Over on the Audrey of the Outback blog, Christine Harris talks about interviewing your characters as one way of getting ideas for your story. She interviews Audrey while she’s at it!
We are sad to hear that there won’t be any more Audrey paperbacks, but on the blog Christine Harris says there will be an Audrey picture book coming out, so stay tuned …
For a morning of pirate songs, stories and pirate treats, go along to the Captain Clawbeak Pirate Party on at Fullers Bookshop.
When: Saturday 17 July 2010
Where: Fullers Bookshop, 131 Collins St, Hobart TAS
Email Fullers Bookshop for more info and to RSVP.
Sheryl Gwyther visited us last month as part of the celebrations for the launch of our Undercover Readers Club. She’s back today to talk a bit about how she got the idea for her latest book, Princess Clown. Welcome back, Sheryl!
What gave you the idea for writing Princess Clown?
Princess Clown began with a challenge – to write a chapter book using words that clashed. I chose CLOWN and PRINCESS.
(Musicians have used this same process to choose intriguing, unusual names for their bands. That’s why we have rock bands with names like Led Zeppelin, Guns ‘N Roses, Green Day, Pearl Day and Stone Roses.)
Once I had chosen the words Clown and Princess I asked myself, What if?
What if there was a princess who was different? What if she loved clowning and making people laugh? What if she was the heir to the throne? What if she was in trouble because she can’t stop clowning around? What if her tricks go terribly wrong?
Then before I could say, ABRACADABRA and ALLIBALOO, out sprang Princess Belle and a story was born.
Are you good at any circus skills yourself? Juggling, unicycle riding, back flips, squirting unsuspecting people with your joke flower/buzzing them with a handshake?
I prefer my bike with two wheels so I don’t fall off. I can’t do black flips or somersaults and neither do I have a zingy clown ring like Princess Belle, but I do have a set of three professional juggling balls – a perfect size and weight for my hand.
I’m trying to learn to juggle. So far, I’ve worked up to three throws and a catch, but it’s been difficult to throw that fourth throw. My brain does not like it at all! But I’ll never give up trying – one day I will get there.
Want to try juggling? Then start with some good juggling balls. Here’s a recipe on how to make your own super-cool juggling balls out of balloons and uncooked rice. http://www.abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist/jugglingballs.htm
How do you get inspiration and ideas for your writing?
I get ideas for writing stories from lots of places. Some start with daydreaming, or childhood memories, some from intriguing things I’ve read or heard about, some from combinations of words, a couple even came from dreams. Once I get the idea, I always ask, What if? And that is when the story really begins to form in my imagination.
I like to write a rough outline while the idea is fresh in my brain. Then it’s a good idea to brainstorm – that fills out the characters’ development and also the plot.
While I’m writing the first draft, I play some background music on the CD player. When writing an adventurous part of my stories, I like the soundtrack from The Lord of The Rings – helps to keep the fast pace going. You might find that works for you too.
Check out this link from my blog: Music to Write by? It’s all about what other authors listen to when they write. http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/music-to-write-by/
Do you have any advice for young writers?
The best advice I can give to new writers of any age is:
PRINCESS CLOWN is available from Blake Publishers.
http://sherylgwyther4kids.wordpress.com
http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com
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Sheryl Gwyther is taking Princess Clown on a blog tour. Where is she going?
06 July Tuesday Dee White Tips on writing chapter books
07 July Wednesday Soup Blog [You’re here!] Where do you get your ideas?
08 July Thursday Robyn Opie Guest blog
09 July Friday Catriona Hoy Author interview
10 July Saturday Kat Apel Win a copy of Princess Clown and get your name in Sheryl’s next book!
11 July Sunday Sheryl Gwyther 4 kids About launching a book
12 July Monday Sandy Fussell Guest blog
13 July Tuesday Sally Murphy Interview: The author’s life
14 July Wednesday Claire Saxby Are you a clown or a princess?
15 July Thursday Mabel Kaplan Workshopping with children
The closing date for entries for The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards has been extended to 16 July 2010. But even if you aren’t entering the competition, their site has a page of excellent tips for writing poetry. Check it out!
And if you want to enter their competition and you’ll find all the info on their website.
Happy writing!
Sheryl Gwyther will be here on Wednesday 7th as part of her Princess Clown blog tour. Be sure to stop by—she’ll be talking about how she gets her ideas, and she has some great writing tips for kids.
See you then!
WRITING COMPETITION – WIN A $20 BOOK VOUCHER!
Write a short story no longer than 350 words. Your story must include the word ‘ice’. Include a competition entry form. This may be printed from the website, photocopied, or contact us to have one emailed or posted to you.
Your entry can be handwritten or typed. Make a copy of your entry as we cannot return entries.
Don’t forget to read the competition rules on the website—and get writing!
If you live in the Pilbara region of WA, you might be interested in this Photo and Story Comp. The winner receives a digital camera!
Write a narrative about your local environment and take photos to accompany your text. Entries close 5pm on the last day of Term 3. You can find out more about the competition here.
As you know, we are running our annual cover-design competition and entries close 16 September 2010. Here are some covers from our recent issues (the one on the left was the 2009 cover-design winner).
And now, here are some tips for all you budding artists!
COMPETITION DETAILS
Using any materials you like, design a cover for Alphabet Soup magazine.
Important — your artwork must be on one side of a sheet of white A4 paper. Make sure the paper is portrait orientation. Do NOT include the Alphabet Soup logo.
You may eneter as many times as you like, but each entry must have a competition entry form with the declaration signed by you and a parent. (Entry forms can be printed from the website, or contact us to have one sent to you.)
The winner will have their artwork on the cover of the summer 2010 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine, and will receive one copy of the summer 2010 issue and art supplies worth $20.
The theme for the cover is: WETLANDS. You might like to show an entire wetland setting, or focus on one aspect of wetlands — like crocodiles, or frogs, or tortoises, or water birds and plants that you find in a wetland, or someone exploring a wetland environment, or something else again! Artwork can be realistic, or abstract, or cartoon-like, or any style you choose.
If you’d like some more info on Australian wetlands, check out the following sites:
Remember that our covers don’t usually have a lot of unused white space. If you draw one thing in the middle of the page and nothing else, it would be tricky for us to turn it into a cover for the magazine!
There will be one winner chosen. By entering the competition, you agree to us using your artwork on the cover of the summer 2010 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine (out November 2010).
Download an entry form from the Alphabet Soup website.
Spare Parts have school holiday performances of The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek (based on the picture book by Jenny Wagner). (Did you see a YouTube video of the show that we posted a while back?)
When: Sat 3 -Thurs 8 & Mon 12 – Thurs 15 July, 10am and 1pm; Fri 9 – Sat 10 & Fri 16 – Sat 17 July, 1pm & 6pm.
Where: Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, 1 Short St, Fremantle WA
Ages: suitable for all ages, Spare Parts says it is perfect for ages 4 to 9
Duration: approx 50 mins
Cost: $17.50 (Adults at children’s prices) Discounts for group bookings. Bookings essential.
For more info see the Spare Parts website, or call them on (08)9335 5044.
Now the ‘Lights Out’ visitors are gone, we thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of the children’s books that they liked reading undercover, and the ones they thought they’d like reading if they were reading after lights out today. So here’s a list! (Some of them might be out of print, but libraries will often have a copy of books that are out of print. Check your school library or your local public library. Ask your librarian!)
What about you? Do you have any books you’d recommend? Tell us in the comments!
alphabetsoup.net.au 