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Artshub Reviews
I love the Festival of Perth in all its manifestations - the Festival proper, the Fringe Festival, and the Writers Festival. However, I ...

About Me
- Satima Flavell
- I am a writer, editor, reviewer and dance teacher based in Perth, Western Australia. You might enjoy my books - The Dagger of Dresnia, the first book of the Talismans Trilogy, is available at all good online book shops as is Book two, The Cloak of Challiver. Book three, The Seer of Syland, is in preparation. I trained in piano and singing at the NSW Conservatorium of Music. I also trained in dance (Scully-Borovansky, WAAPA) and drama (NIDA). Since 1987 I have been writing reviews of performances in all genres for a variety of publications, including Music Maker, ArtsWest, Dance Australia, The Australian and others. Now semi-retired, I still write occasionally for the ArtsHub website, and I still teach dance at Trinity School for Seniors, an outreach program of the Uniting Church in Perth.

My books
The first novel of my trilogy, The Talismans, is available as an e-book from Smashwords, Amazon and other online sellers. I do have paperbacks of The Dagger of Dresnia at the low price of $AU25 including postage within Australia. I also have a short story, 'La Belle Dame', in print - see Mythic Resonance below.
Book two of the trilogy, The Cloak of Challiver, will be available again shortly.
The best way to contact me is via Facebook!

Buy The Talismans
The first two books of The Talismans trilogy were published by Satalyte Publications, which, sadly, has gone out of business. Book one, The Dagger of Dresnia, is up on the usual bookselling web sites as an e-book, and I have a few hard copies to sell to those who prefer Real Paper. Book Two, The Cloak of Challiver, will be available soon.
The easiest way to contact me is via Facebook.

Buy Mythic Resonance
Mythic Resonance is an excellent anthology that includes my short story 'La Belle Dame', together with great stories from Alan Baxter, Donna Maree Hanson, Sue Burstynski, Nike Sulway and nine more fantastic authors! Just $US3.99 from Amazon.
Got a Kindle? Check out Mythic Resonance.

For Readers, Writers & Editors
- A dilemma about characters
- Adelaide Writers Week, 2009
- Adjectives, commas and confusion
- An artist's conflict
- An editor's role
- Authorial voice, passive writing and the passive voice
- Common misuses: common expressions
- Common misuses: confusing words
- Common misuses: pronouns - subject and object
- Conversations with a character
- Critiquing Groups
- Does length matter?
- Dont sweat the small stuff: formatting
- Free help for writers
- How much magic is too much?
- Know your characters via astrology
- Like to be an editor?
- Modern Writing Techniques
- My best reads of 2007
- My best reads of 2008
- My favourite dead authors
- My favourite modern authors
- My influential authors
- Planning and Flimmering
- Planning vs Flimmering again
- Psychological Spec-Fic
- Readers' pet hates
- Reading, 2009
- Reality check: so you want to be a writer?
- Sensory detail is important!
- Speculative Fiction - what is it?
- Spelling reform?
- Substantive or linking verbs
- The creative cycle
- The promiscuous artist
- The revenge of omni rampant
- The value of "how-to" lists for writers
- Write a decent synopsis
- Write a review worth reading
- Writers block 1
- Writers block 2
- Writers block 3
- Writers need editors!
