yellow mountain watching
azure skies over bush again
fat woman arrives, cleans about
looking rough and raucous
the only cumbersome part--that mountain
watching near silence
where cat awaits
now yellow mountains fade
into azure beginnings
then cat once more
You, too, can write a poem - fill out the word boxes and this site writes the poem for you. I have to say, what came out surprised me!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
The Publishing View from an Editor
Interesting blog on the Guardian website which talks about book publishing from an editor's point view. Louise Tucker is, as she says, an editor for one of the big four publishers in the UK. They publish 400 books a year. She is defending some of the perennial complaints about publishing - not enough editorial input to books, too many awful celebrity books, etc, and suggests that if people want better publishing of better books, they should buy at full price and not at Tescos (or here it would be KMart/Big W).
As I've read this today, after reading all the stuff about A&R in Australia, I found her arguments were a little bit hollow. But I do think that many editors do the job because they love it, and in spite of the bean counters. I've heard more than one story of an editor fighting to publish a book they love by a new author, and being shot down by either marketing or the bean counters.
As I've read this today, after reading all the stuff about A&R in Australia, I found her arguments were a little bit hollow. But I do think that many editors do the job because they love it, and in spite of the bean counters. I've heard more than one story of an editor fighting to publish a book they love by a new author, and being shot down by either marketing or the bean counters.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The A&R Furore
This week, writers everywhere in Australia have been madly discussing the A&R letter - namely, a letter that booksellers Angus & Robertson have sent to smaller book suppliers/distributors threatening to stop buying their books through them. If you go here, you'll be able to read the Sydney Morning Herald blog, which includes not only the original A&R letter, but a very pithy reply from Tower Books.
One thing that should be made clear (and kind of is in the two letters) is that this letter is from the A&R Head Office that manages most of the stores. However, there are other A&R bookshops that are franchises and presumably not under the HO thumb when it comes to managing their stock, although this was not totally clarified for me.
Last weekend I did a book signing at A&R in Box Hill Centro Shopping Centre, and the couple running that particular A&R couldn't have been nicer or more supportive in what they did with publicity and encouraging people in the shop to buy my books. I suspect that they are franchisees, although I didn't ask. A few years ago, we had a Collins branch at our local shopping centre, and the couple running that were forced out by Collins HO through a series of very shifty moves. We've never had another bookshop there since.
I don't understand what A&R hope to gain from this. If Borders coming into Australia has proven one thing, it's that bookbuyers want choice. We don't want just The Da Vinci Code (well, I never wanted that book!) or the latest Harry Potter (I did buy that, but at the bargain counter at KMart) - we want to be able to browse, find new authors, get what we want, when we want it - or we'll go to Amazon.
The best bookshops in Melbourne for browsing are Readings and (for me) the Sun Bookshop in Yarraville. I don't know what it is, but whoever selects books at the Sun is great at choosing things that I cannot resist. But I shop at Borders too because they have the best selection of books about writing, and a great children's section. I never shop at A&R because their shop at Highpoint never has anything I want. They simply don't buy in a stock of decent books for the serious reader, and they always seem to have bargain tables full of the most awful, cheap books that I wanted to put into the mulcher.
For me, this letter thing (and Tower's reply) confirms what I've suspected, and others agree with me, that the A&R buyers and buying division have been doing a very bad job. It's like they're supposed to be buying fresh vegetables and they keep stocking tins of baked beans.
I presume Tower Books (and others) are going to tell A&R to go jump. Judging from the 129 comments (so far) following the blog entry, so are all the bookbuying customers.
One thing that should be made clear (and kind of is in the two letters) is that this letter is from the A&R Head Office that manages most of the stores. However, there are other A&R bookshops that are franchises and presumably not under the HO thumb when it comes to managing their stock, although this was not totally clarified for me.
Last weekend I did a book signing at A&R in Box Hill Centro Shopping Centre, and the couple running that particular A&R couldn't have been nicer or more supportive in what they did with publicity and encouraging people in the shop to buy my books. I suspect that they are franchisees, although I didn't ask. A few years ago, we had a Collins branch at our local shopping centre, and the couple running that were forced out by Collins HO through a series of very shifty moves. We've never had another bookshop there since.
I don't understand what A&R hope to gain from this. If Borders coming into Australia has proven one thing, it's that bookbuyers want choice. We don't want just The Da Vinci Code (well, I never wanted that book!) or the latest Harry Potter (I did buy that, but at the bargain counter at KMart) - we want to be able to browse, find new authors, get what we want, when we want it - or we'll go to Amazon.
The best bookshops in Melbourne for browsing are Readings and (for me) the Sun Bookshop in Yarraville. I don't know what it is, but whoever selects books at the Sun is great at choosing things that I cannot resist. But I shop at Borders too because they have the best selection of books about writing, and a great children's section. I never shop at A&R because their shop at Highpoint never has anything I want. They simply don't buy in a stock of decent books for the serious reader, and they always seem to have bargain tables full of the most awful, cheap books that I wanted to put into the mulcher.
For me, this letter thing (and Tower's reply) confirms what I've suspected, and others agree with me, that the A&R buyers and buying division have been doing a very bad job. It's like they're supposed to be buying fresh vegetables and they keep stocking tins of baked beans.
I presume Tower Books (and others) are going to tell A&R to go jump. Judging from the 129 comments (so far) following the blog entry, so are all the bookbuying customers.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Clive James on writing
On the ABC's Talking Heads program tonight, guest Clive James was asked about how he deals with writer's block. His answer: "No, I've never had a long block. And the reason... The way I've actually developed as a writer, over the years, is I've learned not to panic when it won't come. Because when it doesn't come, that's part of the process. That tension of not being able to do it means somewhere in your brain you're sorting out something that's too complex for immediate expression, but it will be when it's sorted itself out. The expression "sleep on it" comes out. Sometimes I work in my sleep - I know I do - because I wake up more capable of expressing what I have to say. But to become a professional writer, it's necessary to reach the stage where you can live with the tension when it's not happening, because that's part of the process."
You can read the transcript of the interview on the ABC site here.
You can read the transcript of the interview on the ABC site here.
Conquering technology
An old friend of mine, Doris, used to say that inside her computer were two little green men on bicycles, and the harder they pedalled, the better her computer went. When it stopped working, the little green men were on strike.
Whereas for me, having seen many computers go Phhhttt!! or remain black-screened (or even pink-screened, like one of mine years ago), and seen many computer users turn into hysterical wrecks, or at least throw a decent tantrum, when their computers have died, I'm the cynical kind. If it can go wrong, it will. And usually in ways you can't predict. Witness the successful transfer of most of my stuff onto a new computer last week, but before the remaining files and programs could be sorted out, the old computer was accidentally dropped from a height of about two metres. Less said about that, the better.
