FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What advice would you give an aspiring author?
Practise heaps. Writing is a skill and the more you do it, the better you get at it. Compare it to learning a language, a musical instrument or a sport. Practice matters. You don't necessarily need to be working on a complete story every time you write. Have fun. Try writing different opening sentences, character descriptions, scene descriptions. Experiment. Take risks. You're the only one who has to see it, and it will help you to find your unique writer’s voice.
Read broadly. The best writers I’ve taught are children who are avid readers. Learn from and be inspired by other writers’ work.
Ask for advice. Taking some helpful hints from someone you trust is a great way to improve your writing.
How do you plan a story?
See my book, The Story Writer’s Handbook. There is a section at the end that explains how I plan a story from the seed of an idea and the daydreaming stage onwards.
Where do you get your ideas for your stories?
Inspiration is everywhere. I get ideas from people I meet, places I visit or learn about, my own experiences, pictures, words, moments in history, animals, themes. Anything that sparks my interest might be a starting point for a story.
I’m interested in the world and other people. I watch and notice stuff. I like learning new things. I daydream and wonder.
I also draw a lot and play a lot with words. Just for fun. But while I’m having fun, I get lots of great ideas for stories. Setting aside time to daydream and play is important if I want to give my ideas time to bubble and fizz.
What do you like about being an author?
My writing is an escape. When I’m writing a story, the real world disappears and I take the adventure with my characters. I get to live many dfferent lives, just as I do when I read books.
I am totally in control of the world of my story. I can make whatever I want to happen happen. That makes me feel very powerful!
I love playing with words and images, and working on a sentence or a paragraph until it says exactly what I want it to.
And I love sharing my stories with others, meeting my readers and helping others to get excited about story writitng.
What inspired you to write books for children?
I love books and the power of a great story to draw us away from our own lives into a whole new world, a whole new adventure. I used to teach primary aged children, and I loved the joy a great story could bring to a class. I wanted to be a part of that story writing magic for children.
What’s your advice for overcoming or avoiding writer’s block?
My best piece of advice is to just write. Set a writing routine and stick to it. Sit down and write somewhere quiet without distractions. Before you start, make sure you have everything at your fingertips – computer, dictionary, thesaurus, pens, paper,chocolate…
Sometimes writing can feel like pushing a boulder uphill, but if you just keep going, you might get into the flow. The flow can’t begin if you don’t even start writing in the first place. And if you end up writing something that’s not so good, that’s fine. You can work with those words and make them better. At least you have something, not just a blank page.
I spend a lot of time planning a story before writing - getting to know my characters, the setting, the themes I want to sit at the centre of my story, the plot. That means that I am far less likely to get stumped along the way.
Still, there are times when I just don’t know what to write next or how to solve a problem, and then, I walk away. Not forever! I take a break from the story. It’s amazing how often the answer to a writing problem pops up just minutes after I have left my desk. A change of scene and a few moments rest for my brain can work wonders.
Do you have a special writing place or routine?
Yes I do. I am not a morning person, so I start my days quiety with coffee, some reading and, sometimes, a bit of playful writing. When I start thinking more about the novel I am currently working on than the book I’m reading or the words I’m playing with, I go into my study, sit at my desk and start writing - usually by 10am. I write until I am hungry. I stop for lunch, then go back to my desk and write until I can no longer do any more, then I go for a walk. And sometimes, if the walk revives me, I write again, into the evening.
What’s your favourite genre to write?
I like writing a range of stories, from serious historical fiction, like We Are Wolves and All the Beautiufl Things, through to light, funny stories, like Frances Bloom and Red Dirt Diaries. I love the puzzle-type process of writing a mystery-crime story, like The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome. I love the cross over between reality and fantasy in my Travelling Bookshop books. I love writing about families and how they overcome hurdles and sorrows, like in The Girl Who Brought Mischief and Silver Linings. But no matter what I am writing, I love to include humour. Even in the darkest of stories, humour can provide relief and a moment of joy and hope amidst the tears.
What’s your favourite book?
My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell.
Which is your favourite book out of all those you’ve written?
That’s like being asked who is my favourite child. I can’t choose.
Who is your favourite child?
That’s like being asked which is my favourite book? I can’t choose.