- Writers, Depression and Addiction
- Writing in dialect, accent or register
- Writing it Right: notes for apprentice authors

Interviews with authors
My Blog List
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D.J. Butler - D.J. (“Dave”) Butler grew up in swamps, deserts, and mountains. After messing around for years with the practice of law, he finally got serious and turned ...58 minutes ago
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The Attention Economy: Shorter - Hemming in the Tension When I tweeted up the author Anne R. Allen for writing that “Word count guidelines have been trending down in the last decade,” I fo...1 hour ago
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What can brain research offer people who stutter? - There’s something compelling about watching a person who stutters find a way to experience fluent speech. British TV viewers witnessed such a moment on E...3 hours ago
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Join Me for the Power of Writing Interview Series 2 - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy* Becoming a writer isn’t an easy path! There are many challenges that new writers face on their quest to say "I am a wr...4 hours ago
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Lit Wicks: Tessa Dare - Welcome to Lit Wicks! This is where we pair an author’s backlist with candles to really immerse yourself in the reading experience. All of the candles feat...6 hours ago
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3 Absurd Screenwriting Myths To Forget Right Now - Writing Myths Myths are everywhere in screenwriting, but it’s real success that attracts you. First, you watch GET OUT. Then, you watch the Academy Award...6 hours ago
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Tutenkhamun, Bowling, - Those of you who know me, know I don't watch much TV. Jeopardy is my favourite and that's about it on a regular basis. This week I seem to have been glued...9 hours ago
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Another incoming review - In the absence of further clarity on the publication status of my books, I can at least mention that Sue Bursztynski, a former colleague from my ASIM days,...9 hours ago
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Speculative Fiction Showcase: Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 20... - Speculative Fiction Showcase: Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for April 20...: It's time for the weekly round-up of interesting links about speculati...12 hours ago
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A To Z Blogging Challenge 2018: R Is For Gillian Rubinstein - Gillian Rubinstein writes for children and teens. You may have heard of her under her pen name of Lian Hearn, under which she wrote the Japanese-themed T...13 hours ago
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The complexity of medieval Soberton (1) by Carolyn Hughes - When, several years ago, I embarked upon writing the first of the " Meonbridge Chronicles", I read a lot of books in preparation. Most of the books were fil...14 hours ago
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View From a Hotel Window, 4/19/18: Minneapolis - It’s a very vertical view today, because I’m downtown in a major American city. I like it! Tonight: 7pm in the Har Mar Barnes & Noble! Be there! Or don’t b...19 hours ago
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Cover Reveal: Bookburners Season 4 - In which we showcase the cover of Bookburners Season 4, the latest season of the critically acclaimed urban fantasy serial about a secret team of agents ...1 day ago
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Digital archiving: ‘Context is everything’ - What’s the difference between an archive and a data warehouse? How are digital archives different from other collections of data? Perhaps the most signific...1 day ago
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“I want my time with you” – and quite right, too - Tracy Emin’s new art installation at St Pancras station has hit the news, as her work always does. I have no expertise with which to Read the full article...1 day ago
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To Move Is to Live Is to Move - I walk five miles every day, using a Fitbit as a pedometer to keep myself honest. People praise me for this, telling me how virtuous I am to get all this e...1 day ago
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Marion Deeds - We were very pleased to have author Marion Deeds join us on the show to talk about her work and her interests. I started by asking her what her favorite th...1 day ago
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Ready Set Discover Logan now available at Bookshops - Ready Set Discover Logan now available I’m thrilled to pieces Ready Set Discover Logan received *5 STAR Reviews and is now available at Bookshops in Bri...1 day ago
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Flogometer 1051 for Danielle—are you compelled to turn the page? - Submissions sought. Get fresh eyes on your opening page. Submission directions below. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me ...1 day ago
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How to Write a Series for Your Blog (and Why You’ll Want To) - Have you ever written a series of posts for your blog – a set of posts that are deliberately linked together? If you haven’t, I hope I can convince you t...2 days ago
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Preview- First chapter of Skyfire - Hi all This might be of interest to some of you. This is a preview of the first chapter of Part Five of the Dragon Wine series, called Skyfire. I thought t...2 days ago
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Preview- First chapter of Skyfire - Hi all This might be of interest to some of you. This is a preview of the first chapter of Part Five of the Dragon Wine series, called Skyfire. I thought t...2 days ago
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Urban Fantasy tab added… - In a similar vein to The Book Review Directory, I’ve been sent freebies from authors in this genre. I’ve downloaded one and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve dec...2 days ago
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New Medieval Books: Suger and Blood - Looking for something medieval to read? Here are five new books about the Middle Ages to check out...2 days ago