However, my new tech phobia related to fiddling with my website. I'm happy to update it and add new book covers, but the thing that I kept putting off required me to download code from Paypal, after creating Buy Now buttons, and insert it into my webpages where needed.
I've been avoiding this task for two months. I kept telling myself that when my brain felt more tech-inclined, it would happen. A pathetic excuse.
Finally, I have done it. Last week I spent a bit of time on Dreamweaver, playing with a new site I'm creating - the confidence level increased, and today I thought, Do it now.
So I did. I have four buttons on my site to allow overseas readers to buy some of my books (I am trusting that I have done everything required to make these work!). I can't sell my Penguin books directly to people in Australia though, as I'm not allowed.
And I can't sell my out-of-print picture book as even I don't have copies to spare anymore. My plan to print more in Hong Kong, as I have the rights back, fell in a heap after I discovered that the illustrator does not have the rights back for the illustrations. It's a long story...
Whereas for me, having seen many computers go Phhhttt!! or remain black-screened (or even pink-screened, like one of mine years ago), and seen many computer users turn into hysterical wrecks, or at least throw a decent tantrum, when their computers have died, I'm the cynical kind. If it can go wrong, it will. And usually in ways you can't predict. Witness the successful transfer of most of my stuff onto a new computer last week, but before the remaining files and programs could be sorted out, the old computer was accidentally dropped from a height of about two metres. Less said about that, the better.
However, my new tech phobia related to fiddling with my website. I'm happy to update it and add new book covers, but the thing that I kept putting off required me to download code from Paypal, after creating Buy Now buttons, and insert it into my webpages where needed.
I've been avoiding this task for two months. I kept telling myself that when my brain felt more tech-inclined, it would happen. A pathetic excuse.
Finally, I have done it. Last week I spent a bit of time on Dreamweaver, playing with a new site I'm creating - the confidence level increased, and today I thought, Do it now.
So I did. I have four buttons on my site to allow overseas readers to buy some of my books (I am trusting that I have done everything required to make these work!). I can't sell my Penguin books directly to people in Australia though, as I'm not allowed.
And I can't sell my out-of-print picture book as even I don't have copies to spare anymore. My plan to print more in Hong Kong, as I have the rights back, fell in a heap after I discovered that the illustrator does not have the rights back for the illustrations. It's a long story...
Sunday, August 05, 2007
It's a Cat's Life...
No, she's not dead. She's now hogging the big heater in the loungeroom. During the day, if the sun is out, she finds the warmest spot outside to sleep. Our other cat, Roko - large, black male - prefers to find the highest spot, usually the back of the couch when inside, and sleep up there with one eye open to make sure everyone is behaving.
Differing views
In the Review section of the Weekend Australian (4-5 Aug, 07) there is an article about an English writer, Scarlett Thomas, who writes what seems to be spec fiction with an experimental edge. She talks about receiving a letter from Phillip Pullman (of Dark Materials) which questioned why she was writing in the present tense, like "many young novelists".
To quote, Thomas said: "I wrote back and said the problem with narrating in the past tense is that you get a sense of somebody sitting comfortably in a rocking chair at the end of the narrative saying, 'Let me tell you a story'. You know, everyone's fine and they survived. There's a sense of a kind of after narrative, but I wanted a sense that there might not be an after. You're there in the present and everything could crumble at any moment."
Pullman responded again and said: "OK, I take your point about the rocking chair, but the present tense is like having the narrator talk breathlessly into a tape recorder while they're doing everything that they're doing..."
The article doesn't say if they agreed to disagree! But it does show that everyone has different ideas about past or present tense - I guess the main thing is to know why you're using one or the other, and be consistent. I see a lot of student work where the writer slips from past to present and vice versa, and doesn't realise they're doing it. We (as in teachers, two of whom teach editing where I work) talked about this the other day. You can teach how to use verbs, how to form each of the tenses, and practice them in sentences in class, then test correct usage. But that is doing it in isolation - how do you teach someone to recognise "slippage", or even to understand the effects of past or present tense on how the story is told, its tone, style or flow?
I think that, after you've done the classroom stuff, you have to read and see it in action. It always astounds me how few books many of our writing students read, and its one thing I try to weave into the classes throughout the year, especially in areas like children's and YA novels. If you want to write the things, surely you should be reading lots of what is out there at the moment? But also I try to get students to read like writers - to think about language and character and dialogue and all those other things that make up a story - enjoy the story first but then go back and read again to learn.
At the moment, I'm reading a few Jacqueline Wilson books. She has been out here recently for a short tour and I missed seeing her at the Reading Matters conference. She is hugely popular in the UK, and becoming more so overseas, so I thought I would read several books and think about what she is doing. (I read The Illustrated Mum a couple of years ago and didn't like it, but my writer's curiosity has sent me back.) I was quite surprised at the amount of what some editors would label telling. Yesterday I finished The Suitcase Kid, today I'm reading Dustbin Baby, and it's interesting how strongly these two books rely on a narrator to simply tell a story. There is plenty of action, but there is also a lot of the narrator's voice explaining. I'll read on, and think more about this, and how it works.
To quote, Thomas said: "I wrote back and said the problem with narrating in the past tense is that you get a sense of somebody sitting comfortably in a rocking chair at the end of the narrative saying, 'Let me tell you a story'. You know, everyone's fine and they survived. There's a sense of a kind of after narrative, but I wanted a sense that there might not be an after. You're there in the present and everything could crumble at any moment."
Pullman responded again and said: "OK, I take your point about the rocking chair, but the present tense is like having the narrator talk breathlessly into a tape recorder while they're doing everything that they're doing..."
The article doesn't say if they agreed to disagree! But it does show that everyone has different ideas about past or present tense - I guess the main thing is to know why you're using one or the other, and be consistent. I see a lot of student work where the writer slips from past to present and vice versa, and doesn't realise they're doing it. We (as in teachers, two of whom teach editing where I work) talked about this the other day. You can teach how to use verbs, how to form each of the tenses, and practice them in sentences in class, then test correct usage. But that is doing it in isolation - how do you teach someone to recognise "slippage", or even to understand the effects of past or present tense on how the story is told, its tone, style or flow?
I think that, after you've done the classroom stuff, you have to read and see it in action. It always astounds me how few books many of our writing students read, and its one thing I try to weave into the classes throughout the year, especially in areas like children's and YA novels. If you want to write the things, surely you should be reading lots of what is out there at the moment? But also I try to get students to read like writers - to think about language and character and dialogue and all those other things that make up a story - enjoy the story first but then go back and read again to learn.
