I heart you, Justine!

One of my sorrows about having missed the Perth Writers Festival was not getting to meet Justine Larbelestier, whose open-hearted and funny blog I adore.  In a recent post, she offers entirely apt advice for those struggling with the whole...

To a fine 2009

Once upon a time, I used to religiously reflect on the year that was, and compose lists of resolutions for the year to come.  Like a good Protestant, I saw my life and the world around me as a project that always needed working on in order to feel that things were...

Writing is rewriting

John Updike* once said, ‘Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what you are saying.’  As I’m in the throes of rewriting a story that will hopefully become an Aussie Chomp, and knowing I’m in for more with the chess novel, this is particularly apt.  Even with...

I love Philip Pullman …

because he said this here: My basic objection to religion is not that it isn’t true; I like plenty of things that aren’t true. It’s that religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always...

Sage advice

I used to play classical guitar.  I stopped when I realised I couldn’t make the sounds in my head come out of my fingers, and I’m still not sure whether this was a wise or foolish decision.  Perhaps by now the Bach Preludes would have untangled themselves and I could...