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How to start a story … or how to beat writer’s block
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to attend some sessions at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival, my hometown. Working freelance from home means you sometimes feel you’re working in isolation, so seeing and hearing from so many talented people about their work and the writing process is somewhat of a gift – a reminder you’re…
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Editing helpers and why I love them
For years, I’ve worked either using track changes in MS Word manuscripts or editing directly into InDesign or Quark files (remember Quark, anyone?), copyfitting as I went. In fact, most of my inhouse work was in InDesign because the designers would drop in the raw text from the author, leave overmatter on the pasteboard, insert…
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What inspires me to edit
Keeping inspired helps me to focus on a fast-approaching deadline, or to rekindle my passion for editing after a lengthy assignment or long run of jobs. Anyone who thinks that Christmas time means a holiday for freelancers has never been a freelancer! This can be one of my busiest times, as people shift things off…
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When to stop revising your novel
The writing process can sometimes seem never-ending. You write draft after draft, revision after revision. When will you know you’re ready to birth your creation? Or at least, to show it to that all-important fresh set of eyes? You’re no longer waking up in the middle of the night, thinking about subplots to add, characters…







