If you love the Dragonkeeper series* and you live in NSW—here’s your chance to meet the author, Carole Wilkinson over afternoon tea!
Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah St, Beecroft NSW
When: Monday 11 February 2013
Time: 4-30 to 5-30pm (Afternoon tea provided!)
Cost: FREE but bookings are essential!
RSVP Essential: phone 9481 8811 or email staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au
* One of our Undercover Readers Club members reviewed Blood Brothers from the series. You can read the review here.
Yesterday we announced the Alphabet Soup Creativity Award—for outstanding work published in Alphabet Soup magazine in 2012. Today we welcome Dee White to share some ideas for what to write about, and to tell us about the prize she has donated for the winner in the Most Outstanding Story category.
Over to Dee!
A House Can Tell A Story
There are so many potential stories hidden inside your home.
You just have to use your imagination and look for them.
- What if you opened a drawer and found a secret letter hidden there?
- What if something in your house came to life and started chasing you or wanted to be your friend?
- What if your house could talk and told you a story about the people who used to live there before you did?
- What if your house got blown away like Dorothy’s in The Wizard of Oz and you ended up somewhere completely different?
- What if there was a treasure chest hidden in your garden?
- What if there was a secret compartment in the wall of your bedroom and it led to another world?
One of my favourite things to do when I can’t think what to write about is to look around a room in my house and pick an object. It could be a wall, a door, a light switch, anything.
Next I imagine what it would be like to be that object sitting there day after day. I think about what that object can see and do and how it might feel. Then I write a piece about it.
It’s fun to do this with a writing friend and see if they can guess which object in the room you are writing about.
This excerpt is from Dee’s new e-book, 10 Top Writing Tips For Kids: What to Write About.
Dee is donating a free copy of this book and one hour’s mentoring (a manuscript appraisal) to the winner of the Most Outstanding Story category of the 2012 Alphabet Soup Creativity Award.
THE MENTORING
Here’s how it works.
The winner will send a 500-word piece of writing to Dee. If it’s part of a longer story they’ll need to also send in a plot summary or information about what happens in the rest of the story. Dee will give tips on how to improve the piece of writing and the winner’s skills in general. She’ll also answer questions they might have about the piece or writing in general.
ABOUT 10 TOP WRITING TIPS FOR KIDS
Dee has written this series to encourage and inspire kids who love to write. 10 Top Writing Tips for Kids: What to Write About was released in November 2012.
Other books in the series coming in 2013 are:
More about the 10 Top Writing Tips books can be found at http://10topwritingtips.wordpress.com
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ABOUT DEE
Dee White has worked as an advertising copywriter and journalist, but wanted to be an author from the time she was seven. Her first book for young adults, Letters to Leonardo, took more than ten years to research and write. Dee’s other titles include Hope for Hanna, A Duel of Words and Harry’s Goldfield Adventure.
Dee is passionate about encouraging young readers and writers, and her blogs Writing Classes for Kids and DeeScribe Writing are full of career and writing tips for students and new and emerging writers.
She runs writing workshops for primary and secondary students across Australia with sessions focusing on story ideas, plotting and character development. She also runs them online at Writing Classes for Kids.
She is honoured to be providing the prize for the inaugural Alphabet Soup Creativity Award, and hopes that it will help encourage young writers.
For more information on the 2012 Alphabet Soup Creativity Award, visit the Award page (there’s a tab at the top of this blog).
In every issue of Alphabet Soup magazine, you’ll meet an Australian writer or illustrator. In the summer issue we talk to Mark Wilson who is an author AND an illustrator. It’s hard to fit the whole conversation in the magazine, so we’ve posted the whole interview here on the blog. Read on!
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Where do you live?
I live in Frankston with Ros, my wife and our two dogs—Toby and Couta. (Silky terrier and a Shitsu Cross.) We have 7 fish in our pond, and lots of native birds visit as well. We live near the beach where I go for long walks when I get the chance.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I have so many stories in my head! At the moment, I am obsessed with trying to save sea turtles and whales, and will be doing that forever. All are endangered thanks to plastic bags and coastal developments, amongst many other things. Also anything about Australian history inspires me. The explorers and pioneers were so brave and determined to do what they did!
