Letting Go

Are you the type who can't thin out vegetable seedlings because you believe if they took the trouble to germinate, they should all be given the chance to grow?

LET GO.

Does your garden look like an Amazon rainforest because you can't bear to get out the hedge clippers?

LET  GO.

Do you possess more meaningless, random five-year old art work than you actually have five year olds because you won't throw anything out?

LET GO.

Do you hang onto ill feelings long after an altercation just in case you need them again for round two?

LET GO.

As a writer, are you reluctant to edit your own work, because they employ people to do that sort of thing for you anyway don't they, and any self-respecting editor will be able to see how much blood, sweat and tears each word took to produce therefore earning its place in your convoluted story?

LET  GO.

An oft hackneyed term that is easier said than done. Perhaps, as writers, we have to deal with the idea of letting go, shaving back, cleaning out, and changing tack more frequently than the average Joe because not only must we contend with our own overcrowded, complicated lives, but we must also be wary of unnecessarily cluttering those of our characters.

And it's much, much harder to butcher the dreams and aspirations of those you love than your own, believe me.

I'm going through a few personal crises just now and a rushed bout of self-editing (for a manuscript). The two are at vastly different ends of my well-being spectrum but the one uniting factor they share is the need to

LET GO.

It's tough work. But the feeling you get after chucking out that Tupperware you no longer look at or culling back an unnecessary paragraph or two is nothing short of liberating and life changing. At least on one's own little life spectrum.

It's not easy but it's worth it. Because to change everything, you simply need to change your attitude. Or at least let the old ones go...

So, what about a change of hair-do then? Hack it off? What do you reckon?

Young Writers Program

Do you have a Harry Potter trapped within you bursting to be free? Do you know someone between the ages of 10 and 19 who find it hard to suppress their written words? Then check out the latest Young Writers' Program for Kids on offer by the Queensland Writers Centre.

These workshops are sure to bring out the budding author in you. I'm especially intrigued by the Story Safari and wish I knew the appropriate age-reversing spell which would make me 10 again so I could don my khakis and tag along with Tristan Bancks.

Aimee Lindorff

Write On! (Age 12 – 17) with Aimée Lindorff
Tuesdays (Term 2)
Commences 16 April, 4:30 – 5:30pm.
Do you love to write? Want to make new friends with similar interests? In this 10-week workshop series with Aimée Lindorff, you’ll learn the secrets of building tension between your heroes and villains though narrative, themes and story structure. Discover the core ingredients of great storytelling, from getting ideas out of your head and onto paper, to dialogue, characters and setting. Explore novels, comics, transmedia and more!

Tristan Bancks Head of Safari

Story Safari (Age 10 – 15) with Tristan Bancks
Monday 24 July 10:30am – 4:30pm
Calling all young imaginations with a love of adventure! Come on an outdoor writing voyage with Tristan Bancks, exploring South Bank’s parks, people and places. Like true documentarians, discover all the benefits of transforming real life stories into a written world on a page, and learn to use your own life, and the world around you as inspiration. An opportunity not to be missed!

Kathleen Noud - short but sweet

Short Story Workout (Age 14 – 19)  with Kathleen Noud
Sunday 28 July 10:30am – 4:30pm
Need some help stretching out a story from concept to prose? Or maybe you’ve got a not-quite-novel-length idea that you want to compress? Join Kathleen Noud for this one-day workshop, and learn the art of the short story. Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman did it, and so can you! This workshop is perfect for young writers looking at submitting to the State Library’s Young Writers Award.

All events will be held in Queensland Writers Centre offices, Level 2, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane.

If you are interested in learning more or signing up for a course just get in touch with QWC at qldwriters@qwc.asn.au

The Remedy of Reflection

Once upon a time I wrote a book. It was about kids and magic and Christmas. It was loads of fun to write and even more fun to share with people.

I shared my book with kids; little kids, big kids and kids, like me, who still believe in Santa.

A few days before Christmas, when the blizzard of excitement from sharing my book with everyone died down, I crept back home to my own family  and quietly wrapped a few presents and baked some Christmas goodies share with them.

