On Saturday I attended the inaugural Conflux Writers Day -- a day of short talks and workshops on various aspects of writing, held in Canberra. Organised by the Conflux team, headed up by Australian SF author Nicole Murphy, the Conflux Writers Day was also the prelude to the annual Aurealis Awards, which are Australia's premier … Continue reading Harnessing creativity at Conflux Writers Day
Sunday journal ~ new opening scene
My main creative achievement for this week has been a new opening scene for project WIP. Not precisely what I was planning to do, but fun nonetheless. It came about because I was writing some notes about the middle of the book, sharpening objectives, motivations, stakes and so forth, trying to figure out where and how to … Continue reading Sunday journal ~ new opening scene
Sunday journal ~ keep it true
With an armful of devilcat (making it hard to type), I am happy to report a strong showing on the writing/revision front this week. I enjoyed reading through my writing journals (mostly) and have been thinking deeply about what needs to be done with this book -- and how I'm going to do it. I'm … Continue reading Sunday journal ~ keep it true
Sunday journal ~ rhythm
I'm contemplating a regular (semi-regular?) Sunday journal post, in which I muse briefly on recent creative endeavours and/or achievements. If it gets too boring, I'll stop, but let's see how we go... This past week I finished reading through the messy first draft of the novel I've been working on for the past, er, while. … Continue reading Sunday journal ~ rhythm
D&D Chronicles: Slaying in the rain
So. Life after Ash. It's time to meet my new D&D character, Kae. (For those who weren't paying attention, Ash was killed dead a couple of weeks ago. Read the miserable account here.) Kae is also a female ranger with ties to the church of Emrys (god of the forest). She's young (21) and has … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Slaying in the rain
Book review: A companion to wolves
The main book I read during February was A companion to wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear -- a fantasy novel published in around 2008 (first of a trilogy). I found it a fascinating book, certainly memorable, in some ways familiar and in other ways not. It's about a youth (Isolfr) who is tithed … Continue reading Book review: A companion to wolves
Blog hop: My writing process
Today I'm participating in a blog hop about my writing process. I was tagged by the inspirational Liv Rancourt, who writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. Her novel Forever and Ever, Amen is published by Crimson Romance and she has several other novels in the pipeline. (Read about Liv's writing process here.) … Continue reading Blog hop: My writing process
Time to tackle that WIP again
For the past two months I've been on a self-imposed writing hiatus - partly to let my completed first draft rest a bit, partly to reassert control over the other half of my life. But now, this weekend, in a glorious writing retreat at Phillip Island, I'm allowing myself to look at the WIP again. … Continue reading Time to tackle that WIP again
D&D Chronicles: Vale Ash
Ash was a plainswoman, hailing from a remote village in the north. She trained as a ranger and loved the outdoors, but her life was calm and ordinary until a clan of goblins attacked her village and stole a sacred artifact. This caused her and her friend Alix to journey into the mountains in pursuit, … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Vale Ash
Three-picture story of Roman aqueduct
I'm rather fond of telling stories... but telling a story in three photos is a different challenge -- and also happens to be this week's theme for the WordPress weekly photo challenge. So today I'm going to tell you a story about the magnificant Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain -- one of the highlights of … Continue reading Three-picture story of Roman aqueduct
Ellen Gregory 