An idea can come from a photograph, an article in a newspaper, or something someone said. I write everything down and then it might pop up as a part of a story
How did you come to be a writer and illustrator?
All I ever wanted to be was an artist, or a fighter pilot or an architect. I was terrible at maths, so the last two were out! I loved telling stories in pictures when I was little, and still do. Always loved just drawing things!
Was it easy to get your first book published?
It was very good luck! I had a weird collection of surrealistic black and white drawings and applied for an illustrator’s job on Pursuit Magazine in Melbourne. I got it—my first illustrations were pretty strange too!
Does the story influence your choice of materials?
Never. I use everything from a pencil to house paint, including derwents, ink sand, dirt, feathers etc. Lots of pencil drawing go straight into my books.
When you are creating your own books, which comes first—the artwork or the story text?
Usually the pictures, then I make up a story around them. Lately I have been writing stories first, which is strange for me. An idea can also come from a photograph, an article in a newspaper, or something someone said. I write everything down and then it might pop up as a part of a story.
When you are illustrating a book written by someone else, do you discuss the story and illustrations with them?
Always. I love to hear an author’s ideas and they often see things that I wouldn’t see. Gary Crew was great for illustration ideas, and Jackie French had some wonderful ideas for A Day to Remember, and I used them in the illustrations too!
Are you working on a book at the moment?
I am working on a book about the Vietnam War that is the 3rd book in the Children in War Trilogy. (The other books in the series are My Mother’s Eyes and Angel of Kokoda). It will be out early next year. There is also a new Ben and Gracie’s Art Adventure book underway!
Do you have any advice for young writers and artists?
Write everything down. Keep a journal and make notes for your stories in it.
Observations, quotes, discussions, interesting things—write them all down.
Writing takes practise, so keep writing; stories, poems, song lyrics, anything and everything. Talk to your grandma and grandpa—discover the stories in your own family, there are so many!
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love singing in my blues band, playing drums and reading books about the Romans, Vikings and history in general.
Is your writing influenced by any writers in particular?
The Australian Impressionist painters Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton are my favoutites. I am also inspired by the French Impressionist Monet, and Australian Illustrators Robert Ingpen and Shaun Tan. You can tell I’m a bit of a melting pot, but the Australian Impressionists painters mainly. I particularly love children’s paintings. They use really fresh colours and simple shapes. I am trying to get back to doing that myself!
Check out Mark Wilson’s website to learn more about him and his books.
In every issue of Alphabet Soup magazine, you’ll meet an Australian writer or illustrator. In the spring issue we talk to Jen Banyard about being a writer and about her books—Spider Lies, and Mystery at Riddle Gully. We can’t fit everything into the magazine (so many interesting answers!) so we’ve posted the whole interview here on the blog. Read on!
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Where do you live?
I live in Floreat (in WA), which makes it nice and easy to go walking on the Bold Park bush trails (I love going after dark!) or to swim at City Beach. Until last year we had a Kelpie-cross dog but she died of old age; now we just have a tabby cat and a noisy family of possums in the roof.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I usually carry a small notepad with me and jot down interesting things about people (not while they’re looking!), funny names or phrases, or quirky ways of looking at things. I keep an ‘ideas box’ and fill it with ideas I’ve written on bits of paper, newspaper and magazine clippings (articles and photographs)—anything that might kick off or spark up a story. A story is usually a combination of a few ideas.
I like to read magazines or books about the craft of writing, too. Sharing the experiences and advice of successful writers keeps me keen.
How did you come to be a writer?
I used to write and edit pretty staid stuff for government departments, universities and such. Eventually, I decided to do what I’d wanted to do for ages—write fun, lively stories. I guess that’s how I ‘came to be a writer’—by deciding to do it and giving myself a chance. (I wasn’t all that good at first … but I’m learning!)
Was it easy to get your first book published?
