Sooooo - with almost 6 months break in writing and the thrill of the Amazon Breakthrough contest a thing of the past I have ambled along and thought long and hard about writing. To be honest writing has been in my soul since as far back as I can remember. Writing for self in diaries and journals, being passionate about getting children to write, writing poetry and getting children to write poetry...the children's book which sat brewing in my head and heart for so many years which finally came to light. Yes I know that no publisher has printed my work...that's all about finances and politics....many have shown interest, but I just got tired of "pimping" my work.
I have been considering a Masters degree in the next year in the realm of children's texts. In addition I woke up this morning and thought that maybe I might start on another book (short/long/divergent/whatever). Hmmmm ideas are fluttering and rising up again. The difference this year is that I will write for the satisfaction and not for the end result of publishing and being in print. The crafting of the work and the joy of that - as much as sewing a quilt or building a model dolls house. Yes, with the syringa blossoms soaking the air, spring has breathed new inspiration. Huzzah!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Inside Outside Interweave we go...
I love conversations and watching how threads weave in and out. If we listen closely enough there are things connecting us all the time. I was just at the Hobby Shop on the corner (6 houses down from my house). I have spent the holidays working on building yet another dolls house for my children. Well actually, it's not for dolls, but for tiny rabbit families (the Sylvian Collection) which my children are enchanted with. The Best Beloved built the actual house. Finn (my big boy of 13 years old) built his own one alongside his dad. I took over the decorating and detail work (and I know that the job will never be finished because you can never have enough hand-stitched quilts and soft furnishings for you tiny houses can you...?).
Anyway, back to the idea of common threads: So I walked down to the hobby shop because I needed balsa wood to make the tiny window flower boxes. Got to chatting to the friendly proprietors and he asked the question "are any of your dolls houses ever actually finished?" So I laughed and said "no", because now that the tiny rabbit houses have been built, the children are "borrowing" the quilts and soft furnishings from their original dolls house and I will have to make more. To this he said "speaking of borrowing..." and proceeded to tell me that he is working on the latest "The Borrowers" movie set. I was amazed and so we chatted and found out that he is doing ALL the remote controlled work for the film. It is an English production, but they are using the Cape Town studios for this kind of work.
I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA!! We have so much talent and energy and there are exciting things happening all around us.
So there it is: I went from talking about "borrowing" the hand-stitched quilts to chatting someone who is working on the movie set of "The Borrowers", and I got a shot in the arm of pride and renewed confidence in this fantastic country and the people in it.
Anyway, back to the idea of common threads: So I walked down to the hobby shop because I needed balsa wood to make the tiny window flower boxes. Got to chatting to the friendly proprietors and he asked the question "are any of your dolls houses ever actually finished?" So I laughed and said "no", because now that the tiny rabbit houses have been built, the children are "borrowing" the quilts and soft furnishings from their original dolls house and I will have to make more. To this he said "speaking of borrowing..." and proceeded to tell me that he is working on the latest "The Borrowers" movie set. I was amazed and so we chatted and found out that he is doing ALL the remote controlled work for the film. It is an English production, but they are using the Cape Town studios for this kind of work.
I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA!! We have so much talent and energy and there are exciting things happening all around us.
So there it is: I went from talking about "borrowing" the hand-stitched quilts to chatting someone who is working on the movie set of "The Borrowers", and I got a shot in the arm of pride and renewed confidence in this fantastic country and the people in it.
15 July - mid winter made glorious summer!
Today I read with great excitement that South Africa has launched its very own digital book publishing wing. After the journey with ABNA this last year and getting to know fellow authors who are looking at the digital publishing . This is such an exciting community and I have complete faith in this format. The possibilities are endless. So have a look at our proudly South African option as Random House Struik goes digital .
Friday, June 3, 2011
2 June: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
As the seasons roll around, there is an unsettling in me - it always happens at this time of the year. In Cape Town I am conscious of the mild shift between seasons in a way that never happened in Kwa Zulu Natal. There we lived one continuous humid, lush season with spells of more or less rain. Here, we experience the dry heat of summer, into light-diffused autumn, then contemplative introspectively soaked winter, and finally the magnificence of our crisp, clear, colourful spring.
So now it is sometime towards late autumn - or perhaps it's already early winter - and that all too familiar disquiet is upon me like a shroud. I've come to accept it almost as an old friend who comes to visit each year.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" [Ecc 3:1]
Such a profound - and yet simple - philosophy.
So now it is sometime towards late autumn - or perhaps it's already early winter - and that all too familiar disquiet is upon me like a shroud. I've come to accept it almost as an old friend who comes to visit each year.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" [Ecc 3:1]
Such a profound - and yet simple - philosophy.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Now through the looking glass we go...
The proof has been proofed and as of today "Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass" by Caroline A.Raine is available in hard copy off amazon.com.
Looong sigh.... the journey is complete and the writing, submissions, printing and editing is over. It exists in the world and NOW stepping through the looking glass - from me looking in on a mysterious world of authoring - I walk in the beautiful garden of being an author in print. This is the beginning.
Join me in the garden...
Looong sigh.... the journey is complete and the writing, submissions, printing and editing is over. It exists in the world and NOW stepping through the looking glass - from me looking in on a mysterious world of authoring - I walk in the beautiful garden of being an author in print. This is the beginning.
Join me in the garden...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
3 May 2011: Don't you love it when the world around you narrates poetry?
Ezra Pound
Now as the winter rains begin in earnest in Cape Town, every morning on my drive to school I watch the wet trees and the last of the autumn leaves and I wish that there was a sister poem to Ezra Pounds "In a Station of the Metro" just for autumn.
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
petals on a wet, black bough.
Ezra Pound
The rich auburns of the maple and Plains Trees stand out against the black, wet bark of the trees. Too beautiful. And then in 4 months I will be saluting the fine pink and lilac petals, poised so delicately against the wet bark. It is a beautiful, fragile world we live in, and we all need to be a little kinder to it, to each other, and to ourselves.
So be kind, to the world around you.
Be kind to others.
Be kind to yourself.
Now as the winter rains begin in earnest in Cape Town, every morning on my drive to school I watch the wet trees and the last of the autumn leaves and I wish that there was a sister poem to Ezra Pounds "In a Station of the Metro" just for autumn.
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
petals on a wet, black bough.
Ezra Pound
The rich auburns of the maple and Plains Trees stand out against the black, wet bark of the trees. Too beautiful. And then in 4 months I will be saluting the fine pink and lilac petals, poised so delicately against the wet bark. It is a beautiful, fragile world we live in, and we all need to be a little kinder to it, to each other, and to ourselves.
So be kind, to the world around you.
Be kind to others.
Be kind to yourself.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
30 April: Roots the True Foundation
A lovely lady I knew a long time ago, gave me a copy of her lino-cut called "Roots the True Foundation". It was a pictorial depiction of where she was at, at the stage in her life. It is a collage of the things that were her defined Roots. These had nothing to do with childhood, birth rights, heritage or ancestry. They were the roots which she claimed for herself ... that which she felt had defined her and which illustrated the beginning of a new life in herself at about the age of 35. This fascinates me - the opportunities for re-birth and starting again. We can all do it, at any stage of our lives. There are fantastic possibilities that exist in being able to drop off the baggage and the pastness of Being.