As I sat through dozens of Christmas movies, sang along badly to carols and paraded the streets every night to ooh and ah at the decorated houses, lit up like...well...Christmas trees, I realised what a brilliant thing my little book about Christmas was part of.

Kids jumped with glee when they recognised a familiar line, idea or concept shared by the wider Christmas audience. Christmas is after all, more or less, universal.

PS Who Stole Santa's Mail? formed part of the magic, the spirit and the sheer wonder of a time of the year which represents a billion different things to a billion different people all over this planet but mostly just draws humanity together for a brief, uber jolly period of time.

I didn't quite realise it at the time - book launches are rather hard work - but I was very fortunate to be part of the spirit.

We are only a few months into this new year. But already, it's nice to reflect on the past magic moments. They happen with imperceptible speed and stealth. They disguise themselves in mundane 'ordinariness'. They are often delivered by people under 12 and they rarely shout out, "Look at me."

They might be hidden in the pages of your new book; the one you are writing or the one you are reading.

They could simply float by as a butterfly on the breeze after a storm or appear out of the blue like a newborn's first smile.

However you happen upon your magic moments, make sure you take time to marvel them because they seldom occur in exactly the same way twice and they are the elixir of life. For me anyway.

So this is not the end.

Why I like Chinese New Year

Yesterday marked the beginning of a 14 day festival for the Chinese New Year of the Snake. Without labouring on the origins or traditions of this colourful and significant celebration which I've been fortunate to know since childhood, here are a couple of reasons why I like it:

• It's a chance to restart 2013. If the first couple of months or so haven't quite panned out expectation-wise, no matter. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this is when it really all kicks into gear.

• It's cool labelling each new year with a symbolic zodiac animal. This is the Year of the Snake (or Black Snake).
• Meticulous, agile and able; usually gets on with everyone, but often quick tempered. These are snake attributes which quite frankly apply to this little black rooster too. None-the-less I am hoping to apply some sophisticated, silky and smart snake-ness to my writing world this year.
• I love stuffing my self with Chinese delicacies. I don't follow the traditional fare eaten symbolically on certain days of the celebration, just use it more of an excuse to tantalise my tastebuds.Yum Cha was my indulgence this year.
• I enjoy watching bald, balloon-bellied buffoons (the equivocal of rodeo clowns) whip crowds up into comic frenzy.
• I get to stroke a real lion. Well, real Chinese lion at least, because they really do exist, at least in jaw-dropping Lion Dances they do.
• And finally, thanks to the bazillion bursting firecrackers, the explosive rhythm of drums and symbols (to scare the man-eating mythical creature Nian away) and the flashy acrobatics of those adorable lions, there is zero chance of the usual melancholic air that a passing year can bring, ruining the event with its pensive odour. The Chinese are just too centred on talk of future success, money, and better times to dwell on what is left behind like old dust behind the door.

So, Gong Xi Fa Chai - Congratulations and Success to you and whatever you have planned to achieve in 2013.

The Five in One school holiday fix

Life should be about caring and sharing right? And while I concede there's a rightful time and place to smoast (trendy new term and semi-acceptable behaviour for social media boast, but not quite as trendy and acceptable as gangnam style), I do care to share other things when time permits. And what better time than the school holidays?

Sick of dragging the kids in and out of the pool? Tired of endless outings to the local shopping centre? Free-activity'ed out? Broke from repeated visits to other 'worlds'? Seen all the age-appropriate new release movies? Then why not get back to basics with your kids or someone else's if you are short on kids and big on love and time.

OK this is where it gets a bit bookish...but this is a wonderful way to spend time with your under 10 year olds, while generating a little creativity at the same time. It takes place over a week - 5 days, but could be condensed to less days or increased to cover the number of days you have available; you could even be away on a family holiday and incorporate this activity idea.

The Five in One Book Activity

1. Choose a book. Any book will do but preferably a children's book for example; let's say, oh I don't know, how about PS Who Stole Santa's Mail? Picture books work equally as well if not better. Key here is to choose a title that your child is interested in.
2. Read the book. Together, to younger children, or let older ones read for themselves.
3. Now here's the fun bit: allocate each available day to a different activity BASED on the theme, idea, imagery, story, characters etc. from the book chosen.