Yes and no (mainly no). I sent quite a few things to publishers before anything was accepted. But I wasn’t doing my research and sending the right piece to the right publisher (they all want or like different things). Also, adults played too big a role in my work. The first time I got both those things right, a major children’s magazine in NSW bought my story. That opened doors which led to the publication of Spider Lies.
How long does it take you to write a book?
The first draft is usually pretty quick (and fun), but the fine-tuning can go on forever—until the editor says ‘Enough!’ and drags the manuscript from under your hand. Spider Lies (21,000 words) took nine months or so, spread over about 18 months. Mystery at Riddle Gully (38,000 words) took about 15 months, spread over two-and-a-half years. The long time spans are partly because there’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the editors and publisher, and things don’t always happen quickly with those busy people. So between bursts of working on one story, you go on with something else. I know someone who wrote a novel in a weekend. I’m not like him!
Do you prefer to write with pen & paper, or on the computer?
Pen and paper wins hands-down for the first draft. I scribble away (trying to stay in ‘the zone’), crossing out and adding in all over the place. Then I type what I’ve written into a computer, usually a few chapters at a time. The tinkering after that is mostly on my laptop. Before I submit a manuscript to a publisher, I print out the whole thing and read it through, ideally aloud. Doing that, I usually find a heap of things to change that had looked fine on the screen.
What did you like to read when you were growing up?
I ate up the Famous Five mystery series by Enid Blyton (all those smugglers and treacherous tides) and, later, Rider Haggard’s African adventures, King Solomon’s Mines and She. I remember being very moved (another way of saying that I cried like a baby) by Jack London’s The Call of the Wild and James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.
Are you working on a book at the moment?
A quarter-length version of Mystery at Riddle Gully is being serialised in The West Australian newspaper’s ‘Ed!’ section at the moment. There’s also a shorter novel starring a terrorising cat that’s probably ready to be sent into the big, wide world. I’m busy at the moment with my PhD project for university—a historical novel for adults and an academic study—but I’m also mustering ideas for a sequel to Mystery at Riddle Gully.
Do you have any advice for young writers?
Oh, and lastly-lastly, don’t beat yourself up if something you send to a competition or a publisher gets rejected. It means you can call yourself a real writer!
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love anything to do with the water, especially the ocean—swimming or snorkelling in it, kayaking or sailing on top of it or watching it. With the rest of the family, I’m into the sport of lacrosse. When there’s no-one around to laugh or groan, I sing and play my ukulele (but don’t tell anyone!)
Is your writing influenced by any writers in particular?
Hmmm … that’s a toughie. I know by whom I’d like my writing to look like it was influenced, but whether it does is another thing entirely! Ideally, my stories would be a mind-blowing mix of the styles of Dav Pilkey, Sonya Hartnett, Andy Griffiths, Tim Winton, Paul Jennings … and me.
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Check out Jen Banyard’s website to learn more about her and her books.
If you’re in NSW, head over to The Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft on 11 August—there will be lots happening to celebrate National Bookshop Day.
The bookshop will have authors working in the shop window, an artist in residence will be creating some illustrations, there will be book busking, face-painting, a sausage sizzle and balloons.
Schedule for the Morning:
10–10.45am Special Story-Time!
Meet Ursula Dubosarsky who will be reading such books as Too Many Elephants in This House and The Terrible Plop.
11.30am Meet Duncan Ball, author of Selby and Emily Eyefinger. (Selby will also be there to meet the kids.)
10am–12 noon Meet a range of authors in the Living Window—authors will be writing in the window! The Artist in Residence for the morning, Lisa Stewart, will also be working on illustrations in the shop.
Where: The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah Street, Beecroft NSW
When: 11 August 2012
RSVP: for the 10am or 11.30am sessions. Ph. 9481 8811 staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au
Davide Cali is a children’s book writer and illustrator who was born in Northern Switzerland and grew up in Italy.
He has created more than forty illustrated books for publishers in Austria, France, Italy, Argentina and Portugal. His books have been translated for 25 countries.