At the moment, I'm reading a few Jacqueline Wilson books. She has been out here recently for a short tour and I missed seeing her at the Reading Matters conference. She is hugely popular in the UK, and becoming more so overseas, so I thought I would read several books and think about what she is doing. (I read The Illustrated Mum a couple of years ago and didn't like it, but my writer's curiosity has sent me back.) I was quite surprised at the amount of what some editors would label telling. Yesterday I finished The Suitcase Kid, today I'm reading Dustbin Baby, and it's interesting how strongly these two books rely on a narrator to simply tell a story. There is plenty of action, but there is also a lot of the narrator's voice explaining. I'll read on, and think more about this, and how it works.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Writing but not writing
While the 100 words of my YA novel has been sagging (400 on Monday and none since), I have been doing other writing. My writing group is attempting to write a group novel. We have worked out a plot, each taken a character and written about 2000 words so far. It's multi-viewpoint, and each piece is in the first-person voice of the character. This way we avoid any problems with trying to create a consistent style or voice. The big challenge is plotting. Yesterday we ended up creating a timeline, to sort out what is happening when and in what order (e.g. X can't phone Y before 8pm because Z has to talk to W first and provide that piece of information). We also have some minor characters who have to be woven into the story without having voices of their own, so B is in a scene with R, but we still have to work out who B is, what his motivations are and what he is actually doing there, so that the person writing as R can complete the scene with the right information.
Sound complicated?! It is, but as we sit around the table and work it all out, we are having a lot of fun, and we are also writing something that is exciting, challenging and interesting. And for some of the group members who normally don't write much, it's invigorating and satisfying. There - lots of energetic adjectives!
The other writing I have been working on is actually an interview which provided a lot of great background information for a story idea I'm developing. I did vow last year that I would only work on one project at a time, but when other things pop up and the energy is there to follow through on, I'm going with it! It's another way to get over the winter blues - have several projects that excite and interest me, and keep me moving.
Last night I had dinner with two fellow teachers and a friend who was teaching with us and has resigned. Her new life is about writing - that was what she wanted to focus on for the next 18 months (she writes plays) - and she seemed very happy with her decision to forgo a regular wage and some security for the opportunity to write. There's no doubt that her writing will benefit hugely from the focus and concentration. We are all a little bit envious, but then she has no other commitments or dependents, so she is free to make that choice. We wished her lots of luck, and gave her a voucher for Officeworks (all writers need stationery!).
Sound complicated?! It is, but as we sit around the table and work it all out, we are having a lot of fun, and we are also writing something that is exciting, challenging and interesting. And for some of the group members who normally don't write much, it's invigorating and satisfying. There - lots of energetic adjectives!
The other writing I have been working on is actually an interview which provided a lot of great background information for a story idea I'm developing. I did vow last year that I would only work on one project at a time, but when other things pop up and the energy is there to follow through on, I'm going with it! It's another way to get over the winter blues - have several projects that excite and interest me, and keep me moving.
Last night I had dinner with two fellow teachers and a friend who was teaching with us and has resigned. Her new life is about writing - that was what she wanted to focus on for the next 18 months (she writes plays) - and she seemed very happy with her decision to forgo a regular wage and some security for the opportunity to write. There's no doubt that her writing will benefit hugely from the focus and concentration. We are all a little bit envious, but then she has no other commitments or dependents, so she is free to make that choice. We wished her lots of luck, and gave her a voucher for Officeworks (all writers need stationery!).
Monday, July 30, 2007
Scary computer stuff
Today was the day I had been avoiding/putting off/trying to ignore for several weeks. The day my husband took on the task of moving my files and programs onto a new computer. I had backed up everything (I hoped) onto a small hard drive and given instructions - minimal but clear - about where things had to go, file- and directory-wise.
Then I went to work. And spent most of the day either trying not to think about it or crossing my fingers.
Came home and he's all grumpy. Uh-oh. What happened?
Well, the transfer worked fine, but when he was carrying the old computer (which I wanted to keep for a while just in case) outside, he tripped on the steps and dropped it. Not a good thing to happen to a computer. It won't talk to us anymore. He's still working on it.
In the meantime, I have realised that all my bookmarks in my net browsers are gone. Thankfully, my emails and address book moved OK, thanks to good instructions from Eudora. The bookmarks may be a benefit. I have to try and remember what they were, so any I don't use regularly are gone from my memory as well as the computer's.
This will be an ongoing process. Patience is required.
Saw an interview tonight on the ABC with Tom Keneally, and laughed at some of the things he said. Talking about writers, he said a novelist has to believe the world wants and needs his/her book - that requires a huge amount of confidence and a huge amount of ego (paraphrasing here). He also said his family has kept him sane, and that being on your own all the time as a writer encourages dark things like self-doubt. A writer needs to go out in the world to talk to people, and it's why he likes talks and book signings. It's a chance to see that people actually do buy and read his books - I know the feeling. Often you feel like no one knows your book even exists, and if they do, they're going to ignore it!
It occurred to me that school visits do the same thing for a children's writer (provide that contact with real people and real readers). Good to keep in mind.
In August during Children's Book Week I will be in Canberra for three days, doing nine school visits. Once upon a time that would have scared me witless, but I'm getting better at it. I just wish the kids would get my jokes more....
Then I went to work. And spent most of the day either trying not to think about it or crossing my fingers.
Came home and he's all grumpy. Uh-oh. What happened?
Well, the transfer worked fine, but when he was carrying the old computer (which I wanted to keep for a while just in case) outside, he tripped on the steps and dropped it. Not a good thing to happen to a computer. It won't talk to us anymore. He's still working on it.
In the meantime, I have realised that all my bookmarks in my net browsers are gone. Thankfully, my emails and address book moved OK, thanks to good instructions from Eudora. The bookmarks may be a benefit. I have to try and remember what they were, so any I don't use regularly are gone from my memory as well as the computer's.
This will be an ongoing process. Patience is required.
Saw an interview tonight on the ABC with Tom Keneally, and laughed at some of the things he said. Talking about writers, he said a novelist has to believe the world wants and needs his/her book - that requires a huge amount of confidence and a huge amount of ego (paraphrasing here). He also said his family has kept him sane, and that being on your own all the time as a writer encourages dark things like self-doubt. A writer needs to go out in the world to talk to people, and it's why he likes talks and book signings. It's a chance to see that people actually do buy and read his books - I know the feeling. Often you feel like no one knows your book even exists, and if they do, they're going to ignore it!
It occurred to me that school visits do the same thing for a children's writer (provide that contact with real people and real readers). Good to keep in mind.
In August during Children's Book Week I will be in Canberra for three days, doing nine school visits. Once upon a time that would have scared me witless, but I'm getting better at it. I just wish the kids would get my jokes more....
Sunday, July 29, 2007
100 x 100
Monday of last week, I started the 100 x 100 thing (running via a YA group I'm in) where you commit to writing 100 words a day for 100 days. At the same time, I made a personal commitment that, when possible, I'd try for an hour of writing instead of 100 words. So it's been 12 days of meeting either the 100 or the hour, and yesterday I ... didn't.
