If there was one Australian author I would recommend that you read before you die, it would be Michael Leunig. He is described by Wikipedia as a cartoonist, poet, and social commentator, and was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1999. What on earth do you have to do…
Flowers
This, for better or for worse, is the "crap but short" story I referred to in yesterday's post. I just sat down and wrote the first thing that came into my head. What emerged was an unintentional mini-meditation on the issues preoccupying me at the moment: love and sadness, regrets and hopes, the dream state,…
I've recently finished Stephen King's On Writing. I loved it. I originally downloaded it on my Kindle, but after finishing it I immediately ordered it online so I could have a hard copy to scribble over and highlight. I would like to share a few of those highlights with you. Firstly, a reality check: When…
Old Love
Love not like the novices do, intently, purposefully. Now that you know the ropes, you can swing on them. Love like over-ripe peaches: too sweet, too juicy, fit to burst. Love like the wild ones who howl at the moon and seek at dawn with satiate ease their beds of oblivion. Love like beasts with your…
Commas, can be useful
If you read the title of this post without cringing and sucking in a mortified gasp of air, you may want to stop reading. If, on the other hand, the above photo makes you want to scream and immediately scramble for your red correction pen (and a shotgun), please read on. As part of the Proofreading and…
Descent
We stand together looking at the view. It is more impressive than a Monet, as shattered as a Picasso. I try to tell him this but he interrupts. I may know nothing about “art,” he says, using his fingers as quotation marks, but in my very humble opinion that tree is an eye, that sand…
Back to School
This arrived by courier this morning: It's my "So you Want to be a Student Again Starter Pack". (Where's the scarf and cheap booze?) Actually, it's my textbooks and first two tutorials for the year-long correspondence course I have enrolled in - Proofreading and Editing. The massive grey folder at the bottom will gradually fill…
Here's one that's been doing the rounds on Facebook: "In your status line, list 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard - they don't have to be the "right" or "great" works, just the ones that have touched you." Here…
That “Aha!” Moment
I've just had an "Aha!" moment. It was one of those moments we writers live for, when a sudden flash of elucidation sets your writing morning on fire, reminding you why you're sitting at your desk sweating blood, struggling to get your story down on the page. This particularly sweet "Aha!" moment came as a…
The Paperback Collective
A few months ago a very enterprising young woman called Jayde-Ashe (you can visit her lovely blog right here) had an idea. She wanted to establish a monthly online magazine of creative talent, showcasing stories, essays, poems, articles and photographs from contributors around the world. So she did it. And I'm in Issue Four, which you…
Patricia Bell, Author 