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Adapt or Die: Telling Stories about Change
I once heard the comedian Trevor Noah describe the daily news as a yoking of terror and joy. A meteor, he quipped, is hurtling toward earth, and it’s shaped like a penis. Noah captures brilliantly the...
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How Books Can Change Lives
There’s a section in Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones that has stayed with me ever since I read it. The main character, Charlie, uses a racial slur at the dinner table. It’s clear he doesn’t know what the...
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Forward Motion
You’ve been there, I’m sure, as have I: You hit a stretch when life seems to hand you one setback after another, a fusillade of adversity that makes it impossible to even think about things like, say,...
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End of Summer Reflections on Patience, Organic Evolution, Stakes, and Openings
Three years ago, in mid-August, my first historical novel debuted in the summer of lockdown. The launch situation was far from ideal, and those of us who were published that summer did the best we...
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White Space
My youngest left for college this month and we are officially empty nesters. It’s a crazy time, both exciting and bittersweet. I wander around the house, peeking in empty bedrooms, folding shirts just...
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Why We Write: Artistry, Identity, and Legacy
Writing a book is hard. So is getting published, promoting a book, and becoming successful as a writer. Then why do so many of us want to do it? Our reasons can be complex and difficult to articulate,...
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Scatterbrained: Why Engaging in Multiple Creative Activities Can Help Your...
Back when I was the editor of a regional lifestyle magazine, I discovered that one of the photographers we worked with had a bachelor’s degree in music and that he had once worked as a professional...
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The Magic of the Library Book Sale
Every year I volunteer time to help out my local “Friends of the Library” book sale, which is held over the first three weekends in October. Where I live, the ‘booksale’ means an entire warehouse of...
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A Writer’s Give and Take
Spring is moving into a baking early summer here in Australia; the fire season is already upon us. In a few days I will be travelling to Ireland for a writers’ retreat, and the contrast will be...
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Sometimes, Imagining a Better World is Terrifying
A few years ago—almost three! My god, what is time?—my very first post on Writer Unboxed argued against cynicism disguised as reality and in favor of imagining better things through story. I’d like to...
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