I could say it's because it was the day I set aside to clean out two rooms in my house - the two that accumulate the biggest amount of stuff that eventually gets to a point where we have to do something or we can't get into the rooms. Sadly, one of these rooms is my office. After doing Randy Ingermanson's seminars earlier this year, sorting out and clearing out my office was a big goal for this year. The other room was just full of junk - bits of computers, discarded things like clothes for the charity shop pickup, old books and papers, old bits of cars - you name it, it was probably there. So I spent the whole day on it.
There was still no excuse for not writing a measly 100 words. Except ... I had decided to use this writing thing to work on a new YA novel and because I haven't planned enough of it out yet, I'm winging it. Which I hate. Because I start to feel like I'm writing a load of rubbish that will all have to be taken out again later.
Someone (might have been E.L. Doctorow) once said that writing was like driving on a dark road, and you only see as far ahead as the headlight beams allow. At the moment I feel like I'm driving along at about 100km an hour, shining a torch.
For the next few days, the 100 words or one hour will have to be spent on planning and character work and building new plot possibilities, or this novel will be put out with the stuff for the charity pickup!
In the meantime, reading continues. Finished Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, which is about a young boy who becomes a Ranger rather than a warrior. Has the standard evil lord who is trying to take over the world, etc, but also some humour and good characterisation to carry it. Also read Dead Weight by John Francome, a crime novel set in the world of horse racing. When someone is touted as the next Dick Francis, I get suspicious. Francome is not bad, and is different to Francis in that he uses several different 3rd person viewpoint characters. I've always like Francis's characters and thought they carried his plots with extra dash, but then I am a first person kind of reader. Francome kills off a character unexpectedly and this raises the tension level for the rest of the book quite considerably.
I tell students (and constantly remind myself) that you have to raise the stakes and keep the tension working in a novel, no matter what genre it is. Being too nice to your characters ends up being pretty boring!
I could say it's because it was the day I set aside to clean out two rooms in my house - the two that accumulate the biggest amount of stuff that eventually gets to a point where we have to do something or we can't get into the rooms. Sadly, one of these rooms is my office. After doing Randy Ingermanson's seminars earlier this year, sorting out and clearing out my office was a big goal for this year. The other room was just full of junk - bits of computers, discarded things like clothes for the charity shop pickup, old books and papers, old bits of cars - you name it, it was probably there. So I spent the whole day on it.
There was still no excuse for not writing a measly 100 words. Except ... I had decided to use this writing thing to work on a new YA novel and because I haven't planned enough of it out yet, I'm winging it. Which I hate. Because I start to feel like I'm writing a load of rubbish that will all have to be taken out again later.
Someone (might have been E.L. Doctorow) once said that writing was like driving on a dark road, and you only see as far ahead as the headlight beams allow. At the moment I feel like I'm driving along at about 100km an hour, shining a torch.
For the next few days, the 100 words or one hour will have to be spent on planning and character work and building new plot possibilities, or this novel will be put out with the stuff for the charity pickup!
In the meantime, reading continues. Finished Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, which is about a young boy who becomes a Ranger rather than a warrior. Has the standard evil lord who is trying to take over the world, etc, but also some humour and good characterisation to carry it. Also read Dead Weight by John Francome, a crime novel set in the world of horse racing. When someone is touted as the next Dick Francis, I get suspicious. Francome is not bad, and is different to Francis in that he uses several different 3rd person viewpoint characters. I've always like Francis's characters and thought they carried his plots with extra dash, but then I am a first person kind of reader. Francome kills off a character unexpectedly and this raises the tension level for the rest of the book quite considerably.
I tell students (and constantly remind myself) that you have to raise the stakes and keep the tension working in a novel, no matter what genre it is. Being too nice to your characters ends up being pretty boring!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Winter Blues
I received an email from a friend yesterday who said she'd had the winter blues, but she was over it now. It sounds like a strange thing to say, but here in Melbourne it's actually a recognised condition, due to not enough sunlight (well, that's one explanation). After years of telling us to stay out of the sun, now we need more of it in winter. Vitamin D and K, I think.
We see it in classes at uni - this is the time of year, running into mid-August, when students are likely to drop out. Especially from night classes, where the effort required to come out on a wet, cold, dark night to class each week can get too much, and if you come down with the flu, it's another big strike-down that's hard to struggle back from.
As a writer, you'd think that staying inside by the heater, writing and reading ... what more could you want? But the cold and wet and darkness does start to get to you.
Gradually, the book you're working on starts to seem like the biggest load of garbage you've ever written, you feel like you'll never have another decent idea ever, the rewrite looming when the editor's comments arrive will be impossible (and she's going to hate the story now anyway), and all the other stuff that's crowding into your life threatens to smother you.
A desert island starts to look like a viable option. One where there is no electricity, no pens or paper, and no one wanting anything. But with lots of sunshine and lazy days. Aahhhh....
Not going to happen. Instead, you (and that does mean me, too) have to find ways to revive, restore and re-inspire.
1. A good movie, at the cinema, that you can get lost in. No, haven't seen the new HP yet, so might go this weekend.
2. Poetry. Billy Collins' poems are the best for this, I find.
3. Footy, or any sport where you can go outside and scream your lungs out.
4. Long walks, even if it's raining. The winter air is terrific for recharging your energy.
5. Finding something new to try. Something active that gets you out of the house.
6. Lunch with a bunch of writers, and no one is allowed to grizzle or grumble. You all have to celebrate being writers, talk about great books you've read (and swap titles), and celebrate your achievements.
That's a start, at least. And the next time the sun is actually shining outside, I'll be out there, gathering as many rays as I can.
We see it in classes at uni - this is the time of year, running into mid-August, when students are likely to drop out. Especially from night classes, where the effort required to come out on a wet, cold, dark night to class each week can get too much, and if you come down with the flu, it's another big strike-down that's hard to struggle back from.
As a writer, you'd think that staying inside by the heater, writing and reading ... what more could you want? But the cold and wet and darkness does start to get to you.
Gradually, the book you're working on starts to seem like the biggest load of garbage you've ever written, you feel like you'll never have another decent idea ever, the rewrite looming when the editor's comments arrive will be impossible (and she's going to hate the story now anyway), and all the other stuff that's crowding into your life threatens to smother you.
A desert island starts to look like a viable option. One where there is no electricity, no pens or paper, and no one wanting anything. But with lots of sunshine and lazy days. Aahhhh....
Not going to happen. Instead, you (and that does mean me, too) have to find ways to revive, restore and re-inspire.
1. A good movie, at the cinema, that you can get lost in. No, haven't seen the new HP yet, so might go this weekend.
2. Poetry. Billy Collins' poems are the best for this, I find.
3. Footy, or any sport where you can go outside and scream your lungs out.
4. Long walks, even if it's raining. The winter air is terrific for recharging your energy.
5. Finding something new to try. Something active that gets you out of the house.
6. Lunch with a bunch of writers, and no one is allowed to grizzle or grumble. You all have to celebrate being writers, talk about great books you've read (and swap titles), and celebrate your achievements.
