tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82310075557636579672024-03-13T21:17:00.864-07:00Melinda Szymanik: I should be writing but...The regular musings of a published children's writer on writing, publishing, family, world events, and anything else that seems relevant, topical or interesting to meMelinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.comBlogger847125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-23382279284349119622024-02-26T17:59:00.000-08:002024-02-28T17:50:25.844-08:00Ready for the 100 day challenge?<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Happy New Year! I can't believe we're just about to say hello to March. The last few months have galloped by and seem to have been all about poetry and non-fiction for me.</span><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I received a lovely email from Roi Faineant Press while I was away over Christmas accepting all three adult poems I'd sent them - <i><b>Double Happy</b></i>, <i><b>Plum Jam</b></i> and <i><b>The Politics of Pockets</b></i> - which was a wonderful surprise to end the year on. You can <b><a href="https://roifaineantarchive.wixsite.com/rf-arc-hive/post/the-politics-of-pockets-double-happy-plum-jam-by-melinda-szymanik" target="_blank">read the poems here</a></b>. I also received a copy of Volume Ten from Paddler Press in Canada which has one of my poems in it - <i><b>The Night is Singing</b></i>. And another three children's poems of mine have been published on the Dirigible Balloon site, most recently <b><i>The Talk in the Trees</i></b> which you can check out <b><a href="https://dirigibleballoon.org/poem/The-Talk-in-the-Trees" target="_blank">here</a>. </b>I still feel very much in my infancy as a poet so these results are very encouraging. I feel so slow writing poems - I wish I could speed up. There are a steady stream of publishing opportunities and I never seem to have sufficient new poems to submit - more on that in a minute.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span>Despite the earlyness of the year I have already been busy with a brace of projects - current status? - two down (I have penned a profile on the wonderful </span><span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif">Feana Tu</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif">ʿ</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif">akoi which will be in the next Magpies Magazine, and I wrote <b><a href="https://www.thesapling.co.nz/the-reckoning-lost-in-translation/?" target="_blank">an article on 'translation'</a></b> for The Sapling)</span></span><span>, one to go. There are other small jobs hovering round the edges as well. As is always the way, because I have these jobs on the go, my mind has been busy working out a solution to an old abandoned junior novel. Of course, as soon as I am done with those other tasks my brain will lose interest in the junior novel. I'm wondering if I can trick my brain into maintaining that excitement. It really is a very fickle organ sometimes. Perhaps it needs some specialist training.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">To that end, and apropos of my comment earlier about never having enough poetry to send out, a small dedicated bunch of us are running a project which we hope will help build a lovely daily poetry writing habit and result in a good swag of poems. If you are a keen poet you might like to check out the 100 day Poetry Writing Challenge over on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093831234880" target="_blank">The Poets XYZ </a></b>page on facebook, starting March 1st. I hope I see you there!!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">PS: My picture book <i><b>Lucy and the Dark,</b></i> illustrated by Vasanti Unka and published by Puffin (Penguin RH) has been shortlisted in the picture book category of the 2024 NZ Booklovers Awards (<a href="https://www.nzbooklovers.co.nz/2024-awards" target="_blank">you can see all of the finalists here</a> ) woohoo!!!, and it is also off to Germany, hopefully for publication there later this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-86530250414318489672023-11-01T20:52:00.001-07:002023-11-01T20:52:31.359-07:00I'm Back! ...<p>I'm back! And I have lots to tell you. But while I shrug off my jet lag and catch up on all the admin that awaited my return, here are a few snippets of news to keep you going. </p><p>My new picture book <b><i>Sun Shower/<span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">He Tārū Kahika</span></i></b>, beautifully illustrated by the amazing Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, translated into Te Reo by the very skilled <span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Pānia Papa</span> and published by Scholastic NZ has arrived in bookstores. It looks fabulous - I am so pleased - I love the colour palette and generous detail in these books. And there have already been some lovely lovely reviews, on <b><a href="https://bobsbooksnz.wordpress.com/2023/10/31/sun-shower-by-melinda-szymanik-illus-isobel-joy-te-aho-white-pub-scholastic-2023/" target="_blank">Bob's Book Blog here</a></b>, and on the <b><a href="https://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-lyrical-story-about-wonder-sun-and.html" target="_blank">KidsBooksNZ site here</a>. </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzO8HPfkyHFpb1avWDLTlTD4jmsCQraVjk1Wcn0nstUkopF26szwwZDlV-tGad2WSOhb-_QDbzA1SxYjalIEMyPFkTU-BB5BXAFr665aFytj0n7wUBPd8j3gFfjR7rsJwnmVQActVgIPEcEr-WHBjOGKLJuyEsCT6dbTaQdo6RqwUORnA6gu2CJfFphC8/s2953/Sun%20Shower%20ENG_Front%20CVR_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2953" data-original-width="2835" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzO8HPfkyHFpb1avWDLTlTD4jmsCQraVjk1Wcn0nstUkopF26szwwZDlV-tGad2WSOhb-_QDbzA1SxYjalIEMyPFkTU-BB5BXAFr665aFytj0n7wUBPd8j3gFfjR7rsJwnmVQActVgIPEcEr-WHBjOGKLJuyEsCT6dbTaQdo6RqwUORnA6gu2CJfFphC8/s320/Sun%20Shower%20ENG_Front%20CVR_FINAL.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kUQWrdnml8rloM_7ZLlSxH0lKigvomZ_O9rlbU8c0wp0gAbdnEZJsBpSkS33vIld0oe1jhByyKOhEYZGUWiN83zRisW7PimrHDNyhJEK6guvaBPCPx8N8OU8kP9KP8C7ETAhAjTjPbtOH7ZDgkQj3vIs02daUdUpspsHRXlCwe3oxUZMk8Vqzyo_xu4/s2953/Sun%20Shower_MAORI_Front%20CVR_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2953" data-original-width="2835" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kUQWrdnml8rloM_7ZLlSxH0lKigvomZ_O9rlbU8c0wp0gAbdnEZJsBpSkS33vIld0oe1jhByyKOhEYZGUWiN83zRisW7PimrHDNyhJEK6guvaBPCPx8N8OU8kP9KP8C7ETAhAjTjPbtOH7ZDgkQj3vIs02daUdUpspsHRXlCwe3oxUZMk8Vqzyo_xu4/s320/Sun%20Shower_MAORI_Front%20CVR_FINAL.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And I am thrilled to say <b><i>Lucy and the Dark</i></b> is a 2023 Storylines Notable Book!! Below is today's announcement and the complete list of 2023 Notable Books. Congratulations to all the creators!!</div><p></p><section class="elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-29b468c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default" data-element_type="section" data-id="29b468c" data-settings="{"jet_parallax_layout_list":[]}" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-self: var(--align-self); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 15.2px; order: var(--order); position: relative;"><div class="elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 1500px; position: relative;"><div class="elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3358d4a" data-element_type="column" data-id="3358d4a" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-self: var(--align-self); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); min-height: 1px; order: var(--order); position: relative; width: 613.312px;"><div class="elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated" style="align-content: flex-start; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; padding: 10px; position: relative; width: 613.312px;"><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-7065814 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-element_type="widget" data-id="7065814" data-widget_type="text-editor.default" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-content: var(--align-content); align-items: var(--align-items); align-self: var(--align-self); box-sizing: border-box; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-direction: var(--flex-direction); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); flex-wrap: var(--flex-wrap); gap: var(--gap); justify-content: var(--justify-content); order: var(--order); position: relative; width: 593.312px;"><div class="elementor-widget-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background .3s,border .3s,border-radius .3s,box-shadow .3s,transform var(--e-transform-transition-duration,.4s);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">Storylines Children’s Literature Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa is delighted to once again celebrate excellence in New Zealand publishing for children and young adults with the announcement of this year’s Storylines Notable Book Award winners.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">“Congratulations to all the creators and publishers of this year’s award winners,” says Storylines Trust chair Christine Young. “These are impressive lists of excellent books in all categories; testament to the strength and depth of local children’s and young adult publishing.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">“The strength of publishing in te reo Māori remains evident, with books from a number of publishers. The non-fiction category covers everything from wildlife to environmental issues; sports to New Zealand and Pasifika history. I was particularly delighted to see an anthology of Pasifika student poetry highly commended in this category.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">“As ever, the young adult, junior fiction and picture book categories are strong, with books by new and established writers impressing the judging panels.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">“<span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Clearly </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">the</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">commitment</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">from</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">New Zealand </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">publishers </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">and authors</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> to producing quality books for young people </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;">remains</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW225262719 BCX9" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> strong</span>, and I’d commend these lists of award winners as providing excellent choices for whānau or friends looking for Christmas gift ideas, or for teachers and librarians looking to add to their school or early childhood centre libraries.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">“It is so important that our tamariki and rangatahi enjoy reading – and equally important that they have access to high quality books that reflect and broaden their experience of growing up in New Zealand.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">Storylines Notable Books are selected in five genres (picture books, junior fiction, young adult, non-fiction and books in te reo Māori) by expert panels of teachers, booksellers, authors, academics, and librarians from across the country.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">The 2023 awards cover books published between <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">16 November 2022 and 15 November 2023.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">Storylines’ Notable Book Award winners provide adult buyers and young readers with lists of the ten best New Zealand books published in the latest year in each genre, that will inspire tamariki and rangatahi and their whanau to share and enjoy reading.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;">The lists are excellent reading and buying guides for anyone wanting to encourage young people read for pleasure and information.</p></div></div></div></div></div></section><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><section class="elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-aafd1d3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default" data-element_type="section" data-id="aafd1d3" data-settings="{"jet_parallax_layout_list":[]}" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-self: var(--align-self); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); font-family: Inter, sans-serif; font-size: 15.2px; order: var(--order); position: relative;"><div class="elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 1500px; position: relative;"><div class="elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-05e4503" data-element_type="column" data-id="05e4503" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-self: var(--align-self); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); min-height: 1px; order: var(--order); position: relative; width: 613.312px;"><div class="elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated" style="align-content: flex-start; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; padding: 10px; position: relative; width: 613.312px;"><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-e7168bc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-element_type="widget" data-id="e7168bc" data-widget_type="text-editor.default" style="--align-content: initial; --align-items: initial; --align-self: initial; --flex-basis: initial; --flex-direction: initial; --flex-grow: initial; --flex-shrink: initial; --flex-wrap: initial; --gap: initial; --justify-content: initial; --order: initial; --swiper-navigation-size: 44px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-horizontal-gap: 6px; --swiper-pagination-bullet-size: 6px; --swiper-theme-color: #000; --widgets-spacing: 20px 20px; align-content: var(--align-content); align-items: var(--align-items); align-self: var(--align-self); box-sizing: border-box; flex-basis: var(--flex-basis); flex-direction: var(--flex-direction); flex-grow: var(--flex-grow); flex-shrink: var(--flex-shrink); flex-wrap: var(--flex-wrap); gap: var(--gap); justify-content: var(--justify-content); order: var(--order); position: relative; width: 593.312px;"><div class="elementor-widget-container" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: background .3s,border .3s,border-radius .3s,box-shadow .3s,transform var(--e-transform-transition-duration,.4s);"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 1.3em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">The 2023 Storylines Notable Books are: </span></h2><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Non-Fiction</span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Critters of Aotearoa: 50 Bizarre But Lovable Members of Our Wildlife Community</em>, Nicola Toki, Lily Duval (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Observologist – A handbook for mounting very small scientific expeditions</em>, Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Good Sports: A Storybook of Kiwi Sports Heroes</em>, Stuart Lipshaw (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">My First Words About Tikanga Māori, </em>Stacey Morrison, Kurawaka Productions (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Patu: the New Zealand Wars</em>, Gavin Bishop (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Those Magnificent Voyagers of the Pacific</em>, Andrew Crowe, Rick Fisher (Bateman Books)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mangō: Sharks and Rays of Aotearoa</em>, Ned Barraud (Te Papa Press)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tuatara, a Living Treasure</em>, Katie Furze, Ned Barraud (Scholastic NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wot Knot You Got? Mophead’s Guide to Life</em>, Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ultrawild an Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth</em>, Steve Mushin (Allen & Unwin)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Highly Commended</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pasifika Navigators – Pasifika Student Poetry Collection How Did I Get Here? Soliloquies Of Youth</em>, Darcy Solia (Illustrator) ***Note: The poetry includes 52 Pasifika student contributors (Mila’s Books)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Te Reo Māori</span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Te