Finding the Heart of my Memoir

Finding the Heart of my Memoir

It is easy for a writer to become lost in content when writing a memoir. What belongs? What goes out? What is the motive for writing it? How does one shape it? In this article, written for Lee Koffman’s blog, ‘The Writer Laid Bare’, I outline responses to these and...
Creative Wringing

Creative Wringing

I have been thinking about life experiences and writing. Most creative writers write out of experience but hate to be pinned down by it, as if every line says something about the author’s life story. Of course some very fine writing is about life stories but even...
Chinese Visitors

Chinese Visitors

I so enjoyed having Hilda Tam and Chris Song at Carol’s Table. I worked with Hilda on a cross-cultural project years ago. She is a fine novelist, who introduced me to Chris, an equally fine poet. Both are translators. Chris has translated Les Murray’s poetry for...
Illumination over heat.

Illumination over heat.

I’ve had a rather colourful life. Some think this should provide copious material to inspire many novels. But one must be wary of too much content. It can suck you down. I am reminded of that family in Anne Tyler’s, The Clock Winder. Too much drama. Impossible to find...
Keystone Cops and Penitents

Keystone Cops and Penitents


My father was a gunner in the merchant marines and there is a story of him getting drunk and missing a boat that was sunk by the Germans. Such stories were meant to describe the randomness of fate and fragility of good timing. They would always end with my father...