That's a start, at least. And the next time the sun is actually shining outside, I'll be out there, gathering as many rays as I can.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Close Reading
It's that time of year again, where we've spent a lot of time in class developing characters and plot, writing, talking, reading and analysing (generally focusing on character and plot again), and a modicum of workshopping. Now I want to get serious. I want to get pedantic. I want students to examine sentences, words, figurative language, metaphor, and get down to nuts and bolts on style. To me, this is how you figure out what a writer is doing.
So the Poetry 2 students copped it first. Last year I put the Short Story 2 students through it. They moan, they groan - I don't care. I believe if you really want to improve your writing, you have to get down to the nitty-gritty. You have to take a good example and pull it apart, to see where the joins are, examine word choices, think about why the author chose this word over another, why this sentence is short and that one long, and how all of these things create the work in front of you.
From this, I take students into the same examination of their own writing, word by word, phrase by phrase. It's slow. It's heavy on the brain. And if you do it properly, if you tackle it as a writer wanting to learn the guts of what makes writing work, it's a goldmine.
But always for some, it seems pointless (and if I'm honest, I have to say maybe it's the way I teach it). After teaching for ten years, I have no sympathy. If there's something offered to you that will help you be a better writer, why would you say no? (You can supply your own answer here.)
A little more on The Overlook - review by Simon Clewes in the Age last weekend came to the same conclusion as me. Skimpy book.
Evanovich's latest had me laughing out loud - great antidote to winter chills.
Now I'm reading Ranger's Apprentice, the first in a YA fantasy series. Heard a lot about this and got a copy from the library (spent too many $$ at the bookstore lately). It's got me hooked because of the humour. Could well be the cold here in Melbourne making me yearn for a good, warming laugh.
So the Poetry 2 students copped it first. Last year I put the Short Story 2 students through it. They moan, they groan - I don't care. I believe if you really want to improve your writing, you have to get down to the nitty-gritty. You have to take a good example and pull it apart, to see where the joins are, examine word choices, think about why the author chose this word over another, why this sentence is short and that one long, and how all of these things create the work in front of you.
From this, I take students into the same examination of their own writing, word by word, phrase by phrase. It's slow. It's heavy on the brain. And if you do it properly, if you tackle it as a writer wanting to learn the guts of what makes writing work, it's a goldmine.
But always for some, it seems pointless (and if I'm honest, I have to say maybe it's the way I teach it). After teaching for ten years, I have no sympathy. If there's something offered to you that will help you be a better writer, why would you say no? (You can supply your own answer here.)
A little more on The Overlook - review by Simon Clewes in the Age last weekend came to the same conclusion as me. Skimpy book.
Evanovich's latest had me laughing out loud - great antidote to winter chills.
Now I'm reading Ranger's Apprentice, the first in a YA fantasy series. Heard a lot about this and got a copy from the library (spent too many $$ at the bookstore lately). It's got me hooked because of the humour. Could well be the cold here in Melbourne making me yearn for a good, warming laugh.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Grumpiness is catching
When you live with someone, you can't help but be affected by their moods. For a writer, this can be a problem. If they are driving you nuts, it can keep you from your writing, or make you so uptight that you can't concentrate.
You can't get into your novel when someone else's grumpiness is crowding you. Or if you are writing humour, maybe someone else's joy can overshadow your fun. Moods create atmospheres. A lot of writers do things like putting on certain music to help create the writing atmosphere they want. But when the house is grumpy ... it takes a lot of willpower and the ability to shut out everything and everyone to write what you want, when you want.
Luckily, I've had lots of practice.
Another 800 words today. Total for the week since Monday? 6,800. That's because I decided to do the 100 x 100 (100 words for 100 days) from the YA writers' list I'm on. And when possible, stretch that 100 words to one hour of writing.
So far, it's going OK. Onward and upward.
You can't get into your novel when someone else's grumpiness is crowding you. Or if you are writing humour, maybe someone else's joy can overshadow your fun. Moods create atmospheres. A lot of writers do things like putting on certain music to help create the writing atmosphere they want. But when the house is grumpy ... it takes a lot of willpower and the ability to shut out everything and everyone to write what you want, when you want.
Luckily, I've had lots of practice.
Another 800 words today. Total for the week since Monday? 6,800. That's because I decided to do the 100 x 100 (100 words for 100 days) from the YA writers' list I'm on. And when possible, stretch that 100 words to one hour of writing.
So far, it's going OK. Onward and upward.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Critiquing
One of the best things in the world that a writer can have is someone who is a great editor and critiquer. I am super lucky because I have two. My friend K is also a children's writer, so she 'gets' what a children's novel needs. She also understands stuff like the level of complexity - you can have a lot more in a children's novel than you think - what you can't be is obscure.
She has just done a critique for me on a novel that I've been working on for about four years (on and off, because I have to have time out between drafts). She saw an earlier draft, which she really liked, despite its problems. I had changed a lot this time around, including point of view and a lot of the plot, and I wondered what she'd think of the new version.
Her insightful comments were terrific, and I love it when someone is really picky. Even little things that jar can pull the reader out of the story, and it's hard to pick them up yourself. I plan to return the favour soon.
My other friend T is also a great editor. She's picky in a different way. She doesn't write or even read children's novels, so she critiques from a different perspective. She's the person I go to when I know something is wrong but I can't figure out what it is. Through discussion, we often succeed in identifying where the problem lies. She is also merciless.
Now, neither of these two are going fix everything, and neither should they. Ultimately it's still my job to get the manuscript to the best I can before handing it over. They're not there to fix my punctuation and spelling, although they might pick up occasional awkward sentences. The grammar stuff is MY job, and this is something I try to drum into students.
An editor picking up an unsolicited manuscript is not going to bother reading something with five or ten mistakes on every page. There are always some people who honestly believe that the brilliance of their writing will overcome the obvious fact that they don't know how to punctuate a sentence so it's readable. The sad truth is: if you can't construct a good sentence, your writing is not going to be brilliant.
Or publishable.
She has just done a critique for me on a novel that I've been working on for about four years (on and off, because I have to have time out between drafts). She saw an earlier draft, which she really liked, despite its problems. I had changed a lot this time around, including point of view and a lot of the plot, and I wondered what she'd think of the new version.
Her insightful comments were terrific, and I love it when someone is really picky. Even little things that jar can pull the reader out of the story, and it's hard to pick them up yourself. I plan to return the favour soon.
My other friend T is also a great editor. She's picky in a different way. She doesn't write or even read children's novels, so she critiques from a different perspective. She's the person I go to when I know something is wrong but I can't figure out what it is. Through discussion, we often succeed in identifying where the problem lies. She is also merciless.