So now - ABNA is over and "Edward Beaton" up on Amazon. It's a good quiet place to be.
I am thinking though of Roots again. There is a wonderfully powerful poem by Ted Hughes, which I discovered (strangely enough) at one of those milestones in my life when I was trying to define Self and my take on Roots and belonging. Ted Hughes is my favourite poet - such a dark and brooding and indulgently brilliant poet. It is called "Wodwo", and it is about these figurative Roots. Beautiful writing. It became something of a prayer / chant for me:
Following a faint stain on the air to the river's edge
I enter water. Who am I to split
The glassy grain of water looking upward I see the bed
Of the river above me upside down very clear
What am I doing here in mid-air? Why do I find
this frog so interesting as I inspect its most secret
interior and make it my own? Do these weeds
know me and name me to each other have they
seen me before, do I fit in their world? I seem
separate from the ground and not rooted but dropped
out of nothing casually I've no threads
fastening me to anything I can go anywhere
I seem to have been given the freedom
of this place what am I then? And picking
bits of bark off this rotten stump gives me
no pleasure and it's no use so why do I do it
me and doing that have coincided very queerly
But what shall I be called am I the first
have I an owner what shape am I what
shape am I am I huge if I go
to the end on this way past these trees and past these trees
till I get tired that's touching one wall of me
for the moment if I sit still how everything
stops to watch me I suppose I am the exact centre
but there's all this what is it roots
roots roots roots and here's the water
again very queer but I'll go on looking.
Ted Hughes
So now - ABNA is over and "Edward Beaton" up on Amazon. It's a good quiet place to be.
I am thinking though of Roots again. There is a wonderfully powerful poem by Ted Hughes, which I discovered (strangely enough) at one of those milestones in my life when I was trying to define Self and my take on Roots and belonging. Ted Hughes is my favourite poet - such a dark and brooding and indulgently brilliant poet. It is called "Wodwo", and it is about these figurative Roots. Beautiful writing. It became something of a prayer / chant for me:
Wodwo
What am I? Nosing here, turning leaves overFollowing a faint stain on the air to the river's edge
I enter water. Who am I to split
The glassy grain of water looking upward I see the bed
Of the river above me upside down very clear
What am I doing here in mid-air? Why do I find
this frog so interesting as I inspect its most secret
interior and make it my own? Do these weeds
know me and name me to each other have they
seen me before, do I fit in their world? I seem
separate from the ground and not rooted but dropped
out of nothing casually I've no threads
fastening me to anything I can go anywhere
I seem to have been given the freedom
of this place what am I then? And picking
bits of bark off this rotten stump gives me
no pleasure and it's no use so why do I do it
me and doing that have coincided very queerly
But what shall I be called am I the first
have I an owner what shape am I what
shape am I am I huge if I go
to the end on this way past these trees and past these trees
till I get tired that's touching one wall of me
for the moment if I sit still how everything
stops to watch me I suppose I am the exact centre
but there's all this what is it roots
roots roots roots and here's the water
again very queer but I'll go on looking.
Ted Hughes
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday 28 April: Lindor chocolate heals many things
The power of chocolate is a wonderful thing! Have not been back to the ABNA site in 48 hours, and have decided that my review was quite good. Will tweek and perhaps approach an agent or two in the next few weeks, but in South Africa we have precious few who will take on Children's Fantasy - already found that out last year. As far as approaching overseas agents and publishers... hmmm not sure that they would welcome a foreign writer and all that the great divide represents for any kind of working relationship. My book is on amazon.com and once I've checked the Proof Review box it will also by up for sale in hard copy.
But have downed many jugs of tea today and had more than a sensible portion of Lindor Lindt chocolate to heal the disappointment of the ABNA cut.
After a day of moving furniture around the house (always one step ahead of the building contractors) and coping with the anxiety of Cupboard Cat who does not handle disruption even on the smallest scale, and a wonderful supper and a glass of good red wine with new friends I am able to start seeing things in perspective again:
In a few days I will have a new roof; the chocolate stash from Easter will be finished; I will be putting my writing skills to good and productive use by immersing myself in the Internal Evaluation Report I have to do for school which is now nearing deadline date AND working on a recipe book for a friend's Kitchen Tea (YAY I love projects).
But have downed many jugs of tea today and had more than a sensible portion of Lindor Lindt chocolate to heal the disappointment of the ABNA cut.
After a day of moving furniture around the house (always one step ahead of the building contractors) and coping with the anxiety of Cupboard Cat who does not handle disruption even on the smallest scale, and a wonderful supper and a glass of good red wine with new friends I am able to start seeing things in perspective again:
In a few days I will have a new roof; the chocolate stash from Easter will be finished; I will be putting my writing skills to good and productive use by immersing myself in the Internal Evaluation Report I have to do for school which is now nearing deadline date AND working on a recipe book for a friend's Kitchen Tea (YAY I love projects).
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Day Something... The night after semi-finalists announced
So with a great heavy feeling in my heart, I post up my Publishers Weekly Review - it is a good review and has some constructive points for me to address, but I am sad to not be going through to the semi finals. I am taking note of the fact that I have written for a younger audience than that which the contest asked for. Young Adult being serious Teens, and yes, I did originally write for the 10-14 market, so it shouldn't come as a surprise. My next task is to find how to convincingly pitch to a publisher and make no pretence that this is a Young Adult novel.
Publishers Weekly Review:
"In this short and sweet novel, mainly set in a far-away Faery world, four siblings who are the children of the elements have been reunited after being separated years before. They have returned to the land of Encantadora from the Human world because Lithendor, the Dark One, has a plan to take over the Faery and Human worlds. He needs the four elementals -- Edward, son of Earth, Wynne, daughter of Water, Fiona, daughter of Fire, and Andrew, son of Air -- to relinquish their powers so that he may regain strength and travel between the two worlds. As they train together to harness their elemental powers, days pass until Fiona is captured by Lithendor. They must stand together, as four, to destroy Lithendor and rescue Fiona. Readers will enjoy this quick fantastical read; most of the story focuses on Edward and his journey to reunite himself with his siblings after he falls off a dragonfly en route to rescue Fiona. This story is quite succinct -- almost too much so. It would have been enjoyable to learn more about their lives before transport back to Encantadora and to read a more detailed explanation of the Faery land and what led to the decision to send the siblings into hiding in the Human world. All in all, this is a fun and enjoyable read, although it might be best suited to younger ages. Although the main characters, except for Fiona, are teenagers, the book seems to be skewed younger due to the shortness of the story and the absence of any violence or scary situations."
