Rotunda Rocks

Rotunda nights are a must! Get yourself to the next one and the one after that – hell, just go to them all. March 6 Rotunda was as entertaining as ever and excellent food and a great bar were nicely on hand. The fabulous, Bruno Lettieri provided the audience with his usual enthusiastic intro to guest speaker, Portland Magazine Editor and American writer, Brian Doyle. Brian was amusing, intelligent and generous with his time, even stopping halfway through to reflect on the recent bushfire tragedy we Victorians have suffered.

For any writer/editor with serious aspirations, you really need to come along to events like this. It’s a chance to listen to those more travelled who are willing to share insight and motivation to those of us far less travelled. It’s also a chance to get your name firmly in the mindset of those who matter within the industry, provided you’re prepared to stand up and put yourself ‘out there’. (Sometimes this means making a bit of dolt of yourself, as I did by giving the James Button, Age reporter and now Speech Writer for the Prime Minister, a deadline to submit for Platform. But, hey, at least he’ll remember me.)

Mingling, with respect and openness, has afforded me some great contacts in the writing world. As a student, I’ve made sure I’ve put my name down for everything, gone to every event possible and above all, treated everyone: teachers, peers and industry heavyweights with the value they deserve.

It’s easy as a fledgling student to feel slightly dismissive of these sorts of writing events. But therein lies your first mistake. If you are someone serious about being a writer/editor, you can’t afford to pass up any opportunities that could make the difference to your career. Submit to every uni publication going, attend every event and get out into your local community. Find out what you can write/edit for and send it in.

Confidence is everything in this game and the more faith you have in what you do, the more likely you are to succeed. Listen to your teachers, (they actually know what they are talking about) and take on board the advice given from the many invaluable sources our course provides.

Good luck.

Megan Green