Katherine Collette is a writing coach and mentor who helps writers who want to get published, and writers who are about to be published, know what to do, what to expect and how to think, to give their work (and themselves) the best possible chance of success. She is basically the person she wishes she’d had when she was first trying to get published! In this episode, Katherine has given us a mini-coaching session so we can level up our writing for 2025. She shares great advice and so many fantas...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Anita Heiss talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel Dirrayawadha . Anita shares her insights about weaving research, backstory and Wiradyuri language into the narrative, emphasising the importance of authors trusting themselves and their stories. We discuss Anita’s meticulous planning when it comes to her novels, which involves chapter breakdowns, character profiles, and using butcher's paper to keep organised. She talks about the importance of pre-manuscript consultations, se...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 43
Jock Serong talks about the writing craft and process behind his novel Cherrywood. Jock tells us how this novel started with several image fragments and a variety of influences, from Peter Carey’s Oscar & Lucinda and Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, to Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree, and the Narnia Chronicles, with a little Dickens and Austen thrown in. Jock’s explanation of how a handful of ideas became a story is one of the best I've heard. He also tells us his thoughts on writing place as chara...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 42
Donna M Cameron talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Rewilding . Donna and I discussed what inspired the novel, the importance of trusting your gut, how choosing the right point of view and tense can bring the writing alive, how she raised the stakes and why she dislikes dialogue tags. We also talked about her beta readers and the editing process for The Rewilding, and Donna does three fabulous readings from the novel to illustrate how she differentiates the voices for ...
Oct 06, 2024•52 min•Season 4Ep. 41
Terri Green talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel An Unsuitable Pursuit . Terri and I discussed writing and self-publishing an historical fiction series. Terri gave lots of wonderful advice about how and where to research, how to balance action, interiority, dialogue and description, how to use chapter headings for structure and how to balance humour with serious subject matter. Terri also has some absolute gold to share in this episode about how and when to make the decisio...
Sep 02, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Petronella McGovern talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Last Trace . Petronella went deep into the writing of this novel with me - we talked about inciting incidents, setting, research, editing, character development and all the techniques she uses to achieve narrative tension and keep that pace cracking along such as foreshadowing and writing cliffhanger chapter endings. This was also the first time she’s written an historical thread which added another layer of rich ...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Michael Brissenden talks about the writing craft and process behind his novel Smoke . Michael talks about how his gripping new novel was inspired by the 2020 bushfires in Australia, detailing how real-life traumatic events and landscapes served as a backdrop for the novel. Michael discusses setting, in particular why he set the novel in the US, character development, and the craft of narrative structure - from his inspirations to plotting and the challenges of writing believable dialogue. Michae...
Jul 01, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 38
NOTE: There are some spoilers in this episode. BM Carroll talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel One of Us is Missing . Writing topics include pacing, managing multiple points of view, techniques and tips for writing crime fiction, structure, voice and description. I’m delighted to bring you another highly experienced novelist, the talented Ber Carroll or BM Carroll as you might know her. Ber has just published her 12th novel One of Us is Missing and it is a masterclass in do...
Jun 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Charlotte Wood talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel Stone Yard Devotional . Writing topics include creative process and inspiration, first drafts, novel structure, writing in fragments, point of view, narrative momentum, voice, description and writing at sentence level. Charlotte is such a beautiful writer but also a seasoned writer - she’s been to all the places you, as a writer, have been or are heading towards - and she generously shares all that wisdom. One of the thing...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Hannah Richell talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Search Party . Writing topics include structure, point of view, character development, dual timelines, backstory, reveals, editing, and writer’s retreats. Have you ever read a novel and thought to yourself ‘how on earth did the author pull it off?’ That’s exactly what crossed my mind when I read The Search Party by Hannah Richell. Hannah is a beautiful writer and her talent is on display again with this novel, her fift...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Suzanne Leal discusses the craft and process behind her novel The Watchful Wife . Suzanne talks about balancing external and internal dialogue and how you can create a really vivid scene in the mind of the reader without too much description, literally just with what the characters are saying, plus dialogue tags and actions. Suzanne reads a section of the novel that perfectly demonstrates this technique so listen out for that. We discussed how she balances difficult content and serious subject m...
