Dim's Write Stuff

Author in the Wild For those who believe authors working from home maintain a lifestyle of bottomless coffees, frequent contemplative sojourns to the garden to bath in soft sunshine and commune with one’s muse and enjoy uninterrupted hours of serene creative satisfaction, think again. Ridiculously full weekends mean my garden, like many of my manuscripts, is sorely in need of a hard prune-back. My muse is trapped in the untamed growth. There’s a saying Border collie owners like myself live by: silence is golden unless you own a border collie, then silence is stomach ulcer-forming. I have three – dogs – who knows how many ulcers. I have not experienced true serenity for nearly 20 years. My coffee mugs all have bottoms and I have to fill them myself.   That said it’s a short commute to work so I’m not complaining. In fact, I have had zero time to think in a straight line let alone whinge about the kinks. Here’s why. February: lull before the perfect storm, thought I might actuall...

Last time I checked, the world is still spinning. It's just some days, it feels like everything is a little off centre, topsy-turvy even. Life can be like that; like an out-of-control fun park ride that threatens to make you a bit sick. But it can also be the opportunity to make the most out of a new experience. It just depends on how you look at it, doesn't it? In recent times, we've all been forced to look at things a bit differently, including we authors. For the time being, we are not able to reach out and share with you all in person via school visits and festivals but of course that doesn't mean we want to stop sharing! So, like many of my clever colleagues, I have made a few life changes and adaptations in an effort to remain accessible and available for you. I've revamped my YouTube channel which was already chock-a-block full of book launches, book trailers , behind-the-scene sneek peeks , author-life shares and more. Here, take a look... ...

When I was a few decades younger, I dreamed of being a librarian, such was my love of books. To be the custodian of so many fictional worlds was an honor I wanted to live. To be on the safe side, I also practiced teaching as a youngster. I mean what better way to share my love for stories than with roomfuls of attentive stuffed toy animals, aka my students. Needless to say, neither of these occupations really took off.  Seems being the creator rather than the curator was my destiny. Ironically, one of the best things about being a children's author is being allowed to produce detailed teachers' notes and additional activities supporting your book that enhance and enrich the reading experience. All of my picture books include detailed Teachers' Notes annexed to Australian Curriculum links as well as accompanying worksheets and activities that focus on a range of fun things to make and do and even eat! They are all on my website . They are generally included on the...

Part of a children's author's job is to conjure up worlds and situations that give children reasons to read and wonder. If we do our jobs well, their imaginations expand to bursting, so much so, many are compelled to want to create themselves. Most are natural born scribes but for those who want to delve deeper into the mysteries of marvellous-story writing, their first port of call is often their teacher or librarian. That is why it's imperative for these custodians of stories to understand exactly what makes them more real than real life. Queue Amazing Opportunity for Teachers and Librarians. I want to let you know about a one-day PD conference on 26 February 2019 at the State Library of NSW. It’s called Creating Creative Writers and will bring together teachers, librarians and 21 of Australia’s finest children’s authors and illustrators to focus on practical activities to develop enthusiastic, confident young writers.  The speakers incl...

Throughout the Asian Festival of Children's Literature , I recognised a certain camaraderie of spirit among delegates and presenters alike. There pervaded a keen will to not only create emotionally and socially educational stories (or content) for kids that is both genuine and entertaining but to also somehow ensure that this content reaches it mark. In short, there exists in SE Asian a strong desire to share exciting, meaningful stories with kids from early childhood that offer them more than just a sound base from which to learn and excel academically. Sketch by Favian Ee AFCC 2017 This is no easy feat for we creators, nor for the educators on the front line, in schools and libraries who may sometimes be restricted by mandates to deliver a certain type of content. This restraint of course is not exclusive to Singapore and her surrounding neighbours. So what do teachers really want? This next session highlighted some of the answers. Books Teachers Wish Authors Would Write ...