Tom Collins House Writer in Residence

And that would be me. I'm very grateful for this opportunity because, as all writers know, the hardest thing to find is uninterrupted time to write. To have a place to go to every day with no demands being made on you by the outside world is an incredible luxury. The last time I had this was last year when I had the use of an unoccupied flat for four weeks. I was amazed at how much more work I managed in a day without the distraction of phones, housework and garden and I'm hoping for the same over the next four weeks.

There's an added frisson to be working in such an historic building. It was the home of Joseph Furphy after he moved to Western Australia from Victoria in 1904. He, as Tom Collins, wrote the Australian classic Such Is Life. The heritage listed house is now the headquarters of the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA.

Stay tuned.

And now I've a little news of my own.

I've gained an emerging writer in residence place at Tom Collins House Writers' Centre in 2009. I'm over the moon. To have all that writing time and the opportunity to mix with the fellow writers using the Writers' Centre is awesome.
I find the biggest problem with working from home is to not allow myself to be distracted by all those things that need doing. A pile of washing can be very demanding if you let it. Then there are all the interruptions like phone calls and people who come to the door. When you are at home you are fair game because you have nothing to do, no deadlines to meet or obligation to carry out - as far as outsiders are concerned that is. When I had the use of an empty unit for a month I was constantly amazed at how much I would achieve in a day.
Given we will be doing renovations to the house - relatively small scale but messy - over the next few months the need for quiet writing time and space is even more pressing. Since Tom Collins House is surrounded by parkland in the leafy Perth suburb of Swanbourne peace and quiet should be available in abundance. How lovely.