For example: PS Who Stole Santa's Mail?

• It's about Sam and his best mate Tobii. They have an urgent need to find out what is happening to all the post boxes in their town before Christmas. Post boxes are inexplicably disappearing. Is it magic? Who is up to no good? Will they be able to solve the mystery and save Christmas? Will Sam have time to get his precious Christmas wish away to Santa before the delivery book closes for the year?

 Possible Activity Ideas arising from this tale:

• Cooking activity. Make and bake fruit mince pies together. Tobii loved them. Or any Christmas related treat.
• Santa project. Research and discover as much as you can together (older children can use their own data retrieval skills and knowledge for this) about Santa, his homeland, likes, dislikes, family and so on to form a fact sheet or project card. Include pictures, maps, information boxes.
• Create a play. This is a Christmas themed story. Creating a play based either on the characters in the book or on Christmas, reindeer, winter wonderland etc. is a cinch. Include as much Christmassy music and decorations as you can. Invite other family members and friends (or even pets and toys) to watch your production.
• Puppet play. If creating a full scale mini-musical is not your thing, how about whipping up some crafty hand puppets. Toilet rolls dressed as characters, sock puppets, paper-mache for the more artfully advanced. Young children are then able to design, make and perform too.
• Rewrite. Sam and Tobii managed to locate the missing mail just days before Christmas, but the ending didn't turn out quite as Sam hoped. Ask children how they would like the story to end, or how they would have the story end if they were writing it. Older children could even develop a comic book, illustrated version of the story or try their hand a creating their own book trailer or mini video for it.

These are just 5 ways to expand on the initial idea of sharing a book together. It ensures the enjoyment of sharing a book doesn't just stop once the story ends and the book closes. Exploring the tale, characters and even the pictures in more depth is a lovely way of not only passing the time together, but igniting imagination and creativity - together.

Pick up your favourite book today and have a think about all the marvellous possible activities you could develop around it.

Here are a few more ideas to spark your creativity:

• Picnics - after cooking, planning
• Excursions via bus, train, car, foot - hiking involving maps and mini-quests or treasure hunts.
• Nature exploration, planting (this would involve waiting...)
• Science experiments
• Craft (endless spin off ideas)
• Visits to wildlife zoos, animal shelters, pet shops
• Projects on weather involving craft and science
• Writing projects. If it's not a picture book, discuss or draw illustrations your child thinks suits or tells the story.

Here a few (picture)books that lend themselves well to the Five in One Idea:

• Possum Magic Mem Fox
• That's Not a Daffodil Elizabeth Honey
• Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear Matt Dray
• The Great Expedition Peter Canarvas
• Warambi Aleesah Darlison
• Riley series Tania McCartney
• Brown Bread and Honey Pamela Allen
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
• Almost anything by Bob Graham but I especially love A Bus Called Heaven and Dimity Dumpty

To name but a few. Expand your horizons and read short chapter books like those from the Aussie Nibbles or Little Rockets Series too. Once the thought flood gates open, I'm positive there will be no end to the ways you and your child can appreciate a humble book. Can't wait to hear what you come up with and happy holidays.

Rounding up the Reindeers

There were plenty of KABOOM moments in this little black duck's writing year.

Thanks to everyone for following, commenting, supporting and just turning up now and then for a cuppa and friendly chat; all necessary components to keep my writing wheels spinning. Here's the sparest list I could compile of my writerly milestones to date. I promise I will be bothering you a lot less in 2013 because I've ordered a giant vat of bum glue and plan to apply it to my writing chair early next year. Till then, Happiest of the Christmases to you all. May your holiday season be filled with interesting reads, words you'd like to write and keep, and inspiration to simply smile.