Mar 04, 2024•53 min•Season 4Ep. 34
Laurie Steed discusses his craft and process for writing his short story collection Greater City Shadows . He discusses the formation of his characters and how he chooses point of view (or it chooses him!) Laurie emphasises the need for writers to take risks with their characters, and explores how both dialogue and subtext can be used to develop character. Laurie is a master of specificity, writes beautiful, evocative description and loves a good edit so we talk about all that and more. You’ll f...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 33
In this final episode for 2023, I’m bringing you a deliciously long chat about writing craft and process with the author of five novels, Joanna Nell. Jo joins me in a deep dive into her novel writing practice, sharing her techniques for creating dynamic characters, sustaining story momentum, managing dialogue, and outlining scenes. She also takes us through her entire editing process, how she weaves in backstory, the importance of the opening line and she shares some terrific tips for what to do...
Jan 01, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 4Ep. 32
A deep dive with Jo Riccioni into the writing process and craft behind her fantasy novels The Branded and The Rising. We talked about Jo's writing process, how she carves out writing space, her experiences with writing different genres and recent successes in her career such as signing an international deal for her fantasy book series. Jo also spoke about the importance of character development, ideas for world-building, lessons she’s learned from writing in different genres, interactions with h...
Dec 02, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Sally Hepworth talks about the writing process for her novel Darling Girls. We discussed writing craft aspects including inspiration, research, character development, description, typical writing schedule, editing, backstory, pacing, seeding in twists and balancing darker themes with humour. You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of Darling Girls here. ABOUT SALLY HEPWORTH Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, most recently Darling Girls. Her...
Nov 01, 2023•57 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Kate Mildenhall talks about the writing process for her novel The Hummingbird Effect. We discussed writing craft aspects including structure, voice, setting, editing, sentence work, inspiration, multiple timelines, journalling and the power of prompts. You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of The Hummingbird Effect here . ABOUT KATE MILDENHALL Kate Mildenhall is a writer and teacher. Her debut novel, Skylarking, was named in Readings Top Ten Fiction Books of 2016 and her bes...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Allison Tait talks about the writing process for her middle-grade novel The First Summer of Callie McGee. We discussed writing craft aspects including: - what you need to include (or exclude!) to make the novel age appropriate - how to balance character arcs with the external plot - the difference between a child-led versus a parent-led purchase - how to find your ‘writing age’ - pacing the novel at scene level - what a novel opening needs to include - the hallmarks of good middle-grade fiction ...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Brendan Cowell talks about the writing process for his novel Plum. We discussed writing craft aspects including: - how the main theme of the novel ripples through every character - why structure is where the magic lies - why Brendan decided to plot this particular novel - how he broke the novel into micro-beats - the influence his publisher Catherine Milne had on the work - how he writes authentic dialogue - what his experience as a playwright and screenwriter brings to his novel writing You’ll ...
Aug 02, 2023•57 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Victoria Purman talks about the writing process for her novel A Woman’s Work, an historical novel set in Melbourne in 1956. We discussed so many writing craft aspects including: - how a pamphlet in a second hand bookstore gave her the idea for the novel - how she fills the saggy middle of a novel - the importance of a first line - how her readers are a treasure trove of stories and ideas - her approach to backstory - the editing process - how she overcomes self-doubt EPISODE INCLUDES SOME SPOILE...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Rae Cairns talks about the writing process for her novel Dying To Know, a crime thriller. We discussed so many writing craft aspects including: - why she starts with theme, rather than plot or character - the research process - the power of a prologue done well - conventions of the crime thriller genre and how to meet readers’ expectations - how a crime thriller should start - how to write page-turning chapter endings - an editing method that ensures a balance of tension and pacing - Rae took us...