Now, neither of these two are going fix everything, and neither should they. Ultimately it's still my job to get the manuscript to the best I can before handing it over. They're not there to fix my punctuation and spelling, although they might pick up occasional awkward sentences. The grammar stuff is MY job, and this is something I try to drum into students.
An editor picking up an unsolicited manuscript is not going to bother reading something with five or ten mistakes on every page. There are always some people who honestly believe that the brilliance of their writing will overcome the obvious fact that they don't know how to punctuate a sentence so it's readable. The sad truth is: if you can't construct a good sentence, your writing is not going to be brilliant.
Or publishable.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Books to heat you up
Finished The Overlook by Michael Connolly. Felt let down. Wondered why.
Read an explanation in the back of the book that said he originally wrote the story as a serialisation for a newspaper. It ended up as 48,000 words, and then when he decided to turn it into a book, it gave him the freedom to add stuff and deepen the story.
Sorry, Mr Connolly. Didn't work. Should have left it as a serialisation and then I wouldn't have paid $29.95 for it and felt ripped off.
I went back and checked a couple of his earlier books (because I can get really picky about sentence stuff) - in The Overlook, hardly any sentence has a comma in it. Not necessarily because they are all simple sentences, but because nobody put commas in where there could have been a few. In earlier books, not only are there commas (correctly) but the sentences are more meaty and have more impact on the style. Was this comma-less writing from the author, or the editor?
Will I ever know? (I'll stop being pedantic now, but this stuff impacts on style and substance so much that you can't really ignore it.)
On the other hand, I'm now reading the new Janet Evanovich - Lean, Mean Thirteen - and loving it. Must have laughed out loud six times already. Great winter reading, and lots in the story to warm you up (not the least of which is Ranger).
Read an explanation in the back of the book that said he originally wrote the story as a serialisation for a newspaper. It ended up as 48,000 words, and then when he decided to turn it into a book, it gave him the freedom to add stuff and deepen the story.
Sorry, Mr Connolly. Didn't work. Should have left it as a serialisation and then I wouldn't have paid $29.95 for it and felt ripped off.
I went back and checked a couple of his earlier books (because I can get really picky about sentence stuff) - in The Overlook, hardly any sentence has a comma in it. Not necessarily because they are all simple sentences, but because nobody put commas in where there could have been a few. In earlier books, not only are there commas (correctly) but the sentences are more meaty and have more impact on the style. Was this comma-less writing from the author, or the editor?
Will I ever know? (I'll stop being pedantic now, but this stuff impacts on style and substance so much that you can't really ignore it.)
On the other hand, I'm now reading the new Janet Evanovich - Lean, Mean Thirteen - and loving it. Must have laughed out loud six times already. Great winter reading, and lots in the story to warm you up (not the least of which is Ranger).
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Writing Life
Over on Speculating About Fiction, my friend T has been speculating on what a writer's life entails. The full-time job, writing eight hours a day and doing nothing else? Or fitting writing around a life that includes a job, family, hobbies and other commitments?
I posted a comment, then thought I might expand. I've had this conversation before with my friend K, who is a full-time children's writer in Texas. And it came up again with my 7 Day Writing Plan recently. I found it quite difficult to sit in the chair for a solid two hours, seven days in a row! And felt like a writing wuss. You read all the time about writers who go into their office and shut the door at 9am and don't come out until 5pm. I think: If that was me, I'd eventually go nuts. I love being home alone and writing, but not eight straight hours. Apart from anything else, my RSI would kill me.
So I ask, how many 9-5 writers are spending 8 hours pounding the keyboard? Feel free to comment or reply to my question!!
K and I decided that the full-time writer's life is actually a mosaic of reading, research, thinking, planning, diagramming, letting the subconscious help out, daydreaming, and typing. That's what, to me, being able to write full-time does. It gives you total headspace for your book. You live the book. You dream it. You can hold it in your head. You think up new stuff for it, you solve plot problems, your characters grow and become more real, you have time for extra research for setting and atmosphere as well as facts.
Not being a full-time writer means:
1. When work takes over (or family, or whatever that's unavoidable when you have a life to manage), the book moves back. And if you're out there too long, the book moves so far away from you that it takes you quite a bit of time and work to get back inside it again.
2. You can't hold the book in your head. Sometimes you will, for short periods, then you lose your grip on it again. Instead, you learn to make lots of notes. Lots of them.
3. You can only work on one book at a time, in terms of your devotion. I've tried juggling several, and have given up. The books suffer. You have to decide which one matters the most to you, and give it your all. If it happens to be the one that turns out to be not publishable, you feel like you've wasted valuable time.
4. When your time is precious, but you want the book to be publishable, you can fall into the trap of making it too safe. It's a dilemma.
5. But the other side of this can be - if you are earning a living with your job, you are able to write whatever you want. The money doesn't enter into it. It's a juggling act for most people.
6. Being a teacher of creative writing adds to the problem. I am often inspired by my students and my own enthusiasm for what I'm teaching. But reading, commenting, workshopping and grading their writing can kill my writing zest for weeks at a time.
Over the years, I think I've developed my own writing methods that suit my life - I do a lot of thinking and planning (more than I used to), so that when I sit at the keyboard, I can type fast and get it all on the page. If I get stuck, I go for a walk or do something else for a while. Usually when I come back to it, away I go again.
I wrote 21,000 words in the 7 Day Plan I committed to. I couldn't have done that if I hadn't already known probably 60% of what I was going to write (because it was a 7th draft, starting from scratch again). A completely new novel would be half that pace.
I posted a comment, then thought I might expand. I've had this conversation before with my friend K, who is a full-time children's writer in Texas. And it came up again with my 7 Day Writing Plan recently. I found it quite difficult to sit in the chair for a solid two hours, seven days in a row! And felt like a writing wuss. You read all the time about writers who go into their office and shut the door at 9am and don't come out until 5pm. I think: If that was me, I'd eventually go nuts. I love being home alone and writing, but not eight straight hours. Apart from anything else, my RSI would kill me.
So I ask, how many 9-5 writers are spending 8 hours pounding the keyboard? Feel free to comment or reply to my question!!
K and I decided that the full-time writer's life is actually a mosaic of reading, research, thinking, planning, diagramming, letting the subconscious help out, daydreaming, and typing. That's what, to me, being able to write full-time does. It gives you total headspace for your book. You live the book. You dream it. You can hold it in your head. You think up new stuff for it, you solve plot problems, your characters grow and become more real, you have time for extra research for setting and atmosphere as well as facts.
Not being a full-time writer means:
1. When work takes over (or family, or whatever that's unavoidable when you have a life to manage), the book moves back. And if you're out there too long, the book moves so far away from you that it takes you quite a bit of time and work to get back inside it again.
