Australian Writers’ Centres
Over the last two decades Writers’ Centres have been established throughout Australia. I am a long term member of the South Australian Writers’ Centre. I joined only a few years after it was established.
The South Australian Writers’ Centre was established in 1985. It was the first of its kind in Australia, providing resources and support for writers. Located in the heart of Adelaide, the SAWC is a non-profit organisation with over 1200 members.
The Centre acts as a resource centre for writers of all ages and experiences. We focus on writing activities and work with a wide range of organisations to promote and encourage writers and literature in society. We assist new and established writers on every aspect of writing, such as publishing, performing and presentation and have a vast range of useful reference books and a library with over 1600 books mainly donated by South Australian writers.
Since this centre opened other states have followed our example.
Links to Writers’ Centres in Australia:
- Victorian Writers’ Centre
- Tasmanian Writers’ Centre
- Queensland Writers’ Centre
- ACT Writers’ Centre – Australian Capital Territory
- NT Writers’ Centre – Northern Territory
- Writing WA – Western Australia
I would have included the New South Wales site but the server was down when I tried to make the link.
Another useful site is the Australian Society of Authors. Some of the sites above have many other links to Australian organisations for writers and related activities. Some include links to author’s websites.
How to use your writing time productively
Many freelance writers and bloggers work for themselves. There are many benefits of course, independence being one of them. There are also some downsides; procrastination being just one of them. Using your time wisely and productively is essential.
Take Control of Your Time:
Kellie Campbell on the Writing World site has written an article called “Take Control of our Time!” In this article she outlines a number of effective strategies to help the writer better manage time and in doing so become far more productive.
She covers topics like:
- Using lists and setting priorities
- Learning to say no
- Tackling one task at a time
- Cluster tasks together
- Knowing your energy cycle
- Automating computer tasks
- Keeping track of Projects
- Relaxation
Links:
- Writing World – writing tips and hints for writers around the world.
- Take Control of Your Time – by Kellie Campbell
- Procrastination and the Writer/Blogger – some hints
- Some Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers – this one is on my Birding Blog.
Plenty there to read and think about.
Good writing.
Be productive.
I wanted to be a procrastinator, and I might get around to it when I have more time.
The Writer’s Toolbox
It is one thing to have a great idea for a story or a book or an article. Or even a blog post.
It is quite another thing to actually get that idea down paper – or at least on the computer screen (for all those paperless office gurus – where did they go, by the way?).
The Proper Tools
Without the proper tools to do the writing, you might as well be spitting in the wind for all the good it will do you. The tools of writing are the skills you need to get the words from your thoughts on to the screen or page. Skills can be taught. Skills can be practised. Skills can be developed.
Good Writing Resources
Today we have many wonderful and useful resources available to beginning writers to help them on their way, including:
- Books about writing
- Magazines dedicated to helping writers (see my links page)
- Conferences for writers
- Seminars and workshops for writers
- Writers Centres (see the links page for Australian Writers Centres)
- Blogs about writing (like this one – see also the links page)
- Web sites about writing (just type “writing” into a search engine)
The Writer’s Toolbox
One very useful collection of writing tools called Fifty Writing Tools can be found on the bench of writer Roy Peter Clark.
At times, it helps to think of writing as carpentry. That way, writers and editors can work from a plan and use tools stored on their workbench. You can borrow a writing tool at any time. And here’s a secret: Unlike hammers, chisels, and rakes, writing tools never have to be returned. They can be cleaned, sharpened, and passed on.
Each of these tools is an article in its own right. Could I suggest you work through these articles one per day? In just over seven weeks you will have completed an online writing course and thorough grasp of the skills needed to be a better writer.
Writing Hint #24: Overcoming writer’s block
Do you need some help overcoming the dreaded writer’s block?
Normally this affliction does not worry me much, though sometimes I struggle with my writing due to having a B.A.D.D. (Beastly* Awful Diabetic Day). I find that doing something very different often helps, like doing some extra reading, trying to solve the cryptic crossword in the newspaper, going for a walk, weeding the garden. Sometimes I get so irrational I wash the dishes.
Ten Practical Solutions
John on his blog called All About Blogs and Blogging has written a very useful article called Overcoming Writer’s Block – 10 Practical Solutions. I’ve done some of the things he has suggested and I know they work.
Try them.
*When I’m having a really, REALLY bad day this word is replaced by another expletive commonly used by many Australians.
Movies about writers: Finding Neverland
The recent movie Finding Neverland (released in 2004) starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet is a somewhat fictionalized version of a part of the life of British writer J.M. Barrie. The movie’s plot is focussed mainly on the friendship the author had with the children of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. It is a moving film about the author’s struggle to maintain his credibility as an author while his marriage is beginning to crumble. At the same time his friendship with the children and their ailing mother brings some lighter, happier moments to his life, and inspires him to write his classic story Peter Pan, the work for which he is best known.
The movie never really deals much with the process of writing except for several scenes where Barrie is shown in the park writing in a notebook. What is understated is Barrie’s ability to take real life situations and use these experiences to fantasize and dream. The young Freddie Highmore as Peter does a superb job as his character struggles to come to terms with the death of his father and his mother’s illness. He is Barrie’s inspiration for the character Peter Pan, the boy who never wanted to grow up.
I found it a strangely moving film. The pace is slow, the dialogue introspective and the atmosphere somewhat moody. It shows very well that, for many writers, their personal lives impact strongly on their writing lives. The oft quoted mantra by teachers of writing, “write what you know” is clearly illustrated through this film as Barrie draws on real life situations to inspire his writing. It also shows the power of dreaming and the potency of using one’s imagination, even in the face of tragedy.
Links: Finding Neverland – the official website, including the trailer.