There are lots of reasons why you might enter short story competitions. They’re a great incentive to help you finish and hone your story. They’re also an excellent opportunity to get your story in front of famous judges – who could be agents, publishers or writers. And of course there’s
By Nat Newman How high do your stakes have to be when writing a story? Is death, destruction and violence necessary to push your story forward? Short answer: No way. I started thinking about this after a discussion on the So you want to be a writer Facebook community. A
We love books. And we love dogs. So we were pretty chuffed to discover The Dog Book Company. It’s a business that’s only recently started but we love the idea behind it: It creates stylish hardcover coffee table books about the world’s favourite dog breeds. Importantly, $1 from every sale
By Nat Newman You’ve bought your ticket, booked your accommodation and sorted out a babysitter. You’re totally ready to attend the amazing writers’ festival that’s coming up! There’s just one problem… you’re a tiny bit terrified. Who will you speak to? What if you don’t know anyone? Is it okay
Guest post by Pamela Freeman If you’re planning out your structure, it can be overwhelming. All the graphs of three-act structures, all the pacing advice, all the ‘do I have a midpoint reversal’ panics… But there is a simpler way to consider if your structure is solid. And that is:
There are loads of books out there about writing and it can be hard to find one that really connects with you. They can offer advice or exercises, rules or suggestions, or just provide inspiration. We’ve brought together recommendations from some top authors, writers and publishers on what they believe
I talk often about how much I love Scrivener so I won’t waste time effusing here. Instead, I’ll dive straight into how Scrivener helped me to write The French Photographer. There were three particular features of Scrivener that I found most useful. The Coloured Binder This is probably my favourite
We often talk about people being on a ‘writing journey’. Even the most established, prolific and famous writers are still honing their craft, learning new skills, trying new things, and progressing along their writing path. Basically, it’s never over! So wherever you are on your writing journey, here are nine
We’re excited to be giving away three copies of the inaugural Australian Literary Diary – the ideal organisation tool for readers, writers and book lovers. It is a week to a page planner packed with the good stuff – the major and regional Australian literary festivals, the cute book town
There’s no disputing we all love gifts. We love to buy them, we love to give them and we love to get them! But the conundrum always is finding something different. Unusual. Unique. Especially for those who are hard to please. They either have everything or are ridiculously picky. With
Let’s face it, all kids have a ‘gift’ of some description. They may not all grasp the fundamentals of decimal places in maths, but they can complete a Rubik’s Cube in under five minutes. That’s gifted! They may struggle with grammar and spelling, but they have an innate affinity with
Perth author and AWC presenter Natasha Lester’s love affair with Scrivener has been going on for many years. In fact she loved it so much she created AWC’s self-paced course 2 Hours to Scrivener Power. Natasha is the award-winning author of five novels The Paris Seamstress, Her Mother’s Secret, A Kiss
One of the great perks of writing is that you can do it while wearing your pjs at home, or sipping your latte at a cafe, or during your daily commute. It’s such a portable skill! So it’s no surprise that learning online is such a popular choice for writers.
As we come to the pointy end of December, you may be feeling particularly inspired to kick some goals in the new year. The holiday period is a fantastic time to ride that burst of motivation. We’ve lined up six writing courses that you can start RIGHT NOW. All are
Being regular word nerds, we here at the AWC are fascinated by the huge range of imaginative names that companies come up with, particularly around colours. Take these interesting examples – Fiddlesticks, Alpha Centauri, Monastic and Cowardly Custard. They sound like the cast of a children’s fantasy novel, not wall
By Valerie Khoo Would you like to save time and streamline your writing workflow? Do you want to ensure that your research is organised perfectly and easy to access/find? As a freelance feature and content writer, I often have to do a lot of research, conduct interviews, analyse reports and
We recently ran a competition for our community and challenged you to bring your creativity to the Surface. This was your chance to win Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 (RRP AU $2799). The winner was Holly Bidwell from Canberra. Congratulations Holly! Holly has turned it into her constant companion. “The Surface is
Women are some of the pickiest people to buy gifts for on your Christmas list. But they are also some of the most demanding – there’s no way you’d get away with not buying them a present! So to help you out, take a look at our selection of the top
2017 is the year to achieve your writing goals. Is there a person in your life with dreams of one day becoming an author? If you know someone struggling to get their story onto paper then why not help them out this Christmas with these three awesome books for writers. They’ll
Through our writing courses, we have helped thousands of Australians achieve their dreams of becoming better writers and even published authors. As anyone who has picked up a pen will know, writing is not an easy thing to do, so many people avoid it, even though they may dream of
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