Publishers Weekly Review:
"In this short and sweet novel, mainly set in a far-away Faery world, four siblings who are the children of the elements have been reunited after being separated years before. They have returned to the land of Encantadora from the Human world because Lithendor, the Dark One, has a plan to take over the Faery and Human worlds. He needs the four elementals -- Edward, son of Earth, Wynne, daughter of Water, Fiona, daughter of Fire, and Andrew, son of Air -- to relinquish their powers so that he may regain strength and travel between the two worlds. As they train together to harness their elemental powers, days pass until Fiona is captured by Lithendor. They must stand together, as four, to destroy Lithendor and rescue Fiona. Readers will enjoy this quick fantastical read; most of the story focuses on Edward and his journey to reunite himself with his siblings after he falls off a dragonfly en route to rescue Fiona. This story is quite succinct -- almost too much so. It would have been enjoyable to learn more about their lives before transport back to Encantadora and to read a more detailed explanation of the Faery land and what led to the decision to send the siblings into hiding in the Human world. All in all, this is a fun and enjoyable read, although it might be best suited to younger ages. Although the main characters, except for Fiona, are teenagers, the book seems to be skewed younger due to the shortness of the story and the absence of any violence or scary situations."
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Day 33. The Week of the Royal Wedding Dawns
I don't know how far-reaching the Royal Wedding Fever is. We are SO excited about the wedding on Friday. I run a Literacy board at school. Last term I created a collage of Afro-American literature using magnificent illustrations from a Brer Rabbit book I have - so fascinating to trace the line from American traditional fable back along the slave route to Africa. The rabbit traditionally has his roots in African folklore as a mischief maker and is always cleverer and tricksier than both Man and beast. I just love puzzles like that - finding the origins of literary matters - such as Why is the Mad Hatter "mad"? and the origins of our language in words eg "window" and "daisy". But I digress...
To coincide with this month's Royal Wedding, I have created a British Classics collage interspersed with photos of the Diana/Charles wedding and the publicity shots of Kate and William. The more I was looking for examples of British young children's literature, the more I found I was going to have to leave off the board for sheer lack of space. These are some of the samples that made it onto the board alongside the Royals. Feel free to add your favourite favourite:
To coincide with this month's Royal Wedding, I have created a British Classics collage interspersed with photos of the Diana/Charles wedding and the publicity shots of Kate and William. The more I was looking for examples of British young children's literature, the more I found I was going to have to leave off the board for sheer lack of space. These are some of the samples that made it onto the board alongside the Royals. Feel free to add your favourite favourite:
- Winnie the Pooh
- Enid Blyton (both examples of the series' and Noddy)
- The Wind in the Willows
- Harry Potter (of course)
- The Reluctant Dragon
- Paddington
- Milly Molly Mandy
- The Railway Children
- The Sword in the Stone (the quintessential children's Arthurian introduction)
- The Hobbit
Friday, April 22, 2011
Day 30. Of Chocolate and Jelly Beans
Here we are, the weekend before the semi-finalists are announced. Thank goodness it is the Easter Weekend, to take my mind off it. We are well stocked for tomorrow's egg hunt! Found a new "toy" which is a set of plastic jelly-bean-filled eggs which glow in the dark. Will set them out in the garden for the children tonight. Traditionally however, we (in South Africa) wake up on Sunday morning ... usually as dawn breaks (because the children have been up since 4.00am and have been through twice already to ask "is it time yet?" AND been sent back to bed twice). Then, because the Easter Bunny has been in the night to hide eggs in the garden, we gallop around our gardens in the morning dew getting soggy leg-ends of pyjamas and icy fingers, looking for chocolate Easter Eggs. By 7.30 am we are all back inside with pots of hot tea and trying to get a sensible breakfast into us between chocolate mouthfuls :-) All good! I LOVE Easter.
I am fascinated by the different variations in traditions around the world. There are such a variety of activities around the actual Easter Eggs: rolling down hills, hiding or not hiding, chocolate, painted and decorated real eggs.... I've also wondered at how traditions have been past around the world, and follow various ethnic groups.
Here in South Africa, I don't know where our tradition of hiding eggs comes from: the Germanic, English or other traditions...?
The other puzzle for me is, why Americans include Jelly Beans in their Easter festivities? Would love to hear some theories.
I am fascinated by the different variations in traditions around the world. There are such a variety of activities around the actual Easter Eggs: rolling down hills, hiding or not hiding, chocolate, painted and decorated real eggs.... I've also wondered at how traditions have been past around the world, and follow various ethnic groups.
Here in South Africa, I don't know where our tradition of hiding eggs comes from: the Germanic, English or other traditions...?
The other puzzle for me is, why Americans include Jelly Beans in their Easter festivities? Would love to hear some theories.
Day 29. A Good Friday
Spent the public holiday curled up with the children watching Harry Potter no.7 dvd "Deathly Hallows", a mountain of popcorn and hot chocolate. Fantastic. As a family we have not ever been to watch the Harry Potters at the movies, because of the age difference in my children - the younger always misses the age limit by 2 years. So we wait for the dvd and watch together.
Saw a lot of "Lord of the Rings" in this latest episode: taking turns to wear the locket on a gold chain; moving out in the wilderness and on the run from dark things; personal gifts bequeathed by Dumbledor to the three - something along the lines of the gifts from the elves to the 3 hobbits (and for that matter the gifts given to the Pevensy children in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe) - not least of which is a light emitting device for Ron; the special sword of Griffendor akin to the special swords with special powers which the Fellowship of the Ring carry. So you see, old, well-used motifs run deep through all fantasy. We writers of young adult fantasy are EXPECTED to include familiar devices and motifs and conventions.
Saw a lot of "Lord of the Rings" in this latest episode: taking turns to wear the locket on a gold chain; moving out in the wilderness and on the run from dark things; personal gifts bequeathed by Dumbledor to the three - something along the lines of the gifts from the elves to the 3 hobbits (and for that matter the gifts given to the Pevensy children in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe) - not least of which is a light emitting device for Ron; the special sword of Griffendor akin to the special swords with special powers which the Fellowship of the Ring carry. So you see, old, well-used motifs run deep through all fantasy. We writers of young adult fantasy are EXPECTED to include familiar devices and motifs and conventions.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Day 24. So What Would the Movie Version of Your Book Look Like?
And I was just daydreaming and wondering what the movie version of my book would look like. I came up with a warm autumnal film filled with fantastic gnarled and intertwined tree trunks and undergrowth... a delicious a la carte of:
- Ridley Scott type "Legend" with moody forest, slanting sun beams through trees, sparkly dust and floaty bits on the light
- Tim Burtonesque nuances of bad dream vibe and weird angles
- Lead child actor as the child Christian Bale and supported by Thomas Sangster. The girls would have to be two new faces - very soft and unaffected.
- Tim Roth as the Dark Lord
- The lady Nimue played by Tilda Swinton
- Needing soundtrack similar to Series of Unfortunate Events
So who would play YOUR lead character?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Day 23. Getting Kids to Love Reading
Children love to talk about their reading adventures. They want you to engage with them about what they are reading and what they find exciting. All too often we shut down conversation with kids because as adults we apparently know it all and know what is best for kids. Uh - no... wrong!