Rā Kura ki Aotearoa</em>, Donovan Bixley, Darryn Joseph (Translator) (Upstart Press)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tōku Whānau Rerehua – My Beautiful Family</em>, Rauhina Cooper, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Oratia Books)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ko Ngā Whetū Takirua o Matariki, Ko Waitī rāua ko Waitā</em>, Miriama Kamo, Zak Waipara, Ariana Stevens (translator) (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ko Tama me te Taniwha</em>, Melanie Koster, Monica Koster, Pānia Papa (translator) (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Riwia me te Mātai Arorangi</em>, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ko Te Wai, Ko Tama Me Te Marama, </em>Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ka Wehi Au Ki Ngā Wenerei</em>, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">He Reo Iti Noa Ahau, </em>Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">He Mahi Taunga Kore,</em> Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Young Adult</span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Sparrow</em>, Tessa Duder (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Catch a Falling Star</em>, Eileen Merriman (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Other Brother</em>, Jax Calder (OneTree House)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Edge of Light: New Dawning</em>, AM Dixon (OneTree House)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Iris and Me</em>, Philippa Werry (The Cuba Press)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Flying and Falling</em>, Lynda Tomalin (GlitterInk Press Ltd)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Impossible Story of Hannah Kemp</em>, Leonie Agnew (Walker Books Australia)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Junior Fiction</span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tūī Street Legends</em>, Anne Kayes, Craig Phillips (Wildling Books)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Below</em>, David Hill (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pipi and Pou and the Tentacles of the Deep</em>, Tim Tipene, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (OneTree House)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Hudson, the Hunt & the Helicopter</em>, Joan Joass (Copy Press Books)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Jason Mason and the Flightless Bird Fiasco, </em>Jason Gunn, Andrew Gunn (Bateman Books)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Once Upon A Wickedness</em>, Fleur Beale, Lily Uivel (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Children of the Rush – Book 2</em>, James Russell (Dragon Brothers Books)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lopini the Legend</em>, Feana Tu‘akoi (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">RockyBottoms! Big Little Blue, Book Two</em>, Raymond McGrath (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Like The Wind, </em>J L Williams (Ocean Echo Books)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Highly Commended</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Caged, </em>Susan Brocker (Scholastic NZ)<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var( --e-global-color-a021733 ); font-family: "Roboto Slab", sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-block: 0.5rem 1rem;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Picture Books</span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lucy and the Dark</em>, Melinda Szymanik, Vasanti Unka (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Matariki</em>, Gavin Bishop (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Granny McFlitter’s Eggcellent Easter</em>, Heather Haylock, Lael Chisholm (Penguin Random House NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">At the Bach</em>, Joy Cowley, Hilary Jean Tapper (Gecko Press)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Great Kiwi School Day</em>, Donovan Bixley (Upstart Press)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">E Oma, Rāpeti: Pō Mārie / Run, Rabbit: Goodnight</em>, Norah Wilson, Kimberly Andrews, Pānia Papa (translator) (Scholastic NZ)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Duck Goes Meow</em>, Juliette MacIver, Carla Martell (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Grandpa’s Dashing Dessert,</em> Tania Sickling, Lael Chisholm (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tama and the Taniwha</em>, Melanie Koster, Monica Koster (Scholastic NZ)<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-block: 0px 0.9rem;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dazzlehands</em>, Sacha Cotter, Josh Morgan, (Huia Publishers)</p></div></div></div></div></div></section></div><p><br /><b><br /></b></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-30052881257033918652023-08-27T20:40:00.003-07:002023-11-01T19:43:04.124-07:00Packing my suitcase ...<p>My new picture book with fab illustrator Vasanti Unka, <i><b>Lucy and the Dark</b></i>, is released!! Huzzah! Published by Penguin RH NZ with a glorious glow-in-the-dark cover, this wee book is garnering some nice reviews which makes us very happy. Reviews can be found <b><a href="https://radiohawkesbay.org.nz/Programmes/Details.aspx?PID=e145c042-a02c-4ec4-afaf-4e8e6164d6d0&fbclid=IwAR3GdrvjO-Q7cRlgID0moVB34DCFCZl06cXaMOLNk6jb5OtStAEFl1xSLcw" target="_blank">here</a></b>, <a href="https://whatbooknext.com/lucy-and-the-dark/?" target="_blank">here</a>, <b><a href="https://www.thesapling.co.nz/reviews-five-picture-books-2/?" target="_blank">here</a></b> and <b><a href="http://kidsbooksnz.blogspot.com/2023/08/a-glow-in-dark-picture-book.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>. Many thanks to Lou from Wardini's Books, What Book Next, The Sapling and Kids Books NZ for their very kind words. There are copies of the book signed in fancy silver pen by both Vasanti and I available at Time Out Bookstore if you are interested in getting yourself one.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SxwKYhXgkELyXMo5cee97REz4CyZ_n-W9IsJcEcSma0oqp7YpMMefgvxbZOenEey3PXS4UJq4RseRnqUldS2XVaXwKItvl8rDQwHbU-uBQvaZAop8E5dUEQ3Pglem2EurC9hfYIzy7Ylos_EY20mjKBQOLL0sSNpPcI_1xOHBjlSMrkTJi7WKNYRV4Y/s475/Lucy%20and%20the%20Dark%20COVER.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SxwKYhXgkELyXMo5cee97REz4CyZ_n-W9IsJcEcSma0oqp7YpMMefgvxbZOenEey3PXS4UJq4RseRnqUldS2XVaXwKItvl8rDQwHbU-uBQvaZAop8E5dUEQ3Pglem2EurC9hfYIzy7Ylos_EY20mjKBQOLL0sSNpPcI_1xOHBjlSMrkTJi7WKNYRV4Y/s320/Lucy%20and%20the%20Dark%20COVER.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br /><p>It's been a busy old month with the NZ Children's and Young Adult's Book Awards held in Wellington, a school visit to the wonderful Sylvia Park School and a day-long workshop on writing picture books at Selwyn Community Education. A trio of poets including me ran a writing-poetry-for-children competition which culminated in sharing the winning poem on facebook on National Poetry Day - you can check this out <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093831234880" target="_blank">here</a></b>. I've been submitting poetry (mostly adult) and chipping away at a few longer works. And this Thursday I am off to Shanghai for the writing residency with the Michael King Writers' Centre. I've been slowly packing my suitcase and getting all my laundry done, organising plug adapters and getting vaccinations and paperwork completed. There is a lot of admin for an adventure like this and hopefully I've dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's that need dotting and crossing and soon I'll be tapping away on some very cool projects in this amazing city that I have never visited before. Wish me luck! And see you in November!!</p><p><br /></p><p>... in the meantime here is some more poetry I have written for young people:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>How to Fly<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Is it better to be <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">a bird or a plane?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Do birds mind the weather,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the wind and the rain?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">If their wings got wet<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">would they fall from the sky?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Do they get blown off course?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Do those feathers drip dry?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Planes only fly to <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">particular places.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They’re crowded on board<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">with too many faces!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I suppose at the least <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">that it’s cosy inside<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">and I don’t need directions,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the plane is my guide,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">but they also cost money,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">my savings are zero.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Want to take flight? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Be a caped superhero!<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-85781478088521115212023-07-28T22:18:00.001-07:002023-07-28T22:18:23.562-07:00A bit of a rant...<p> I often hear the phrase - 'it's really hard to get published' and my mind has often responded with, 'it's always been hard'. I've thought that the publishing setbacks and failures I've experienced are because my stories or books are just not good enough. </p><p>But other things have been happening to legitimately make it harder. The sheer volume of stories being published now provides a veritable ocean of books in which your own book is the proverbial drop. It is easy to sink without trace. There are self published books in addition to traditionally published. It is fantastic that folk can now self publish and there are many wonderful self pubbed titles out there, but the total number of books has increased markedly as a result. There are less in-print reviews, especially of children's books, whether in magazines or newspapers. Some online review sites have popped up (yay!) but are they reaching the audience that can make a difference? How do we get cut through, can we even get seen? And can we stay on the shop shelves long enough with so many books coming through? I read an article <b><a href="https://ideas.bkconnection.com/10-awful-truths-about-publishing?" target="_blank">here</a></b> which talks about market saturation and some things you can do to help your book along. Personally, recently I've been teaming up with fellow creators to try and connect more with our target audience on social media in a positive, and interesting way. Social media is having a few hiccups at the moment but people are still hanging out around the digital watercooler so hopefully our community building will have some mutually beneficial outcomes. I'll keep you posted on our project when there is more to share. I also think creating and strengethening your own personal brand can help - being visible whenever possible and doing good work both in your books and in the writing and reading communities.</p><p>I've been finding it hard recently to stay strong in the face of the unspoken belief that children's literature requires an inferior skill set to produce and has lesser value in the eyes of adult writers and readers. I know 'not all adult writers and readers' but I've had some personal experience of being denigrated as a writer for children recently and it wasn't great. I am at a loss to understand what the issue is. As if literature is a pie and if adult literature cedes anything to children's literature it is a failure or a loss from their own share. I'm not sure how it became like this but I'd say boosting children's literature and valuing it helps create young readers who turn into adult readers. Isn't that desirable? I'd also argue that children's writers, just as any other writers, strive to master their craft and create quality. I'm thinking about plotting, character development, language techniques and deeper themes. I'm writing for an audience that I am no longer the same as. I'm writing not just for the child reader who might have emerging language skills <i><b>and</b></i> an inquisitive and demanding mind, but also the oft present adult intermediary who would like some relief in the form of subtle adult humour or other emotional connection and universal ideas that also speak to them. I am mindful always of the malleability and potential of words and how my efforts in the text will grow and inspire a young person's vocabulary and future reading and writing skills. Its not less than. Its just different. And the disdain I have felt recently is frankly undeserved. Maybe a children's book hurt you as an adult. Honestly, I don't know what it is. But it is selfish and it is unnecessary. Lifting each other up seems like the best thing to do eh?</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-82210254557043944902023-07-04T20:40:00.006-07:002023-07-04T22:09:35.148-07:00Mixed bag ...<p> I'm not sure if writers still get caught up on the whole issue of copyright these days - the whole, do you need to assert copyright on your work, when do you do it, how do you do it, and what might happen if you don't? </p><p>I'm pretty sure copyright is automatic here in NZ, meaning it applies as soon as your words are assembled on the page or screen. You don't have to add the symbol or register your story anywhere. Once you submit your completed story to a publisher there is a date stamp on your email which can corroborate any arguments about who had an idea first (information that is required so rarely that I cannot recall any instances of stolen ideas over my more than 20 years in the business). And if the publisher decides to publish, it is then up to them to do the final official paperwork/admin and copyright appears in black and white on the imprint page. </p><p>So you are not required to do anything. And doing something can cause problems and make you look amateurish. <b><a href="https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2023/06/when-copyright-notice-is-deal-breaker.html" target="_blank">You can read about it here </a></b>- this from a US blog but it is relevant here too.</p><p>Things have been quiet around here since my big news about getting the residency. I have a few articles to write, a few missives too, and I am slowly sorting the admin for my trip. Visas and the like. Part of me wishes I was going away next week. I want the admin to be over and I want to be focusing on my project. I have made a very modest start and I have been wondering/worrying about the technique I am using. It is new to me so I have gotten some books using the same technique to read. The one I'm reading first is next level genius and it is a little intimidating, but when I went back to my own modest beginnings I thought this isn't so bad. Probably not Cilip Carnegie Medal material like my exemplar, but not as bad as I suspected. Maybe I can do this. The technique I mean. I already think the story idea itself has legs. Anyways, in lieu of having anything else to talk about I thought I would post up some poems for younger people. Enjoy!</p><p>(And if you are an NZ adult writing children's poetry you might like to enter a poem competition some poet friends and I are running. <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093831234880" target="_blank">You can check out details here.</a></b> The competition close August 4th and there is a small cash prize and the winning poem will be printed and displayed.)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Reluctant Ambler</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I go out for a walk, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(they make me),<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I don’t want to go!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I dawdle, mope, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">and drag my feet<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I get so rambly slow!