The right, imaginative and clear use of details in a book, to me, is the single most important way a writer can improve their writing. What makes a book become real to a reader, what transports them from the reality of their own life to the world of the book, are details. And the way […]

A Guide to Creating is Now on Kindle
A Guide to Creating was originally published in print form by Steele Roberts, NZ, as Fishing from the Boat Ramp – a Guide to Creating, and I am very proud to announce that after 5 years, it is now available on Amazon Kindle! You can download the book free for the next 24 hours here: www.agtc.jilliansullivan.co.nz […]

The Power of Seven – or of Just Keeping Going
I wrote and sent away seven short stories before my first story was published (Scaredy Cat, in New Zealand School Journals). My first novel took me seven years to write. (I had four small children, no family nearby and no childcare in those days. It was a long process!) I went on to write seven […]

Choosing Stones & Sorting Words
“Sorting words,” poet and neighbour Brian Turner said, “is like choosing stones; setting some aside, discarding some, placing others with care in the right place, to make something of craft and beauty that will last.” We talked about this business of word selection while cementing in the last selection of stones, collected in haste at sunset […]

How to Write Without Stopping
Writing without stopping is a way of sidelining the critic in you that doubts you. Imagine you’re trying to paint the sunset and a person comes and stands next to you and says: That’s no good, that doesn’t look real, I don’t know what that means, that colour doesn’t work, just as you’re trying to […]
About Jillian
Jillian Sullivan writes fiction and non-fiction for children, teenagers and adults. Her work has been published for over twenty years and includes four novels, three collections of short stories and over sixty short stories for children and adults, published in New Zealand and America.
Blog Categories
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Ida Valley Musings – The Coming Day April 27, 2020
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Ida Valley Musings – Dystopian adventures April 20, 2020
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Ida Valley Musings – Witches Taper April 13, 2020
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The art of seeing what’s there – and what to do with it. April 9, 2020
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Ida Valley Musings – Thirty seconds without blinking – 5 April April 7, 2020
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Bill Sutton: Love that wood pile! Very Central. And sure hope t...
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Lily: Your love, love of beauty, simplicity, divinity wi...
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daver: nice work, guys...
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Mx Downey: I have just ordered your beautifully written book ...
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Jerry Young: Just learned about your DIY green house and felt a...