As I indicated yesterday, I get very motivated when it comes to getting young adults and Tweenies to love reading. All too often the old school values in our educated selves want us to promote the classics, the good things we grew up on and those reads we were taught were of meaningful worth.
So I started with a non-existent library at our school 5 years ago. It was an emergent middle school at the time, and while small funds were made available, all I could do was grow it term by term... so what to do?
1. Bought in current fabulous reads which were top of book store lists
2. Started taking part in the international Kids Lit Quiz event and the termly inter-school lit quiz events, to raise excitement around reading and a broad general knowledge of children's fiction and literature. Fantastic philosophy to allow kids to pit their strengths on a literary sports field!
3. Created a monthly Challenge. On a bright poster set 5 literary classic reads and challenged anyone who dared, to read one of them. This list included Treasure Island, Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Peter Pan, Little Women, Five Children and It... you know - the real classics - and guess what? They were up for the challenge.
4. THE READING CHRONICLE: This is an elaborate A3 sized ring-bound booklet which I set up. It is all olde worlde and saturated in patina. It has three sections
As I indicated yesterday, I get very motivated when it comes to getting young adults and Tweenies to love reading. All too often the old school values in our educated selves want us to promote the classics, the good things we grew up on and those reads we were taught were of meaningful worth.
So I started with a non-existent library at our school 5 years ago. It was an emergent middle school at the time, and while small funds were made available, all I could do was grow it term by term... so what to do?
1. Bought in current fabulous reads which were top of book store lists
2. Started taking part in the international Kids Lit Quiz event and the termly inter-school lit quiz events, to raise excitement around reading and a broad general knowledge of children's fiction and literature. Fantastic philosophy to allow kids to pit their strengths on a literary sports field!
3. Created a monthly Challenge. On a bright poster set 5 literary classic reads and challenged anyone who dared, to read one of them. This list included Treasure Island, Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Peter Pan, Little Women, Five Children and It... you know - the real classics - and guess what? They were up for the challenge.
4. THE READING CHRONICLE: This is an elaborate A3 sized ring-bound booklet which I set up. It is all olde worlde and saturated in patina. It has three sections
- Running Record and Reviews
- Wish List
- Members of the "Secret Society"
Essentially, the children log in name, title and a review comment after finishing each book. And BOY do they take it seriously! They also get to list books on a wish list (which is really helpful to me), and every year, new children get to fill in their names as a record of having belonged to this prestigious "secret" society (which essentially the library and a book club mixed in one). The beauty of this book is that kids get to read what other children enjoyed, they can follow recommendations by friends with similar tastes, and this is not regenerated every year, the book now holds comments from 4 years ago and it's growing. It's all about perception and creating a special aura!
5. HOT BOOKS: with each new purchase/ bulk buy in, we select Hot Books which are showcased and advertised ruthlessly and set up on display. And yes, I do slip in some of my personal "must reads" which I think every child should read:
- everything by Rumer Godden
- Michael Morpurgo
- Alan Garner
- Susan Cooper
- Sharon Creech
6. KIDS RUN THE LIBRARY. This is a bit of a leap of faith, but it really really really does work. We don't have a qualified librarian. We elect a small team of librarians from the 7th graders every year. They are monitored by 2 teachers who stand in the background. We do however have a simple Excel document (which is growing weekly) which serves as the inventory of our library. Rustic, simple, but effective. The librarians check books out and in every morning, they create lists of missing books and chase down late returns. They are diligent, merciless and possessive of their portfolio. In 5 years we have only lost 2 books!!!
Tomorrow's posting will be around whether or not to include pulp fiction on our shelves... you know "Twilight" etc ;-)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day 22. Saturday and Book Shopping! Encouraging reading in Young Teens, pre-teens and Tweenies.
The best time of the school term. I get to go book shopping for our Middle School and Grade 7 "young adults". I have an subject allocation and I purchase quarterly. It's FANTASTIC! This is my greatest passion in teaching - encouraging and growing enthusiastic reading children. We have made so much progress. The little school where I teach Forres Preparatory School, has a very new Middle School department and in 5 years we have grown a library from ground level (ie no books). The strategy has been to buy current and good reads and spread across reading strengths without labelling books by age or gender. I have impressed on children that we are free to read whatever we want to (breaking molds of "girl books" and "boy books"). So we invite boys to dip into Jaqueline Wilson and Meg Cabot if they so wish...and many do!! I will spend the next post listing some other creative strategies in our library and how I have created an enthusiasm for reading in even the toughest nuts.
I have a favourite shop where I browse to my heart's content and come away loaded. Last term I focused on easier reads for the emergent Chapter Book Readers. We bought in a big collection of the Aussie Nibbles, Aussie Chomp and Aussie Bites. Brilliant for beginner independent readers. I also always include a couple of picture books such as Shaun Tan and Emily Gravett and Chris Riddell - just because Literacy is beautiful and thought provoking in so many forms.
Some titles in today's shop for ages 9 - 13:
Niki Daly - Zanzibar Road (can't think why we don't have this one on our shelves)
A full set of Cressida Cowell - "How to Train your Dragon" series
Chris Mould - "Something Wickedly Weird" series
Michael Morpurgo (of course and per usual) - a selection (inevitably I bring in about 3 Morpurgo titles
Eva Ibbotson "The Ogre of Oglefort"
Barack Obama "Of Thee I Sing" (How beautiful is that picture book??!)
Michael Foreman's "A Child's Garden" - so much lesson material to be found in that
Carole Wilkinson - Dragon Keeper series
Helen Stringer - The Last Ghost, a Belladonna Johnson Adventure
Axel Scheffler - How to Keep a Pet Squirrel
Charlie Higson - The Young Bond Dossier - Danger Society
John Boyne - Noah Barleywater Runs Away
Kevin Henkes - Bird Lake Moon
Anthony McGowan - Einstein's Underpants
A few collections of short stories and a few poetry anthologies with lush illustration (kids love these!!)
Always bring in a promote classics. I usually set them as challenge books for stronger readers and because children love a challenge when it's out in the open, they really do dive in and read things like Treasure Island. This time am going to pimp:
Eve Garnett - The Family From One End Street and
Edith Nesbit - Five Children and It
Yay - will share how I we introduce the new reads and create a fever around the new "hot books" in a post or two... So excited - have them spread in glorious piles on my diningroom table and will take them in to school on Monday.
I have a favourite shop where I browse to my heart's content and come away loaded. Last term I focused on easier reads for the emergent Chapter Book Readers. We bought in a big collection of the Aussie Nibbles, Aussie Chomp and Aussie Bites. Brilliant for beginner independent readers. I also always include a couple of picture books such as Shaun Tan and Emily Gravett and Chris Riddell - just because Literacy is beautiful and thought provoking in so many forms.