Davide speaks French, Italian and English and he is currently on a blog tour before travelling to Australia to celebrate his new comic book/graphic novel, 10 Little Insects. (Kids Book Review has a sneak peek inside 10 Little Insects … check it out here. )
Today we are pleased to have Davide visiting Alphabet Soup‘s blog to discuss writing. We’re talking to him about his picture book, The Bear With the Sword.
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What brought you to write The Bear with the Sword?
At the beginning, the bear of the book was a man. Just a human warrior. The Italian publisher Zoolibri asked me to change it into an animal, to make it a little less tough.
In this book comes the theme of ‘the enemy’, but I wanted to talk about the fact that we always try to find someone else as guilty for our faults.
Did you meet the illustrator Gianluca Foli?
Yeah, a couple of times, but only when the book was already finished. You know, in this job often you don’t even know or meet the people you work with. I did four albums in France with Eric Heliot before we met and talked for the first time!
You write books for a range of ages. How do you know if a story would work best as a picture book or a novel?
Well, I read a lot of children’s books before I start my writing. As you probably know, I worked for a while in a public library which specialized in children books (during the civil service I did instead of military service). Later I spent a few months working for a magazine specialising in children’s book critics, so I really saw and read hundreds of books. These experiences helped me to fit something I got in my mind in a certain range of ages.
Could you give us your top tip for young writers who want to write picture books?
I guess the most important ones are: reading, writing.
I know it could sound a little obvious, but it’s not. Many people—even adults—who want to write, don’t read. I think reading is just like feeding yourself. And you know, writing is just like feeding others. So, how can you feed others if you don’t eat first?
And writing because: many people tell me “I really would like to write. What should I do?”
My answer is always: “Just do it!”
You have just to start it. Sometimes you don’t need to have a complete and perfect story already formed in mind to write it down. Stories come out just while you’re writing, and they often change while they’re coming out.
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Check out the complete blog tour schedule (and reviews of Davide Cali’s books) on the Wilkins Farago blog.
If you’re in Queensland, there are two chances this weekend to meet the author of Australian Story: an illustrated timeline.
1. Saturday 24 March 2012 at 2pm.
Maroochydore Library (Sunshine Coast) a fun event to celebrate the launch of Australian Story! Come dressed as your favourite Aussie character. For more info and bookings, visit Tania’s blog.
Join Tania McCartney at Black Cat Books and Cafe for a fun afternoon of interactive historical fun! Things kick off at 3.30pm. Come dressed as your favourite Aussie historical character and you could win a prize! For more info and bookings, visit Tania’s blog.
Tania visited Soup Blog earlier this month to talk about Australian Story and why history is cool. Read her post here.
If you are a teacher, librarian, teacher-librarian, or any grownup who loves children’s books (and who doesn’t?!) on 8 March you should head along to A Night With Our Stars at Westbooks in Victoria Park.
Twenty children’s (and YA) authors and illustrators will each have 3 mins to speed-talk about their books published last year. It’s an annual event run by the Children’s Book Council of Australia WA branch and it’s open to the public. Here’s a list of the fabulous speakers:
Tickets are $25 and you can pay at the door on the night, but you do need to book. For more info (and booking details) see the CBCA WA website.
NB This is not an event for children. (Sorry—we’ll let you know about more kid-friendly events soon!)
(Westbooks also stock Alphabet Soup magazine. What a top bookshop!)
In every issue of Alphabet Soup magazine we print an interview with an author or illustrator. We can’t fit all their answers into an issue of the magazine, so we publish the full interviews on the blog—we wouldn’t want you to miss out!
For issue 14 we talked to Lorraine Marwood. Lorraine is a poet, and the author of many books including Star Jumps, and Note on the Door, and A Ute Picnic.
What made you become a writer/poet?
I don’t think that anything ‘made’ me become a writer. It was a heartfelt feeling when I was about 8 years old—that was all I secretly ever wanted to do. And I never ever lost that longing. Or that passion for writing and reading.
Was it easy to get your first poem published? (Your first book/book of poems?)
No not at all. It wasn’t till I was about 16 years old that my first poem was published and that was after much writing and submitting—but what a thrill it was.
