Book Length Project Member Profile Reg Parnell

I have four major writing projects on the go – two fiction, two non-fiction.

Last December I got an editorial critique on a novel I had been working on for years. Amongst much else, it let me identify some gaps in my writing skills. The work that had been critiqued, named Dunce is in the genre of literary nonsense; as such, it was not a good place to address the gaps in my skill set.

I decided to do two things – undertake a major reading exercise in all things writing, and write a ‘training wheels’ novel where I could apply a more standard set of writers tools. I reasoned that this would let me separate the special problems of writing literary nonsense from the broader deficits in my knowledge and craft. I intend to return to Dunce with my enhanced writers superpowers.

Linsay, my trainer novel, is about a 26 y/o woman who has problems with commitment and acceptance; her goal in life is to be a great painter. I have written 80,000 odd words in seven months, and plan to be finished by the end of August. Linsay has taken on a life way beyond my original intentions: my goal of developing and demonstrating a competent fiction writer’s skill set has been achieved, at least well enough for this story.

Marsupial mole

My non-fiction works are a WA travelogue with a difference, and a book on the marsupial mole, based on an original journal from the beginning of last century that reports a study of the mole.