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Another talk with Laurie Anderson - One of the people I love talking to most in the world is Laurie Anderson. Laurie Anderson is an experimental musician, avant-garde composer, storyteller, ...3 days ago
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SFTV 101 - SFTV 101: 1952 to 1980 For anyone interested in the history of science fiction, fantasy and horror on television, here is a list of episodes recommended...4 days ago
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#305 - Question: The pivotal scene in my manuscript is the rape of the main character. My last beta reader said she had nightmares for two days about the story and...4 days ago
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The Abduction of Elizabeth de Burgh, February 1316 - The third and youngest of Edward II's de Clare nieces, who were the daughters of his second eldest sister Joan of Acre and her first husband Gilbert 'the R...4 days ago
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Publishers Weekly Includes Two Vanity Publishers in its List of Fast-Growing Independent Presses - *Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware* Once again, Publishers Weekly's annual overview of fast-growing independent publishers features not only in...6 days ago
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Me, Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Tongue Cancer, and Jason Fung, MD - Something you might not know about me. Back in the early 2000’s, I was fat. Not chubby. Not “just need to lose a few pounds.” Morbidy obese. The point at w...1 week ago
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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE - What's the difference between me (and other professional writers) and a professional athlete? You know, like those talented young folk now showing us their...1 week ago
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A Hike on the Wild Side by Gail Gaymer Martin - Sometimes it’s hard to face that certain times of life, we can’t do what we might have done ten years earlier. Living in the beauty of Arizona and surrou...1 week ago
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Normans, Angevins and Britons - The History of the Honour of Richmond, Part 1 - Richmond Castle, situated on a cliff above the river Swale in northern Yorkshire, is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture since it has not be...1 week ago
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When a Comma Isn’t Enough - Punctuating interrupted dialogue is a confusing topic for both writers and editors, but there is a definitive answer to the question, "how do you punctuate...1 week ago
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Review: Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening - [image: Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening] Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely stunning combination of artwork, ...1 week ago
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Selling Your Original Art? Get Ready For These Comments...And More - John Buscema, Hulk preliminary. Not my art, so don't ask me if you can buy it. Selling, and buying for that matter, original comic book art shouldn't be di...1 week ago
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Steampunk Fly Girl - This is another one of my vintage digital photos, I call her Steampunk Fly Girl. I suspect she was actually dressed this way for riding in a motor car, but...2 weeks ago
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Suspended in Dusk 2 - My story in the first Suspended In Dusk anthology was called “Shadows Of The Lonely Dead” and it won an Australian Shadows Award, and was reprinted in a ...2 weeks ago
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Free Farseer Poster - I know why you are here. You want to pre-order the Farseer coloring book from the Dabel Brothers, and get the free poster. The free poster is different fro...2 weeks ago
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April Fool's Day - I'm not a fan of pranks. In my opinion in general they tend to be cruel and hurtful and I really have no wish to watch someone being embarrassed. With the ...2 weeks ago
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Welcome to WEP - Write...Edit...Publish APRIL challenge -- ROAD LESS TRAVELED - Of course the classic Robert Frost poem, *The Road Not Taken*, comes to mind with this prompt which went some little way in inspiring our choice. *What ...2 weeks ago
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What we are seeing today is actually the second renaissance of indie bookselling, not the first - Publishing and digital change consultant Bill Rosenblatt — always worth paying attention to — pointed his contacts last week to a podcast from NPR celebr...3 weeks ago
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The Despenser Inheritance - This link will take you to an interesting (but complex) article by Professor Hicks about the Despenser inheritance. You will see from it that Warwick "the ...3 weeks ago
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Despenser Inheritance - This link will take you to an interesting (if complex) article by Professor Hicks about the Despenser Inheritance.3 weeks ago
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Hummingbird Cake Recipe - This recipe brings together a few recipes I found online and combined/tweaked. It has a lot of ingredients, but it’s pretty easy to make, and fun. I migh...5 weeks ago
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Edward III - *Frances, our Fearless Leader, has written an appreciation of a little known play, Edward III. Now accepted as having been written at least in part by our...1 month ago
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New Yoga demonstration video - Hi Friends, I just returned from Sri Lanka where I attended the 3 day Global Mindfulness Summit. During the conference part of my participation was narrati...1 month ago
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Writers [on Writing]: Hilmer Wolitzer - This is from the final page and final paragraph of the collected essays of *Writers [On Writing]* from *The New York Times*; and seems a fitting way to end ...1 month ago
