24 Dec 2012
Stay In Touch!
Don’t leave! The Write Anything blog may be closing down—but there’s a way for us to stay in touch! Did you know that I have my own blog? See if you can guess its name… (a) www.zenashapter.com/blog (b) www.thebestblogintheworld.com (c) www.oneofthebestblogsintheworld.com If you’re a clever cookie (and I think you are), you’ll know where this Christmas Eve post is... read more
10 Dec 2012
The Importance Of Realistic Goals
So the year is drawing to a close and it’s time to reflect… Have I achieved what I wanted to achieve as a writer this year? The short answer is—yes! But that ‘yes’ comes with a caveat. Like many writers, I set most of my own deadlines. It’s one of the perks of the job. It can also, though, be a drawback. As all of those who work for themselves will know, when your only... read more
22 Nov 2012
The Dangers Of Writing Too Hard
I love letting my writing out into the world! Often it’s been trapped in my mind or on my computer for months, sometimes years. So to see it take flight only brings me immense pride. Some people worry about how they’re going to handle criticism of their writing, others worry about compliments–but I don’t worry about either. To me criticism is just readers showing me that they... read more
6 Nov 2012
Track Your Expectations!
Many of us want to publish novels. Others want to publish poetry or short story collections. But will our expectations of publication live up to our dreams? I recently asked seven debut authors about their publishing experiences, and featured their answers on my blog. But then I thought… wouldn’t it be fun to note down my own expectations–now–so that when my dreams do eventually... read more
12 Oct 2012
Print Crazy?
Publication means the making of something public knowledge. It can involve the preparation and production of print or software. And I’m happy for my short stories to experience either… but only my short stories. I currently have short stories in print and on the internet. Some of them you have to pay to access; some though are free–you can find out which ones are which here. Some stories I have... read more
3 Oct 2012
The Importance of Squeeing
Do you squee? Or does it irritate you to the point that you loathe those who do? Believe it or not, but there are some who want to remove the word from the world’s vocabulary by decree! But I still squee. And I believe it’s important to do so too. Let me tell you why… A couple of months ago, I was invited to write about my writing journey on Ebon Shore’s “Wednesday Writers”. David McDonald... read more
21 Sep 2012
Agency / Publisher Submissions Now Welcome!
Thank you for taking the time to consider Zena Shapter for your next author pitch. Zena Shapter is a focused, talented writer who’s proving herself one writing competition or publication at a time. She just won the Fellowship of Australian Writers Manly & Peninsula short story competition THREE YEARS in a row! That’s three different judges, three separate stories, three wins of ‘first place’... read more
12 Sep 2012
When Is A Story ‘Done’?
This month’s theme is final preparations for our writing projects. Well, it’s August as I’m writing this, which is technically only a little more than half way through the year. So no, I’m not going to talk about final preparations. I’ll talk about that in December! But what I can talk about now, is how I know when a story is ‘done’ – which is hopefully the feeling I’ll have in... read more
