Category: On Writing
To Muse, or Not to Muse
What I’m about to say is blasphemy in much of the writing world. Maybe it’s my pragmatism, my science background, my lack of belief in guardian angels, karma and fate, but—here goes—I don’t believe in the muse. In fact, whenever other writers talk about their muse being on a vacation or sitting on their shoulder, […]
Deciding To Be A Writer
“Anyone who wants to say goodbye should come this morning,” said the voice. He was very clear that we should not leave it until the afternoon. The doctor had called about six in the morning to tell me that my mother was not going to recover from the pneumonia that had seen her stricken in […]
Settings in the Shade
He thinks of the beachfront as a veneer, shining and welcoming, yet just a few streets away, hidden behind the façade, this place is so very different. Beachside one would only find discarded candy floss wrappers, back in Doublestraat they are replaced with used needles and discarded cigarettes. Above is an excerpt from my novel, […]
Anne Boleyn’s Last Hour
What if you knew you may die today, but you thought it was going to happen yesterday, and those plans had been changed? You wait, locked away in a tower—no communication with the outside world. The decision is to be made by your husband and the father of your only child, a daughter of less […]
Zillah Bethell on Writing
Zillah Bethell’s novel Girl In Profile was inspired in part by artist Gwen John and her relationship with Rodin. Why did you choose to write about Gwen John and her experiences in Paris? I was researching Caravaggio for a short story and a book on Gwen John kept falling out of the library shelf, […]
Know The Mother
There’s a line in the title story of my collection of flash fiction, Know the Mother. It’s uttered by a daughter sitting beside her mother’s deathbed: “She’s leaving me so easily,” the daughter says, “ I wonder if her love ever rose above duty.” People always ask writers whether their stories are autobiographical. If someone […]
My Sweet Love Affair With The Audio Book
Boredom. I once shut down the entire floor of a banana packaging warehouse, because I was so bored of grading bananas my brain was about to dissolve into dust particles and float away on the wind. I had no transport, but I desperately wanted to go home. So I screamed, as loud as I could, […]
Diva Mamas—Reluctant Mothers in Literature
Happy Mother’s Day to all women for we are mothers both to ourselves as well as to others! And as Mother’s Day approaches, we are surrounded by cards and suggested gifts in the image of the perfect mom. The fictional mothers I will focus on are reluctant mothers at best, who hesitantly take on the […]
Mentoring Women Writers
I think one of the things I’ve most appreciated since becoming a published writer is the support I’ve had from other writers. Writing can be a lonely business. Don’t get me wrong, it can also be a rewarding and hugely satisfying business too, but occasionally it can feel isolating. The voice of self-doubt that plagues […]
Writers Who Inspire
Lately I have been reading Roald Dahl to my six-year-old son. Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory—they are all as good as I remember. And every time we finish another Roald Dahl classic, I find myself wondering … is it too early for The Witches? I was in Grade 3 when […]
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