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The grass is tall<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">above my head,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">each step I take<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">fills me with dread,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I fancy being in bed instead<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">but no one is at home -<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">so!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I smell the flowers<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(Pinks I think),<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I must admit<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">a spicy stink.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I touch the grass,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">admire the sky,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">watch monarch <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">butterflies sail by,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">and by the time we reach the bay<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I actually have a mind to stay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The sun is shining<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">waves shush in,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I secretly let<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">out a grin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We picnic on<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">a sunlit shelf,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">don’t tell them<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I’ve enjoyed myself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And just in case<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">next time’s a pain,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I drag my feet <o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">back home again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Blistery Mystery</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">There’s a word for this<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I know what it is<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">it’s just on the tip of my tongue<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">and ‘tongue’ is a tip <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">well, a clue -<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">it’s a quip <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">or a joke<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">not a word on its own.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It’s a weather event<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">it’s a tempest, a storm<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">but it means <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">something different<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">as well<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">giving your tongue a blister - <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">‘She sells shells,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">that shore sifter.’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">That’s it -<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">a tongue <b><i>twister!</i></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Well done!<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-78736152947390364282023-06-11T18:26:00.003-07:002023-06-12T19:19:43.944-07:00Keeping my hand in ...<p>Whoo-wee I did not see that coming. You might think I should have 'cos I applied for it. Here is the announcement <b><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2306/S00081/melinda-szymanik-awarded-2023-shanghai-writing-residency.htm" target="_blank">here</a></b>. Thanks to the Michael King Writer's Centre, the NZ China Friendship Society, Shanghai Writers' Association and Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, I am off to Shanghai in September for eight weeks to work on a new middle grade fiction project. The story is partly set in Shanghai, the setting a catalyst for some big turning points in the plot. I cannot wait to soak up the location, and walk the streets I will be writing about. It's an incredible opportunity and it is still a little surprising that it was given to me. I actually went on a bit of a hot applying jag a few months back. I was feeling pretty bleak about the state of things. I was wondering about slowly taking my hand out of the bucket of water, and just when you are contemplating taking a step back the logical response (of course!) is to apply for things (residencies, funding, etc...). I think the underlying mood was just reaching for some chances to fulfil a couple of long held ambitions. It all felt a bit wild and yet in the fevered moment of applying I realised Shanghai was a perfect part of my project. I guess maybe it felt like that to the selection panel too. I am feeling excited about the story and the groundwork I am laying right now. By the time I am in the plane my main character will be too, travelling to the place that will set her off in a startling new direction.</p><p>I applied thinking I would most likely not get it (the classic creative's self preservation approach). But it felt good to apply. It felt important. I was doing something ambitious and gutsy and at the same time practical and purposeful. Applications take effort, corralling information, defining and refining a project, making decisions about what to include and what to leave out. You polish the project and commit yourself to the idea. You imagine yourself taking up the opportunity and then you steel yourself to the likelihood that one of the other applicants will get the nod. But it is no good having goals and then never pursuing them. As much as this business is out of our control and a significant part of our journey subject to the decisions of others, if there are things out there you want to try for, you have to go for it. Because sometimes it might be you. This time it was me, and it is all very thrilling and I cannot wait. And now I'll be keeping my hand in the bucket of water a bit longer.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-9264994115493947922023-05-31T20:22:00.001-07:002023-05-31T20:22:04.365-07:00Farewell to May, Hello June ...<p>May ended up being busier than I expected, and I was already expecting it to be busy. I had two planned school visits in the first week, the second a full day visit on the Thursday, and that evening I had an unexpected email asking whether I could join the Storylines Tour to the Bay of Plenty the following week. Someone had had to pull out at the last minute. I'd be flying down to Tauranga on Sunday. So in the second week of May I was travelling around BOP with the lovely Storylines support crew and three other writers. I spoke to big groups on my own (the biggest the whole school of 600 intermediate students) and small groups with the others (four of us addressed 13 students). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4p1l2EYfqcITM7sBX8n8kwlRL3l48YUVsGmk7z4KDZfufxkUyJV6feXJO02Uz4AoxrijiV_QGvaQCldLsMFrlgm_Bgly7JciNy0vqKZtLvKHigSP3_CqRB7-fScSaM9Iw__13ccc9OVvml097yZ05KoZej-4GSVCGwzduH380tCgMmPLlWz3Uaak8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4p1l2EYfqcITM7sBX8n8kwlRL3l48YUVsGmk7z4KDZfufxkUyJV6feXJO02Uz4AoxrijiV_QGvaQCldLsMFrlgm_Bgly7JciNy0vqKZtLvKHigSP3_CqRB7-fScSaM9Iw__13ccc9OVvml097yZ05KoZej-4GSVCGwzduH380tCgMmPLlWz3Uaak8" width="240" /></a></div><br />The following week was the Auckland Writers Festival kicking off with the Ockham's Book Awards which I attended as a Book Awards Trustee on Wednesday night (great night!), a Book Awards Trust Board meeting the next morning (for which I take the minutes) and then a bunch of events to attend at the Festival itself over the remainder of the week. Last week was minute writing, proposal writing, admin and board paper reading in preparation for an NZSA AGM and Board Meeting on the Saturday. Public events of any kind tend to require some recovery time afterwards for me. Even the most positive, fun, uplifting occasion will give me a people hangover and I know I will function best if I get some alone time stat. Hopefully there will be the chance for that in June. <p></p><p>This is the life of a writer: writing adjacent tasks, unexpected schedules and events, writing-related organisation governance and some non-writery quiet time. Well, maybe just this writer, but I can guarantee few of us are squirreled away in a garret writing creatively for 40 hours a week, week in, week out. And when we are plotting and planning, its not just on new story outlines. I've been writing applications, pitching a group project or two, and checking in with other creative people. Part of belonging to the writing community becomes about supporting each other, connecting with related industries like libraries, schools and bookshops in a myriad of ways, encouraging reading in general and finding new opportunities (and when we can't find them, creating our own). And there is a lot of admin. I am a dab hand at whipping up an invoice these days. </p><p>The romantic part of being a writer - 'the actual writing' - sometimes has to wait. Although you always have to mind it isn't waiting too long. Other times we get to celebrate the writing. This morning at 6am the finalists for the 2023 NZCYA Book Awards were announced. It's a grand list with some personal favourites of mine featuring. Check out all the goodness below, and a big congratulations to everyone short listed!!</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Picture Book Award Finalists</u> </span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Duck Goes Meow</i></span> – Juliette MacIver, illustrated by Carla Martell (Scholastic New Zealand)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Farewell, Anahera</i></span> – Vanessa Hatley-Owen, illustrated by Scott Irvine, translated by Kanapu Rangitauira (David Ling Publishing)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>How My Koro Became a Star</i></span> – Brianne Te Paa, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Huia Publishers)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: bolder;">Roo and Vladimir</span><b>: An Unlikely Friendship</b></i> – Minky Stapleton (Scholastic New Zealand)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>The Lighthouse Princess</i></span> – Susan Wardell, illustrated by Rose Northey (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award Finalists</u></span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Below</i></span> – David Hill (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Children of the Rush</i></span> – James Russell (Dragon Brothers Books)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Jason Mason and the World’s Most Powerful Itching Powder</i></span> – Jason Gunn and Andrew Gunn (Bateman Books)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Masher</i></span> – Fifi Colston (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Pipi and Pou and the Raging Mountain</i></span> – Tim Tipene, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (OneTree House)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Young Adult Fiction Award Finalists</u></span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Andromeda Bond in Trouble Deep</i></span> – Brian Falkner (Red Button Press)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Eddy, Eddy</i></span> – Kate De Goldi (Allen & Unwin)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Indigo Moon</i></span> – Eileen Merriman (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Iris and Me</i></span> – Philippa Werry (The Cuba Press)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Miracle</i></span> – Jennifer Lane (Cloud Ink Press)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction Finalists</u> </span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>A New Dawn</i></span> – Emeli Sione, illustrated by Darcy Solia (Mila’s Books)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Freestyle: The Israel Adesanya Story</i></span> – David Riley, illustrated by Ant Sang (Reading Warrior)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Sylvia and the Birds</i></span> – Johanna Emeney, illustrated by Sarah Laing (Massey University Press)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku</i></span> – Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Weather and Climate New Zealand</i></span> – Sandra Carrod (Oratia Books)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Russell Clark Award for Illustration</u></span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>A Portrait of Leonardo</i></span> – Donovan Bixley (Upstart Press)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Four Yaks and a Yeti</i></span> – Ant Sang, written by Peter Hillary (Bateman Books)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Roar Squeak Purr</i></span> – Jenny Cooper, edited by Paula Green (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku</i></span> – Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>The Lighthouse Princess</i></span> – Rose Northey, written by Susan Wardell (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award Finalists</u></span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>He Raru ki Tai</i></span> – Jane Cooper, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Huia Publishers)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Kua Whetūrangitia a Koro</i></span> – Brianne Te Paa, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Huia Publishers)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: bolder;">Te Kōkōrangi: Te Aranga o Matariki</span> </i>– Witi Ihimaera, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, translated by Hēni Jacob (Penguin Random House NZ)</p><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>NZSA Best First Book Award Finalists</u></span></span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Echo</i></span> – Arlo Kelly (Sparrow Press)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Holding the Horse</i></span> – J L Williams (Ocean Echo Books)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: bolder;">He Raru ki Tai</span> </i>– Jane Cooper, illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse (Huia Publishers)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Kidnap at Mystery Island</i></span> – Carol Garden (Scholastic New Zealand)</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #232323; font-family: Sohne, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-weight: bolder;">The Lighthouse Princess</span> </i>– Susan Wardell, illustrated by Rose Northey (Penguin Random House NZ)</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-29259790214294135882023-04-05T21:26:00.001-07:002023-04-05T21:29:28.134-07:00My writing tip for the day: on voice ...<div><br /></div><div>I had a bit of an interesting thought while giving my Writing Children's Picture Books workshop recently.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I talk about language techniques that can be used in picture books I always include a discussion on voice. Voice is the quality that can make a story stand out from its peers, that can grab the attention of publishers and readers alike. It's something I think every writer should be cultivating. When I think of my favourite picture book writers, their voice is distinctive and is a big part of why their stories appeal to me. Oliver Jeffers, Lauren Child, Ian Falconer, Mo Willems, Margaret Mahy. And yet voice can be hard to explain and teach. What IS voice and how do you achieve it?</div><div><br /></div><div>For me the simplest explanation is that voice is the personality of the story. It can be chatty or crisp, jaunty, winsome, funny and cheeky, wry, dry or serious. It is achieved through sentence length and punctuation, phrasing and word choice. It is the way the narrative 'speaks.'</div><div><br /></div><div>In my workshop we do an exercise where I provide two different images/scenes for a familiar fairytale - I use Little Red Riding Hood. I then get students to write a paragraph telling the story in each image. The images each drive a very different voice: one a classic, young, old-fashioned depiction, the other a modern, provocative, young adult visualisation. </div><div><br /></div><div>After the exercise last weekend I realised that if you are struggling with the voice of whatever you are writing then making a mood board with images/illustrations/scenes that fit with how you imagine the story can flip the switch. Use the images to inspire and influence your writing, working your way through the different scenes till you find what feels right. Describing the scenes might just be the way in to discovering/developing the voice for your story. And they might also help clarify your thinking on what your story is or should be.