My first book of poems came after I’d had my children and was still farming. And it only came after I’d notched up publishing credits in literary magazines—a bit like an apprenticeship in poetry.
Where do you get your inspiration and ideas?
From everything happening around me—little incidents, nature, my family, newspapers, what I read and of course big doses of thinking and jotting down.
Did you read poetry when you were growing up?
My teacher read us classic poetry like Banjo Paterson, Wordsworth and we had a class reader for the year and we always read the poems in that (but as a teenager I discovered T.S. Eliot and a Russian poet called Yevtushenko). But we mainly read rhyming poetry which was also mainly English poets.
Did you have a favourite poet/poem/book of poetry when you were growing up?
T. S Eliot ‘The journey of the Magi,’ and also Australian Bruce Dawe.
Is your poetry influenced by particular poets/writers?
Yes, I think I’m influenced by those poets I really admire—like ee cummings, I love the freedom and rhythm of his work; Bruce Dawe’s Vietnam poem—‘They’re bringing them home’; T.S Eliot; Sue Cowling; ‘FiveBells’ by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor; Judith Wright; and now I read lots of children’s poets. I think I’m influenced by those poets who tell a story, a narrative, that surprise and use their poetic craft really well.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to make things—sew, bead, garden, pot up cuttings, read, make cards, op shop—they are creative things to do (well, for me!) think, wonder, pray.
Do you mostly write on paper or on a computer?
Now that’s an interesting question because for poetry I like to write in one of my notebooks, but for stories I write on my laptop.
Is there a difference in the way you approach writing a poem and writing a verse novel?
Yes, a poem is a little unit on its own with beginning, middle and end. But a verse novel is many components that lead on and borrow from story telling—it’s a more ‘prosy’ way of writing, where a poem is tiny and delicious like a ripe strawberry.
Are you working on a collection of poems or a book at the moment?
I am working on another collection of poems—so for that, I need to aim for about 100 new poems. At the moment I’m thinking of section headings or groupings for the poems, a bit like chapters in a book. This collection will be entirely new. And as I write, I’ve already finished another verse novel—again entirely different from my other verse novels in content and for a slightly older age group—but awaiting the green light from my publisher.
Do you have any advice for young poets?
Yes, write whenever you can. Start with lists of what is around you—lines of three or four words, get all the details down and use those wonderful senses too. Keep these jottings in a note book, put the date on them and keep them. Look back over them and see if any ideas for a fuller poem can be found.
No lines of writing are ever wasted, they lead you on a journey to becoming a writer/poet. It’s such a surprise to see what comes from your pen or keyboard. And a such a pleasure to read again after a few weeks or months have gone by …
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Find out more about Lorraine Marwood and her books and poetry—visit her website, or check out a bookstore or library near you!
All through October, Alphabet Soup is celebrating turning three. We have heaps of writers and illustrators stopping by to answer THREE QUICK QUESTIONS and today’s visitor is Sandy Fussell, author of many books including the Samurai Kids series, Polar Boy and Jaguar Warrior.
1. Where do you like to write?
I write everywhere—even at the school bus stop. I like to sit in the sun and draft longhand but when it comes to the ‘spit and polish’ I work on a laptop in my office.
2. Can you name a book you’d recommend to our readers?
I am very fortunate as a reviewer to have an advance copy of The Outcasts, the first book in John Flanagan’s new Brotherband series. I think it’s even better than his Ranger’s Apprentice books and I loved those. The Outcasts is released 1 November.
3. Can you offer a word or phrase that kids could use for inspiration if they have writer’s block?
I have two favourites. ‘snizzle’ which I used in Polar boy (a snizzle of snow’) and ‘screak’ (the screak of a bat) which I used in Samurai Kids 2: Owl Ninja. I collect unusual words and often use them as inspiration or to give a description more impact.
Find out more about Sandy Fussell and her books—visit her website and the Samurai Kids website.
(Psst … see you back here tomorrow, when we’ll hear from 8-year-old poet Frederique!)
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