Dear Bottle Opener...

Thanks to Old Kitty for reminding me of another lovely magical piece of writing. I think A.A.Milne has had a lot of stick over the years for his sentimentality (Dorothy Parker's 'tonstant reader fwowed up' comment comes to mind) but that bit Kitty quoted beautifully and succinctly sums up the true meaning of a good friend.

Here is something that I am rather fond of from my as yet unpublished picture book The House That Went to Sea about a shy boy Michael Mariner whose parents have disappeared while studying monkeys in the rain forests. Michael goes to stay with his grandmother in her cottage by the sea and one night granny pulls up the anchor and away the house sails...:-

Michael checked for mermaids, sharks and pirates before he dropped into the water. It wasn't quite as warm as a bath which was just as well, he thought, for you shouldn't use soap and shampoo in the sea. He frog-kicked around the house and when his fingers and toes got wrinkly, he climbed back on board. As he did so, a bottle with a message knocked at the porch.

The message read, 'Dear Bottle Opener, We were pushed in the sea by some bad tempered monkeys. The log we managed to cling to, took us to an island. We shall be available to be rescued any time after 3 o'clock on Friday.
Yours most sincerely
Mr and Mrs Mariner

Enjoyed this handy little guest blog on the topic of coincidence over at the Rejectionist. I like the last paragraph especially which wisely says that its okay to have coincidences in your stories but only if you make them believable.

Also found this lovely piece on the importance of doing your own thing as a writer over at Janet Reid's blog. Like Sean Ferrell it took me a while to realise that I didn't have to write like other people wrote. I didn't have to follow their methods. Didn't have to do it the way they did to produce something good. I guess its a matter of confidence. Like shoe horning an ugly sisters foot into cinderella's shoe, its uncomfortable and impossible to walk forward. When I started out as a writer I spent a lot of time stressing that I couldn't do what needed to be done the way it should be done. Simultaneously I kept scribbling down things in my own cack-handed fashion and after a while the cack-handed stuff began to look better then the method writing. What an immense relief it was when I finally settled on the right shoe for me (nothing too orthopaedic or sensible) - how comfortable it felt and now I could walk a lot faster with ease, maybe even sprint or jog at times. I had to hand make that shoe myself but boy it fits like magic.

Proof of the existence of magic...

Sometimes when I am reading I come across a line in a book that is so cunning, and so lyrical it really does prove the existence of magic. I am re-reading Philip Pullman's Northern Lights for my university course at the moment and I came across this line yesterday which definitely proves it.

It was about as long as Lyra's thumb, and dark green, not black. Its wing cases were erect, like a ladybird's about to fly, and the wings inside were beating so furiously that they were only a blur. Its six clawed legs were scrabbling on the smooth glass.
"What is it?" she said.
...
"If you was to crack it open," said Farder Coram, "you'd find no living thing in there...There's a clockwork running in there, and pinned to the spring of it, there's a bad spirit with a spell through its heart."

Its kind of the holy grail, these sentences that blow our minds, that make us want to work harder and strive more to write these things ourselves. To touch this magic and reveal it for other readers. Sigh. I've been thinking about things I've written and sentences that I've been especially proud of. Sentences that have a hint of this kind of magic. I can't quite bring myself to post any up today, so close to Pullman's genius. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day. In the meantime I'd love to hear about the sentences that made you feel this way - in your own writing or the writing of others.

Grease is the word...

Chapter Three is now posted at fabostory with the most excellent artwork by ***** ****** (name embargoed in case we run an illustrator guessing comp). I would rather be a ***** ****** (btw the number of asterisks bears no relation to the number of letters in the illustrators name) picture than a Salvador Dali one right now.

My daughter finished reading my draft YA and gave it her seal of approval. She's been talking about it with her school mates and tells me they want to read it. So I started wondering if I should just do the e-book thing and my daughter promptly said none of her school friends have something to read an e-book on. So back to considering the traditional route, I am at that horrible point in the writing of a book when I need to turn it from a first draft into a final draft and I just can't face the prospect, I'm not sure why. I like this story and I'm happy with how the plot developed and finished up. I know its common practice to put a first draft away in a drawer for a few months to let it ripen like a smelly cheese but I have to say this is one writing rule I've never really followed. I want to get on with this one. A publisher has expressed an interest in having a look and I sent the first three chapters to another publisher some months back and if they do decide they'd like to see the whole thing its probably best I whip it in to shape as soon as possible. I have some other things that need working on and if I don't attend to the YA soon, it may be a while before I can get back to it. Update: I asked if they wanted to see it in its raw state and they said 'send it now'...so i did. As these things take a while to consider it makes sense to be doing the titivating whilst they weigh up the project. As I am happy with plot and voice and only working on improving grammar and style this seems sensible to me.

Took my YA reading daughter to a live performance of the musical Grease last night. It was loads of fun and she loved it. She has aspirations in that direction and felt very inspired by the whole thing. My only quibble - whenever we go see a movie or show together we always end up sitting next to, directly in front of, or behind the person with the hacking cough, the loud-voiced seat-kicking rudely-behaved children or the crying infant. I am acquiring some good aural blocking skills but I would rather I didn't need them.

My life is a Salvador Dali painting...

