ABOUT ME

After retiring from full-time language teaching and tutoring at the beginning of the 2000s, I was able to devote my time to writing and developing my creative skills. I joined a writers group, ‘Bondi Writers’, and rose to become the convenor of their meetings at the Waverley Library in 2010. By then I was also interested in the slowly evolving internet and I started a writing blog that has gone through various incarnations until this current one.

I have been researching and practising the skills of creative writing since I retired from academic teaching and writing in 2000. Since then I have been learning about short story and novel structure, poetic forms and how to get published. And practising, practising, practising!

One of the most exciting discoveries on my writing journey was that I could publish an e-book, Writing a Novel: The Big Picture from my blog posts.

I then taught myself the mammoth task of self-publishing my debut novel, Karrana, and uploading it to Amazon.

All of this was thanks to my ongoing research into the aspects of writing narratives and the help and input from other writers in groups such as ‘Randwick Writers’ and now ‘Waverley Writers@the Library’. See Waverley Writers Blog that I manage.

In one of these groups I was able to collaborate with others to publish a book Sharing Writing Skills with a small publisher, ‘Ginninderra Press’.

You, too, can have success if you put in the time to read about and practise the skills of writing. By following me and my learning arc here on this blog and learning how to edit your own work, you can become a master of this creative art that is Narrative Writing, and continue to improve and enjoy the journey.

YOUR MUSE IS LIVE IN THE CITY OR THE COUNTRY SO FOLLOW

The photo on the left is of Grafton in 1910. You can see the south bank of South Grafton on the opposite side of the river. That is where I grew up within a natural environment of gum trees, grass and animals. This was the golden part of my childhood memories.

The photo on the right is one I took of Sydney Harbour with the city as backdrop. The contrast with the other photo is starkly reminiscent of the light and dark aspects of memories that I have carried with me from my days spent in the country.

‘KARRANA’ IS MY DEBUT NOVEL ABOUT COUNTRY LIFE AND BURGEONING NATURE DURING THE NINETEEN FIFTIES IN THE CLARENCE VALLEY NEAR GRAFTON. IN PART A MODERN ROMANCE GENRE, IT ALSO LENDS ITSELF TO AN HISTORICAL FICTION PERSPECTIVE WITH AN AUSTRALIANA MOTIF. THE OVERRIDING THEME IS A SEARCH FOR FULFILMENT ON THE PART OF BOTH MALE AND FEMALE PROTAGONISTS, WHO WANT NOTHING MORE THAN TO BE HAPPY WITH THE CHOICES FOR A MATE THAT THEY HAVE MADE. HOWEVER, BURDENED BY PARENTAL OBSTACLES TO THEIR QUEST FOR LOVE, WILL AND BRIDIE FOLLOW THEIR INSTINCTS AND PASSION PREVAILS OVER COMMON SENSE. AS IN ALL GOOD NARRATIVES, CONFLICT ENSUES AND THE PAIR MUST SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR IMPULSIVITY AND IRRATIONALITY. THEY ATTEMPT TO STEER A PATHWAY THROUGH THE INTRICATE WEB, WITH BRIDIE LEADING THE WAY.

CONTACT ME OR LEAVE A COMMENT

If you would like to post a story or a poem on this blog, send me a document in an email, or leave a comment below one of my posts. See Contact information on the next page. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Anne