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1 week ago | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Rachel McCarron |Laura Rikono |Katie-Ellen Hazeldine
I’ve watched some great webinars on plotting recently and I thought I’d compile what I’ve learned, as much for myself as for anyone else who might find this info useful 😊The Four Cornerstones of PlotDESIRE – anything, as long as the character is passionate about getting it/there’s a sense of urgency/it can’t be ignored. Start with a ‘flawed want’, with the story leading to the realisation of the ‘what’s really good for them’ need.
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2 weeks ago | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Katie-Ellen Hazeldine |Michael Treacy |Rachel McCarron
I tend not to write novels that require a lot of research (regular readers will be aware that I write romance/fantasy and psychological suspense-type books). I’ve got to admit, I don’t know how writers of sci-fi, police procedural and historical fiction do it.
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1 month ago | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Michael Treacy |Rachel McCarron |Peter Cox
On The Honest Authors’ podcast, Gillian McAllister once mentioned that she was asked, “Do you really think that?” about something controversial she’d written in one of her novels. Her answer: “No, of course I don’t!”But at least in this instance she was asked. I’ve had occasional situations where readers have just assumed that I am like my characters, or that ideas and opinions explored in my novels must be beliefs that I hold, even when they know they’re works of fiction.
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2 months ago | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Rachel McCarron |Lyse Beck |Katie-Ellen Hazeldine
Bear With Me!Okay, this is probably a weird analogy but this is how my (bird-brained!) mind works. So, in terms of the title question, I’ve thought long and hard about this and, with my limited scientific knowledge, I’ve decided it’s the egg (yes, I know there’s more to this question than meets the eye, but stay with me!). Why the egg? Well, given that evolution can occur through genetic mutation between generations, surely the precursor species laid an egg which gave birth to the chicken species?
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2 months ago | 
hrleader.com.au | Claire Gallagher |Jerome Doraisamy
The year 2024 could well go down in history as a time when people behaved badly in the workplace. But, unless leaders choose to step up, the worst may still be yet to come, writes Claire Gallagher.
In 2024, there were far too many examples of people behaving badly at work.
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Jan 24, 2025 | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Agent Pete |Rachel McCarron |Laura Rikono
If you want to be traditionally published, the chances are that you’ll need a literary agent. Their job is to sell your book to a publishing house and manage the ‘business’ side of things for the author, including contracts and royalties, and rights in other territories, in translation, audio, film and TV. Many agents also work editorially with their clients, helping to get the manuscript into the best possible shape before sending it out on submission.
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Jan 19, 2025 | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |Agent Pete |Rachel McCarron |Laura Rikono
What Do We Mean by ‘Pace’ And Why Is It Important? We often hear that books are fast-paced, slow burn or ‘saggy in the middle’. In a nutshell, pace is the speed at which a story unfolds (note that this is not the same as the speed at which a story takes place, e.g. over a day, months, a year, decades). Pace relates to rhythm, tension, rising and falling action, positioning of plot points (like reveals and twists) and overall story/character arcs.
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Dec 7, 2024 | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher |James Charles |Pamela Jo |Eva Ulian
When I was eight years old, I auditioned for a part in my school’s Christmas play, Christmas is Cancelled! Despite being a shy child, I loved singing and role-playing and my timidity was overridden by the thought of getting to experience my dream of performing on stage. The audition took place in the school hall at lunchtime. The part I wanted was that of the Ice Queen, the main villain.
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Sep 11, 2024 | 
litopia.com | Claire Gallagher
I’m FineWhenever I meet someone new, I try to learn their language. I don’t mean French or German; I mean things like what they convey without actually saying the words, or the way they might say something but mean something different. For the latter, take “I’m fine” as an example.
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Aug 28, 2024 | 
mumbrella.com.au | Rosie Drew |Claire Gallagher
Australians expect brands to do good. That’s the key takeaway from the 2024 Good Study that found 96% of Australians believe it’s important for brands to do some form of good in the world, while 57% do their best to avoid brands that aren’t doing any good at all. In this climate, it’s more important than ever for brand guardians to be clear on what the brand does and why it does it.