</div><div><br /></div><div>You may already be doing this. Someone else may have already suggested this to you or you might have already read it somewhere. But just in case you haven't, this is my writing tip for the day :-)</div><div><br /></div><div>I also stumbled across <a href="https://writingandwellness.com/2015/04/07/if-youre-an-unhappy-writer-should-you-quit/ " target="_blank"><b>this interesting old post</b></a> on twitter about whether you should quit if you are an unhappy writer. It's kinda philosophical and big picture thinking and I liked what it had to say. I thought you might like it too.</div><div><br /></div>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-52257779990674546532023-03-13T21:02:00.006-07:002023-03-13T21:02:44.193-07:00Focusing on the making rather than on the end product ...<p>I had some really good news recently. I have been around the traps too long to think it a done deal at this point, but if things <b><i>do</i></b> go according to plan I will have not two, but three picture books coming out in the second half of this year. Huzzah!!! This has happened to me once before, in 2021 and, I have to say, it was something of a strange experience, especially in the covid era. In all honesty it went very differently to how I imagined it would. I am interested and excited to see how it goes this time. And I will tell you more when there is more to tell :-)</p><p>I have come to realise how easy it is to get suckered in to the drive/obsession to keep being published. Getting a yes is a heady hit of the feel goods and you'd have to be an automaton to not want to repeat that boost of endorphins. Then follows the desperate efforts to write the next publishable thing. Is <i>this</i> it? Is <b>this</b> it? Maybe this one will be? Or that! But this can be an unhelpful road to go down. Don't get me wrong. I definitely want to keep being published. But I find it hard to create good work when I am focusing on what a publisher might think. I can't know what they're going to think. They don't know either. Not until they think it. Making good art - whether that's a picture book, or a novel, or a poem for adults, or for children - is the goal. And good art might not only please me, it might please the publisher as well. Of course focusing on the making rather than on the end product is easier said than done and I am working on some strategies to keep the focus where it should be. I think, in part, it's about slowing down and letting things breathe a bit more.</p><p>In other news, my book with Vasanti Unka, <i><b>My Elephant is Blue</b></i> (Penguin, 2021), is coming out in the US on April 11th and has been accruing some State-side reviews which has been rather encouraging. There is <b><a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/melinda-szymanik/my-elephant-is-blue/" target="_blank">this lovely one in Kirkus</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/my-elephant-is-blue/" target="_blank">this one in Foreword Reviews</a></b> and perhaps the loveliest one I've ever seen <b><a href="https://mailchi.mp/christiancentury/books-worth-reading-2023-02-09?e=d359b7365d" target="_blank">here at Books Worth Reading </a>. </b>I'm also being interviewed for an American podcast, <b><a href="https://readingwithyourkids.com/" target="_blank">Reading With Your Kids</a></b>, which should be posted up some time around the release date. Gulp. </p><p>I'll also be running my all day Writing Picture Books for Children workshop on Sunday April 2nd. If you, or anyone you know, is keen to get the good oil on how to get started you can find <b><a href="https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/1210-writing-childrens-picture-books/" target="_blank">registration details here</a></b>. And if you can't make it in April I will be repeating the course in August.</p><p>Right then, I'm off to work on some poems. If I make some good ones, when the opportunities arise I will have things to submit.</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-28339303521105668222023-02-15T18:31:00.002-08:002023-02-28T17:40:14.009-08:00Looking for signs ...<p>A writing life is a strange thing. A common myth surrounding such a life is that once you have been published, you have 'cracked the code' as it were, have your 'foot in the door,' and whatever you write henceforth will undoubtedly be made into a book. I am here to tell you that that myth should die an ugly death in a ditch because it is just a fever dream that does no one any good.</p><p>After publication:</p><p>1) not everything you write will be accepted</p><p>2) not everything you write will be good</p><p>3) writing does not necessarily come easier</p><p>4) ideas are not necessarily lining up to follow you home</p><p>I don't mention this to freak you out or depress you if you are currently at the pre-published phase of your writing journey (and I am only talking about traditional publication which is the road I've mostly taken, although I think some of my experience and observations will still be relevant to you if you are following a self publishing route). Of course you may be an exception to all this and that is jolly fortunate, but I do think there are a couple of important messages in all of this. Because this writing life is the most epic roller coaster you will ever step foot on and being prepared for the troughs will keep you on the track. </p><p>Not everything you write will be good. Even though you wrote 'good' in the past this is no guarantee of permanent goodness. This is NOT bad, abnormal or a reason to give up . Sometimes what we are striving for eludes us - that idea, or that way of wrangling or presenting a theme or issue is just out of reach. Sometimes your skills have to catch up to your ambition. Maybe the well is empty. Or other parts of our life are intruding, especially if they are stressful. If nothing is coming out like you want it to or you are struggling to write at all but you still want to continue being a writer, don't despair. Sometimes the writing will be rubbish, but not writing at all will not yield you any better results. Keep going. Maybe writing all the rubbish will get it out of your system to free you up for some future good writing.</p><p>Most likely not everything you write that IS good will find a home. The industry can be hesitant, fickle, or just moving in a different direction. Sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes we get it wrong. Publishing is a business and will be operating on a different model to the one that underpins your own endeavours. That is not strange or wrong. It just is. Sometimes the good thing you wrote will get its moment at some point down the track. Or maybe it is a step you needed to take to get to the thing that will fit with the publisher's aims. Whatever you do, don't throw it out. And keep going.</p><p>Our tastes and opinions change, as we grow older and perhaps even wiser. And so our writing changes along with us. We continue to read and learn from other texts, other writers, and we are motivated and inspired by new things. While we might become more adept at constructing sentences and avoiding classic writing pitfalls, sometimes we also follow more experimental types of writing or veer away from the zeitgeist. Maybe we're stuck down a blind alley and sometimes the only way out is to write yourself back on to the right path.</p><p>Failure is not so much a sign you shouldn't be doing this, but just a common part of the writer's life. It is built in to the model and isn't a cause for panic if you experience it. We might threaten to give up in the hope that the universe will give us a sign that the reading world can't do without us and we should keep going. But I'm afraid to say the universe is indifferent. And your internal plea for a sign <b><i>is</i></b> the sign that you are looking for - you are not done with the writing life yet. As James Baldwin said, 'If you are going to be a writer there is nothing I can say to stop you; if you're not going to be a writer nothing I can say will help you.' </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-60891126937528478202023-01-12T14:42:00.008-08:002023-04-19T16:51:36.851-07:00My love letter to Libraries ...<p>I thought I'd share the wild and crazy love letter to libraries I wrote, that I delivered as a talk in December last year. Remember, if you share it, please acknowledge me as the author - thank you :-)</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Hello<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">My name is Melinda Szymanik and I
write books for children. I was born in Auckland to Polish parents and now I live
in Mount Eden. You might know me from such titles as … Sharing with Wolf, A
Winter’s Day in 1939, Time Machine and Other Stories or My Elephant is Blue. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It’s been a tough year this year for
so many of us, for so many reasons. Covid, the increase in the cost of living, war,
tightened budgets, difficulties keeping things afloat with staff sickness and a
lack of funding. And always uncertainty which is very tiring, and doom-scrolling
on twitter which is at times terrifying. Although I have loved connecting with
librarians on twitter. I hope Elon Musk hasn’t killed it completely.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="sics-componenthtml-injector" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Most
of my talk this evening is going to be a big thank you. Being an author in this
country has some specific challenges to it. I think this is particularly true
when it comes to folk who write for children. I don’t know if you’ve noticed,
but the media are a bit obsessed with sport, especially rugby which apparently
is our national pastime. I’ve even watched the 6 o’clock news covering overseas
curling and corn-hole championships in moments of desperation, rather than
having to talk about books or culture of any kind. There’s almost this
expectation that books and reading will take care of themselves, or that
reading and sports are mutually exclusive, which they are not – I actually saw
a study mentioned in Stuff online today which said, “<span style="color: black;">children
involved in outside-of-school arts activities or individual organised sports
have about twice the odds of reading more frequently and higher odds of
enjoying reading too.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And do the powers that be believe that
sports needs the media’s help because otherwise it would just be forgotten?
Okay now I’m just sounding like a crazy person.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Children’s books in particular are
just not sexy enough for the main stream media and are only sufficiently click
baity if they’re written by a celebrity or have some grown up scandal attached.
I’m still trying to figure out if there is a ‘safe’ scandal I can have to get
me some exposure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The media seem to
think that children’s writers have children’s brains and don’t actually have
adult thoughts. And that writing for children is so easy everyone can do it with
their eyes closed and we don’t need to talk about how it’s done. Grown up and
celebrated author Martin Amis, when asked if he’d ever thought of writing a
children’s book, famously replied, ‘If I had a serious brain injury I might
well write a children’s book.’ Charming. Anyway, I digress. Suffice it to say we,
and our books, don’t get talked about much in the wider public arena. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I’ve been published for around twenty
years now with over 15 books to my name and a few more on the horizon. I’ve won
a few awards, both here and overseas. But if you stopped someone on the street
and asked them if they recognized my name there would be some pretty awkward
conversations. Although I’d love to be there taking notes which I could then
use in a story, because nothing is ever wasted. Even embarrassment. And I take
comfort knowing at least some of you in this room would have heard of me before
tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As writer Katherine Rundell says in
her lovely wee book, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why You Should Read Children’s Books Even
Though You are So Old and Wise,</i></b> children’s fiction has a long and noble
history of being dismissed. It is the territory we children’s writers inhabit. Ms
Rundell also said to think of children’s books as literary vodka – it’s a great
little book. Anyway - I have a great support network of writers and
illustrators so it’s not all doom and gloom. You can find us huddled over a
wine and a shared bowl of hot chips muttering about our general obscurity. It’s
pretty hard to compete with David Walliams and the amount of shop frontage that
gets devoted to his many titles. I doubt even his most recent uncouth
swearyness will hurt his bottom line either, because, well, scandal <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i></b>
celebrity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">But we really, really love what we do.
And we keep doing it despite the difficulties. And the most soul restoring
thing is that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i></b> seem to love what we do too. If I get invited to a school, 9
times out of ten it is the school librarian who has made this happen. You see us
and you want the students at your school to see us too. You understand the
impact a visit can have. Research backs you up but you are the ones who know
and who act upon this knowledge and go to great lengths sometimes to do so. I
recently visited an Auckland school and after the visit the librarian kindly emailed
me to say there had been a run on my books in the library. One in particular
was in very hot demand and had a waiting list. All the research is true! Author
visits inspire children to read more. And write too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Of course responses can vary and
sometimes audiences are fidgety or distracted. And every question at the end is
‘well, actually’ more of a statement. And sometimes that statement isn’t even
about writing or books….good times … But I can guarantee there is always at
least one child in the audience whose life has been changed by the experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">When I was a kid, it would have been
me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">We didn’t have author visits in
schools back then when Adam was a boy and Noah hadn’t built his ark yet. There
weren’t a lot of children’s books written by New Zealand writers either and I
thought you had to be English or American or Scandinavian to be a writer. It
messed with my writing confidence, and forced my ambitions into hiding for
years. When I got married at the age of 24 my husband didn’t even know I wanted
to be a writer. Sorry James. He’s still holding out hope that one day one of my
books will be an international bestseller and that’ll take care of our
retirement … lol<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So just know, your actions, your
efforts to organise author visits are changing the lives of the children at
your school. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And</i></b> you’re helping the writers and illustrators as well and we
see it and we love you for it.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And it’s not just the school visits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It’s having books by New Zealand
authors in the library and buying their latest title when it comes out even
though the budgets are tight. It’s about supporting and reviewing those books
on blogs and in places like Magpies Magazine or Goodreads or reading reviews
that others have shared. Or just discussing them amongst yourselves. It’s about
joining groups like Storylines and keeping an eye on Notable lists and Book Awards
finalists. It’s about applying for Storylines tour visits or having an award
finalist skype with students. Its organising a kids lit quiz team, or finding
cool new ways to entice reluctant readers to just try this one book because
they might recognize themselves or the place they live in it. What you do is so
important. And every child switched on to reading by your efforts is changed
for life. There are so many spinoff benefits… and, of course, writers and
illustrators need new readers to be made.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I know I’m speaking to the converted.
