I do like a little vitamin D...

The light has changed. I've seen daffodils, and magnolia are going crazy all over the neighbourhood. And I try not to look but there's a lot of Tui love going on out in the back garden. Can Spring have sprung? I don't like to say it out loud cos its only just gone August but shesh, you can't deny what's going on in front of your own eyes, can ya? I hope its Spring - nothing like the season of hope and renewel to make me feel just a wee bit perky. That and all that vitamin D coursing through me. Yowza.

General perkiness can probably also be attributed to holiday plans moving ahead and the dreaming's about there-of. Nothing like a laid-back, pre-christmas, tropical break to soothe the nerves.

And following up on an earlier post I couldn't help noticing in today's children's PW e-zine that the cover of Justine Larbalestier's book Liar is to be changed. Huge congratulations to Justine. And I'd also say one big tick for the internet on this one as general outrage and disappointment about the inappropriate nature of the original US cover travelled mighty fast and wide. You can read about it at Justine's blog here. This is excellent news but I'm still a little sad there was ever a problem in the first place. At least things are moving in the right direction.

Not much else to say for myself. Already at work on the next assignment. Trying to keep hopeful about all my stories out there trying to wow the publishers. Thinking too about some writing about writing to present at the Speed dating, at some author talks I have ahead of me and maybe a bit of research on how it is I write short stories. Somethings working but I haven't figured out what or how yet. Funny analysing one's self. Freud would probably have something to say about that!

I want me some focus-straightening-writer's-specs

Common advice to writers is to focus on writing the next book whilst waiting to hear responses to those manuscripts already out at the publishers. This is, in my opinion, tremendous advice. A writer always needs more work to send out and it distracts from the whole business of trying to wait and pretending to be patient. But there is a spanner in the works of this advice. Pretending to be patient, especially when a few months have passed, gums up the works. I become (for want of a better word - sorry folks) constipated with my writing. I'm not blocked (that word is frowned on in this house) as i have ideas and ways to move forward on my stories, but my focus is affected and sitting down to write is...lets say, difficult. As my assignment is finally finished and is now winging its way down to Christchurch I think I may play hookey for a day or two and see if I get my focus back. Otherwise I may need to investigate the acquiring of some special focus-straightening-writers-glasses - I woner if these will be available at the Spinning Gold conference.

I am also finding that while recent events have well motivated my writing of short works, my longer works are experiencing a dip in confidence and they have been seen wearing hoodies and milling around with bad postures in darkened corners at the mall.

I am too miffed to discuss this further...

I was a tad miffed to see photos from the Montana Book Awards Ceremony in the social pages of both the Sunday Star Times and The Herald on Sunday yesterday. Neither carried photos from the NZ Post Children's Book Awards back in May. Why are adult writers social and children's writers aren't?

How are children's writers percieved by the public, the media, other writers? I want to know. Will I like what I find out?

Maybe on this occasion the whole first page...(even more updated than before)

Is the importance of the first line in a story overrated? After posting it yesterday, I wondered about the first line for my picture book Tatty and Tremble. Okay its a picture book - a completely different beast to novels, short stories etc...but where word economy is key and each word must work extra hard to do its job (or the job of many in other genre) is the first line any less or more important? What should a first line do? What is its job? What are our expectations? So here for your edification is the first paragraph/page that follows that spare enigmatic first line:-


Old Tatty. That’s what Mr. Edgar called her. She didn’t seem to mind. There was fresh fish on her plate everyday. He could have called her Smelly Pants as long as there was fish.

When I first included it in yesterday's post I suddenly thought there wasn't enough in those two short words but I've changed my mind. What did they make you think?

This whole exercise has been very thought provoking for me and I am still musing on the topic. But perhaps this is the antidote to my current 'first line' obsession - check out the results of the 2009 Bullwer-Lytton Contest - it certainly puts a whole different spin on the concept (heh).

First lines and dangling carrots...

Saw an interesting meme on Lili Wilkinson's (young australian author) blog t'other day and thought I'd give it a go. Its all about first lines from your own writing. So here goes:

Published
Clever Moo (PB) - Margaret was not like her best friends, Daisy and Bossy

The Were-Nana (PB) - For Stella Rosa's older brother Simon, there was no better fun than scaring his sister

Jack the Viking (novel) - "Ready Jack?" asks a blond boy my age, carrying a sword and shield.

The Gift (ss) - Everyone says I talk too much.

Unpub'd but completed Work
Pirate Eye (junior chapter book) - "What's wrong with you?" the big boy at the school gate asked.

