Deborah Biancotti

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Deborah Biancotti

Goodreads Author


Born
in Australia
Website

Genre

Member Since
September 2009

URL


Deborah Biancotti is co-author of the ZEROES series with Scott Westerfeld and Margo Lanagan. Her collections BAD POWER and A BOOK OF ENDINGS are available from Twelfth Planet Press and her novella WAKING IN WINTER will be available from PS Publishing in March 2016.

She's been nominated for the William L. Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy Book, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Aurealis & Ditmar Awards.

Deborah lives and writes in inner-city Sydney, Australia.
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Deborah Biancotti Yikes, I really hate this question!

Mainly because I pursued a lot of writing advice when I was starting out. A LOT. I went to a lot of workshops and I…more
Yikes, I really hate this question!

Mainly because I pursued a lot of writing advice when I was starting out. A LOT. I went to a lot of workshops and I talked to a lot of writers, and what I discovered was that there is a different answer to this question from almost EVERY SINGLE WRITER. It can be pretty confusing to be told to 'write every day' and 'be passionate' at the same time (er, hello, only insane people can be passionate every single day). Or to 'write for two hours in the morning' when you're a definite night owl (unless you want to write for 2 hours after midnight, which totally counts). Or 'write what you know' versus 'use your imagination'. Gah!

So I would say: write. Don't stop writing. Write as often as you can. Write whatever format that interests you, but make sure you WRITE.

The only thing writers have in common is that they write. The how and why and when and where, that's all up to you.(less)
Deborah Biancotti Hmm, that's an interesting question.

Writer's block seems to take many forms. For me, it's usually a feeling that I've stalled on some particular decis…more
Hmm, that's an interesting question.

Writer's block seems to take many forms. For me, it's usually a feeling that I've stalled on some particular decision that needs to be made before I can move forward.

I then often end up in a spiral of frustration, becoming more and more intimidated by the decision, and then less and less able to make it! My thoughts become a swirl of chaos.

This decision might be something big, like 'which story do I tackle next?'. Or it might be much smaller and more specific. 'What happens next in this particular story I'm working on?', say. Both of these decisions have occasionally left me frozen in my tracks.

For both those types of decisions, I find it helps to actively pursue something else for a while. Usually something active. Like: take a day (or a week) to go to yoga classes, or knit a sock, or run errands that take you out of the house and into the world. Or catch up with a friend. All of these activities take me out of my own chaos and keep me busy while my subconscious works on the problem.

Other people suggest a more passive approach: sit with the story until the answer arrives. I can't bear that kind of passivity! It just adds to my frustration.

For other people, though, writer's block is a form of burnout. I collected some really interesting writer comments on burnout over on my blog:

http://deborahbiancotti.net/blog/blog...

Thanks for the question! May you never experience writer's block. :)(less)
Average rating: 3.81 · 17,413 ratings · 2,501 reviews · 38 distinct works
Zeroes (Zeroes, #1)

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3.75 avg rating — 10,920 ratings — published 2015 — 29 editions
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Swarm (Zeroes, #2)

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3.85 avg rating — 3,428 ratings — published 2016 — 16 editions
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Nexus (Zeroes, #3)

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3.98 avg rating — 2,020 ratings — published 2017 — 15 editions
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Bad Power

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4.20 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions
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Waking in Winter

4.24 avg rating — 21 ratings3 editions
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A Book of Endings

4.21 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions
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Review of Australian Fictio...

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014
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The First and Final Game

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1999
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A Scar for Leida

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2006
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Waking in Winter give-away!

To celebrate my guest post on Mary Robinette Kowal‘s My Favorite Bit series AND the recent Kindle eBook launch of Waking in Winter on Amazon, I’ve launched a giveaway!


ONE hardcover copy of Waking in Winter will be available *worldwide*.


That’s right. You could be anywhere, & I’ll post you a book. I’ll even sign it.


The giveaway runs for 10 days over on the Waking in Winter Goodreads page. Enter NOW

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Sword and Laser: Dream guest authors for the podcast 151 570 Jun 17, 2013 12:19PM  
Australian Women ...: Speculative fiction reviews 145 102 Jul 01, 2013 06:47PM  
Aussie Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Speculative Fiction - aka What Planet Are You From? 153 247 Aug 29, 2014 11:48PM  
Aussie Readers: Locus Awards 2016 2 23 Feb 21, 2016 08:13PM  
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Pick-a-Shelf: * August 19 39 Aug 04, 2017 09:04AM  
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Epictetus
“First say to yourself what you would be;
and then do what you have to do.”
Epictetus

Kate Braverman
“Writing is like hunting. There are brutally cold afternoons with nothing in sight, only the wind and your breaking heart. Then the moment when you bag something big. The entire process is beyond intoxicating.”
Kate Braverman

Gloria Steinem
“Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.”
Gloria Steinem

Jennifer Egan
“If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.”
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer Egan
“Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it is unique and special, that those included in it are privileged and those excluded from it are missing out.”
Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

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Deborah Biancotti Robert wrote: "Thanks for accepting my friend request, Deborah."

Cheers! Always happy to 'friend' someone who can provide a list of fave female authors (& not avoid the question ;).


Robert Thanks for accepting my friend request, Deborah.


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