Mala Naidoo's Blog, page 9
December 9, 2018
How do you name them?
An interesting question recently from a reader prompted this post when the notion surfaced on whether the names of my characters were people I knew. As a writer I could say, yes, I do know my characters between the pages of my book. They are fictional stories with fictional characters who lead lives that may …
November 17, 2018
Australian Voices
So many voices, so many stories in a country as diverse as Australia, each sharing a connection to people and place. Today on the blog we have Rhonda Forrest, a high school teacher, from beautiful, sunny Queensland. Rhonda began writing under the pen name ‘Lea Davey’. Her first two novels, Silkworm Secrets and The Shack …
November 10, 2018
Are You Visible?
Starting out as a writer is a daunting notion. The joy comes from creating ideas, one word at a time to a sentence, a paragraph, a page, a chapter, and then a book is born after months, or years of hard work… your heart on a page, your passion in words. Where to …
October 13, 2018
Whose Voice is it Anyway?
Voice is the defining feature of any book we read. It is unique to the author and is often what draws readers to pick up a particular book, by a particular author. Turning to influencers is a significant aspect of the writer’s professional development, but mimicking the voice of another, as in tone, values, the nuance of …
September 15, 2018
On Creating Characters – The Outlier
There are many defining aspects to what makes a character in a novel or short story, an outlier This is shaped by societal and cultural values, or more directly by prejudice. Size, race, ‘foreign’ origins are just some elements that create the outlier fence. This deepens when layers of social and professional barriers are erected …
August 25, 2018
Book Blurbs
Book blurbs are as important as the cover story of your book. It’s what readers look at to decide if they will take it home to love. Why? Because they cannot walk away from the temptation the blurb triggered. Think of it this way, if you’re a chocoholic, or one who cannot walk past a …
BOOK BLURBS
Book blurbs are as important as the cover story of your book. It’s what readers look at to decide if they will take it home to love. Why? Because they cannot walk away from the temptation the blurb triggered. Think of it this way, if you’re a chocoholic, or one who cannot walk past a …
July 6, 2018
The First Draft
When a story takes hold, leaving you sleepless, daydreaming… the first words trickle in, you write them, and you can’t stop going back, creeping back to your laptop or journal to write a bit more. When the writing bug bites, it’s there to stay, calling you wherever you are. There’s an excitement, a thrill, the …
THE FIRST DRAFT
When that story takes hold, leaving you sleepless, daydreaming… the first words trickle in, you write them, and you can’t stop going back, creeping back to your laptop or journal to write a bit more. When the writing bug bites, it’s there to stay, calling you wherever you are. There’s an excitement, a thrill, the …
June 9, 2018
Truth Reloaded
In telling stories, writers draw from values they either ascribe to or find abhorrent. Are stories purely to entertain or do they serve a purpose beyond plot and characters? Grand narratives are timeless because they showcase society in all its grandeur and dismal failings. Living today, in what is so much a constructed, fake, flawed world – fair …