Some titles in today's shop for ages 9 - 13:
Niki Daly - Zanzibar Road (can't think why we don't have this one on our shelves)
A full set of Cressida Cowell - "How to Train your Dragon" series
Chris Mould - "Something Wickedly Weird" series
Michael Morpurgo (of course and per usual) - a selection (inevitably I bring in about 3 Morpurgo titles
Eva Ibbotson "The Ogre of Oglefort"
Barack Obama "Of Thee I Sing" (How beautiful is that picture book??!)
Michael Foreman's "A Child's Garden" - so much lesson material to be found in that
Carole Wilkinson - Dragon Keeper series
Helen Stringer - The Last Ghost, a Belladonna Johnson Adventure
Axel Scheffler - How to Keep a Pet Squirrel
Charlie Higson - The Young Bond Dossier - Danger Society
John Boyne - Noah Barleywater Runs Away
Kevin Henkes - Bird Lake Moon
Anthony McGowan - Einstein's Underpants
A few collections of short stories and a few poetry anthologies with lush illustration (kids love these!!)
Always bring in a promote classics. I usually set them as challenge books for stronger readers and because children love a challenge when it's out in the open, they really do dive in and read things like Treasure Island. This time am going to pimp:
Eve Garnett - The Family From One End Street and
Edith Nesbit - Five Children and It
Yay - will share how I we introduce the new reads and create a fever around the new "hot books" in a post or two... So excited - have them spread in glorious piles on my diningroom table and will take them in to school on Monday.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Day 21: It's Friday!
So today seems to be a fairly auspicious day in world history:
Anniversary of the day the Titanic sank
The first MacDonald's outlet opened
International Cleavage Day....
All I know is that it's Friday and it's been a looong and dynamic week. I have been toying with the concept for this year's school play and have been dancing around the idea of a Grimm's Fairytale collage set in The Black Forest - all monochromatic and Spiderwebs, silhouettes, Goth grunge and so on... I have an A3 page of a plan and was chatting with my class and Bam! the opening scene has gelled in my mind. Fabulous. So we've gone from a general idea, to a very specific production concept and design and outline. So exciting. Going to spend the weekend scripting and designing. It looks like blustering and cold weather, and can't think of anything nicer than designing and drawing.
Oh yes - drawing. I went to my Art Class last night. A 7 week series in drawing. Ugh - quite frustrating and not as much fun as I imagined. I have to rethink how I draw and train myself into new habits. All good - but I find that I am a rebellious student after all. That's the joy of Adult Education Classes - you all go to learn something new, but there is not the pressure of marks and academic performance, and you get to back chat the teacher a bit - and everyone is a little more comfortable in their skins than when we were in high school :-)
Anniversary of the day the Titanic sank
The first MacDonald's outlet opened
International Cleavage Day....
All I know is that it's Friday and it's been a looong and dynamic week. I have been toying with the concept for this year's school play and have been dancing around the idea of a Grimm's Fairytale collage set in The Black Forest - all monochromatic and Spiderwebs, silhouettes, Goth grunge and so on... I have an A3 page of a plan and was chatting with my class and Bam! the opening scene has gelled in my mind. Fabulous. So we've gone from a general idea, to a very specific production concept and design and outline. So exciting. Going to spend the weekend scripting and designing. It looks like blustering and cold weather, and can't think of anything nicer than designing and drawing.
Oh yes - drawing. I went to my Art Class last night. A 7 week series in drawing. Ugh - quite frustrating and not as much fun as I imagined. I have to rethink how I draw and train myself into new habits. All good - but I find that I am a rebellious student after all. That's the joy of Adult Education Classes - you all go to learn something new, but there is not the pressure of marks and academic performance, and you get to back chat the teacher a bit - and everyone is a little more comfortable in their skins than when we were in high school :-)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Day 19. Eve of the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic
Tomorrow - 14 April - marks the anniversary of the night the Titanic struck the ice-berg. I wonder how many stories there are from that night which have been left untold? I wonder if there lies a novel in the possible stories that sank with that great ship?
Have been carefully proof-reading my own book. It is amazing how in a new format, I see so many typos. I have read and re-read the book soooo many times and it is with a new pair of objective eyes, that I am reading it for the first time very critically. The old manuscript had become too familiar I think. I am reading it now as if it is the work of someone else. Very interesting process.
Anyway, tonight will be an early night. It's been a killer week - and a strange one at that. Have avoided any ABNA site-related thread reading today and this evening.
Just under two weeks to go to the announcement of the semi-finalists...
Have been carefully proof-reading my own book. It is amazing how in a new format, I see so many typos. I have read and re-read the book soooo many times and it is with a new pair of objective eyes, that I am reading it for the first time very critically. The old manuscript had become too familiar I think. I am reading it now as if it is the work of someone else. Very interesting process.
Anyway, tonight will be an early night. It's been a killer week - and a strange one at that. Have avoided any ABNA site-related thread reading today and this evening.
Just under two weeks to go to the announcement of the semi-finalists...
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Day 18.
Took my proof copy to school with me and showed the middle schoolers. They are deeply impressed and are all wanting to read the book. Promised to put a few copies in the library when I've finished editing and it's been given the green light.
Anyhooo... am going to a 7 week art class - starting Thursday. This is something I've always wanted to do. I draw and doodle and have no formal training. There is something about the idea of being in a quiet space for two hours and doing something for the fun of it, that is very appealing. Can't think when I last did something for me. I have signed up for the ABC drawing lessons (Adult Beginner Class). It will be a time out from teaching, from mothering, from writing, from being responsible ;-)
AND the roof of my house is being replaced. They are removing the original 1940's clay tiles and old timbers, and replacing with metal sheeting. By the time the rains come in a month's time, we should be waterproof! We arrive home at the end of each day, duck under building rubble and the devastation outside, slip into the house and closing the dust and banging and rusty nails and planks and workmen out - our sanctuary inside. My poor garden is suffering though. Cupboard Cat is taking strain and has now a recluse, the Baggins Cat has become a Sunroom resident and the Cocker Spaniel is gritting his teeth until this is all over. The two hamsters are oblivious and just keep eating and running on their treadmill. The menagerie is almost human in its response to the domestic disaster.
Otherwise, not much more to report. Today was a fairly "back to routine" type of day.
Anyhooo... am going to a 7 week art class - starting Thursday. This is something I've always wanted to do. I draw and doodle and have no formal training. There is something about the idea of being in a quiet space for two hours and doing something for the fun of it, that is very appealing. Can't think when I last did something for me. I have signed up for the ABC drawing lessons (Adult Beginner Class). It will be a time out from teaching, from mothering, from writing, from being responsible ;-)
AND the roof of my house is being replaced. They are removing the original 1940's clay tiles and old timbers, and replacing with metal sheeting. By the time the rains come in a month's time, we should be waterproof! We arrive home at the end of each day, duck under building rubble and the devastation outside, slip into the house and closing the dust and banging and rusty nails and planks and workmen out - our sanctuary inside. My poor garden is suffering though. Cupboard Cat is taking strain and has now a recluse, the Baggins Cat has become a Sunroom resident and the Cocker Spaniel is gritting his teeth until this is all over. The two hamsters are oblivious and just keep eating and running on their treadmill. The menagerie is almost human in its response to the domestic disaster.
