Jodie Watts: I felt I had achieved a lot

My time at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre was thoroughly enjoyable and productive.

My two-week stay was filled with early morning matchas in the fresh air, marvelling at ducks in trees and thinking deeply about my story. I kept my cabin warm and filled with snacks and went to the local Midland QBD to buy some comp titles for inspiration. I picked up The Illuminae files_01 on the recommendation of my fellow fellow Jacq Ellem and read it in a day. It was an amazing reminder of all the great things about Young Adult characters. I found that it really inspired me to lean more heavily into teenage snark for my main character, I had been writing her very serious, and this new tone is far more fun to write.

There were a few stretches where I didn’t leave the safety and security of my cabin for many days and just worked through a cycle of eating, sleeping, snacking, writing, and watching Taskmaster UK. At other points I felt the need for company and would pop across to Jacq’s cabin for some brainstorming, encouragement or a dinner date (we went to Poppy G’s for burgers, which were excellent – highly recommend). By the end of my two weeks, I felt I had achieved a lot, not in word count but in the kind of deep soul searching that was necessary to plot out my book from start to finish and understand how my magic system is going to work practically and be tied neatly in with my book’s theme. I now have a clear plan for my novel’s promises and payoffs, and my two main characters’ arcs. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. I think I may have been stuck forever at 25,000 words without this chance to really focus in on what I want to say, and how I want to say it. I’m so glad I happened to see this fellowship on someone’s Instagram stories, and think - yeh, why not me?

TOP TEN TIPS

1. Get fresh air in the morning

2. Allow time for thinking without writing

3. Read comp titles

4. Have a healthy breakfast

5. Have plenty of sugary snacks/drinks around for an afternoon energy crash

6. When they don’t wake up your brain, nap

7. Move your body (yoga, walking, or a spirited game of charades)

8. Talk writing with somebody who understands

9. Sniff some lavender

10. Don’t guilt yourself to death with expectations

Jodie Watts, KSP Fellow 2025 Jodie Watts is an Education Assistant/English teacher in the making. She published an assignment, 'If My Sister Was a Puppy', from her Professional Writing and Publishing degree as a picture book and previously worked as a Feature Writer for Colider where she was paid to discuss her favourite TV shows!