When the writing isn’t writing.

I don’t like using the term writer’s block. It’s a wish-washy term that’s used for those times when the story won’t work and those times when there is just no creating going on and even the thought of opening the word processor, and all the bits in between. I was going to write a few…

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The story behind Gibbet Hill, Perth

(Launceston Advertiser, 6 April 1837) “Mr. Joseph Edward Wilson, eldest son of Mrs. Thomas, of this town, left his home last Saturday afternoon on horseback, on his way to Hobart Town, and had reached within a mile of Perth, when a man rushed suddenly out of the bush, and discharged a piece at him, the…

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Inside Prince of Wales Battery, Battery Point, Hobart

By day… Prince of Wales Battery was one of a series of batteries erected on Battery Point about 1840 to protect the almost-city of Hobart Town from enemy ships. It was dismantled about 1880 and the area turned into a park, but the underground magazine remains. Usually it’s locked. But sometimes it’s opened…. At night!…

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Not Quite the Goldfields

The gold rush in Victoria attracted immigrants hoping to make a fortune from all over the world, including ten of thousands of Chinese. This isn’t that story, because it’s written about in many other places (but you can start here if you’re interested.) The Victorian government was keen on these migrants with their weird habits…

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Port Arthur Paranormal Investigation Experience

Last month, I did a post on the Post Arthur Ghost Tour, which is your standard ghost tour: a group of people follow the guide to each point, where they stand and listen while the guide tells a story, then onto the next one–stay together–don’t wander off. The Paranormal Investigation Experience is… not like that….

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Port Arthur Ghost Tour October 2018

So back in October, we went to Port Arthur and did the Paranormal Experience and the regular Ghost Tour. These photos are from the Ghost Tour. It’s much like every ghost tour. A group of people follow the guide to each point, where they stand and listen while the guide tells a story, then onto…

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Hansom cabs, introduction, commonness and photos, or not

The Gold Museum in Ballarat has a Hansom cab (image to the left). Unfortunately, the lighting is a bit strange in there so I couldn’t take lots of detailed photos. (Oh, if anyone does have one they can take lots of detailed photos of )like I do here) it’d be really good to be able…

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A Visit to the Majestic Theatre

This was the Majestic Theatre, opened 2 June 1917 to show films. The other two theatres constructed at the same time were intended for live theatre, although the National (1915) had both and I think the Princess (1911) ended up being mostly film, and films were also shown at the Academy of Music (later Plaza…

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Nano First Pages

For the benefit of my wonderful Tassie Wrimos . Just to show that first drafts are allowed to be clunky and dull. This is the first page of the first novel I wrote for Nano (in 2002), typos, missing words and all. After that, is the first pageĀ  from last year (2017). Leila stopped in…

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Nanowrimo preparation, my version

Nanowrimo preparation, my version Preparing for Nanowrimo is a balance. On one hand, you want everything in place so you can just sit down and write. On the other hand, you don’t want to be bored with your story or characters. If you’re committing to spending weeks doing something, you need to be enthusiastic about…

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