Jun 01, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Amanda Hampson talks about the writing process for her novel The Tea Ladies, a wickedly witty cosy crime novel set in Sydney in the swinging sixties, ideal for fans of Richard Osman. Amanda talks about the importance of making the novel the best experience possible for the reader, how a comment in Facebook provided the initial inspiration for The Tea Ladies, why she displays her index cards inside the pantry door, how she handled the three different plot lines and the challenges of writing the s...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Rachael Mogan McIntosh talks about the writing process for her memoir Pardon My French, a candid, hilarious love letter to family life and France with three valuable lessons for overcoming adversity: make home a beautiful nest, lean into the tough lessons and look for the comedy in everything. In our chat we discuss everything from how you protect your friends and family from your writerly tendency to mine their lives for material, how to structure a memoir in terms of narrative and character ar...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 23
EPISODE SHOW NOTES In this episode, Kate Forsyth takes us through the writing process for a selection of her works including The Crimson Thread, Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl, The Blue Rose and more. Kate shared a veritable wealth of information about her writing process and philosophies; you’ll definitely want to take notes during this episode! She talked about: - helping people find their own faith in themselves and their stories - the constellation of ideas that combine to inspire a novel - th...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Season 2Ep. 22
THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS. In this episode, Rachael Johns takes us through the process behind writing her novel The Work Wives. Rachael very generously decided she was more than happy to discuss the twists and turns of the novel so that all you writers out there could learn from this novel. She also takes us through her physical notebook for the novel - the original character outlines and plot points - so we can really see how this novel took shape from its inception. Rachael also read thro...
Dec 04, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 2Ep. 21
In this episode, Caroline Overington takes us through the process behind writing her novel The Cuckoo’s Cry. Caroline talks about how the novel began its life as an audiobook commissioned by Audible, the process of turning it into a paperback novel, and the wonderful knock-on effect on her backlist of novels. We also discussed character development, the power of the opening first page, Caroline’s writing process and the two things that motivate her to get words down on the page fast. You’ll find...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 20
In this episode, Mark Smith takes us through the process behind writing his novel The Road to Winter. Mark talked about finding his writing voice in short stories, why and how he packs backstory into the first chapter, why he wrote the novel in first person present tense, the importance of pacing, dialogue, setting and keeping the writing process simple, and the writing mantras he lives by, including ‘What do I know and care about?’ You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of T...
Oct 01, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 19
In this episode, John Purcell takes us through the process behind writing his novel The Lessons. We had one of those wonderful long meandering chats, not just about John’s novel, but about lots of other books. We discovered a mutual love for EM Forster’s A Room with a View and why it’s such a perfect novel. And John shared the fascinating method he used to learn from the classics. And of course we talked about the creation of his novel The Lessons - how he wrote the 4 first person narratives, ho...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 18
* THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE* In this episode, Michael Robotham takes us through the process behind writing his novel Lying Beside You. Lying Beside You is Michael’s 17th novel, the third in his Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac series and it’s honestly a masterclass in how to write a psychological crime thriller. We talked about the difference between creating surprise and suspense, a couple of Michael’s favourite mantras he applies to his writing, finding new ways to describe the same charac...
Aug 02, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In this episode, Pamela Cook takes us through the process behind writing her novel All We Dream. We talked about the differences between traditional and independent publishing and Pam gave some fabulous tips on things like cover design and advertising and marketing. Pam also, very generously, ran through some of the before and after changes to the novel between its two editions and how those changes improved the novel. I was also really keen to talk to Pam about two writing craft aspects she is ...
Jul 02, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 16
This month my guest is Nigel Featherstone, chatting about the writing of his latest novel My Heart is a Little Wild Thing . Even though he’s already such an accomplished writer across different genres and formats, Nigel learned some new things writing this novel including the importance of leaning into setting, being more ambitious with the writing and about harnessing the concept of duende - the trickster muse that encouraged him to be less cautious, less polite and to go to places with his wri...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 15
