Claire Scobie's Blog: Wordstruck, page 6

Wordstruck - 6 ways to start a new writing project

I can’t help myself. I’m already plotting my next two big writing projects even though I’ve hardly recovered from my launch last week of The Pagoda Tree.

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In this week’s post I’m focusing on non-fiction. If you’ve got a burning travel story you want to write, why not join me for a weekend intensive travel memoir course on 27 & 28 July?

So where to start?

1. Spend time thinking about your project …

When you’re walking the dog, washing up, in t...

Wordstruck - Why you need Writing Allies

When my new novel was launched at Gleebooks in Sydney last Friday I had the chance to thank and acknowledge some of those people who’ve helped me along the way. Even though it’s just my name on the cover, when you write and complete a big project like a book, it’s always a team effort.

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So who are your writing allies and friends? Here’s a list of mine:

A mentor: when I started out in journalism I worked alongside the brilliant writer Mick Brown. He coached, coaxed and inspired me in tho...

Wordstruck - Making the leap from non-fiction to fiction

The first question a journalist asked me last week was why I made the decision to write my new book as fiction. Why I made the leap.

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Although Last Seen in Lhasa is a travel memoir, I used fictional techniques — creating character, plenty of dialogue and a narrative arc – so in some ways it seemed an obvious (although scary) next step.

But it was more than that. Some stories demand a particular way of telling. My new novel, The Pagoda Tree, out tomorrow, started out as a non-fiction ide...

Wordstruck - Do you write to be read?

What makes you write? Do you write to be read? I was watching an interview with Australian author Markus Zusak (The Book Thief) who said that even if he knew his next novel would never be read, he’d still write it.

That’s pretty honourable, I reckon.

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When I started writing Last Seen in Lhasa, I didn’t know it would be a book. It was a labour of love. Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the Dalai Lama’s teachings in Sydney. Outside the main auditorium were dozens of Tibet-related st...

Wordstruck - How objects breathe life into your story

If you have one of those days when you sit down and don’t know what to write, then find an object and write about that. Ideally choose something meaningful. Or quirky. Or precious.

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This exercise works for non-fiction and fiction.

For travel memoir, pick an object that is well-travelled. Your battered rucksack, favourite red shoes, that special mood ring you bought in the Istanbul bazaar. Or maybe a smooth pebble you picked up from a Sicilian beach or a carved Balinese figurine.

Then spend six...

Wordstruck - Three Stages of Editing

To make the publisher’s deadline for my new novel, I’ve been through an intense period of editing. At times it felt like running a marathon – except the finish line kept getting further away.

At the end, when I should have had my feet up, I went on an excellent one-day Editing Essentials course with Deb Doyle at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Deb is one of those teachers who’s passionate about her subject. At the end of a jam-packed day which covered editing rules, grammar and punctuation ti...

Wordstruck - Writing Fearlessly

There are lots of things that stop us writing. A common one is fear. How much do we hold ourselves back as writers? What are we most afraid of?

Here are some common responses:

Rejection

Condemnation from others

Being judged

Putting yourself out there

Not getting the story right.

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Last weekend I heard Cheryl Strayed author of the highly successful travel memoir, Wild, talk about how her work and the issue of self-censorship at the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

Strayed is well known in America for her ‘D...