Varuna images

Varuna Writer's House

Here are the photos taken during my time at Varuna Writer's House. I would advise any writer to take advantage of the Manuscript Development Program and/or Professional Development Intensive Workshop that Varuna offers. Having a consultant visit during one's stay (to spend an hour or more threshing out the weaknesses of plot, structure or cadence) is the best form of discipline. Otherwise, those astoundingly beautiful Blue Mts are a mere 5-10 minute walk from the front door. I'm glad I waited until my second-to-last day to go hiking!

Logistics: The house is a 10-15 minute walk from the centre of Katoomba. It has WiFi internet with no drop out and nary a television to be found. Each apartment is made up of a bedroom, a separate writing room (or Eleanor Dark's entire studio, if you have the Maid's quarters) and a bathroom. The rooms have names such as "Bear Room", "Green Room" and "Maid's Room". I was fortunate to have the Main room, which is at the top of the stairs on the left of the main door in the first image. It had a fireplace that made ghostly noises at night. How wonderful - once I'd gotten used to the sound and could get to sleep. All of the bedrooms are on the top floor with the exception of the Maid's quarters. 

Nobody is disturbed from their task. It's an environment that 'compels' the writer to write... when she's not making pots of tea, that is... or looking out of her window at strange people (other writers) walking around the garden, waving umbrellas above their heads in a maniacal fashion on a sunny day??? It was September. Supposedly the magpies were swooping, though they never bothered me - not for the entire time I was at the Writer's House. And yet tales of their F-15 accuracy were bandied around the dinner table. 

The Mythical Magpies of Varuna

I suspect Kath, Dave & Jackie were pulling my leg.
They were the three other writers present for all of my stay. Great people. We met up at dinner and had postprandial readings and discussions.


Work time: My rough daily schedule was to write from 0700H, taking a break around 1730H to set the fire downstairs and hand-feed the magpies. After dinner I'd often resume writing until 2300H.


It's a strange but luxurious feeling to have nothing but writing all around oneself. 




I had two consultancy sessions with Ms Lee. Each was followed by a flurry of re-structuring the plot and tweaking the dialogue. I like to get things done so would plan a 24H turn-around, to email the revised manuscript VI well in advance of Ms Lee's next visit. This worked well. 

The joy in spending time at Varuna (even when one works hard) comes from the full immersion effect. There is a comforting solitude in the house. Underneath carpet the floorboards squeak just as they have done from countless writer's feet before mine. 


When I took some images on my last night it did occur to me that Varuna lacked one thing. Something to make it all the more unique. Something that would be luminous at twilight and herald in the full moon.


Why, Fireflies of course!

Post-Varuna

I am fresh back from a week in the Blue Mts, having undergone an Individual Professional Development Program at Varuna Writer's House. I will post some photos soon. My consultant was Jody Lee (former editor at Simon & Schuster). We dissected my manuscript for Book VI; it was excellent. Ms Lee is very knowledgeable and a clear communicator. We also had some good laughs. Writing is such a joy. Discussing writing is immensely good fun too.

In addition to our manuscript talks, we spoke about the current climate in publishing. 

Here are some of my own thoughts RE:the massive shift in the publishing world and how it operates. 

Each week there seems to be another article on something major, whether it stems from the content providers themselves (eg. JK Rowling with Pottermore) or whether it is technology driven. The latest article that caught my attention can be found here:
http://whattheythink.com/news/54364-harpercollins-publishers-5000-titles-available-print-demand/

It's not too unimaginable to foresee bookstores becoming cafes with EBM lined up outside like we currently have ATM, only the EBM would be for different publishers not banks. We could order our book then order a coffee, finish drinking it and collect our printed and bound book (still warm) from the EBM. Why not? It certainly provides a future outlook for both forms of the written word to be perpetuated - either eBooks or espresso hardcopies.