I’ve done NaNo on and off for most of my adult life. 2019 was the first year I had won. 2020 I won, but it was harder. Then again, what wasn’t harder in 2020? The key that swapped me from failing (though no extra word/creativity are actually a failure) to winning was twofold. One […]
Writing
Shaming Writers

There’s a lot of gatekeeping in writing. Which is weird, as it’s one of the few things you’d think is fairly accessible to many people. Of course there are discrepancies in education and support, but I mean on a wider level – more people can write than can become astronauts. The shame is on a […]
Turn Off Your Brain While You Write A First Draft

During NaNoWriMo 2019, I started writing a sci-fi novel. I got about 6000 words in at the time. I had no real intention to write it, but at the time I needed a mental change from writing my satire series of books, The Secret Ingredient Of. I’ve been slowly adding to it ever since, because […]
You May Write Whenever You Damn Well Please

I saw something on the internet this morning that pissed me off a great deal. It was a long winded “inspo-shame” type statement that said if you don’t write every day, you can’t call yourself a writer. Here is what I wrote back to the person who posted it. You May Write Whenever You […]
Read Whatever You Want To

I’ve never read the classics. I’m sure I read some at school, but overall they have never really appealed to me. Or maybe they’ve never been sold to me. It’s a bit like Avatar … people say “it’s good, watch it” but no one has told me why it’s good. Or “go to Melbourne, they […]
Unnecessary Micro Gatekeeping

Unnecessary micro gatekeeping It’s the best term we have managed to come up with. What am I talking about? Rules. But fake rules. Particularly within the creative fields. There are countless examples of what this might be about, but it’s probably easiest to tell you where I came across it most recently. I posted a […]
Book Review: A River With A City Problem

A River With A City Problem is a historical account of the Brisbane river flooding, the impacts of the floods, and the political decisions (or lack thereof) that have not prevented subsequent floods. The important thing to remember throughout this book review is that it is a very good book. It might not sound […]
Losing (And Finding) My “Inspiration”

Generally speaking, I enjoy working from home. I’ve had a long commute for about a decade, so gaining at least 12 hours per week back into my life is actually life changing. I didn’t feel like there were too many negatives to staying home for months. And overall, the positives win out. But there was […]
Imperfect Writer

I wanted to share a brief story of how I am a (very) imperfect writer. But also – perfection doesn’t exist. What I deem perfect isn’t what you might deem perfect. Imperfect Writer Having said that, there are generally some accepted standards that we apply to tasks. My Imperfection My […]
Using Structure To Get Started

If writing is something you do on top of a job and the rest of your life, then it’s probably fair to say that you have limited time for it. Which is ok, and very real. Not everyone can do what they want at every moment of their life. What it does mean is that […]