Since I get asked this a lot – how did you become a writer? – I thought I’d answer in a jaunty post.
The short answer is: I started writing. From a young age. In journals. For the uni newspaper. And I kept going.
via pinterest.com
The longer one: I started writing and when I saw opportunities I jumped at them. I did work experience at Sunday Magazine while I was studying a Grad Dip in Professional Writing at RMIT (I also have a BA, in philosophy, half a law degree and did a political internship at Parliament House. Plus a year studying on scholarship at University of Santa Cruz, California – philosophy and women’s studies!). The editor asked what I liked/didn’t like about the magazine. I suggested the food pages needed more oomph. She said, Oh, is that so, perhaps you’d like to suggest some changes? Over the weekend I learned Quark from a manual (this was pre-Google and email) and redid the pages, complete with my own food and wine reviews. I presented my ideas Monday morning. She gave me the job as restaurant reviewer on the spot. From there I started writing more for the magazine – volunteering to do the extra work in my own time. Eventually she gave me a fulltime position as a features writer.
I had no idea what I was doing. So. I studied writers whose work I admired. I poured over their opening paragraphs, analysed the structure of their feature, reflected on what made their writing sing!! You become a good writer by being a student of good writing.