I don’t need to tell you how wonderful books are or how transformative they can
be in a person’s life. It’s your bread and butter. Although I do worry school
libraries are tarred with the same brush of dismissiveness that surrounds
children’s writers. How else can we understand why libraries have become
vulnerable? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Still …<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">… no one ever had trouble getting a
book into <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i></b> hands. As soon as I learnt to read I became a complete
convert to the joy of it. I grew up in a language rich home, surrounded by
books of all kinds. We talked a lot. We read a lot. My dad drove me to the
public library when the school library had run out of things I hadn’t read.
Shout out to Mangere Central Primary School and Mangere East Public Library.
Also to Rosemary Tisdall’s mum, Mrs Bray, may she rest in peace, who was the
librarian at McAuley Girls High School when I was there. I count myself very
lucky for the upbringing I had and the people who helped me with my book
obsession along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I was at a school visit a few years
back, in a mixed year senior primary class and we were finding words associated
with trees for a writing project. None of the students knew what a bud was when
I suggested this as a tree related word. We went outside to look at a tree in
the school grounds where someone promptly broke a branch off and when I showed
them a bud they recognized it for what it was. They just didn’t know the word
for it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It shouldn’t be about luck.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It should be about school libraries
and the passionate folk who manage them. Because you are the ones who step up
when luck isn’t happening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">From where I stand, school libraries
today seem to be facing several challenges. You know all this but I hope it
helps that I know it too. First there’s the general assault on your existence (the
fact you seem to be an endangered species when you definitely shouldn’t be), and
second there’s the expectation that you will continue to find novel and crafty
ways to convert every child into a reader for pleasure, on less funding and
resources then you had before. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
been repeatedly bowled over by the innovative ideas school librarians come up
with to do just this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I’m not sure I have answers to these
problems. Well, I do, but I don’t really have the power to influence the
individuals who make the terrible decisions to reduce the physical space, and
the book and staffing budgets of libraries in schools, without resorting to
something that might get me arrested. Do people chain themselves to the doors
of school libraries like they do to gates and trees and bulldozers when they
are trying to protect the environment from developers? Maybe I have to rethink
my strategy.<s><o:p></o:p></s></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There’s been a lot in the news
recently too about declining literacy levels in our youth. There has been talk
of what the educators should do and how the curriculum needs to change but I
can’t help thinking if there was more investment in school libraries, if
librarians were given more resources to promote a love of reading, to expand
their premises and buy a wider range of books to meet the needs of their
students, if libraries were valued and the media was made to talk about books
with the same passion that librarians do then we might not find ourselves in
this situation. I find it hard to fathom that libraries and our support of them
are not centered in the arguments for helping improve literacy. A while back
we, as a country, seem to have dropped the ball on loving and talking about
books – maybe it was in the eighties when the free market economy began to
emerge. Certainly we look back on the eighties as the golden days of children’s
literature and the children’s book community thought we were about to see an
explosion of NZ children’s writers onto the international stage. How wrong we
were. Instead we somehow disconnected the skill of reading from the joy of
reading. Except in libraries. You are the rebel bases as the book oblivious Empire
seeks universal control. And I certainly appreciate your quiet rebellion. And
that’s something else we writers talk about huddled over our wine and chips.
Please know that we love you and the work you do. We recognize its importance
and the need to act to keep it not just alive, but in good health. School
libraries are an essential service and only school librarians can get the most
out of them. We’re on the same team, trying to find ways to spark that joy of
reading. And we are here for this rebel alliance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So thank you from the bottom of my
heart. From our hearts. We acknowledge and appreciate everything you do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">As for me personally this year? I have
three (maybe four – fingers crossed), picture books coming out with Scholastic
and Penguin over the next two years. One is about the clouds helping the sun
and the rain to make friends. One is about what happens when the darkness runs
away, and one is about a monster learning to love books <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i></b> it features a
librarian at the end. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I haven’t been able to write anything
novel length for a while. Maybe it’s the weight of the pandemic, and the cost
of living, and the challenges of the last few years, or maybe it’s just me. I
think I’ll find my way back to the longer form eventually. And I haven’t been
idle. Instead I’ve been challenging myself by writing in a different arena.
I’ve been writing poetry. For both adults and children. The adult stuff is tricky
but crikey, I find children’s poetry a lot harder. Still, I think I’m getting
the hang of it and I’m getting some things published. And I’m still writing
picture books as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I’ve been working more on the other
side of things too. For the past three years I’ve been a trustee on the New
Zealand Book Awards Trust and this year I became the Auckland, Northland, and Waikato
representative on the New Zealand Society of Authors National Board. Partly
I’ve gotten involved because books deserve way more attention in this country
and I will try any avenue that might help change this. I hope this might help
you too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">And we really need to stop dismissing
children’s literature. As if children are only concerned by the trivial. As if
children’s books are just fart jokes and ridiculous plots. It always frustrates
me that adults can dismiss children’s books so easily because I am always working
hard to put things into my books to entertain or inspire the adult reader as
well as the young reader. Where possible my stories also have layers so that
the book can grow with the growing child. My picture book Fuzzy Doodle can be
read as a straight story of metamorphosis, the larva to the caterpillar to the
chrysalis to the butterfly, but it’s also the story of how we make art whether
its music or stories or pictures. There is a vast world inside that chrysalis
as the scribble transforms. Like the process of becoming a reader. A mystery. A
magic. Where the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts. Which is what
the best books for children are. Mystery, magic and just a bit like the Tardis.
But you already know that, partly perhaps because you work in a place that is a
bit mystery, a bit magic and a whole lot like the Tardis too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I think I’ll finish by reading <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My
Elephant is Blue</i></b>. I wrote this after receiving some bad news which
pushed me into a bit of a depression. But writing the story pulled me out of it
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because that’s what story can do.
Being read to is good for all of us and I think after a very trying year it’s
nice to hear a quietly hopeful message.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-1194977525660823822022-12-25T15:26:00.003-08:002022-12-27T00:28:54.561-08:00It's all a mystery here at the end of the year ...<p> </p><p>It's been a year. I didn't realise how much of a year until I actually looked back and took stock. I spoke as part of the schools programme for Featherston Booktown in June, I gave a talk at the Storylines Hui in July and went away to Southland on a Storylines Tour in August and had a brief appearance at the Auckland Writers Festival. I am grateful to everyone who invited me to be a part of their event. I had a few school visits, ran a few workshops for Selwyn Community Education, attended the NZCYA Book Awards and was voted on to the NZSA National Board. I did around twenty manuscript assessments. I had covid. We travelled overseas. I had a picture book come out (welcome to the world <b><i>There are No Moa, e Hoa/ Kua Kore he Moa, e Hoa </i></b>), and wrote a wee bit of poetry, both for adults and children.</p><p>The marvellous Paula Green did an incredible series of poetry illustrated by children on her blog, <b>Poetry Box</b>, and kindly included my poem <i><b>If Fish Could Talk</b></i>. The illustration is brilliant and <a href="https://nzpoetrybox.wordpress.com/2022/12/14/poetry-box-children-illustrators-oscar-11-illustrates-melinda-szymaniks-if-fish-could-talk/" target="_blank">you can check out the picture by Oscar D. and my poem here</a>. And I gave a talk at a SLANZA end-of-year event.</p><p>It is always surprising to me that a few things dominate my memories looking back so it helped to actually look through the diary and tot up all my commitments. I was busier than I remembered. And there were so many wonderful experiences. I've been very privileged to take part in so many amazing things. Now I'm looking forward to 2023 and wondering what it has in store. I wish there was more certainty. I only have two workshops and an event I am required to be at signed up for next year. Yet 2023 may end up being as busy as 2022. I just have no way of knowing. I have two picture books coming out if everything goes to plan. And two poems.</p><p>I'm not much of a fan of the not knowing. In the past I guess I've surrendered to it and gone with the flow but I am tempted to take a different approach to the coming year. Maybe some study. Maybe a more structured approach to my writing. How much should we give in to destiny/luck, how much should we try to shape what lies ahead? It's all a mystery, here at the end of the year. What are you going to do? Make some plans, or leave it all to fate?</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-46627289474483564172022-12-05T15:04:00.007-08:002022-12-05T22:55:10.961-08:00Am I Doing it Wrong? ...<p>Over recent years there has been a growing call for more diversity in our children's literature, and rightly so. Our literature should reflect the people who make up our society with more representation of different cultures, ethnicities, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation and gender. I have wrestled with what I can and can't write about myself, growing in my understanding of what my limits are and ceding space (if it is in my power to do so) to those who will do a far better job than me. </p><p>Back in 2016 a picture book of mine was called out for having a male main character in an article discussing a lack of female representation. I confess the rebuke stung but it did its job because I became much more aware of who I was writing into my stories. But I have discovered over the years that there is a flaw in my gender representation plan. Readers/reviewers/folk-in-general DO NOT NOTICE. They decide and then that is the gender of the character. They ignore my clues ('he said', or 'she said' or a complete lack of identifying pronouns).</p><p>Where I have avoided pronouns to enable the reader to make their own decisions I guess it might be fair enough that the reviewer/discusser has decided for themselves to apply a label, although ideally they would also take the route of making it vague - it's for the target audience to decide, not the reviewer or other adult intermediary.</p><p>My dilemma I guess is that I am wondering if my efforts are having the desired effect; am I managing to reach the people for whom this really matters (the kids are alright and we just need the grown-ups to catch up)? I suppose my books aren't centering the gender discussion so this might contribute to the assumptions being made, but I make deliberate decisions about my characters when I am crafting my stories and I am perplexed when these get no cut through. Sometimes my decisions are about ensuring there is an even mix of genders in the story, sometimes it is about challenging our expectations of roles and who performs/inhabits them, and sometimes it is just a practical decision - in BatKiwi for example male kiwis are smaller and female bats are bigger so the female bat has more chance of carrying the male kiwi (although actual physics/reality makes it impossible sadly), however I also didn't want a male bat swooping in to save the day for the female kiwi. </p><p>When I review or talk about books other than my own I try to do my due diligence (although I am likely to have got it wrong sometimes in the past too). Novels are easier in some respects because character names and context can be obvious signifiers (although not always), but in a picture book it is a simple task to check. This isn't all about me and maybe these reactions don't matter but gender representation is important and I am just wondering - are the choices I'm making working like I hope they will? Are these responses just an anomaly or are they something to be addressed?</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-80549780344139308342022-11-27T13:19:00.001-08:002022-11-28T15:06:12.971-08:00When the post is more of a poem ...<p><b>Walking in Circles</b></p><p>This is a weird time of year. There are still things to be done. Little jobs to be finished. All the things you kept putting off which can be avoided no longer. And you never stop turning ideas over in your mind and trying to push them out into the sunlight like little paper boats. But things are also winding up. Folk are hurrying to get work completed as quickly as possible because there are festive preparations to be made and end of year functions to attend and holidays to be anticipated. And then there will be the complete silence of empty offices for a month. It is my annual limbo. It is my fever dream when I fantasise about who might invite me to talk at their event in the coming year and do they live in another country. I imagine chatting on stage with an interviewer like the grown ups do. I plan my response to an eager media keen to talk about my latest titles: where they sprung from, why I write them, what motivates me, what I worry about at night. And then late January I will wake up and go about my usual business. I have been wondering about reinventing myself. Perhaps it is already happening. Certainly writing poetry is a sort of new path. It might have started in a limbo time fever dream years ago. Maybe I am just walking in a circle and I will come back to the beginning again. Like when you are lost but not really. I am taking the appropriate steps ... perhaps next year will be different after all.