Write the next thing

Win an ARC of Unhallowed Halls!

It’s the calm before the storm.

I’ve handed in a draft of my 2026 release. I’ve finished my backlog of manuscript assessments and books to read for endorsement. I’ve given my last author talk of the year. My 2025 releases are ready to go - Unhallowed Halls and Bravepaw 2 will be out in March.

I have (this week, at least) nothing to do?

This isn’t true, of course. I have an enormous pile of life admin. I’m going to the dentist. I’m calling the electrician. I’m making piles of things to donate to the school fete.

My instinct is to find more work to do. To start thinking about a pitch for a 2027 YA, to plan out Bravepaws #3 and #4, or to finally write that middle grade book. I could do NaNoWriMo!

But I won’t do any of that stuff, because I need a break. It’s been a massive year, and I’m exhausted. Folding a basket of laundry while rewatching The Good Place is what I need right now.

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Write the next thing

So you got rejected by an agent. Or your book didn’t sell to a publisher. Or it did, but it flopped. Or maybe it did… fine, but didn’t achieve your dreams of stardom. What do you do now?

Write the next thing.

This is one of those pieces of writing advice that gets much easier with practice. It’s hard when you’re at the beginning. When it’s the first book you’ve ever written. When it’s the book of your heart. But your heart is big, and can produce many books.

I promise it gets easier. You just have to keep going, and remember that every word you write makes you a better writer. If that book didn’t make it, it doesn’t mean you wasted your time. You learnt so much! And that never stops, no matter how successful you become. You can always learn more, be a better writer. Always.

(but you’re allowed to have a little break first)

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Win an ARC of Unhallowed Halls

Unhallowed Halls has received starred reviews in both Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. The latter said:

Covert clubs, dangerous tests of wits, and a mystery shrouded in dark magic and strange and ancient secrets unfurl in this stunning foray whose skillful plotting is reminiscent of Donna Tart’s The Secret History. Painterly descriptions of a rainy gothic atmosphere punctuated by suspense, horror, and humor as experienced by a dynamic and intersectionally diverse found-family cast feel at once as classic as its inspirations, and as an invigorating reinvention of the genre.

Which I’m pretty chuffed about.

I’ve got two Unhallowed Halls ARCs next to me on my desk. To win one, comment below and tell me about a great book you read this year!

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Listen
I know I’ve evangelised about the Normal Gossip podcast on here before, but book people should definitely listen to the episode titled Forbidden Feline Fanfiction with Ashley Reese. It’s about a Warriors fandom community, and it’s a banger.

Craft
I’ve just finished one of these slow stitching kits and found it a very calming experience, with such a pretty outcome!

Cook
November means that Christmas is approaching, and I don’t know about you, but all I want to do is put up my tree and fill my house with whimsy. We made our Christmas puddings last week - a beloved family tradition.

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Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of twenty books for young people, including A Hunger of Thorns, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and was a CBCA Honour Book. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it. Her latest books are Deep is the Fen and Bravepaw 1: The Heartstone of Alluria.