Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

Why, when things have changed so much in the publishing industries, listen to someone who started writing 30 years ago whose book is being launched by someone else who started writing 30 years ago? Because JB has lived, like any thinking writer, with the fear of obsolescence, marginalisation, bypass and oblivion for all that time, developed far more smart ideas than most about how to turn words into dollars, and no one’s stopped him yet.

Some ideas from 30 years ago are still great, and they’re in here. Some great ideas only came into existence while John was going through the page proofs, and they’re in here too. He’s a lot more agile than he might appear at the moment, sitting comfortably on his chair down the front her. This is a writer who has found ways to thrive in two centuries, very ready to tell you how to survive…

It wasn’t the rejection letters that made me think it over, not really. I was expecting them. Honestly, I think it was the fact of my so definitely expecting them that made me really think it over, like I didn’t have a chance in hell.

It’s because my query letter sucks, I thought. I just need to rewrite my query.

And then I thought,No. It’s something else. It’s not ready.But what could be wrong with it? I have combed over it near to 1,000 times! I’ve checked on every comma, every lineofdialogue; what else could be wrong? What’s missing?

That was the key to the puzzle, “What’s missing,” because the answer to that question is, “a lot apparently.”

One of my favorite writing gurus is Roy Peter Clark. He’s written a bunch of books aboutwriting, most of which I own. I was reading Help! for Writers

Does your book start at the most interesting point in your character’s life? It should. 

The number one problem I see with sample material, and even client material sometimes, is that the book doesn’t start in the right place. If you are starting with the beginning of the day (waking up or eating breakfast) I don’t trust it’s starting in the right place. If you take 50 pages to introduce the conflict there is no way you’re starting in the right place.

HOW TO START YOUR NOVEL IN THE RIGHT PLACE:

1. At the end, go back and rewrite your beginning. There is no way by the end of your novel you should have the same opening when you started the draft. Characters change, plot trajectories change. You don’t know what your novel is going to fully become until it’s over. So why keep the same opening? Revise to make sure…

A brand new poster has dropped for Kriv Stenders’ Red Dog prequel Red Dog: True Blue.

The new poster marks our first official look at the new film which stars Levi Miller, Jason Isaacs, Justine Clarke, Bryan Brown and Hanna Mangan Lawrence. A teaser trailer is also due soon.

Red Dog: True Blue explores the early events leading up to Red Dog’s discovery on the road to Dampier, and his ultimate rise from ordinary dog to Australian legend.

Red Dog: True Blue hits cinemas on Boxing Day but Cinema Australia has a feeling WA audiences may be seeing the film a little earlier… more to come.