What a blast interviewing actor and writer, Merridy Eastman, for our Art of Writing Time to Write session. Merridy is the author of three memoirs and is currently working on her fourth. You can see how funny Merridy is just by this little introduction to her newest memoir.

“Merridy is currently writing her fourth book, I Knew We Weren’t Spanish! about the discovery that her great-great-grandfather was not a Spanish pirate, but a Worimi man from Paterson, New South Wales.”

Merridy has the ability to inject humour into all aspects of her writing. Not an easy feat.

I wouldn’t be a good journalist if I didn’t ask Meg about what it was like to have such an extraordinarily well-known writer father. Her response was just what I would have imagined from such a lovely lady.

Chatting to Meg Keneally about the highs and lows of her writing life uplifted me and the Art of Writing gang. And that’s exactly why I run the Sunday TIME TO WRITE sessions so that we know we are not alone.

My dear friend, Carla Coulson talks about what Florence, creativity and menopause have in common. I love Carla’s thoughts and words. I love too how she mentions the Art of Writing in respect of moving into a place of joy so that your writing flows. How post menopause, ideas and creativity flourish.

Enrolments are now open for The Next Draft retreat in Florence. From June 25-29, the Art of Writing creative writing retreats in Tuscany will offer this special editing opportunity for finished drafts.

It’s about time the Art of Writing published updates on some appalling scams that target writers. Scams are becoming more and more insidious as more and more books are listed on Amazon and author names are traceable to email addresses. The Con Job we will focus on today targets self-published and traditionally published books. The swindlers are particularly active now, scamming titles on Amazon.

This summer in Florence the Art of Writing is doing some heavy lifting. We are lifting you and your first drafts during our summer writing retreat called The Next Draft. We are making you and your writing lighter. Many of you are facing the first draft predicament.

I chatted with structural editor, Laurel Cohn, this week about why we are preparing a special Next Draft retreat this June 25-29 in Tuscany. It’s because we see, time and time again, the struggle writers have shifting their first draft mindset into their third, fourth and fifth draft mindsets.

Can my drafts be messy? Should they be neat and tidy? Or can they be all tangled up, with paragraphs and phrases and dialogue that I may not use?

Here’s a blog written by Laurel Cohn where she profiles me, and we talk about the importance of Bonds Between Authors. Thank you, Laurel, for sharing this with us.

A Note from Lisa - Join me this Summer in Florence for our 2023 Summer Writing Retreats.

One of the best books I’ve read on Genres is The Anatomy of Genres by John Truby. Actually, it’s the only book I’ve read on Genres. But as we are concerned at the Art of Writing creative writing retreats about your genre choice, I thought I’d give a book on Genres a go. And there is no better book to give a go than this one.

An interview with Catherine Drayton, InkWell Management New York - In honour of the Brisbane, February 9-12 Art of Writing, this blog purposefully digs deeper into what’s selling in Australia. But because I live and write in Italy, as well as run creative writing retreats in Europe with a vast range of global citizens, we are talking to Catherine because of her international representation.

If you can’t nail down your genre you won’t be picked up by an agent. Sure, maybe your novel is ‘literary,’ so your genre is harder to pinpoint. But at the very minimum label, your work initially as Women’s Fiction. Then it would be grouped into Women’s Literary Fiction or Women’s Commercial Fiction. Every book, in the interests of marketing, promotions, pitches and sales (in other words – business) must have a genre.

Aunty Maria helped me find my voice. When I first met Aunty Maria in Tuscany, she was about sixty years old. I was a young girl with no knowledge around how Maria’s generation lived. I had no idea that in rural Tuscany, many farmers lived in extreme poverty. I thought Tuscany was all candles in Chianti wine bottles, red and white checked table clothes and lashings of food. It was Maria who told me otherwise.

Art of Writing Alumni writer and photographer, Fiona Basile, has taken some of the most gorgeous photos of her time with us in Florence. Have a look and have a read about her June Italian writing experience in this blog below. Let Fiona’s photos of food, and Florence take you to San Niccolò. I love how photos transport you. And that’s just what Fiona’s photos do – take you somewhere wonderful.

Betty Cody is an inspiration to all of us. I am forbidden to mention Betty’s age, but Betty has just published her first book. The Brightest Star is a testament to Betty’s formidable energy and drive. Her book proves it’s never, ever too late to do what you want to do. With her wonderful candour and positive energy, Betty Cody, and I talk about publishing her first book.

Writer’s block does exist. So many will tell you otherwise and until mid-last year, I would have agreed with them. I’ve changed my tune.

This technique of alluding to something that will happen is an excellent way to hook your readers. Good foreshadowing means you’ve discovered a technique that allows your reader to prepare for events that are to come later in your story. It is such a great skill to master and clever foreshadowing is absolutely a trick that you learn.

Time to write. That’s what I wish for you this holiday season. Long stretches of calm, quiet time to think about your story and come up with ideas. I wish you still moments of peaceful reflection.