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Buying my books - So I have taken to Lulu - who originally assisted with the publication of The Woodcarver's Son . Anyone wanting to buy a copy of either the Woodcarver's S...1 month ago
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Taking (off) the Pith - I’ve reached a quiet decision. Steampunk is marvelous; I love it, and I have greatly enjoyed my many and various excursions therein, both fantastic (e.g. m...1 month ago
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Interview: Kevin Craig - Novelist, poet and playwright Kevin Craig, long known as KTC on Absolute Write, set some time aside for an interview, just days after release of his sixt...1 month ago
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We're all living in the wound. Here's a way we can begin to heal together. - Never in my life have I felt such an urgent need for Something Good to happen for America. This is my contribution to a visionary discussion: I am consta...1 month ago
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Here's an article based on an exercise I led in Active vs. Passive Writing course - https://novelrocket.com/2018/02/inhabiting-the-prose.html/ FEBRUARY 5, 2018 BY NOVELROCKET Inhabiting the Prose [image: author prose tips]by Patricia Brad...2 months ago
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On Indefinite Hiatus - (Which I pretty much have been from this site for a while already, but for real now.) You can find most archive content through the On Writing page, and li...2 months ago
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Amazon Ranking and Bestseller Lists - What's the Deal? - It's really hard to draw conclusions in the self-pub marketing game. After almost ten years of self-publishing on Amazon, I still don't know why some ebook...2 months ago
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Coming Events In Germany - *Q and A* Tuesday 27th February 8.00pm DTK-Wasserturm Kopischstraße 7, 10965 Berlin, Germany *Lunebuch Bookstore* Interview Thursday 1st March 8.00pm Ba...2 months ago
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Writer brain is back! - So, there’s this thing I call writer brain. That’s where, out of nowhere, characters start chatting with each other in my head … or plot solutions pop up w...2 months ago
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Slave owners in the family tree - My mother, Judith Anson Robinson, did much of the family interviewing, letter writing, ordering of books and microfilms from genealogy libraries, and tra...3 months ago
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More Regular Dance & Gymnastic Blog Posts - Although I am very active on both Instagram and Facebook uploading and sharing images from photo sessions, my poor website seems to be neglected. I am goin...3 months ago
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A Decade of Reading: 2008-2017 - I’ve been a voracious reader my whole life, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I started cataloging my reading journey. Ten years later and I’ve just ticked ove...4 months ago
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Review: Corpselight by Angela Slatter - Verity Fassbinder might have gone up against Archangels and Weyrd murderers before, but now she’s on a course that might just see her out of her depth – mo...4 months ago
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Interview for Annie Douglass Lima's new book The Student and the Slave! - Take a look at this exciting new young adult action and adventure novel, *The Student and the Slave*, now available for purchase! This is the third book i...5 months ago
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Poem (2): For Fear - For Fear As I fear to bend and break The grass upon which I walk ... As I touch not the lustrous bubble For fear of ending its fragile life; As I fear to t...5 months ago
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Literary Executors: Why you don’t want to be one, and how to know if you need one - So. A writer friend asks you to be their literary executor. You’re not exactly sure what a literary executor does, but you know you should feel honoured: a...7 months ago
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Promo for a promo - Check this out - it's my crowdfund campaign to fund an extra scene in my Cyrano film. The film is based on my novel *Pyrotechnicon: Being a True Account of...7 months ago
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I’m teaching a fact-checking workshop in Seattle on November 4th - I’ll be teaching a fact-checking workshop in Seattle on Saturday, November 4th for the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. This will be a practical how-to...7 months ago
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First comes painting, Then comes sketching - While enjoying my new acrylics hobby, I started a painting and decided I wanted to include a dragon statue in one of them. There was, though, a hurdle I ha...8 months ago
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2017 Ditmar Winners Announced - Over the Queen’s Birthday weekend, spec fic fans gathered for Continuum 13: Triskaidekaphilia. Continuum is always a great convention, and this year it was...10 months ago
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Writing about the Crusades and talking about a "meddlesome priest" - The Middle Ages are in the news again, so here is a roundup of recent news articles. We start with three good reads from historians talking about the crusa...10 months ago
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The One and the Many – every Sunday - My first serious girlfriend came from good Roman Catholic stock. Having tried (and failed) to be raised as a Christian child and finding nothing but lifele...10 months ago
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The ancient parish of Aghallow and the territories of Muinterbirne and Largie in county Tyrone, 1609/10 - My main objectives for studying the Manors of Kinard [later known as the Caledon estate] and Ballymagran are to determine the geographic extent and to tr...11 months ago
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A Shameless Plug Ian Likes: Bibliorati.com - A little-known fact is that I once had a gig reviewing books for five years. It was for a now-defunct website known as The Specusphere. It was awesome fun:...1 year ago
