Author: Andrea Barton

Award-winning author, Andrea Barton, writes the Jade Riley Mystery Series. She is Managing Editor at Brightside Story Studio and Vice President of Mansfield Readers and Writers Festival. Her other writing credits include The Winding Narrative blog, short stories, picture books and stage productions about contemporary social issues. She has co-authored and edited two anthologies about expatriate life.
Posted on

Dani Netherclift on writing to resolve grief

In her book, Vessel, The shape of absent bodies, Dani takes us on a transformative journey as she grapples with the drownings of her father and brother and finds solace through the process of writing. This lyric essay plays with fragments of memory, draws connections in history and with literature, and takes a deep dive into emotion.
Join me as Dr Dani, President of Mansfield Readers and Writers, explains her PhD, Vessel and the healing power of words. Continue reading Dani Netherclift on writing to resolve grief

Posted on

Paul Flavel on Capturing Memories of John Martin’s

Paul has always loved the South Australian department store, John Martin’s. When he realized memories of the beloved store were fading, he resolved to write a book to celebrate the company’s legacy. John Martin’s – The Story of South Australia’s Beloved Department Store is the result. It almost sold out in its launch week, so a second print run is arriving before Christmas, and less than two weeks later, it’s already onto the third run. Why is it generating such a buzz? Read on to find out. Continue reading Paul Flavel on Capturing Memories of John Martin’s

Posted on

Writing a Mystery: Crafting a Series

In the first part of this blog series, Writing a Mystery: Introducing Jade Riley, I introduced the protagonist for The Godfather of Dance. A journalist by trade, Jade hails from Melbourne and has a past tinged with the tragedy of her best friend’s death. Today, I share how I am developing the Jade Riley Mystery Series, and how I envision future books. Of course, this will almost certainly change along the way due to factors beyond my control or my evolving creative preferences. Continue reading Writing a Mystery: Crafting a Series

Posted on

Diane Clarke on wartime evacuation and her novel, The Photograph

Diane Clarke was born in South London and spent her childhood on the Sussex coast. She trained as a speech pathologist and worked in that field most of her career, continuing after she immigrated to Australia 27 years ago.

When she took three months off to find another job, she decided to dabble in writing, and now, her debut novel has been published, The Photograph, a family drama about a woman looking for her lost brother. Continue reading Diane Clarke on wartime evacuation and her novel, The Photograph

Posted on

The Why, What and How of Storytelling

I recently had the honour of chatting with Lisa Hope Tilstra on the Make Life Less Difficult podcast. To quote her purpose, “This podcast explores what it means to make life less difficult for each other and for ourselves. We share stories of struggles and successes because we believe sharing our stories eases the difficulty of life.” This really spoke to me because as an editor and writing coach, my role is all about helping people tell their stories. I tried to articulate for Lisa how I help authors and subsequently wrote this post to capture those ideas.
When a client approaches me for help with their book, I need to understand their motivation and goals. The why, what and how of their story:
Why do they want to tell the story?
What do they want to say?
How might they say it?
This may sound obvious, but it’s easy to dive into what is already on the page without considering these parameters. If I’m working with authors who are clear about their goals, I don’t spend much time on this, but for new authors who are feeling their way, a more extensive discussion may be useful. Continue reading The Why, What and How of Storytelling