a writer: A book of tweets from writers who should be working on their novels and a history of wordprocessing! Discover some commonly misused words. We ask why do romance authors get a bad rap? Meet Kimberly McCreight, bestselling author of The Outliers.
Predilection and Propensity (noun) “Predilection is almost the same as preference. So you have a predilection for wearing black. Or a predilection for peanut butter on Cruskits. Propensity, on the other hand, is an inclination or tendency. Like someone might have a propensity to blame people for his mistakes. Or
Hot off the press is the first novel from Australian author Rajith Savanadasa, Ruins. “A stunning debut novel from a fresh voice in Australian fiction, for fans of Zadie Smith and Rohinton Mistry,” says the press for this one. So we asked around and tracked him down to answer a
In Episode 115 of So you want to be a writer: Five entrepreneurial tips for authors who want to up their game and an English teacher’s hip hop curriculum is encouraging appreciation of literature. Discover the art of video game writing and and some tips on querying agents and publishers. Wow your
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, it’s a matter of principle…
Throughout the month of July, we have another book pack up for grabs. We’ve curated five fabulous female authors’ books and bundled them together with some twine for one lucky winner! The books in this “fab five” pack are: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende Rosetta by Alexandra Joel A
Soporific (adjective) “I love this word. According to the Macquarie Dictionary, it means ‘causing or tending to cause sleep’. So you might say that someone’s voice is soporific. Or a particularly boring television show is soporific. Or, for me, listening to my cat purr late at night while he’s cuddling
In Episode 114 of So you want to be a writer: Discover which author broke through after four flops and the author afraid to listen to her own audiobook. We discuss if cursive writing is now obsolete and more reasons to sometimes write by hand. Impress (or tire) your friends with the
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