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Recommended reads of 2016 (part two) - Following on from my previous blog post about my favoured reads from the last year or so, which was my first blog post for some time, here is part two. I h...1 year ago
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Book Review - Nobody by Threasa Meads - Available from BooktopiaThe subtitle for this work is *A Liminal Autobiography*. Liminal: 1. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. 2...1 year ago
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2017 Potential Bee Calendar – & ladybirds and butterflies - Bees on flowers – all sorts of flowers (& bees) – and lady birds and butterflies. There were hundreds (literally) of photos to choose from. This is a small...1 year ago
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And Father Dragon said "let there be a planet...." - *Lo and behold, Dragon made a planet!!* Oh, I'm so very proud of myself so forgive me if I brag a little bit - way too much. I'm in the process of learni...1 year ago
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What is dyslexia? - *" **The bottob line it thit it doet exitt, no bitter whit nibe teottle give it(i.e ttecific lierning ditibility, etc) iccording to Thilly Thiywitz ( 2003)...2 years ago
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Maken Melodye on #WhanthatAprilleDay16 - Goode Friendes and Readeres of thys Litel Blog, Yt doth fill my litel herte wyth gret happinesse to invyte yow to the thirde yeare of a moost blisful and p...2 years ago

Favourite Sites
- Alan Baxter
- Andrew McKiernan
- Bren McDibble
- Celestine Lyons
- Guy Gavriel Kay
- Hal Spacejock (Simon Haynes)
- Inventing Reality
- Jacqueline Carey
- Jennifer Fallon
- Jessica Rydill
- Jessica Vivien
- Joel Fagin
- Juliet Marillier
- KA Bedford
- Karen Miller
- KSP Writers Centre
- Lynn Flewelling
- Marianne de Pierres
- Phill Berrie
- Ryan Flavell
- Satima's Professional Editing Services
- SF Novelists' Blog
- SF Signal
- Shane Jiraiya Cummings
- Society of Editors, WA
- Stephen Thompson
- Yellow wallpaper

Blog Archive
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Hormones and Reading


Last weekend, I attended a very interesting day at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre, in Greenmount, which is on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia. There were two workshops, both run by Perth author Nikki Logan.
The first one lasted three hours, and was about how reading impacts the human brain, and how to enrich your writing by helping readers to get the absorption experience they crave. Nikki provided us with interesting info on the bio-chemistry of arousal. We're not talking sexual arousal here, you understand, but arousal of all kinds - the visceral arousal of a good thriller, the emotional arousal of romance, the intellectual arousal of a mystery, the sensual arousal of erotic fiction and the creative arousal of speculative fiction, Of course, you can have more than one kind of arousal in a novel, and intellectual arousal can go with non-fiction, too, so it's a good thing for all writers to know about.
When I posted my doings to Facebook, one of my friends was a bit uneasy, and she asked in a comment. 'Do you think it's ethically right to chemically addict people to your (plural) writing?'
The fact is that when we sit down to get absorbed in something, certain hormonal activity will occur. So knowing how to get people absorbed is helping them to have that experience. You know what it's like when you really get into a book - sit down to read at 10.00 AM and next thing you know it's 2.00 PM and you're starving so you have to go and get something to eat, but you resent leaving the book! It's all because of Dopamine and his mates, and that's what I wrote in reponse .
My friend responded with "'helping them have that experience" sounds like manipulation to me! There have already been great and gripping books where writers didn't consciously do this.'
Indeed there have, but they were written by frighteningly talented writers who knew instinctively how to get those hormones flowing. As a craftsman writer, I have to learn how to do it. The experience for the reader is the same, whether the writer does it consciously or unconsciously - and it's the experience that readers want! It's no different from film techniques, where they deliberately set out to scare you, make you laugh or have you on the edge of your seat with excitement. It's the hormones that do it in all cases and it's the very reason that readers read and viewers view!
I understood where my friend was coming from, though. There was a time when I refused to go to the movies because I resented 'having my emotions manipulated'. Yet I still read books and listened to music! I told a friend why I didn't go to movies and she burst out laughing. 'Don't be silly,' she said. 'That's exactly why I go to movies!'
The penny dropped. I realised that it is the job of the creative artist in whatever field to manipulate the emotions - to make us laugh or cry, to make us know what it is like to be chased in the dark by a nameless horror, to rejoice at the birth of a child, to grieve at a death, to make us remember the joy of lying on the beach and getting sunburnt with our first lovers ...
In short, all the arts are about the human experience. At the end of a good film, ballet, opera, play, piano recital, rock concert, book or art exhibition, we should feel something. And, if it's an especially good work, we might have learnt a new way of looking at our own experiences of life and what makes us tick, both individually and collectively. Yes, we are paying to 'have our emotions manipulated'. And that, my friends, is a very good thing, and I want to learn how to do it well. If you want to learn, too, hie thee to yon Amazon and buy Nikki Logan's book, The Chemistry of Reading.
Nikki's afternoon workshop was about Marketing and Branding. I learnt a great deal from this too, and that's great, because as I have triumphantly announced, I have recently sold my first novel to Satalyte Publishing. I came away from Nikki's second workshop with lots of ideas on brands, promises and position statements, among other things. Watch this space as I try some of them out!