</p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-60500668764492540742022-11-04T13:56:00.005-07:002022-11-04T14:43:07.480-07:00I'm back...<p>Hi there folks (waves) - I apologise for the prolonged absence. I had very good intentions of posting before I went away on October 1st but you know what they say about good intentions. Things got busy with preparations and work needing completion before departure and then suddenly it was time to go. Back now. We were away for nearly a month visiting our daughters and having a bit of an adventure. It was travel of the good brain-fillery sort. We hung out in the Californian desert (do NOT touch the Joshua Trees) and wandered around Hollywood. We went to the theatre in the Westend, took in a feminist art exhibition at the Barbican, explored castles, ruins and ruined castles. We checked out the roman baths at Bath, several henges (Avebury and Stone) and the pier at Brighton. I think the creative well is well and truly filled.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-xlQX8bAEpE5LbPYvdn3JHwT8fjej2lhVsGyM1jOVFEm8okCAjUJsX6UCrbFQNSJBwR0AFJx5dSCqaLtHuUXM3H1k3IjPYBmWyopHSnMNLaVQdJNnYemLEWcuibjuHhNb-3vVF5q-lKpIt6TTo5nZgQWCW9nImXHPfI098abZuizC76FnqXHhxVLW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="540" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-xlQX8bAEpE5LbPYvdn3JHwT8fjej2lhVsGyM1jOVFEm8okCAjUJsX6UCrbFQNSJBwR0AFJx5dSCqaLtHuUXM3H1k3IjPYBmWyopHSnMNLaVQdJNnYemLEWcuibjuHhNb-3vVF5q-lKpIt6TTo5nZgQWCW9nImXHPfI098abZuizC76FnqXHhxVLW" width="165" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Here we are outside Grauman's Theatre in Hollywood </p>Travelling is an odd sensation when you are creatively inclined though. The creative brain is always at work so it's hard to leave the job at the office. A lack of pause in the proceedings of travel usually means that I don't get the chance to sit and write while away but exploring poetry over the last wee while changed that this time. Things I saw and heard on our journey inspired me and I jotted down several poems. I also made a start on a small new project I was given not long before we went away. It was so good to be able to scratch the creative itch without compromising the trip.<p></p><p>What has truly surprised me is that while away and since I got back, I have written some rhyming children's poems. And they have turned out well (not just my opinion). I mean, who even am I? I have always felt that rhyming was beyond my reach but it feels like I just might have my finger tips on it now. It might turn out to be a brief relationship but I am optimistic I might be able to take a few more turns around the literary garden with this particular art form. I shall keep you posted and maybe share one of them soon. I guess it goes to show you never stop learning and developing. I think the trick for me was that I didn't look at it directly - I just let it play in some unobserved corner of my brain where it felt no pressure and it figured things out all by itself. Never say never ...</p><p>I was thrilled to see that Storylines has named our new BatKiwi book <b><i>There Are No Moa, e Hoa</i></b> (illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, pubbed by Scholastic NZ) as a Storylines Notable Book for 2022. You can read all about this year's Notable Books <b><a href="https://www.storylines.org.nz/awards/storylines-notable-book-awards/storylines-notable-book-lists-2022/" target="_blank">here</a></b>. <span style="font-family: inherit;">This picture book, in both English and <span>Te Reo <span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368;">Māori,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;"> </span>was scheduled</span> to be released November 1st but is unfortunately delayed. I so hope it is not stuck in the shipping doldrums for too long. Pre-Chris</span>tmas is a great time for a book to step out for the first time and I have everything crossed it is here in time to wear a little tinsel, hum a little carol or two and win over some gift shoppers. As soon as it makes it ashore I will be introducing you to this fun story. Talk soon!</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-35399422595795945282022-09-07T03:23:00.000-07:002022-09-07T03:23:11.472-07:00Cooking the books...<p> I've been watching Masterchef Australia 2022 Fans vs Faves. I'm playing catch up with the scheduled programming but I'm now up to the last few episodes; the sharp end, if you will. I like watching programmes that feature creativity, especially competitive, challenge-based creativity. Even though this isn't how I create. It interests me how the competitors respond to critique and advice, and the things/the thought processes that underlie their creations. Clearly technique is crucial. If you don't know the steps to take to make a certain element then you just can't produce it. Although a strange ingredient a cook has never used before isn't a deal breaker. How does it taste? What is the texture and do the qualities or components mean it will cook like a starchy vegetable or a low fat protein? If you know the rules, the science of cooking, you can make educated guesses/decisions about how to treat anything new. Invention comes with making unexpected pairings, whether its savoury and sweet, or using foreign ingredients in local dishes. Or elevating something familiar. How do you update a classic? In the end though it's about making something people enjoy eating. Technique and quality ingredients aren't enough if the resulting flavour isn't enjoyable and the balance is out.</p><p>In the episode I watched today one of the contestants, now in the final four (from a starting group of twenty four) said he'd felt insecure about his cooking ambitions amongst his fire fighter workmates in the firehouse. Coming to the Masterchef kitchen had changed him irrevocably. There he'd met others who felt as passionately about food as he did. As inspired and excited about what was possible. Finally he'd met his tribe, and his skills and ideas and thinking about food came on in leaps and bounds and from a rudimentary understanding of food he now found himself in the top four. Using techniques, ingredients and combinations he would never have imagined using before he joined. Interacting with your peers and/or your heroes will challenge your thinking about your craft. It will encourage you and inspire you. It will introduce you to new things and broaden your outlook. Hanging out with other folk who also feel passionate about their craft is good for you. It's good for them too. </p><p>And watching Masterchef can be good for your writing</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-79764724454580584882022-07-23T15:55:00.001-07:002022-07-23T16:11:48.136-07:00There are No Moa, e hoa ...<p> I was so excited a few days ago to see the final internals and covers for my next picture book <b style="font-style: italic;">There are No Moa e hoa/ Kua Kore he Moa, e hoa </b>(Scholastic, <span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368;">Māori</span> translation by P<span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368;">ānia</span> Papa)</span> coming out this November. Just as with <b><i>BatKiwi/ Ko PekaKiwi</i></b>, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White has done a wonderful job with the illustrations, and I am so happy to say she will also be illustrating my next book with Scholastic, <b><i>Sun Shower</i></b>, coming out in 2023. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqGy97M7aP0ktR7v1el08-twCBFM_X3Ff3ID70VG-Qy2JQJveLbgdRiisNFjUGmJo1SwbdEDZPA8oJ-YT-fIHI6gHClwYE2r6XKAHbvfQ-g0IW4097lvL8iCUU1PfbGBkjtRVw9w_qXeQ5x0Sh33deiA8Ncm0CXYc6SKwkcxYlDihluXxBMzxZ0Qa/s3130/No%20More%20Moa_CVR_ENG_FA.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2539" data-original-width="3130" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqGy97M7aP0ktR7v1el08-twCBFM_X3Ff3ID70VG-Qy2JQJveLbgdRiisNFjUGmJo1SwbdEDZPA8oJ-YT-fIHI6gHClwYE2r6XKAHbvfQ-g0IW4097lvL8iCUU1PfbGBkjtRVw9w_qXeQ5x0Sh33deiA8Ncm0CXYc6SKwkcxYlDihluXxBMzxZ0Qa/s320/No%20More%20Moa_CVR_ENG_FA.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-_EGcISeZ_PQwq6USRWo0amFXTZPvkx4VbATeTuPr_3dKC15v1xOFGFA3JyRVRAGUa-OY2vi2h6IWhWdArRiysOYC2I38hbRbsgwe6SuADQmHOGxTXnfogZ38z29TWjGmlTYtI8W9xjkyJ2mDzdo1BF9iUZ9PFZBHCvWNZzQf8FFCCNqG9etl3QV/s3130/No%20More%20Moa_CVR_MAORI_FA.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2539" data-original-width="3130" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-_EGcISeZ_PQwq6USRWo0amFXTZPvkx4VbATeTuPr_3dKC15v1xOFGFA3JyRVRAGUa-OY2vi2h6IWhWdArRiysOYC2I38hbRbsgwe6SuADQmHOGxTXnfogZ38z29TWjGmlTYtI8W9xjkyJ2mDzdo1BF9iUZ9PFZBHCvWNZzQf8FFCCNqG9etl3QV/s320/No%20More%20Moa_CVR_MAORI_FA.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I am a little obsessed with the cute little Tuatara at the centre of this sequel to <b><i>BatKiwi,</i></b> and she is so beautifully captured in the artwork. I can't wait for you to meet her. The colours are lush and cool, and there are many extra details across the pages for all those observant wee readers, and a few laughs for the grown ups. </p><p>Last weekend I took part in the 2022 Storylines Hui for Children's Writers and Illustrators and I came away feeling energised and uplifted. I didn't realise how much I'd been missing the opportunity to meet and chat with my tribe in person and it was marvelous. No one understands the trials and tribulations of being a children's writer better than another children's writer. I pitched some picture book manuscripts to a publisher I have never worked with before. The Pitch Slams at the Auckland Hui are always a fast and furious event - just 3 to 4 minutes to get your summary across, but that can be enough. There were lots of authors and illustrators pitching and I really hope some contracts get signed as a result. </p><p>There were some wonderful keynote speeches, panel talks and workshops, and underlying it all a love of the transformative power of words and the importance of story and books to help, nurture and grow young people. Despite the challenges of the last few years everyone's passion for books was un-waning and after immersing myself in this all weekend I felt encouraged, supported and inspired.</p><p>August looms and its going to be a busy month. I have a poem coming out in <strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><em>takahē</em> 105 </strong>which makes me very happy. I am still finding my way with poetry so an acceptance is hugely encouraging<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">. </span>I am taking a half day workshop on <i><b>writing short stories for young people</b></i> on Sunday 7th August - <b><a href="https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/1733-writing-short-stories-for-young-people/" target="_blank">you can check out details here</a></b>. I will be away in Southland with the Storylines Tour crew in the middle of the month - Invercargill here we come!! The week before I'll be attending the NZ Children's and Young Adults Book Awards in Wellington, and towards the end of the month I will be running my <b><i>Writing Picture Books</i></b> full day workshop on Saturday 27th August (<b><a href="https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/1210-writing-childrens-picture-books/" target="_blank">details here</a></b>) and reading <i><b>BatKiwi</b></i> (and maybe <i><b>There are No Moa, e hoa</b></i> too!!) on <b><a href="https://www.writersfestival.co.nz/programmes/event/pukapuka-adventures-batkiwi/1483579/" target="_blank">Sunday 28th at the Auckland Writers Festival</a></b>. Maybe I will see you there! In September I will be having a long lie in and we have a bit of a holiday planned for October. And then it will be November already and time for a book launch!!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-82474963127869735052022-06-20T22:10:00.001-07:002022-06-20T22:10:18.830-07:00Writing the dreaded synopsis ...I thought it might be useful to talk about how to write a synopsis. Or how I think they should be written anyway. I've read quite a few in my time and they have demonstrated that many people don't really know how they are meant to work. <div><br /></div><div>Having a synopsis for your book is very handy. It is a tool you can use for a variety of purposes. A good synopsis written before you get started can help you complete the writing of your manuscript. And a synopsis is not set in stone. It is not the bible on which you have sworn the lives of your children. If your story changes you can adjust it accordingly. And once the manuscript is done you can use the synopsis to help pitch/talk about your story, find a publisher and promote your story. If nothing else it is a handy dandy summary of your story that demonstrates to yourself and others that you have an appropriate structure, that there is a coherent plot, underlying themes, that your key characters have realistic motivations and challenges, and that you have a satisfying ending. Writing a synopsis can show you where there might be gaps or problems with your plot so you can go back and fix them before you submit your manuscript to a publisher. <div><br /></div><div>A synopsis needs to summarise your story. Ideally it also conveys something of the voice and tone of your work. </div><div><br /></div><div>Follow the direction of the story in the order in which you have written it and summarise it as neatly as you can. Each chapter might become one to three sentences? A synopsis should also help the editor/publisher/judge answer a series of questions. What kind of story is it? (Horror, lit fic, crime, romance, magic realism, sci fi etc...) Who is/are your main character(s) and where is the story set? What is the problem to be solved, the goal to be achieved by the main character(s) or the great question at the heart of the story? And what is at stake if they don't solve or achieve or answer it? What steps do(es) the main character(s) take to solve or achieve their problem/goal and what stands in their way. What do they obtain and/or learn along the way and which key folk assist them? How is the problem solved or the goal achieved or the question answered? To what do our hero(es) return? Does your synopsis do this?</div><div><br /></div><div>You<b><i> should</i></b> include the ending of your story. It might feel like a spoiler but an editor/publisher wants to see at first glance that your story is a cohesive whole with a satisfying denouement. You might want to save the 'ending' for when they read the manuscript but they may not read the manuscript if they think the novel is without a good ending. Reading a full manuscript is a big investment of time. When I see a synopsis with the ending/conclusion/solution left off I wonder if the author is hedging their bets, or hasn't been sure which way to go or has been unable to end their story. If it's just that they don't know how to write a synopsis, a publisher won't know this. And they might assume the former is true.</div><div> </div><div>You don't want background or why you wrote your story in your synopsis. The synopsis is a summary of your story, in the style in which you have written it. Nothing more and nothing less. You need enough detail so the summary makes sense, but not so much that it ends up looking more like your manuscript than a brief run down of events. Some publishing houses want your summary to be 300 words or less. Others are happy with two pages (or sometimes more). If they want a synopsis included with your submission they will tell you what form it needs to take. Summarise your story and include the flavour of your telling of it. That is all. </div></div>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-82796050303947423972022-06-01T19:49:00.003-07:002022-06-10T14:18:10.719-07:00A little something for you ...<p>I am busy with other things - working on some poetry for submission, preparing content for some talks and workshops I'm doing soon, and I'm on a selection panel reading over 84 submissions, so in the meantime here is something I prepared earlier for your reading enjoyment - a short story, <b><i>Rich Pickings</i></b>, from my collection <i style="font-weight: bold;">Time Machine and Other Stories </i>(Ahoy! [Cuba Press], 2019). And there are teaching notes on this story (page 11) <b><a href="https://thecubapress.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Time-Machine-Teaching-Notes-v2.pdf" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Rich Pickings</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">You