Writing Round Up:

• Won placings in writing for kids competitions 5 times.
• Published on line several times.
• Won my first publishing contract.
• Released my first children's junior novel, PS Who Stole Santa's Mail?
• Hopped aboard Boomerang Books Blog as Children's book reviewer.
• Join the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI.
• Actively enjoyed contributing to Book Links (QLD Inc.) The Centre for Children's Literature, Read Up Program.
• Participated in 9 literacy based school, kindy and festival, workshops, readings, presentations and author meet and greets.
• Had an insanely, unashamedly, brilliant time launching PS Who Stole Santa's Mail? - 4 times (scroll down for competition winners from these launches, and have a look at the Launch Pictorial tour at Visual Stuff.

If the world had ended, at least I could have said, I'd made the most of 2012, come what May-an.

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Everyone is a winner when you're lucky enough to find a copy of PS WHO STOLE SANTA'S MAIL? in your Christmas stocking; but there can only be one winner from each of my Book Launch Competitions and here they are...

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

• Ben  Winner of the Black Cat Book Launch Comp
•  Edward Winner of the Marks and Gardner Book Launch Comp
• Ashley Winner of the Jungle Cats Book Launch Comp
• Nuaha Winner of the Coomera Rivers Author Meet and Greet Comp
• Gabby of the Coomera Waters Tavern Author Meet and Greet Comp

As you can see, I love giving stuff to kids almost as much as Santa. Each of our winners receives a personally signed copy of my debut children's book plus a couple of extra prize vouchers courtesy of my sponsors:

Donut King, Westfield Helensvale, Gold Coast

Iceland Ice Skating rink at Burleigh, Gold Coast

Jungle Cats family restaurant and playcentre, Broadbeach, Gold Coast.

KIITOS to each and every one of you who came along to one of my little celebrations of Christmas. Thanks for entering the competitions and the spirit of Christmas. Thanks for helping make one of my Christmas wishes come. You are all part of my aspirations and inspiration. I hope you enjoy my story and many more to follow.

(Kiitos is Finnish for thanks - I'm sure Santa lovers need no further explanation)

Till next our words cross, in the best of ways, have a safe and happy festive season. Feast. Laugh. Remember.

Governor of Queensland launches Christmas spirit

You may have seen the pictures. You may have read the book. For those who missed the official launch of PS Who Stole Santa's Mail? in Brisbane on Sunday, here is the speech that Her Excellency, the Governor of Queensland, Ms Penelope Wensley AC, gave to launch my new book.

An enthusiastic crowd packed into the Black Cat Paddington book shop and cafe to witness the birth of my first children's chapter book. Smiling kids and candy canes, snow and eventual sunshine were the order of the day spectacularly fulfilling the Christmas dreams of this little kids' author.

Excerpt from Her Excellency's speech:

Managing Editor, Morris Publishing Australia, Ms Elaine Ousten,

President, Book Links (Queensland), Ms Jenny Stubbs,

Owner, Black Cat Books and Cafe, Mrs Stephanie Hogan,

Author, Mrs Dimity Powell,

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys.

As 2012 is the National Year of Reading and as I am Patron of Book Links Queensland, of the Queensland Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, and of several other organisations supporting the developmental needs of children, I am very pleased to be here today to talk about a children's book. 

I know, in this bookshop setting, I am preaching to the converted in emphasising how important it is for young children to be read to and, at the appropriate age, to learn to read and acquire the habit - and love - of reading.  But that is something that can never be said too often.  Reading or listening to good books is in itself a wonderful, stimulating and engrossing experience for children - and grown-ups too.  And there are crucial longer-term benefits, because high levels of literacy are so strongly connected with greater chances of success in work and in life.  

Today I am here to launch a book that I think will encourage children to read because it is great fun...

...I am sure you will all enjoy Dimity's book and Scott's drawings.  I thank all those others who have supported Dimity through the challenges of her first book, in particular Morris Publishing Australia.  I wish the book every success and hope there will be many more.

And now, as Governor and a committed advocate of the joys and benefits of reading for everyone, it is my great pleasure to launch PS: Who Stole Santa's Mail?, leaving you with three final ‘P words: please purchase the book.  It will make a wonderful Christmas present!

Visit this link to read the complete speech.

An honour and a pleasure to share my book with you all.