Category Archives: writing
How to write an application
A young man wanted to know how to write a letter of application for a course. The guidelines below describe the process of brainstorming. They work for a job application, request for some service or favour, or anything similar. 1. … Continue reading
How to write a review
I posted this in 2016, and am reposting it now, since a nice young man feels he is not qualified to review a book on depression, because he has no clinical training. One of my rules is, I can ask … Continue reading
What the BookLife Prize judge thinks of From Depression to Contentment
Idea/Concept: Condemning pharmaceutical approaches in handling depression, this practical guide to self-healing presents a commendable alternative to traditional medicine. With a strong case against accepted notions about treating sadness and despondency with drugs, the book adheres to a do-it-yourself plan … Continue reading
Oddballs from an oddball
Our November topic is: What is the oddest or most unique character you have ever dreamed up, and how did they fit into a story? The dictionary definition of an oddball is “a strange or eccentric person.” I certainly qualify, … Continue reading
A fun writing collaboration
Peter Mosey sent out a call: he asked for other writers to provide a brief poem or tract of prose, which he would then continue. I took him up on it, and got my Black Breasted Quail to flow to … Continue reading
Hey, what?
Rhobin Courtright set her group this topic: “What unique situations have occurred in the writing process of any of your novels? Perhaps, but not limited to things like where what you planned changed, or the direction you thought the story … Continue reading
RIP?
For months now, I’ve had a dry spell: I want to write, but the juices aren’t flowing. It hasn’t been writer’s block as such, but much more like repression I’ve observed with my clients who have a terrible need to … Continue reading
Thickening the plot
In September, 2019, Rhobin wants to know, “In designing your plots, what do you rely on most: personal experience, imagination, or research?” Well, Rhobin, all I can say is, I don’t know! Twenty years ago, I could have given a … Continue reading
More about Anikó
I attended a writers’ conference organised by well-known Australian writer, John Marsden, in 2003. We were each to deliver a speech to promote an unpublished manuscript. Several publishers had their acquisition editors there. For my contribution to the August, 2019 … Continue reading
The page that won me an award
Well, that award was so long ago that the people who ran the contest, the New Zealand Writers’ Association, no longer have a website. Still, a prize is a prize. I have returned to it because Rhobin Courtright’s topic for … Continue reading