Emotions picture by Toddatkins (http://batonrougecounseling.net/managing-emotions/) [CC0], via Wikimedia
The first one lasted three hours, and was about how reading impacts the human brain, and how to enrich your writing by helping readers to get the absorption experience they crave. Nikki provided us with interesting info on the bio-chemistry of arousal. We're not talking sexual arousal here, you understand, but arousal of all kinds - the visceral arousal of a good thriller, the emotional arousal of romance, the intellectual arousal of a mystery, the sensual arousal of erotic fiction and the creative arousal of speculative fiction, Of course, you can have more than one kind of arousal in a novel, and intellectual arousal can go with non-fiction, too, so it's a good thing for all writers to know about.
When I posted my doings to Facebook, one of my friends was a bit uneasy, and she asked in a comment. 'Do you think it's ethically right to chemically addict people to your (plural) writing?'
The fact is that when we sit down to get absorbed in something, certain hormonal activity will occur. So knowing how to get people absorbed is helping them to have that experience. You know what it's like when you really get into a book - sit down to read at 10.00 AM and next thing you know it's 2.00 PM and you're starving so you have to go and get something to eat, but you resent leaving the book! It's all because of Dopamine and his mates, and that's what I wrote in reponse .
My friend responded with "'helping them have that experience" sounds like manipulation to me! There have already been great and gripping books where writers didn't consciously do this.'
Indeed there have, but they were written by frighteningly talented writers who knew instinctively how to get those hormones flowing. As a craftsman writer, I have to learn how to do it. The experience for the reader is the same, whether the writer does it consciously or unconsciously - and it's the experience that readers want! It's no different from film techniques, where they deliberately set out to scare you, make you laugh or have you on the edge of your seat with excitement. It's the hormones that do it in all cases and it's the very reason that readers read and viewers view!
I understood where my friend was coming from, though. There was a time when I refused to go to the movies because I resented 'having my emotions manipulated'. Yet I still read books and listened to music! I told a friend why I didn't go to movies and she burst out laughing. 'Don't be silly,' she said. 'That's exactly why I go to movies!'
The penny dropped. I realised that it is the job of the creative artist in whatever field to manipulate the emotions - to make us laugh or cry, to make us know what it is like to be chased in the dark by a nameless horror, to rejoice at the birth of a child, to grieve at a death, to make us remember the joy of lying on the beach and getting sunburnt with our first lovers ...
In short, all the arts are about the human experience. At the end of a good film, ballet, opera, play, piano recital, rock concert, book or art exhibition, we should feel something. And, if it's an especially good work, we might have learnt a new way of looking at our own experiences of life and what makes us tick, both individually and collectively. Yes, we are paying to 'have our emotions manipulated'. And that, my friends, is a very good thing, and I want to learn how to do it well. If you want to learn, too, hie thee to yon Amazon and buy Nikki Logan's book, The Chemistry of Reading.
Nikki's afternoon workshop was about Marketing and Branding. I learnt a great deal from this too, and that's great, because as I have triumphantly announced, I have recently sold my first novel to Satalyte Publishing. I came away from Nikki's second workshop with lots of ideas on brands, promises and position statements, among other things. Watch this space as I try some of them out!
Emotions picture by Toddatkins (http://batonrougecounseling.net/managing-emotions/) [CC0], via Wikimedia
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4 comments:
How very interesting Satima. In fact I would imagine if our hormones are not stimulated in some way, we would come away from the movie dissatisfied or put down the book disappointed or whatever. If I were a writer I would certainly grab that information.
Good luck with your book. Keep us updated.
Tht's what Nikki said, too, Jo - it's a fact a prospective purchaser will not want to buy a book if s/he reads the first couple of pages and is not immediately engaged by it, which, I suppose, explains why we are constantly told to start our stories 'in media res' - in the middle of things, where there's some action. The old style of novel-writing, where you could start with lengthy descriptions and introducing characters, has gone in this age of instant gratification!
Hi Satima. I'm following a link from Jo's blog. I'm a Queenslander. My latest novel is in three parts - the third part is Western Australia in the 1920s. I feel it was good timing to find your blog and see what you offer.
I"m adding you to my blogroll...
Denise
Nice site, Denise! Lots of interactive stuff, which is always good. I shall link to it in my blog roll, too.
You might like to consider adding my publisher http://satalyte.com.au/submissions/ to your 'Publishers open to submissions' list. They are a new company and open to all genres.