Category Archives: writing process

To the Lighthouse: Week 3

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Karen Whitelaw

Dredging up Ideas I spent a lot of time in the morning looking out of my window. If I hadn’t been so stuck with the next scene of my novel, I wouldn’t have noticed how many times the dredge left … Continue reading →

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Lose the writing doubts

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Karen Whitelaw

A writer friend asked me if I would be her accountability partner. She has nearly completed her “autobiographical novel,” a beautifully crafted, honest and moving story of love, belonging and tragedy. She now rings me every Friday, and for half … Continue reading →

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In Defense of Procrastination

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

Some writers think procrastination is the same as being blocked. Some call procrastination thinking. I’ve just watched a Ted Talk by Adam Grant called ‘Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers.’ He conducted a study which makes a strong case for the procrastination-as-thinking camp. Grant is … Continue reading →

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The Joy of Writing

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

A writer friend who is also doing the challenge of observing and writing down the details every day sent me this email, ‘It is quite  incredible the wandering paths my mind has taken just by writing in the moment like this.Today … Continue reading →

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Writing from the forgotten senses

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

For three days last week the wind blew the rain horizontally. It pelted against the window glass and the drops sounded like someone throwing sharp needles. Last week I’d given myself a writing challenge: to write somewhere different each day, … Continue reading →

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Love the Details

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Karen Whitelaw

Details should be more than a writer’s friend; details should be our lover. Get intimate, close up. Slow down. Examine him/her with intense and specific attentiveness. Details make the place in our writing real. Whether it’s travel, memoir, stories or … Continue reading →

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Living a Dream – Day 20

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Karen Whitelaw

Our last day in Menerbes. I was sitting out on the terrace this afternoon writing and someone in the valley lit a large fire. Australians tend to panic at the first whiff of smoke, but we’ve learned here that at … Continue reading →

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Living a Dream – Day 16

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Karen Whitelaw

Even dreams can turn nightmarish. For the past fifteen days the words have been in flood. My pens keep running out of ink and my second notebook is almost full. The images, metaphors and scenes are damming up, coming so … Continue reading →

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Writing is like loose pyjamas

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Karen Whitelaw

Julia Cameron said that writing should be like loose pyjamas. What she means is writing can be casual and comfortable. Cameron writes three ‘morning pages’ of longhand every day. Morning pages are stream-of-consciousness writing that have no restrictions and carry … Continue reading →

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Writing about Emotion

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Karen Whitelaw

William Faulkner knew it. Janette Turner Hospital, Kate Grenville, Julian Barnes know it. But studies are just starting to prove it. The more writers hold back on the effusive emoting of their characters, the more emotion their readers will feel. … Continue reading →

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