​EVER get stuck into a good story, only to find your mind drifting after a few chapters because you can’t understand the characters?

Armidale editor Anna Thomson found she couldn’t “fall into” the story with some works she edited, even though the plot was well written and constructed.

Her solution was to write her own novel and, thanks to the inaugural Varuna-New England Writers' Centre fellowship, she spent a week working on Bloodwood.
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“Having an entire week to work uninterrupted on the manuscript was just what I, and it, needed,” Thomson said.

"WHAT is tomorrow’s fish-and-chip wrappings could also be a best-selling novel." 

So says Ariella Van Luyn, a lecturer in writing at The University of New England. Dr Van Luyn will deliver an online workshop for the New England Writers’ Centre on November 13, where she will discuss researching and writing historical fiction.

She says Australian newspapers and magazines found in the National Library of Australia's “Trove” digital catalogue are a rich source of inspiration. That’s also the case with tomes of old newspapers found in local libraries.

“Usually, [the local history collection] is tucked away in a corner of the library and contains all kinds of fascinating books and pamphlets,” Dr Van Luyn says.