might think it strange, how no one noticed. Although a few centimetres a day
isn’t that obvious, at least to begin with. I mean, bamboo grows heaps faster –
over 30 centimetres a day in the right conditions. But this wasn’t bamboo. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It was
Jess that first spotted what was happening. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Has
someone been watering the cactus in the hallway?” she asked as she wandered
into the kitchen one Monday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oh my
goodness,” Mum said. “I forgot to water the plants. Again.” She turned to her
husband. “You’re meant to remind me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“And
who’s meant to remind me to remind you?” Dad replied with a smile.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well
somebody must have done something, cos it’s grown a fair bit,” Jess said
pulling the fridge door open. “Who ate the last yoghurt?” she grumbled. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Izzy
said nothing, shrinking a little further down in the lounge chair just beyond
where the kitchen opened out into the sitting room, carefully placing the
teaspoon into the empty pottle in her lap. She sniffed as quietly as she could,
before silently picking her nose.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I’ll
have to water everything tonight, when I get home,” Mum said. “Don’t let me
forget.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Sure
thing,” Dad said, before tipping his head back to drain the last of his coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well
the cactus doesn’t need it,” Jess said closing the fridge door with a thunk.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And then
they forgot about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Mum
remembered the watering on Wednesday, making her way round the aspidistra, the
African violets, the mother-in-law’s tongues, and the peace lily, with a soda
bottle filled with water. She finally reached the hallway after a quick refill
in the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Is
that normal?” she asked. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dad
emerged from behind his computer in the study, his eyebrows rising at the sight
of the cactus. “When did you buy that?” he asked.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
didn’t,” Mum said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“It’s
Izzy’s, isn’t it? Jess said wandering along from her bedroom to see what was
going on. “The one she bought a year ago at the school fair?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“But
that was just a little nub. Thumb sized. Without arms,” Mum said. “I thought it
was dead.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It
looked like a little person now. If that person was green and covered in little
white prickles, and was the height of a ruler. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Maybe
cacti have growth spurts,” Dad said. “Maybe we have the perfect cacti raising
environment.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well
it doesn’t look like it needs any watering,” Mum said tipping some of the soda
bottles contents into the pot plants on either side of the cactus, bookends of
sweet but straggly little pansies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Maybe
we should buy more, if they grow like that without water. That’s so low
maintenance. And I wouldn’t have to remember to remind you to water the
plants.” Dad grinned at his own cleverness and slid back behind his computer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And then
they forgot about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Later
that evening Izzy ambled along the hall from her bedroom at the front of the
house, to the kitchen at the back. She was thirsty, unlike the cactus. And as
she passed the pot plants on the book shelf she dropped a little rolled up greenish
ball held between her first finger and thumb onto the soil the cactus sat in.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">On
Sunday, Dad stood in the hallway scratching his head.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Not
as low maintenance as I thought,” he said to his wife who stood beside him also
gazing at the cactus now two rulers tall and as fat as a doughnut, the glazed
pot it sat in cracked from top to bottom, a scattering of soil like a
reflection of the crack, on the top surface of the book case.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hmmm,”
Mum said, a frown digging down her forehead. “Should we be worried?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“It’s
just a plant,” Dad said uncertainly. “A cactus. It can’t keep growing forever
without water. Can it?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I’ll
repot it,” Mum said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Use a
bucket,” Jess suggested. “And best put it on the floor. Just to be safe.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Izzy
sniffed loudly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Get a
tissue, why don’t you sweetheart,” Mum said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Bad
for the environment,” Izzy said. “Anyway, don’t worry. I don’t really need one.
And she looked at her fair-bought cactus with a sly smile.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But
the others forgot about it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">On
Monday evening Mum hung her jacket on the coat rack as she swung in the front
door, and hummed her way down the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hi my
honeys, I’m home,” she called.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In the
kitchen dad chopped onions, sniffing and wiping his eyes with the back of his
hand. Jess grated cheese at the table and Izzy sat hunched over her homework on
the other side.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“I
love that new coat rack,” Mum said to Dad. “Did you get that today?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“We
don’t have a coat rack,” Dad said looking up from his chopping, tears streaming
down his face.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“That’s
the cactus,” said Jess. “It’s grown again.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Mum’s
face dropped, turning pale with a hint of green. Then the colour flooded back
and she pressed her lips together firmly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Well,”
she said. “As I don’t know who’s going to hit the roof first, me or the cactus,
I think it’s time that plant moved out.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Lucky
Jess suggested putting it in the bucket. It’ll take all of us to move it now though,”
Dad said, glad for an excuse to move away from the chopped onions. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And it
did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Strangely
the cactus stopped growing outside.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Maybe
it’s too cold?” Dad wondered.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Or
too wet,” Jess offered.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Izzy
just smiled to herself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hey,”
Jess said one Monday morning as she ventured into the kitchen, “Have you seen
those pansies on the book case? It’s happening again. This time they’re
climbing the walls.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The End<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Melinda Szymanik</b></span></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-71203774844239395772022-05-14T20:18:00.003-07:002022-05-16T19:47:56.240-07:00Barking up the right tree ...<p> When I do picture book manuscript assessments, one of the questions I am often asked (whether literally or subliminally) is whether the manuscript is publishable. Sometimes I think it is, and sometimes it isn't. A yes is helpful information to the extent that the writer is on the right track with how they are approaching picture book writing and whether they might be 'close' or not. However it bears no relationship to whether the manuscript will actually be accepted and published. There are many reasons why a perfectly publishable text might be declined.</p><p>1) The publisher has something similar in their catalogue of current titles. And this might mean similar themes, and/or similar plot, similar title, similar main character, similar manner in which a story is told.</p><p>2) The story is really well told but it brings nothing new to an idea that has been seen before. I have seen this in competitions, assessments and elsewhere and it is a good sign for a writer (the writing is of good quality) yet feels like frustration for them - all you can do is keep working on more stories till the required freshness is found.</p><p>3) It doesn't fit with the publishers usual kind of story - they might prefer more philosophical, less philosophical, more humour, less humour, slapstick, dark, light, rhyming, prose, creative non fiction, no non-fiction, self help, local stories, international stories etc... Make sure you look at what they've put out over the last few years - would your story fit in their line-up?</p><p>4) It just isn't the commissioning editor's cup of tea. Or others in the publishing team don't agree with the editor, even if the editor loves the story. I've had this happen to me but the book has been accepted by a different publisher. Taste is always a factor. Not good or bad taste, just different taste.</p><p>5) It might be charming, touching, moving and lyrical but the perceived market is just too small to make the book viable. They want the book to pay for itself and it needs enough buyers to do that.</p><p>6) The timing is wrong - either a) the trend is seen to be over, (publishers don't always make the right call on trends - Scholastic US were in the process of winding down their fantasy publishing and then the Harry Potter books turned up - but these are uncommon events). Trends tend to go in cycles though so it might be worth holding on to your story and trying it again in future. Or b) the topic is either no longer hot, or is still too hot yet. You cannot provide a comforting resolution for a real life crisis if the crisis is not yet resolved in real life. Or it's just too soon and feelings are still raw. </p><p>7) It's too risky with a debut author. A known author might tip the balance with sales. Sometimes however being a previously unpublished author can work in your favour.</p><p>8) No obvious reason that the editor can put their finger on - it just wasn't for them. I think a level of excitement must be reached and they can only know that when they feel it. Accepting books is not a mathematical science. </p><p>9) some combo of two or more of the above</p><p>And this is why it can be hard to tell a new writer where they are going wrong. Sometimes they aren't going wrong. I will do everything I can to help you ease out any kinks or wrong turnings in your story telling (although there are times when it is tricky to put one's finger on exactly where the problem might lie), and I will try and show you the thinking behind why some words or styles work better than others. But sadly some great stories will never make it into a book. Sometimes there will be nothing to fix, there will be nothing you can change that will change the outcome. But I guess it is good to know if you are barking up the right tree. </p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-33898761537768838382022-04-30T22:47:00.004-07:002022-04-30T22:51:36.003-07:00The shine will return ...<p>In June I'm running a creative writing workshop for young people as part of the 2022 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival on Sunday the 12th at 1pm. You can check out this year's programme <b><a href="https://www.booktown.org.nz/" target="_blank">here</a></b>. It's my first time being a part of this iconic Featherston event and I'm really looking forward to it. Book Festivals are a love song to literature and it's always a huge buzz to immerse yourself in all things book. I'm hoping I'll get to visit some local schools in the preceding week too - fingers crossed.</p><p>In July I'm giving a picture book writing masterclass as part of the Storylines Children's Writers and Illustrators Hui to be held in Auckland. You can check out their programme <b><a href="https://www.storylines.org.nz/events-and-activities/storylines-hui-2022/#:~:text=The%20Storylines%202022%20New%20Zealand,Covid%20%E2%80%9Ctraffic%20light%E2%80%9D%20settings." target="_blank">here</a></b>. I love hanging out with other writers and illustrators, it's really energising, and reassuring, and grounding - an opportunity to talk as much shop as I can handle, to feel the warmth and generosity of this lovely community I am a part of. But there will also be lots of fantastic sessions to attend, publishers to pitch your work to, and new connections to be made. The Hui is open to everyone, no matter where you are in your children's literature journey - I hope you can come along.</p><p>In the meantime I continue to try and work on my own stories and provide assessments of other peoples. Bad news, rejections and the like, can really do a number on our creativity sometimes. Our writing bones can feel broken. It's okay to step back, bandage yourself up and give yourself time to heal. But it's also important to remember that manuscript acceptances and other measures we might have of success aren't the best means for keeping ourselves in good spirits as we keep the writer's path. Anything for which you cannot control the outcome might be immensely satisfying when it does turn out like you hoped, but can be crushing when it doesn't. And the satisfaction, if the news is good, isn't sustained. So, make a list of the things over which you do have control that bring you joy. They don't need to be flash or 'big' or important things. Just things that you value that will reliably put a smile on your face. And if you lose your way check out the list and make sure you are doing at least some of the things on it. Most of all be kind (to yourself) and don't panic if you are feeling a bit lacklustre. The shine will return. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-87562104444627697392022-03-31T18:19:00.003-07:002022-03-31T21:10:47.413-07:00Is holding books at arms length like some slightly squiffy and unnatural artefact actively bad for us?...<p>In my last post I wittered on about the absence of New Zealand books from our regular cultural conversations here in New Zealand. Actually I should have extended that discussion to a lack of interest in celebrating books in general. Not long after I wrote the post, a report came out talking about the poor state of literacy skills in our fifteen year olds. As the report says - </p><p><span> </span><span> </span><i>a staggering 35.4% - over a third of fifteen-year-olds – struggle to