2. You can't hold the book in your head. Sometimes you will, for short periods, then you lose your grip on it again. Instead, you learn to make lots of notes. Lots of them.
3. You can only work on one book at a time, in terms of your devotion. I've tried juggling several, and have given up. The books suffer. You have to decide which one matters the most to you, and give it your all. If it happens to be the one that turns out to be not publishable, you feel like you've wasted valuable time.
4. When your time is precious, but you want the book to be publishable, you can fall into the trap of making it too safe. It's a dilemma.
5. But the other side of this can be - if you are earning a living with your job, you are able to write whatever you want. The money doesn't enter into it. It's a juggling act for most people.
6. Being a teacher of creative writing adds to the problem. I am often inspired by my students and my own enthusiasm for what I'm teaching. But reading, commenting, workshopping and grading their writing can kill my writing zest for weeks at a time.
Over the years, I think I've developed my own writing methods that suit my life - I do a lot of thinking and planning (more than I used to), so that when I sit at the keyboard, I can type fast and get it all on the page. If I get stuck, I go for a walk or do something else for a while. Usually when I come back to it, away I go again.
I wrote 21,000 words in the 7 Day Plan I committed to. I couldn't have done that if I hadn't already known probably 60% of what I was going to write (because it was a 7th draft, starting from scratch again). A completely new novel would be half that pace.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Revision
Today was six hours of revision. Minus a quick lunch break, plus a quick trip out into the rain to try to find a window (have to replace the whole window, and of course it's an odd size). I keep telling myself, don't complain about the rain, because our water storages for Melbourne have only just passed 33%. But when you want to get out and do stuff, the rain is a pain (on the plain).
I've recently discovered the blog of Paperback Writer, who puts up a lot of stuff about writing, plotting and revision. She has also put up some interesting links for a heap of other stuff, including using Wikis for plotting, and a site where you can get copyright free photos and images.
I'm feeling pleased, not just because I've put in quite a few hours, but because a new series idea looks like something I'm definitely going to develop (research required, but that's OK). It's true - the more you write, the more ideas you have and the more things become possible.
I'm still reading the new Michael Connelly. And have noticed that hardly any of his sentences have commas in them. Many of them are short, that's true, but even longer ones don't. It doesn't affect clarity. It adds to it. What it does affect is a sense of flow somehow. It also feels a little like I'm reading at a sixth grade level.
What really bothers me is that instead of being engrossed in the characters and story, which I expected, I'm picking on sentence punctuation. Either revision is making me overly anal, or this book is not up to Connelly's usual standard. I am totally resisting doing a sentence comparison with Echo Park, his last book. Until I've finished reading.
I've recently discovered the blog of Paperback Writer, who puts up a lot of stuff about writing, plotting and revision. She has also put up some interesting links for a heap of other stuff, including using Wikis for plotting, and a site where you can get copyright free photos and images.
I'm feeling pleased, not just because I've put in quite a few hours, but because a new series idea looks like something I'm definitely going to develop (research required, but that's OK). It's true - the more you write, the more ideas you have and the more things become possible.
I'm still reading the new Michael Connelly. And have noticed that hardly any of his sentences have commas in them. Many of them are short, that's true, but even longer ones don't. It doesn't affect clarity. It adds to it. What it does affect is a sense of flow somehow. It also feels a little like I'm reading at a sixth grade level.
What really bothers me is that instead of being engrossed in the characters and story, which I expected, I'm picking on sentence punctuation. Either revision is making me overly anal, or this book is not up to Connelly's usual standard. I am totally resisting doing a sentence comparison with Echo Park, his last book. Until I've finished reading.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Crime stuff
News about our own Peter Temple (crime writer, lives in Ballarat, writes great crime novels):
"Ballarat-based author, Peter Temple, has won the most prestigious award for crime fiction in the world. Held in London, the Duncan Lawrie Dagger comes with a healthy $47 000 cheque, also the world’s largest prize in this category.
"Formerly known as the Golden Dagger, past winners include literary giants John le Carré, Ian Rankin, and Patricia Cornwell. Peter Temple has made a habit of winning praise; the South African-born writer has captured four Ned Kelly awards for best Australian crime fiction.
"Short-listed against well-known writers James Lee Burke, Gillian Flynn, and Giles Blunt, Temple thought his chances of winning were slim. "It’s fairly difficult. You’re up against writers from all around the world, but it’s terrific to win," said the modest prize-winner. "They preserve absolute secrecy on the winner, and I never had any idea I’d win." (from ABC website)
Now this is my bit: "The Broken Shore" is a great read. Complex, deep, and doing what I talked about a day or so ago - it integrates social and racial and small town issues seamlessly into an engrossing story.
Wish I was feeling that positive about the new Michael Connelly, "The Overlook". Started it last night and after four chapters, was feeling an enormous sense of dread. Surely Connelly hasn't fallen victim to the horrible "get another book out as soon as possible even if it's crap" syndrome? "The Overlook" did appear to be a bit slender, with lots of extra leading/white space inside. I do hope not...
(apologies for all the italics - Blogger formatting has gone a bit weird on me)
Branding quandaries
Earlier this year I did a teleseminar series with Randy Ingermanson and Alison Bottke. I confess the main reason was the first session offered, which was about cleaning up your office. Mine has improved, and when Officeworks decide to supply me with the bookcase I have been waiting for for nearly three weeks now, it will improve further.
I also looked at strategic planning and vision statements - all the stuff I've done in previous jobs in a business context, but not for myself. Writers tend to be haphazard. We live from acceptance to acceptance, hang out for the twice-yearly royalty payments (if there are any) and generally don't think further ahead than the next book. At what point does a published writer decide to get to grips with the business side of it all?
I've been telling students for years that the publishing industry is a business, that publishers accept and publish your book because they believe they can make money out of it. There was a huge article in the Weekend Australian newspaper about how commercial publishers have given poetry collections the big A (dumped the lot), but if you need to sell 4000 copies of something to break even, then 500 copies of a poetry book doesn't have a hope. That's why I believe so strongly in good small presses and quality self publishing, especially for poetry and things like family histories.
However, I digress. Randy's most recent seminar was on branding. I've been wondering about this for years, ever since the SCBWI conferences started running sessions on it. What is branding? How is it done?
Firstly, I thought about some children's writers. What makes them recognisable as "brands"? Andy Griffith - bums. Paul Jennings - funny short stories for reluctant readers (usually boys). Terry Pratchett - humorous fantasy. Ursula Duborsarsky - literary fiction for kids and YA (Sonya Hartnett, same). Morris Gleitzman's books are all for and about 11 year old boys, and when you see his books in the shop, all the covers are the same kind. Series have brands. Penguin's Aussie Bites and Nibbles are totally recognisable.
