Science  Write  Now

I’ve come to learn that writers are always asking each other how they write. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you write everyday? In fact, the way I write is closely related to the theme of Edition #5: Illumination & Illustration. I’ll pretend that you asked.

For me, writing a novel is like a road trip at night—I know where I’m going, more or less, and how long it should take to get there, if I keep on-track. But on a practical level, as the 18-wheelers and I drive the New England Highway south from Tenterfield to Tamworth, I can only see about 200-400m ahead, where my headlights splay over the bitumen.

Sometimes I’m tired, need a stop; but sometimes, the air is cool through the window and Elton John’s on the radio and I watch that illuminated space before me go on and on.

And all I can do is follow it.

This is writing to me—and life, in fact, but let’s leave that for another time. In this edition based around the theme of Illustration & Illumination, Jess and I were inspired by the myriad ways that writers engage with light and shade, motion, tension—and the ways that engaging with new perspectives can crack holes in the walls where new dimensions appear. Infinite dimensions, right there, so close.

We hope that you enjoy these essays, poems, stories, and reviews—and that they inspire you, too!