Otherwise, not much more to report. Today was a fairly "back to routine" type of day.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Day 17. Oh the cleverness of me!
OH MY HAT I LOVE "CREATE SPACE"!!!!
My current Quarter Finalist novel for YA Fiction, is also undergoing self-publishing with Create Space.
I ordered my proof copy mid last week, and living down here in the southern hemisphere in the third world, I expected to receive my copy in a month's time TOPS.
But I came home to a small package and 3 copies of my Proof are here - 4 working days later. Create Space - I am in love.
I must just wax lyrical about my creation:
It is 5.25" x 8" and 212 pages long. Cream paper and full colour cover using a cover template. The template I selected worked SOOOO well with my cover photo and there was the perfect font selection, which quite frankly could not have been bettered. Have a perfect Header layout and my internal graphic - although I received and alert that it may emerge out of focus - is crisp and gorgeous.
Am I boasting or what!? (there is a glaring format issue in that I need to insert a blank page, but other than that it is BEEEA-UUTIFUL!)
People - do yourselves a favour: get your novel self-published and hold a copy in your hands. I feel like a real author now. I am completely inspired to keep going and produce the sequel.
Just wish I could have submitted my entry in hard copy like this.
"How clever I am. Oh the cleverness of me!"
My current Quarter Finalist novel for YA Fiction, is also undergoing self-publishing with Create Space.
I ordered my proof copy mid last week, and living down here in the southern hemisphere in the third world, I expected to receive my copy in a month's time TOPS.
But I came home to a small package and 3 copies of my Proof are here - 4 working days later. Create Space - I am in love.
I must just wax lyrical about my creation:
It is 5.25" x 8" and 212 pages long. Cream paper and full colour cover using a cover template. The template I selected worked SOOOO well with my cover photo and there was the perfect font selection, which quite frankly could not have been bettered. Have a perfect Header layout and my internal graphic - although I received and alert that it may emerge out of focus - is crisp and gorgeous.
Am I boasting or what!? (there is a glaring format issue in that I need to insert a blank page, but other than that it is BEEEA-UUTIFUL!)
People - do yourselves a favour: get your novel self-published and hold a copy in your hands. I feel like a real author now. I am completely inspired to keep going and produce the sequel.
Just wish I could have submitted my entry in hard copy like this.
"How clever I am. Oh the cleverness of me!"
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Day 16. This is a Tale about a Tale
So I was thinking - we each have our own writing journeys ... how did this writing journey happen? How has your writing journey happened?
I always fancied myself as a writer - poet, but I mean, I didn't leave school and think that I would be a writer and then start writing in the burst of youth and slowly grow a career and become an established author. It was something I thought I would do since I was about twelve years old - so, so, so many writings and scribblings and notebooks and poems....
But I became a teacher and it's been a brilliant journey. But I do think that everything is part of the one journey. If we let it, the everything we encounter and grow through feeds into one glorious narrative of our own making.
My father and his siblings had a sad start to life: They were WW2 toddlers and babies in north England. Their father left home, then - who knows what the motivation was - their mother left them taking her daughter with her to marry another man. The two little boys aged 4 and 6 were sent to live in a charity orphanage run by a Methodist charity organisation in the south of England. The highlight of his life at Harpenden was chapel choir. The children grew up calling the house mothers "Sister" although research indicates that these ladies were lay people.
I told the story to a Life Skills class, of a child (my father), being abandoned by his mother and sent with his brother to an orphanage. That became a stock lesson plan for a few years (about choice and creating one's own life story). I eventually ran an ad. in the UK newspapers calling for any stories about the orphanage and its children. The idea (which is still in the pipeline) was to write a collection of stories and paint a picture of an era lost in time. I received a wonderful collection from enthusiastic people and I am committed to upholding my end of the ambitious plan.
Then six years ago, I stumbled on a short story writing competition for Maskew Miller Longman Publishers, and submitted a re-working of this same story in all its literary clothing. It didn't get anywhere.
It was shelved. Then two years ago, I was meandering on the Web and found Chicken House Publishers and that they had a Children's Novel writing competition. I set my target and sat down and wrote the whole story in 3 months. It ended up being a 60 000 word novel. The same ghost of a story was the backbone of my novel and it had developed into a full fantasy work for children. A life's ambition. I posted it off in all my exuberant innocence and held my breath. It didn't get anywhere. BUT it was a complete work and I was proud beyond belief of this thing I had finished.
I was disappointed though and after a few months of moping started submitting to local publishers. I came to the conclusion that in South Africa, publishing houses are strapped for cash and need to pick their new titles very carefully. They can't take a chance on a new author with no track record and who is offering a less than South African-steeped work. And Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass didn't get anywhere.
Then I ordered a Kindle one day and discovered in so doing - entirely as an aside, that Amazon are offering self-publishing services. I thought "why not" and set about editing again, and formatting for Kindle and uploading. And then of course the notice came through to submit for ABNA which I did, and here we sit, champing at the bit and wondering if Edward and I will make it through to the Semi-finals....
So there it is. And here is the original "Edward Beaton" whose story set the whole book in motion... my father David, visiting the orphanage and the forest behind it in Harpenden, England, about 60 years after he left it.
So what is your story..?
I always fancied myself as a writer - poet, but I mean, I didn't leave school and think that I would be a writer and then start writing in the burst of youth and slowly grow a career and become an established author. It was something I thought I would do since I was about twelve years old - so, so, so many writings and scribblings and notebooks and poems....
But I became a teacher and it's been a brilliant journey. But I do think that everything is part of the one journey. If we let it, the everything we encounter and grow through feeds into one glorious narrative of our own making.
My father and his siblings had a sad start to life: They were WW2 toddlers and babies in north England. Their father left home, then - who knows what the motivation was - their mother left them taking her daughter with her to marry another man. The two little boys aged 4 and 6 were sent to live in a charity orphanage run by a Methodist charity organisation in the south of England. The highlight of his life at Harpenden was chapel choir. The children grew up calling the house mothers "Sister" although research indicates that these ladies were lay people.
I told the story to a Life Skills class, of a child (my father), being abandoned by his mother and sent with his brother to an orphanage. That became a stock lesson plan for a few years (about choice and creating one's own life story). I eventually ran an ad. in the UK newspapers calling for any stories about the orphanage and its children. The idea (which is still in the pipeline) was to write a collection of stories and paint a picture of an era lost in time. I received a wonderful collection from enthusiastic people and I am committed to upholding my end of the ambitious plan.
Then six years ago, I stumbled on a short story writing competition for Maskew Miller Longman Publishers, and submitted a re-working of this same story in all its literary clothing. It didn't get anywhere.