read and write.</i></p><p>The link to the report is <b><a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21454621/literacy-report.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. </b></p><p>There has been subsequent discussion, including on television news, about what educators need to do to fix this. But I can't help wondering, if books were just a normal part of our everyday conversation, especially in the media, if drawing attention to them wasn't so fraught and awkward because there just isn't a perceived angle that apparently justifies our interest like there is with sport, would our literacy levels be better? Is holding books at arms length like some slightly squiffy and unnatural artefact actively bad for us? I think it <b>is</b> bad for us. I think it's bad for the upcoming generations. We need to include a celebration of books in our wider daily conversations. So many studies have proven the wide ranging benefits of reading, not just for our children in school, but for all of us for the duration of our lives. If we know this to be true, why don't we talk more about books? It can't just be down to the educators who are already working incredibly hard - society at large also needs to take some responsibility for this. We need to get over ourselves and this aversion we have. Our children need us to.</p><p>Why don't we have book clubs on regular TV like they do in the US and UK, or a 'book of the week' segment on The Project. We get movie reviews and interviews with actors of upcoming films, we sometimes get box office top titles for the week, so why not a NZ bestseller top five in Fiction, non fiction and children's. NZ music was transformed by mandated attention and celebrating our NZ literature could have an even bigger impact. We tut-tut at research that says our children are struggling but think the solution lies with someone else. It is everyone's problem and we need to change the conversation. </p><p>In other news, I am thrilled to say I have signed a contract with Scholastic for a sequel to <b><i>BatKiwi</i></b> - again to be illustrated by the wonderful Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, and hopefully out this year in time for Christmas. This is my first ever picture book sequel and it was fun working with Bat and Kiwi again. I have seen a first rough by fab illustrator Vasanti Unka for our book, <b><i>I'm Dark</i></b> coming out with Penguin RH next year, and whoo-wee! its perfect. I am so excited to see how the whole thing looks. Also, the <i><b>Poetry New Zealand Yearbook 2022</b></i> (including a poem by yours truly) was launched, and <b><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/128126201/book-review-poetry-new-zealand-yearbook-2022" target="_blank">has been reviewed</a></b> by Erica Stretton, and blow me down, I get a mention. It's all a bit much so I am off for a bit of a lie down. Talk soon. </p><p> </p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-11659167354793815772022-03-16T16:22:00.004-07:002022-03-18T17:20:45.989-07:00We can't keep doing the same things and expect a different outcome ...<p>Someone <b><a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/fixing-kiwi-fiction" target="_blank">posted an article</a></b> about the difficulties of selling New Zealand literature to New Zealanders the other day and it has had me thinking ...</p><p>They were looking at how well Australian literature sells in Australia and asked why are we so different. The massive differences in economies of scale must help in Australia. A population of 26 million is a much bigger opportunity for publishers and the bigger the print run the cheaper it is to 'publish' the book. But this only changes the total number of books sold. It can't account for the different ratios of NZ adult fiction accounting for 5% of fiction sales here and Australian adult fiction 30% of sales in Australia.</p><p>I wonder how this translates for children's fiction (won't someone think of the children)? We never seem to appear in the top ten overall children's sales here although adult fiction sometimes does. We don't tend to get mentioned in articles like this either. Some years back someone mentioned that local children's books, made up about 16 or 17% of children's book sales while local non-fiction (presumably adult) accounted for around 30% of sales (I think). I wonder if this is still the case. Are these numbers good, bad or indifferent? They don't feel super great. I wonder what the relevant comparable stats are in Australia (thanks to Leonie Agnew for letting me know Australian children's books make up 45% of children's books sales). They certainly seem to celebrate their children's writers more but this must be easier in a bigger population. Each state seems to have a dedicated children's book festival. They have a national book week with many schools participating. We can't replicate that here with our much smaller population. Everything must show a return for investors, it can't just be mandated for a long game return. We all lament how NZ national book month never took off like music month did. We seemed to lack the resolve to push through from forcing folk to focus on our ghettoised literary products when there was no tangible rewards for doing so, to achieve a genuine change in culture that would have made our local books a force to be reckoned with. Can we try again? I think the current environment would not be in our favour. But if not now, then when?</p><p>I ran a workshop on picture book writing last weekend and asked the class if anyone could name a book by me. I have eleven picture books published - three of them out just last year, as well as a bunch of other publications. No one could and I didn't feel insulted by this result. I guess it was more of a resigned kind of feeling - it is a challenge to have any kind of profile with the general populace. When I held up one of my books a few minutes later one person mentioned they'd read that book just the week before. But clearly there was no cut through with my name. I asked each student to name their favourite picture book. I don't recall a New Zealand author being named. There was Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and Dr Seuss and Eric Carle. A couple struggled to name a picture book.</p><p>New Zealanders do read. We are big library users. But so much of what is read is not local content although I know our books are in the libraries. I know there is room for improvement in what we produce. I know our local literature can do so much better when it comes to representation. I think the call for this is loud and clear and changes are happening albeit slowly. The article talked about how our literature is seen as gloomy, depressing and dark and research has backed this up. But this is a perception rather than a reality and is not so relevant for children's literature anyways. Did we ask New Zealand children why they don't pick up local titles? I think too that there is an element of cultural cringe and our own literature is always judged more critically because of this. It's us, just this little infant country existing at the fringe of the civilized world that will always be wishing we could be as cool as our older siblings abroad. I think this does us a massive disservice. We do create good books here but somehow the overseas offerings always appear more sophisticated. We always expect more of ourselves - you must run twice as fast to keep pace with everyone else. International books often come with bigger marketing budgets and sales sweeteners. How can we compete?</p><p>There are factors against us - a smaller population and economies of scale, a resistant population, a lack of will amongst those who might make a difference (the media, commercial and political entities), a still emerging cultural identity. I know there are amazing groups that work incredibly hard to have New Zealand creators seen in schools, to create events and festivals that celebrate literature, and booksellers who stock and promote us to their customers, but this isn't changing the playing field. We can't keep doing the same things and expect a different outcome. I don't know what the answer is, I only know it needs to be something no one has ever seen before. Something dramatic and surprising. Something game changing. Maybe even shocking. I hope it happens soon ... </p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-68028788735700345932022-02-27T19:49:00.003-08:002022-02-28T14:23:37.386-08:00Learning a new skill ...<p>Most writers will tell you how having a project on the go, especially if there is a deadline, results in a lot of household chores getting done. We are world class procrastinators who would rather vacuum, make beds or wash dishes than write 1000 words, or 500 words, or 50 words, or 5. This truism, this time honoured tradition, is a source of (bitter) humour amongst us. And despite being aware of this we seem powerless to act against it.</p><p>Well folks, hold on to your hats, I have discovered a way to beat this! The trick is (are you ready??) to have a task to do (especially if it has a deadline) that is even harder to do than your writing project. Your writing then becomes the chore you do to procrastinate from the other thing. Of course you will all already have recognised the flaws in this plan, but for a short while it worked for me - for two happy days I actually added around 1500 words to my WIP and it was lovely. </p><p>There is so much going on locally and internationally that is worrying, terrifying, stressful and exhausting that in addition to some top order procrastination, I am also in a constant search for distraction. Looking for things to occupy my mind in a safe way. Jigsaws, sudoku, and code-crackers are extremely comforting to me in times like these and I secretly hope they contribute to keeping the creative part of my brain nimble enough for those times when I return to making new stories. But part of me is also thinking I need a distraction that is actively challenging my creativity. When things aren't crazy, don't we all have goals and ambitions that we are working towards? I know when the world is being so unpredictable it can be too hard to think about creating, learning or adding extra challenges beyond the one of getting through the day with our sanity intact. And even this feels out of reach some days. But as time has passed I have been conscious of an itch that definitely wants scratching. Puzzles aren't enough after two years - my brain wants a different kind of exercise. Maybe puddling about in a new world is just what I need. </p><p>To that end I'm trying to further my poetry writing skills for both adult and children's poetry. I've often made small incursions into this field of creativity, but never really stayed long enough to make much progress. Now I'm keen to improve this aspect of my writing. So far I'm trusting my gut, and my ear, and the results are not <i><b>all</b></i> bad. But I need to do more. And right now I feel a bit frustrated by the process. There is too much staring at a blank screen going on. Ideas come at odd moments, and while the raw form of the poem does pour out quite quickly and then it's the somewhat slower journey of massaging out the discordant wrong bits, I feel thwarted by my ambivalent, uncooperative subconscious and the haphazard way it doles out ideas. I need ways to warm up, and maybe ways to organise my thoughts so I spend less time just flailing about. Secretly this is probably how my process will always remain with lots of flailing and disorganised thinking. I guess if I manage to produce more poems I will feel less affronted by my own undisciplined inner brain twirlings but we are a long way from that point. Anyways I sent away for an instructional book by Mary Oliver. Wish me luck. Deep down I know that if I exercise my poetry writing muscle enough it will become a little easier but exercise is work and I am very lazy, and writing poetry is HARD. I've heard too that reading and writing poetry is very good for one's picture book writing skills which would be a win-win. For now I'm trying to keep expectations low cos adding pressure right now seems like a bad call. If nothing else, poetry feels like an appropriate response to the times we live in. It's something I've always wanted to explore more. I'm giving it a go. What are you doing to keep your brain limber? Are you trying to learn something new too? </p><p><br /></p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231007555763657967.post-82562590963563621662022-02-14T16:20:00.004-08:002022-02-14T18:36:59.913-08:00Behaving badly ...<p>How we all feeling people? I can't lie - between covid and protests and linespeople repairing power lines post-Cyclone Dovi in the wee small hours of the night, the mood is a bit subdued.</p><p>Hanging out on twitter, while it can be distressing at times, is a good way to get updates on goings-on both here and overseas and to gauge the temperature of things. And there are always interesting posts that cover some things in depth providing insights and elucidation, to counter the toxic or inflammatory words of others. I find small doses are best. Recently though I noted a couple of unconnected posts that were commenting on a similar issue that surprised me. One was an agent responding to a submission they'd received that opened with a not so veiled criticism of that agent. The other was a person who has created an online children's writing community (out of the pure goodness of their heart) with the object of providing help, support and opportunity for new writers, reporting that they had received disgruntled emails from writers disappointed not to have made a competition longlist. The person had not even been involved in judging the entries, although it would have been no excuse for this kind of response if they had.</p><p>Writing for publication is a long game. Being polite and professional is essential as you navigate the choppy waters of this business. I <i><b>have</b></i> seen folk behave badly and get away with it but this is the exception, and people remember. And being rude, disrespectful or aggressive is just a very weird response for a writer. Our key job is to understand the meaning and effect of our word choices. We work hard to shape text in a way that conveys what we want it to say. So why, oh why would you say or write something that will make the recipient (who may hold your publishing fate in their hands), upset, or insulted or angry? The only result you will get, as far as I can tell, is to make it easier for the rest of us who <b><i>are</i></b> polite and professional. I guess lashing out might briefly salve whatever hurt you might be feeling but this behaviour is most likely to only damage your chances further in future.</p><p>It's totally understandable to feel hurt and/or disappointed by a rejection. I've had my share and they sting like blazes. The heart-hurt that goes along with the dashing of a hope or dream is dreadful and over the years I've assembled a few strategies to help me through these times. Sometimes I soothe myself with cake, chocolate and wine. Sometimes it's the indulgent purchase of something unnecessary. Sometimes I say rude words or go for a very vigorous walk, and sometimes I complain bitterly to my nearest and dearest. Occasionally it's all of those things. Find a strategy that works for you that doesn't involve burning any bridges.</p><p>Biting your tongue is just another way of 'killing your darlings', and it will make your work stronger. And if you think saying something rude or critical in an email or on social media is going to be read as witty or cute, or commanding and impressive, you may be in the wrong business.</p>Melinda Szymanikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10202080805759494767noreply@blogger.com0