I feel like my life is a Salvador Dali painting but without any of the humour. It is all very surreal as I have been dragged unwillingly into the universe of that sad ass drooping clock. I thought for sure I would go mental about a month ago as I waited impatiently to hear back from anyone in any of the different publishing houses at which I have thrown my work. And here we are a month later and nothing has changed (except maybe that a bunch of publishing professionals have gone on holiday - at least three from three different houses - which pushes any decision making back another 3 or 4 weeks). My clock is definitely wilting. As Tim Roth (in-character) said on Lie to Me the other night, "patience is overrated." I'm with you Tim. I find the only reward for my patience has been more waiting. I am choosing to self medicate with chocolate, wine and DVD watching and managing to plod through the days in a weird kind of haze. How did Dali know?

And whats with all the mud. I spend too much time scrubbing mud out of boy clothes. That'll teach me for having a son, especially one who likes to wallow in the stuff (he does have a nice complexion though). Elinor Dashwood knew what she was talking about when she lamented that she was experiencing all the punishments of loving someone without any of the rewards. I feel that way about mud. I don't know that that was what Jane Austen was trying to tell us but it just goes to show her themes are timeless and widely applicable.

Loved this post over at fellow writer Tania Hutley's blog. I am curious to know what the website where Tania found that lovely quote is trying to sell. Luck perhaps?

Apparently I am an adult - surely i can write a story for them

Fabo has its first winners and the second chapter is now posted over at http://www.fabostory.blogspot.com/ . One of my favourite things is all the children who have rocked up to participate in our crazy scheme. I am so impressed by what they are writing. It is quite a thrill to find so many book loving, great writing kids. My second favourite thing are the illustrations that accompany the two chapters. We love them so much we are doing our best to organise some more. This juggernaut is growing and gathering momentum and who knows where it might end up. Yeehah!

Special mention also needs to go to fellow writer and blogger on the other side of the planet, Miss Windsor (aka Welshcake) for her fabulous win at YouWriteOn.com for Children's Fiction Book of the Year 2010 with The Scarlet Heart. Fantastic news!!!! This must become a book!!!!

I have finally shoved another assignment in the post and will shortly be beginning the next one. I am thinking right now that I may take a sabbatical next year so I can actually do some writing. Yesterday I had a go at getting down on paper the adult short story that has been knocking around in my head. Ha ha - it reads like a short story for kids with grown up themes. Ack. I shall persevere. After all, I am an adult and I do occasionally read fiction for adults. I also have to do some research as its set in Pakistan where I have never been and of which I know little.

It is raining again but earlier this morning the water just hung in the air in a gloomy fog. It would have annoyed me if I hadn't been so fascinated. The rain was so light it was suspended, fixed in an earth bound cloud. Much better than the poxy stuff thats falling now. Even the vegetation is over it.

results are inconclusive...

So the extra exciting, all-new fantastic Fabo project is up and running and children are sending in their chapters and their guesses about who penned Chapter One. As this is 'all-new' and never been done before, we are tweaking and adjusting as we go along to make sure it is the best possible. This suits me very well as my general MO is flying by the seat of my pants. It is also very exciting as we wait to see what happens with every new step we take. I never knew it would be this much fun. I can't wait to see what happens next week. If you aren't already part of the fun and would like to be, check fabo out here.

I have bleated on and off recently about the drag of having to wait to hear back on things and I was sure my brain would explode if I had to wait any longer. You will be relieved to know my head is still intact on my shoulders despite the fact that I have had no conclusive results on anything (although I did discover that the overseas conference I attended several years back is still paying positive dividends now - note to self, plan to attend another writery conference over next year or two). I can also without doubt confirm I do not have esp, or any mind bending or telepathic persuasvie powers (rats). Having the weighty carcass of a smelly assignment albatross hanging around my neck has kept me a little distracted and given me other things to carp about and the fabo project has been a thrilling little sidetrack. And here over at one of my favourite blogs (with a warning about excessive expletives) is an insightful little rant about publishing by the rejectionist. This lady is smart and wise. Go read it.

All I need is a cape and a mask...

Jane Austen will never date (in both senses of the word although Pride and Prejudice and Zombies might allow otherwise) and here (check out the July 24th post at Janet Reid's blog) is proof. I laughed, I cried, I howled. I always knew Austen wrote feisty heroines, but this puts a new spin on it.

My other juicy link is courtesy (yet again) of the amazing Miss Maureen Crisp who is the Sherlock Holmes of the internet, hunting out the new, the exciting and the thought provoking. This particular post is a little incendiary and I will not be casting a vote one way or t'other here but I did agree strongly with one thing. If you intend to make writing your career, learning the business is the smart thing to do. You need to be informed to make informed decisions whether you have an agent or not. And if you choose not to or are unable to get an agent then you must understand how publishing and editing and contracts and publicity and marketing and funding applications and new developments etc.. all work. Of course this takes time and there will always be new things to learn but it is how you will help yourself. This link particularly resonated with me in view of recents actions I have taken on my own behalf. I have been asking questions, sending e-mails and standing up for my rights. I have had interesting and positive responses. Sure I have taken some risks and I will undoubtedly make mistakes (although I have made more mistakes by not asking and being hesitant than I have being bold) but this is a business and if I am professional and business like and my questions, suggestions and enquiries are sensible than I will continue to put them forward. Jane Austen Fight Club indeed.