It was shelved. Then two years ago, I was meandering on the Web and found Chicken House Publishers and that they had a Children's Novel writing competition. I set my target and sat down and wrote the whole story in 3 months. It ended up being a 60 000 word novel. The same ghost of a story was the backbone of my novel and it had developed into a full fantasy work for children. A life's ambition. I posted it off in all my exuberant innocence and held my breath. It didn't get anywhere. BUT it was a complete work and I was proud beyond belief of this thing I had finished.
I was disappointed though and after a few months of moping started submitting to local publishers. I came to the conclusion that in South Africa, publishing houses are strapped for cash and need to pick their new titles very carefully. They can't take a chance on a new author with no track record and who is offering a less than South African-steeped work. And Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass didn't get anywhere.
Then I ordered a Kindle one day and discovered in so doing - entirely as an aside, that Amazon are offering self-publishing services. I thought "why not" and set about editing again, and formatting for Kindle and uploading. And then of course the notice came through to submit for ABNA which I did, and here we sit, champing at the bit and wondering if Edward and I will make it through to the Semi-finals....
So there it is. And here is the original "Edward Beaton" whose story set the whole book in motion... my father David, visiting the orphanage and the forest behind it in Harpenden, England, about 60 years after he left it.
So what is your story..?
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day 14. ABNA - Exactly Half Way...
It is exactly half way through the wait between the date when the Quarter Finalists were announced and the date when the Semi Finalists will be announced in the ABNA contest.
There is a fun discussion link "What will you do if you advance? If you don't?" over on www.amazon.com
But the thought that I am slowly allowing to distill is as
Cathi Radner Castrio says:
The big thing though is to keep writing and brainstorming the next plot idea...
There is a fun discussion link "What will you do if you advance? If you don't?" over on www.amazon.com
But the thought that I am slowly allowing to distill is as
Cathi Radner Castrio says:
In some ways it seems the contest is evolving into a marketing tool for the self published books
The big thing though is to keep writing and brainstorming the next plot idea...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Day 13. My Proof Copy Shipped Create Space!
Very excited - my proof copy from Create Space has shipped today. I can expect it in 3 weeks' time!
Would love to know how many other Independent Authors have published on Create Space.
Would love to know how many other Independent Authors have published on Create Space.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 12. In Celebration of Hans Christian Anderson
It was Hans Christian Anderson's birthday on the 2 April. So to celebrate, here's a chance to post which was the most powerful fairytale in your childhood? Perhaps it was one that had most impact, was scariest, had the greatest lasting impression.... (and not necessarily an Anderson tale)
Me first:
My favourite fairytale was - and still is - Beauty and the Beast. I think the most told and influential Anderson tale must be The Ugly Duckling.
Me first:
My favourite fairytale was - and still is - Beauty and the Beast. I think the most told and influential Anderson tale must be The Ugly Duckling.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day 11. Taking a Break ... or not.
Today I am taking a break form ABNA. I have been following threads, angsting about my submission and regretting edits, and finalising my Create Space edition, and reading sooooo many excerpts from other ABNA quarterfinalists....
The plot of a sequel to my "Edward Beaton" fell into place on Saturday evening and it is distilling and being mentally coloured in these last 3 days. Only 4 days left of school holidays - sigh.
SO! I am going to get on and use these precious few days to step away from Amazon.com and let the creative juices flow, while doing some exciting DIY around the house. Starting with painting a set of new bookshelves which have been delivered today.
The plot of a sequel to my "Edward Beaton" fell into place on Saturday evening and it is distilling and being mentally coloured in these last 3 days. Only 4 days left of school holidays - sigh.
SO! I am going to get on and use these precious few days to step away from Amazon.com and let the creative juices flow, while doing some exciting DIY around the house. Starting with painting a set of new bookshelves which have been delivered today.
Day 10 When Self Doubt Creeps In
Well today I went on line and started reading the reviews of other quarter finalists and was swiftly swept into the whirlpool of despair. Everyone else's reviews seem fantastic! Just about every other review includes a comment that the reviewer would love to see that work in print/on the bookshelves...! Oh dear.
THEN I received a decisive and honest review from a fellow quarter finalist and that didn't do much for my usual perky upbeat sense of self. She commented on my use of imagery and doesn't understand how anything could smell purple as in "and purple-scented flowers nodded and danced gently in a cool breeze". Oh well must just keep reminding myself to keep things in perspective.
ON TOP OF THAT I realise that the 11th hour edit I did before submitting to ABNA - a twizzle with the opening paragraph intended to be a stronger "hook" is actually rubbish - and if I submitted again, I would have left it as it was originally intended. It is meant to start with ...
"The children at “Fulker’s House - Home for Abandoned or Orphaned Children” called this particular tree The Death Tree. Its dense, drooping, waxy green-blue leaves seemed to hide secrets and if you stood beneath it, you could not see the sky above".
Self Doubt Self Doubt Self Doubt - an artist's greatest enemy!
THEN I received a decisive and honest review from a fellow quarter finalist and that didn't do much for my usual perky upbeat sense of self. She commented on my use of imagery and doesn't understand how anything could smell purple as in "and purple-scented flowers nodded and danced gently in a cool breeze". Oh well must just keep reminding myself to keep things in perspective.
ON TOP OF THAT I realise that the 11th hour edit I did before submitting to ABNA - a twizzle with the opening paragraph intended to be a stronger "hook" is actually rubbish - and if I submitted again, I would have left it as it was originally intended. It is meant to start with ...
"The children at “Fulker’s House - Home for Abandoned or Orphaned Children” called this particular tree The Death Tree. Its dense, drooping, waxy green-blue leaves seemed to hide secrets and if you stood beneath it, you could not see the sky above".
Self Doubt Self Doubt Self Doubt - an artist's greatest enemy!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 9: Lazy Sunday Afternoons
Okay, so I thought it would be an easy step to creating my cover design for Create Space - I would just download a template and work in Photoshop and upload. Well it turns out that my Photoshop skills have rusted almost beyond repair and it has taken me the better part of 7 hours to try get only a passably acceptable cover going. I cannot believe that I was so eloquent in Photoshop skills a year ago, and with a break, have forgotten almost everything. Grrrrrrr!!! So now I've scrapped all my efforts of the day and am starting with a clean canvas. I think I've got it now and it shouldn't be long before I can upload my version to Create Space.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Day 7 Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass a week along...
My daughter Lily, is 9 years old and a fairly average reader for her age. I could not imagine her sitting down at this age, to a 60 000+ word novel. I am just curious what constitutes a Young Adult Fiction - Vocabulary, and font size, subject and sustained story length... of course. I hesitate to age categorise books because children's tastes and reading interests and abilities vary as much as adults do. Just thinking about books such as The Book Thief and some of Alice Hoffman's books which are pitched as Young Adult Fiction, but which enjoy a huge adult following. Not sure what the solution is, but just think that tight age categorisation outside of graded reading systems is counter-productive ?
