Home » Writing Life » Emily Bitto on Writing Time, Close Reading and Her Work in Progress

Emily Bitto on Writing Time, Close Reading and Her Work in Progress

A portrait of writer Emily Bitto.

Emily Bitto is an award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, The Strays, won the 2015 Stella Prize. Her second novel, Wild Abandon, was the winner of the 2022 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award. Emily has taught creative writing for over a decade and is currently a course advisor at the Faber Writing Academy. 

This October, Emily will run a full-day intensive workshop delving into theme, symbolism and imagery in writing. Ahead of this session, we asked Emily a few questions about her writing practice.  

1. Our members often say their biggest challenge is finding the time to write. How do you fit writing into your life? 
I’ve sort-of built my life around prioritising time for writing over things like money, security, etc. though I wouldn’t necessarily advocate that as a smart thing to do. I don’t have children, which definitely makes it easier. But I often have about 5 or 6 ‘side hustles’ on the go at once, which can be stressful. I think ultimately, I’d say that the thing you do at the start of each day is the thing you won’t run the risk of not getting to. Even if you can write 200 words a day, as soon as you wake up, my suspicion is that you might end up getting more written in a year than you would if you only wrote when you had a block of time that would allow you to get 1000 or 2000 words down. 

2. What great essays/short stories/novels do you recommend people read to learn more about craft? 
My favourite book to learn about craft, although it’s not really a ‘craft’ book, is James Wood’s How Fiction Works. What I think it teaches is how to read closely in order to work out how a writer achieves particular effects in relation to things like voice, point of view, structure etc. Once you’ve mastered those techniques of close reading, everything you read becomes a study in craft. 

Trust your unconscious mind and learn how to set it to work to solve the problems you’re struggling to solve in your current writing project. 

3. What is some of the best advice you’ve received that’s helped you as a writer? 
Don’t rush it. Always put your work aside for a while (a couple of weeks, at least) before you send it to anyone, so that you can re-read it with a certain amount of distance.  

4. Without spoiling your upcoming workshop, what advice would you give to writers who want to learn about figurative writing? 
Trust your unconscious mind and learn how to set it to work to solve the problems you’re struggling to solve in your current writing project. 

5. How has Writers Victoria helped you as a writer?  
I took some wonderful short courses at Writers Victoria when I was starting out as a writer. One that comes to mind was taught by Kalinda Ashton. Some of the things she taught in that class have stayed with me to this day – particularly about writing evocative scenes and setting. 

6. Can you share something about what you’re currently working on? 
I’m working on my third novel which is set in Melbourne in the late 1960s and early ‘70s and follows a small group of migrants who have just arrived in Australia. 


Places are still available for Emily’s Theme, Symbolism and Imagery workshop. Members of Writers Victoria receive up to 37% off the full price of all clinics, workshops, seminars and courses. Writers experiencing financial and social barriers to developing their skills are encouraged to apply to The Writers Victoria Fund for subsidised attendance at workshops and clinics. 

Scroll to Top