Writer's Book Club Podcast

Katherine Collette is a writing coach and mentor who helps writers who want to get published, and writers who are about to be published, know what to do, what to expect and how to think, to give their work (and themselves) the best possible chance of success. She is basically the person she wishes she’d had when she was first trying to get published! In this episode, Katherine has given us a mini-...

Anita Heiss talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel Dirrayawadha .   Anita shares her insights about weaving research, backstory and Wiradyuri language into the narrative, emphasising the importance of authors trusting themselves and their stories.  We discuss Anita’s meticulous planning when it comes to her novels, which involves chapter breakdowns, character profiles...

Jock Serong talks about the writing craft and process behind his novel Cherrywood. Jock tells us how this novel started with several image fragments and a variety of influences, from Peter Carey’s Oscar & Lucinda and Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, to Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree, and the Narnia Chronicles, with a little Dickens and Austen thrown in. Jock’s explanation of how a handful of ideas b...

Donna M Cameron talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Rewilding .  Donna and I discussed what inspired the novel, the importance of trusting your gut, how choosing the right point of view and tense can bring the writing alive, how she raised the stakes and why she dislikes dialogue tags. We also talked about her beta readers and the editing process for The Rewilding,...

Terri Green talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel An Unsuitable Pursuit .  Terri and I discussed writing and self-publishing an historical fiction series. Terri gave lots of wonderful advice about how and where to research, how to balance action, interiority, dialogue and description, how to use chapter headings for structure and how to balance humour with serious subject...

Petronella McGovern talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Last Trace .  Petronella went deep into the writing of this novel with me - we talked about inciting incidents, setting, research, editing, character development and all the techniques she uses to achieve narrative tension and keep that pace cracking along such as foreshadowing and writing cliffhanger chapter e...

Michael Brissenden talks about the writing craft and process behind his novel Smoke .  Michael talks about how his gripping new novel was inspired by the 2020 bushfires in Australia, detailing how real-life traumatic events and landscapes served as a backdrop for the novel. Michael discusses setting, in particular why he set the novel in the US, character development, and the craft of narrati...

NOTE: There are some spoilers in this episode. BM Carroll talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel One of Us is Missing . Writing topics include pacing, managing multiple points of view, techniques and tips for writing crime fiction, structure, voice and description.  I’m delighted to bring you another highly experienced novelist, the talented Ber Carroll or BM Carroll as yo...

Charlotte Wood talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel Stone Yard Devotional . Writing topics include creative process and inspiration, first drafts, novel structure, writing in fragments, point of view, narrative momentum, voice, description and writing at sentence level.  Charlotte is such a beautiful writer but also a seasoned writer - she’s been to all the places you, a...

Hannah Richell talks about the writing craft and process behind her novel The Search Party . Writing topics include structure, point of view, character development, dual timelines, backstory, reveals, editing, and writer’s retreats.  Have you ever read a novel and thought to yourself ‘how on earth did the author pull it off?’  That’s exactly what crossed my mind when I read The Search Pa...

Suzanne Leal discusses the craft and process behind her novel The Watchful Wife .  Suzanne talks about balancing external and internal dialogue and how you can create a really vivid scene in the mind of the reader without too much description, literally just with what the characters are saying, plus dialogue tags and actions. Suzanne reads a section of the novel that perfectly demonstrates th...

Laurie Steed discusses his craft and process for writing his short story collection Greater City Shadows . He discusses the formation of his characters and how he chooses point of view (or it chooses him!) Laurie emphasises the need for writers to take risks with their characters, and explores how both dialogue and subtext can be used to develop character.  Laurie is a master of specificity,...

In this final episode for 2023, I’m bringing you a deliciously long chat about writing craft and process with the author of five novels, Joanna Nell.  Jo joins me in a deep dive into her novel writing practice, sharing her techniques for creating dynamic characters, sustaining story momentum, managing dialogue, and outlining scenes. She also takes us through her entire editing process, how sh...

A deep dive with Jo Riccioni into the writing process and craft behind her fantasy novels The Branded and The Rising. We talked about Jo's writing process, how she carves out writing space, her experiences with writing different genres and recent successes in her career such as signing an international deal for her fantasy book series. Jo also spoke about the importance of character development, i...

Sally Hepworth talks about the writing process for her novel Darling Girls. We discussed writing craft aspects including inspiration, research, character development, description, typical writing schedule, editing, backstory, pacing, seeding in twists and balancing darker themes with humour. You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of Darling Girls here. ABOUT SALLY HEPWORTH Sall...

Kate Mildenhall talks about the writing process for her novel The Hummingbird Effect.  We discussed writing craft aspects including structure, voice, setting, editing, sentence work, inspiration, multiple timelines, journalling and the power of prompts. You’ll find links to buy both paperback and ebook versions of The Hummingbird Effect here . ABOUT KATE MILDENHALL Kate Mildenhall is a writer...

Allison Tait talks about the writing process for her middle-grade novel The First Summer of Callie McGee.  We discussed writing craft aspects including: - what you need to include (or exclude!) to make the novel age appropriate - how to balance character arcs with the external plot - the difference between a child-led versus a parent-led purchase - how to find your ‘writing age’ - pacing the...

Brendan Cowell talks about the writing process for his novel Plum.  We discussed writing craft aspects including: - how the main theme of the novel ripples through every character - why structure is where the magic lies - why Brendan decided to plot this particular novel - how he broke the novel into micro-beats - the influence his publisher Catherine Milne had on the work - how he writes aut...

Victoria Purman talks about the writing process for her novel A Woman’s Work, an historical novel set in Melbourne in 1956. We discussed so many writing craft aspects including: - how a pamphlet in a second hand bookstore gave her the idea for the novel - how she fills the saggy middle of a novel - the importance of a first line - how her readers are a treasure trove of stories and ideas - her app...

Rae Cairns talks about the writing process for her novel Dying To Know, a crime thriller.   We discussed so many writing craft aspects including: - why she starts with theme, rather than plot or character - the research process - the power of a prologue done well - conventions of the crime thriller genre and how to meet readers’ expectations - how a crime thriller should start - how to write...

Amanda Hampson talks about the writing process for her novel The Tea Ladies, a wickedly witty cosy crime novel set in Sydney in the swinging sixties, ideal for fans of Richard Osman.  Amanda talks about the importance of making the novel the best experience possible for the reader, how a comment in Facebook provided the initial inspiration for The Tea Ladies, why she displays her index cards...

Rachael Mogan McIntosh talks about the writing process for her memoir Pardon My French, a candid, hilarious love letter to family life and France with three valuable lessons for overcoming adversity: make home a beautiful nest, lean into the tough lessons and look for the comedy in everything.  In our chat we discuss everything from how you protect your friends and family from your writerly t...

EPISODE SHOW NOTES In this episode, Kate Forsyth takes us through the writing process for a selection of her works including The Crimson Thread, Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl, The Blue Rose and more. Kate shared a veritable wealth of information about her writing process and philosophies; you’ll definitely want to take notes during this episode! She talked about: - helping people find their own fai...

THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS. In this episode, Rachael Johns takes us through the process behind writing her novel The Work Wives.  Rachael very generously decided she was more than happy to discuss the twists and turns of the novel so that all you writers out there could learn from this novel. She also takes us through her physical notebook for the novel - the original character outlines a...

In this episode, Caroline Overington takes us through the process behind writing her novel The Cuckoo’s Cry. Caroline talks about how the novel began its life as an audiobook commissioned by Audible, the process of turning it into a paperback novel, and the wonderful knock-on effect on her backlist of novels. We also discussed character development, the power of the opening first page, Caroli...