So I have been pondering on this whole branding thing. Wondering what use it might be. Where I fit. Or don't fit. Is it even necessary? (And the answer to that last one is - if you don't find your own brand, you might get one pushed onto you, whether you like it or not.)
I know a lot of writers gag at this stuff. Bring out the vampire garlic and silver crosses. But the one thing that has been clear to me in all the research and thinking is: it's not going away, so it's better to educate yourself and make your own decisions about it.
Randy's info is mainly on his blog but if you search further, you'll find more. Or just Google "branding for writers" and see what comes up.
More later as I work this stuff out for myself.
I also looked at strategic planning and vision statements - all the stuff I've done in previous jobs in a business context, but not for myself. Writers tend to be haphazard. We live from acceptance to acceptance, hang out for the twice-yearly royalty payments (if there are any) and generally don't think further ahead than the next book. At what point does a published writer decide to get to grips with the business side of it all?
I've been telling students for years that the publishing industry is a business, that publishers accept and publish your book because they believe they can make money out of it. There was a huge article in the Weekend Australian newspaper about how commercial publishers have given poetry collections the big A (dumped the lot), but if you need to sell 4000 copies of something to break even, then 500 copies of a poetry book doesn't have a hope. That's why I believe so strongly in good small presses and quality self publishing, especially for poetry and things like family histories.
However, I digress. Randy's most recent seminar was on branding. I've been wondering about this for years, ever since the SCBWI conferences started running sessions on it. What is branding? How is it done?
Firstly, I thought about some children's writers. What makes them recognisable as "brands"? Andy Griffith - bums. Paul Jennings - funny short stories for reluctant readers (usually boys). Terry Pratchett - humorous fantasy. Ursula Duborsarsky - literary fiction for kids and YA (Sonya Hartnett, same). Morris Gleitzman's books are all for and about 11 year old boys, and when you see his books in the shop, all the covers are the same kind. Series have brands. Penguin's Aussie Bites and Nibbles are totally recognisable.
So I have been pondering on this whole branding thing. Wondering what use it might be. Where I fit. Or don't fit. Is it even necessary? (And the answer to that last one is - if you don't find your own brand, you might get one pushed onto you, whether you like it or not.)
I know a lot of writers gag at this stuff. Bring out the vampire garlic and silver crosses. But the one thing that has been clear to me in all the research and thinking is: it's not going away, so it's better to educate yourself and make your own decisions about it.
Randy's info is mainly on his blog but if you search further, you'll find more. Or just Google "branding for writers" and see what comes up.
More later as I work this stuff out for myself.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Work (that pays the bills)
Back to work. Some people don't know what I'm complaining about. "You had two weeks off? Golly, you teachers do well, don't you?"
Well, no. I get paid for just under 23 hours a week. I average 30 or more hours a week on preparation, planning, marking, and actual teaching, plus the admin I do in the office. I do it because it's a great job (where else do you get to write poems and stories with your students, talk to them about the stuff that matters in writing, read lots of different stories and poems and hopefully give useful, encouraging feedback, read writing books and come up with great new ideas to share, talk to fellow teachers about same new ideas, etc etc?). Yes, there are times when it sucks, but I'd much much much rather be teaching writing than working in an office any day.
A writer friend and I have just discovered that we both worked at Pizza Hut back in the 1980s, and we both had awful bosses (in different countries, I might add). There's a few stories in there somewhere...
Finished Garry Disher's Chain of Evidence last night (because I couldn't bear to go to sleep without finishing it - a very good sign). He has really excelled in this book, particularly with the setting and description stuff. I think every politician should read it to get some understanding of Australia's working and under-class society. Disher's descriptions of life on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne are stunning, as is the stuff about rural South Australia. The MP is seen, around Melbourne, as a place for rich people to buy coastal properties and swan around the local wineries, but there is a whole other population there that he brings to life with stunning detail, enough to make you despair. To me, this is what terrific crime fiction does. It reveals the reality of all the people in this world who live among affluence but have virtually nothing, and what that does to them.
Don't let me put you off! It's a great story, with strong, interesting characters.
Writing today? Rewriting. I do this weird thing where I write a draft without chapters. If I come to a place where there could be a chapter ending, I'll leave a space, otherwise I just keep going. (My friend, T, thinks this is very strange.) So now I am going back, finding the best place for chapter breaks, rewriting cliff hangers and chapter beginnings, and also adding and adjusting all that stuff that I realised I'd left unfinished or unclear.
This week, I've had two great reviews of my new book Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!). One reviewer actually said "A brilliant book." I think I'm about to fall over and die. What more could you want? Now I can go and put quotes on my website!
And the advance copies have arrived of my new Nibble (out in August), The Littlest Pirate in a Pickle. As this has already sold to Happy Cat Books in the UK, it's obviously time for more champagne!
Well, no. I get paid for just under 23 hours a week. I average 30 or more hours a week on preparation, planning, marking, and actual teaching, plus the admin I do in the office. I do it because it's a great job (where else do you get to write poems and stories with your students, talk to them about the stuff that matters in writing, read lots of different stories and poems and hopefully give useful, encouraging feedback, read writing books and come up with great new ideas to share, talk to fellow teachers about same new ideas, etc etc?). Yes, there are times when it sucks, but I'd much much much rather be teaching writing than working in an office any day.
A writer friend and I have just discovered that we both worked at Pizza Hut back in the 1980s, and we both had awful bosses (in different countries, I might add). There's a few stories in there somewhere...
Finished Garry Disher's Chain of Evidence last night (because I couldn't bear to go to sleep without finishing it - a very good sign). He has really excelled in this book, particularly with the setting and description stuff. I think every politician should read it to get some understanding of Australia's working and under-class society. Disher's descriptions of life on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne are stunning, as is the stuff about rural South Australia. The MP is seen, around Melbourne, as a place for rich people to buy coastal properties and swan around the local wineries, but there is a whole other population there that he brings to life with stunning detail, enough to make you despair. To me, this is what terrific crime fiction does. It reveals the reality of all the people in this world who live among affluence but have virtually nothing, and what that does to them.
Don't let me put you off! It's a great story, with strong, interesting characters.
Writing today? Rewriting. I do this weird thing where I write a draft without chapters. If I come to a place where there could be a chapter ending, I'll leave a space, otherwise I just keep going. (My friend, T, thinks this is very strange.) So now I am going back, finding the best place for chapter breaks, rewriting cliff hangers and chapter beginnings, and also adding and adjusting all that stuff that I realised I'd left unfinished or unclear.
This week, I've had two great reviews of my new book Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!). One reviewer actually said "A brilliant book." I think I'm about to fall over and die. What more could you want? Now I can go and put quotes on my website!
And the advance copies have arrived of my new Nibble (out in August), The Littlest Pirate in a Pickle. As this has already sold to Happy Cat Books in the UK, it's obviously time for more champagne!
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