The House That Went to Sea (PB) - Granny Gale's house smelt of fish, and rocked with the booming of the waves.

Jack the Viking: Magnetic North (novel) - I don't dream so much anymore.

The story I'm working on now begins with the first line of an essay the main character is writing for school which I quite like - Apparently my older sister Michelle was perfect.

I found it a fascinating exercise with slightly surprising results. What do you think? The new picture book I just finished has my shortest first line ever - Old Tatty. I guess if it gets picked up an editor might have something to say about the punctuation of my first few lines and that first sentence will get longer. I have a bunch of short stories pub'd and unpub'd I haven't included in this exercise. Maybe I'll do them another day. I'm now up to ten short stories either pub'd or signed up for publication. If I can increase that number just a wee bit more I might start dreaming about assembling a collection one day.

I have other dreams for my writing including: to be published overseas (especially in a different language) and to (be paid to) travel overseas for my books. One of the blogs i check out regularly had a very interesting snippet of information in it the other day. Moon Rat (who hangs out at Editorial Ass) talked of a children's novel that took 5 years to find a publisher and the first print run was a miniscule 1,000 copies. I would love to have me a copy from that first print run today - it would be worth a wee bit. Go check out the book she's talking about. It shows that you have to hang in there and believe in your work even when things seem to be going badly, although things don't always turn out as well as this has :) I need to hear this kind of stuff as I have been grumpy about recent events and feasting on far too many crabby patties lately. Sorry to the two workmen working next door who got a terse comment or two from me yesterday when i asked them to move their van from my driveway so I could go out. I am finishing up (at LONG last) the rocket-science-like university assignment I have been working on since Adam was a boy and trying to finish up my current WIP which is going okay but which I am now having enormous doubts over. Too late I guess, to wonder if its saleable - less then 10,000 words to go (although thats to the end of the first draft only). But these two things are not filling me with joy - they are filling me with huffing and puffing, sweating brow grumpiness. I need a carrot dangling. The overseas trip we are planning is too far away to perform this function so I will have to find something else.

Hello out there...

You win some, you lose some. This little chick, still in egg, got all the way to the acquisitions meeting but fell off the table and broke. I have had a number of positive remarks regarding this particular manuscript but then for various reasons they still say no. Its fair to say I'm disappointed. The agent has smacked some sticky tape on the crack and its off to another publisher. The more I hang around in this business the more I appreciate how slow it all goes. I think this manuscript has legs so I will continue to have faith. I will try and bolster my patience with some patience bolstering vitamins...

In better news, as the result of my son's rubbish collecting habits and my eavesdropping on idle 11 year old boy chit-chat, I have a new story idea. I like it. It could be loads of fun and action. Question though - can I wait to finish my YA before I get started on this? And do I stick with the boy protagonist or should I make it a girl this time. My inclination was to have a boy but I'm not sure if its intuition or habit speaking.

And yesterday my SO and I talked holiday. I am desperate for one and our conversation has given me hope. I do love anticipation... especially when its about a holiday.

And last but not least I have a challenge for anyone reading. If you haven't already - say hi! Introduce yourself! Leave a comment! I'd love to know who you are...

Speed date an author...

I am one of the lucky folk all signed up for the Spinning Gold conference in Wellington this September. I love, love, love winey whiny gossip with other writers, and talking books and writing, and listening to others talk books and writing (major bliss), and I am anticipating this event with great relish (although I'm not packing just yet). I don't get down to Wellington too often and had been wondering about maximising the opportunity with some school visits or similar down there when I was given the chance to participate in what sounds like the most excellent fun and a great alternative to school visits - a speed-date-the-author event on the friday morning organised by the NZ Book Council. You deliver a 15 minute talk on a set topic (I really like my topic on 'tone' and I can't wait to attack a whiteboard with my ideas) 5 times to different groups of intermediate age children, who rotate through 6 different authors/illustrators, each with their own topic, during the morning. I'm not sure where the idea originated but whoever thought of it deserves a prize. It seems like a very smart format, and I'm interested to see how well it works. I am very excited...

I am also excited (and very lucky) as an illustrator has done a couple of pics on spec for one of my picture book manuscripts, and ms and illustrations have gone off to an interested publisher. I adore the pictures and hope the publisher does too. Fingers, toes and eyes are crossed for luck...

BTW I have been following a very interesting discussion over at editorial anonymous and Justine Larbalestier's blog about racism in book covers (and sadly beyond). It is eye-opening and depressing and I am watching and reading to see what may come of having this raised and aired and debated....its certainly got me thinking.