Re-writing gives you the opportunity to truly write your story and make sure that it’s telling a tale in a deeply engaging way. While re-writing your novel can be frustrating at times, it’s an essential part of the novel writing process. The best part about re-drafting your novel is that it gives you a chance to really get to know your characters and understand their motives. Re-writing is often not particularly covered in writing courses, but the process is vital in order to produce ...

Dialogue is one of the most challenging parts of writing - or is it? After all, we all talk. But when it comes to writing dialogue, sometimes all we hear is crickets. In this week's episode of the Write Your Novel podcast, I break down my process for writing dialogue, from the nuts and bolts of setting it out on the page to what words I choose to put in which characters' mouths. --------- If you took something from this episode, I would love for...

The path to publication can be long and twisted. It certainly was for me, with scores of rejections, setbacks, and false hopes. In this week's episode of the Write Your Novel podcast, I tell some stories from the road both good and bad on what it took to get my debut novel Locust Summer published. What got me through - in the end - was strictly separating the submission process and anything to do with publishing from my writing. So, let's dive into h...

Developing your own voice as a writer means writing until the story emerges. Writing what you know helps too. But taking this a bit further, what are you interested in? Inspired by? How do you see and understand the word? Looking back, my earliest interests and inspirations were all to do with mechanical engineering. And I've found a way to incorporate this into my writing style. In this episode, I'll share how the design of a jet engine influenced ...

Every now and again in our writing practice, we can get into deep waters where the swimming becomes compulsive. Work flows. The days pass swiftly. And the word and page count builds and builds. This is a good thing. But it's also got some wicked snares to watch out for. Last week's episode was all about what to do when you get stuck - but on the flipside, this week's episode is all about what to do when you are in a good groove with writing; how to keep th...

Getting stuck is a normal, natural, and entirely frustrating part of writing anything. There's a galaxy of charted and uncharted reasons for why that happens. But I think it can be boiled down to problems in the story, turbulence in our life, or shadows in our mind. In this week's podcast, I share some of my stuck moments and how I got out of them, plus a bunch more that are also nicely presented in a downloadable workbook, which you can access below. Because ...

Ending a story is a great feeling. It's also kind of like staggering across a finish line after a very long and gruelling ultra-marathon. In this week's podcast, I take you into the process that I just went through of finishing a draft of my new book and what I'm going to do next. In writing, the work is never really done, is it? But finishing your stuff is a powerful move that will grow your artistic practice and push your limits. ------ If you took som...

Writing a book is a long, difficult slog that requires persistence, stamina, and commitment. It also requires a foolhardy sense of optimism, because there is no guarantee of reward. Nevertheless, writers can often get stuck focussing on publication as the ultimate goal of their work. In this episode, I discuss very honestly the inner turmoil that can arise when we get stuck deeply into a story and sweat the outcome too much. It's easy to fall into the trap of focuss...

Over the years I've written in many different spaces, from a laundromat at a caravan park, to a villa in Bali and even at the famous Hotel Continental in Saigon. Often I've found that these different spaces and changes of scene have inspired me and motivated me in some way. In this episode, I reflect on these different spaces and the related adventures surrounding them. And I ask you - where is the best location you've ever been at, to work on your WIP? ------ If you took someth...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to publish a novel? On the anniversary of publishing my debut novel, Locust Summer, I dive deep into what it feels like to have my book baby out in the world for a year. I discuss how I've received compliments, reviews, and criticism, and how it feels to have someone tell you how they truly feel about your book and how it affected them. I also chat about what's expected of you when you publish a novel and the anxiety you sometimes feel about putti...