Category: Contemporary Women Writers
The Allophone Writer
I was in my third year at high school when my Galician Literature teacher gave us a lecture on allophone poets – that is, those non-native speakers who had written poetry in Galician, including a couple of internationally known names such as Federico García Lorca. I remember thinking at the time that writing literature in […]
How to be More Productive
I’ve been thinking a lot about my writing productivity and questioning my daily routine. I picked up Daily Rituals: How Artists Work from the library because like the author, Mason Currey, I want to know how great artists organize their days in order to be creative and productive. Currey does not pretend to offer certainties […]
Mistakes to avoid in Short Story Writing
As the fiction editor for Eclectica Magazine, it’s been both a privilege and pleasure to read story submissions. Finding the handful of pieces that take my breath away is what it’s all about. The good ones shine through, those that are brilliant positively sparkle. That said, it’s too bad that so many stories that come […]
Six top tips for writing historical fiction
I love writing fiction set in the Twentieth Century. My first book, The Separation, published by Penguin, takes place during the 1950s, the second The Tea Planter’s Wife, Penguin 2015, explores the 1920s and 1930s and the third kicks off in 1940s Vietnam when it was part of Indochina. Here I share the tips I’ve […]
The Settling Earth: Emigration to New Zealand in the Nineteenth Century
Imagine packing a trunk, probably a box no higher than your knees. In it you place clothes to see you through your journey and beyond. You squeeze in sewing equipment, a few books, photographs or miniatures – all mementos of a home that you are about to leave, possibly forever. Perhaps you are able to […]
Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil
Beryl Kingston is an 83 year old author, currently writing her 25th novel. She tells us what happened when she decided to share her truth. Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil… Well yes, but be careful. There are some pretty tricky devils out there, as I know rather too well and they can do […]
From Homeshopping Diva to Writer
Millions of viewers have seen Meg Flather on QVC, USA and on The Shopping Channel of Canada as a brand ambassador and skin wellness expert. But in her new book, Home Shopping Diva: Lessons, Lyrics, and Lipstick, we learn that there is much more to her story. I am the writer who did not know […]
Negotiating the Swamp: When Am I a “Writer?”
In this world of the gainfully employed, the corporates who climb ladders and meet glass ceilings, and the professions that mean something because of the degree certificates it took to acquire them, swimming in this swamp is the full-time writer.I only appreciated the gravity of this title when I tried to fill in an application […]
The Importance of Diversity in YA Fiction
In the three years since I started writing my novel, a lot has changed. The issue of diversity in fiction has come to the forefront and it seems that it is here to stay. A few years ago I was looking for a book for my daughter who had become very interested in mythology thanks […]
What Do You Mean I Have to Market My Writing?
We all start with different decks. Some with no cards. Some with no money. Some not even at the table. It’s not fair. There’s nothing fair about it. Maybe it will never be fair. But if you want to play, if I want to play, whatever odds I was given, them’s the odds I got. […]
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