Newsletter

The Twelve Apostles already has a lot going for it. And they recently upped the ante by revamping their spa, making it lighter, brighter and much more inviting. One of my favourite things about the spa is that you can spend as long as you want there, turning an hour-long treatment into a...

It’s quite cool to know I have something in common with Lord Byron – I recently read this quote by him: ‘If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad.’ Luckily, thanks to the Random House Struik/GetSmarter writing course that’s been keeping me occupied, I have been blissfully sane...

This year has held plenty of endings for me. They haven’t been easy – as a Taurean, change is not up there on my list of things I enjoy – but they have all led to something new and exciting. The Random House/GetSmarter creative writing course was an example of a...

When a book is brought to life on film, music plays such a huge role in creating an effective adaptation. At least, it does if you’re the kind of writer who relies on music for inspiration and you have a soundtrack in your mind as your novel takes shape. I was thinking about Twilight...

Here’s the ironic thing about conflict: most of us try to avoid it in our own lives, yet if every book we read was devoid of it, we’d probably get bored by the second chapter. To create a bestseller – or just a novel that sells at all – you have to make sure that every...

Okay, I don’t have a new typewriter, but I kind of wish I did. A friend of mine recently bought a vintage typewriter from the Milnerton Market – which I know is technically not ‘new’ either, but I am definitely experiencing typewriter envy. Don’t you just love...

In case you can’t make out the words on the above piece of paper, it says ‘Listening to The Smiths’. I thought this was a pretty funny depiction of writer’s block. My writer’s block happens mostly when I start writing and, even though the words might flow, they...

This time of year, our magazine deadlines can get pretty hairy. Which means I’m usually looking around for some kind of stress relief to see me through until the December break. My acupuncturist, Dr Michael Lan, suggested I try Tui Na massage – which I suppose you could say is...

Although preceded by much aggravated anticipation, elation is the word of the week. Waiting for the reviews of my first written assignment (the first 700 words of my novel) was agony, but receiving such insightful, positive feedback is possibly one of the most illuminating experiences...