Developing fully-rounded characters is vital to making your fiction believable and engaging. This post on The Editor’s Blog is a fantastic explanation of why characters need goals and how it will inform your fiction. You can also take a look at Lillie Ammann’s post on the topic (part of a comprehensive series of her posts about character development which are worth checking out). How do you give your characters purpose?

Poets, Overland are calling for your spoken word work for a special online version of the publication to be presented in July. Entries close July 12. Details are on the website.

Writers in Townsville meet tonight at Aitkenvale City Council Library from 7-10pm for a critique night. There will be a ten minute workshop followed by critique of each others work.

If you’re in Melbourne don’t miss The Light in Winter, a glorious light festival at Federation Square running all through June. This year is inspired by the National Year of Reading and there are some beautiful installations such as Literature Versus Traffic, where Fed Square’s busy walkways will be transformed with thousands of pre-loved, reclaimed books and journals.

Queensland writers, don’t forget you have exactly one week left to submit your entry to the State Library of Queensland Young Writers Award.

Today the NYWM Travelling Story is in the Australian Capital Territory. Our daily writer is Annie Scott, 12, from Narrabundah.