LEAVING YOUR MARK

Paying attention: the writer’s superpower

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ 2 Comments

I began to wonder why the verb that goes with ‘attention’ is ‘to pay’. Is it a debt? A duty? A tax? An outlay of energy? Work seems to be involved in the phrase, or perhaps sacrifice. And what do we get back, if we pay it?

Helen Garner

Helen Garner’s reflections on her writing life – featured in this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival – were as welcome as could be to this HG-starved aspiring author. Immersing myself in the writing life of other writers feels like relaxing back into a warm bath. These are my people.

Helen Garner - one of Australia's leading writers - in a Melbourne Writers Festival publicity shot
Continue reading →

The kindness of strangers

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ Leave a comment

A recent invitation to join the Kindness Pandemic Facebook page brought to mind this story I wrote for The Age in 2009 shortly after the car crash that – in a strange way – was the catalyst for DIY Woman. I was determined to make the most of the life I had been spared to live. It was the inception of what started out as a guide to separation, divorce and living happily ever after, and grew into a blog for the Daring Intuitive Young@heart Woman I aspire to be. The type of woman (and occasional man) I write for. And that is you, dear reader. I hope you enjoy this story from The Age archives.

The Kindness Pandemic artwork

Continue reading →

Resourcefulness and resilience rise from the ashes

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ 2 Comments

Amidst the hardship and heartbreak of the recent bushfires, acts of kindness restore faith in the future of this wide brown land.

A kangaroo in the foreground of a brown landscape
Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash

It was wonderful to read about the generous responses to the bushfires of sports people like Nick Kyrgios, international celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio and Elton John, as well as local heroes like Chris Hemsworth.

Continue reading →

The Evolution of DIY Woman

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ Leave a comment

‘Can I be completely honest with you?’

Conversations that start like this can go one of two ways: they can leave you feeling deflated or they can spur you on to greater things. My friend D doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations. She’s the one who tells it straight when you ask for her opinion. She’s also the one who gives you her undivided attention and support when you need it. And the best home-made scones.

The shadows of two women on timber decking
D and me
Continue reading →

How to build your character in seven days

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ 4 Comments

This week was a test of my character.

After enduring months of offline episodes and ‘Not secure’ messages popping up on this website, I made the decision a fortnight ago to change host servers. My previous server – a lone wolf operator in NZ – failed to send the correct passwords to allow this to happen. That is the most charitable way to describe what he did. Or failed to do.

Open laptop, man, silhouette | See more at www.diywoman.net
Photo by Tirza van Dijk on Unsplash

Continue reading →

You can thank me later: How diywoman selected her own funeral music and saved her children hours of work

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ 5 Comments

‘I’ve found this guy who turns CDs into vinyl.’

I came across this sentence the other day while looking up material for my ‘gap year’ memoir. It was in an email I had sent to a friend in February 2015. I didn’t know it then, but it marked the start of  my career as an occasional compiler of funeral music. Occasional as in ‘infrequent’. Funeral music is always ‘occasional’ in the other sense.

funeral music, diywoman, vinyl | See more at www.diywoman.net

Continue reading →

DIY Woman’s guide to getting published

~ Elizabeth Quinn ~ Leave a comment

There has to be an alternative to doing time on the slush pile on the rocky road to becoming a published author.

Slush pile of manuscripts | more on www.diywoman.netSlush pile of manuscripts | more on www.diywoman.net

I’ve already likened my passion for writing to the urge to reproduce. I could say  the same of my relentless pursuit of a publishing deal. I am guilty of every crime in the self-promotion book. Schmoozing. Pitching at a minute’s notice. Imposing on the goodwill of strangers. It’s a litany of misdemeanours.

Continue reading →