Anyway - my school reports are all done and dusted and the holiday begins tomorrow. Yippee!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Day 6 Of Shaun Tan and Mondays
Missed a day - nearing the end of the school term and madly getting marking and reports done by tomorrow. But by this time tomorrow it will all be done and dusted and I will be staring at a welcome holiday in the face. Many, many links and reads on the ABNA discussion boards about good and bad reviews and swapping excerpts. I must admit to having had no time to do more than day dream about the "what if" of getting through to the next round of the ABNA contest. Imagine being in the Top 50!!!! What a privilege and affirmation that would be. Publishers Weekly professional reviewers will be reading and appraising works.
BUT the highlight of the day has been to read that Shaun Tan has won the Lingdren award for 2011. Isn't that FANTASTIC! I have been a fan of his works for ages now.
His web page is brilliant too: Shaun Tan
The originality and complexity of his picture books have provided me with many many lesson ideas:
The Rabbits
The Red Tree
The Viewer
Anyway - back to marking Grade 7 Essays entitled "Monday's Child".
BUT the highlight of the day has been to read that Shaun Tan has won the Lingdren award for 2011. Isn't that FANTASTIC! I have been a fan of his works for ages now.
His web page is brilliant too: Shaun Tan
The originality and complexity of his picture books have provided me with many many lesson ideas:
The Rabbits
The Red Tree
The Viewer
Anyway - back to marking Grade 7 Essays entitled "Monday's Child".
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Visual Fantasy
One of the most inspiring and creative finds which took me SO much by surprise in 2010 was The Black Heart Gang that visually create a mind-blowing collage of images. What incredible talent! Loose yourself for a while and take an amble through their web site.
Day 4 Fairy Tales and Fantasy
I am so excited about the prospect of the new movie Little Red Riding Hood coming out this March. I know that as a South African, I should be writing about and embracing all things local and lekker, but my heart and soul are in the fantasy world and the sort of euro-centric fantasy that I grew up with - saturated in and which captured my imagination right from the start. It was the real escape from all things immediate. Having worked with young adults, teens and little children for the past 20 years, I can honestly say that children are still drawn into fantasy and crave the huge array of Fantasy Genres that are fed to us from around the world. So while our local publishing houses endeavour to support and promote local and obviously African themes, and I accept that there is almost no place for Children's Fantasy of the Euro-Centric kind in our South African publishing houses, I know that this is the VERY book that our local children are reading... and can't get enough of.
So our school kids will continue to buy and voraciously read American and European fiction while our local publishers continue to seek out local themes and exist - the way I see it - to support and promote local writers of local content. Am I wrong? I just wish we had a happy balance and writers of a variety of genres could happily co-exist in SA. If only economies didn't play a part in the enormous world of publishing and writing...
My offering to the world is very much 'of me' - which means that it boldly and unashamedly embraces the fantasy genre, but it also can't but help express the South African I am at heart... in the end, the local in me found it's way into my writing...
So our school kids will continue to buy and voraciously read American and European fiction while our local publishers continue to seek out local themes and exist - the way I see it - to support and promote local writers of local content. Am I wrong? I just wish we had a happy balance and writers of a variety of genres could happily co-exist in SA. If only economies didn't play a part in the enormous world of publishing and writing...
My offering to the world is very much 'of me' - which means that it boldly and unashamedly embraces the fantasy genre, but it also can't but help express the South African I am at heart... in the end, the local in me found it's way into my writing...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Day 3
I would love the luxury of a Good Edit. Self Publishing is a bold move which many brave and noble writers make. It's greatest pitfall is the fact that self-published works have not had the benefit of a completely objective, critical read and the offering of some sound editorial advice. So our works go out into the world looking for readers and publishers in their naked innocence. I think that writing competitions are a brilliant way to encourage people to write and really are a painless way for publishing houses to take in a bunch of manuscripts during a season and focus their editorial staff in an intensive Next-Best-Seller Hunt.
Apart from ABNA one of the best Competition Writing opportunities lies in the Chicken House . Feel free to add your best Writing Competition Links below.
The other option is to send you manuscript out at Book Fairs such as London Book Fair , Cape Town Book Fair , Frankfurt Book Fair with an agent who may have a book stand.
Apart from ABNA one of the best Competition Writing opportunities lies in the Chicken House . Feel free to add your best Writing Competition Links below.
The other option is to send you manuscript out at Book Fairs such as London Book Fair , Cape Town Book Fair , Frankfurt Book Fair with an agent who may have a book stand.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Day 2
"Sara had told me that a woman who could rescue herself was a woman who would never be in need." Alice Hoffman - The Red Garden So this is Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend. There is a crisp cool breeze and the sun angle has changed - we are at the end of Summer at last it seems.
I got frustrated today because I encountered the problem to do with not being able to find my new Blog and apparently there are all sorts of things about registering domain and URL's and such, and I am too tired to do that kind of research today. I did find Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass popping up on someone else's Blog with an annoyingly biting and unofficial and unasked for Review. So that was a bit draining. Ugh! Criticising the fact that the book needs editing having read only the first page ... and being Self Published. Well - yes: Self Published works have not had the luxury of a team of editors and advisors. This being the obvious downside and risk involved in going it alone.
BUT I have been floating around since becoming a Quarter Finalist and holding my head up high and finally thinking of myself as A Writer. I like that narrative of myself. Yes I am a Writer.
I got frustrated today because I encountered the problem to do with not being able to find my new Blog and apparently there are all sorts of things about registering domain and URL's and such, and I am too tired to do that kind of research today. I did find Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass popping up on someone else's Blog with an annoyingly biting and unofficial and unasked for Review. So that was a bit draining. Ugh! Criticising the fact that the book needs editing having read only the first page ... and being Self Published. Well - yes: Self Published works have not had the luxury of a team of editors and advisors. This being the obvious downside and risk involved in going it alone.
BUT I have been floating around since becoming a Quarter Finalist and holding my head up high and finally thinking of myself as A Writer. I like that narrative of myself. Yes I am a Writer.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass
Day 1.
We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.
- Louisa May Alcott
...so this story that was growing inside me since I was about 16 years old, finally got written. I stumbled upon the Chicken House Competition 2 years ago. In all my innocence I sat down and started my book. I wrote furiously for three months. I have edited it a few times over now switching between a Euro-centric and African ethic.... "Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass" has not found a home in any local South African publishing house. It is after all modelled on traditional fantasy genres. Then, I stumbled upon the self-publishing concept through www.amazon.com and so rather than have the manuscript gather foxing effects, I submitted it. Then rather temptingly the ABNA competition popped up and I thought "why not?" submitted it and got on with my life, and making fudge, and planting Sweet Peas and fields of Basil in my back garden. Then I was alerted to the fact that I had made it through to the quarter final and am one of 250 Hopefuls looking to make it into the semi-finals.
I have a month to wait, to find out whether or not Edward Beaton and the Star in the Glass has met with empathetic reading eyes and connected with a judge or two who recognise its authenticity. So this is a "Diary of a Children's Fantasy Novel Waiting For An Audience Of Divine Young Readers".
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