Dim's Write Stuff

Nearly every time I brush shoulders with my target audience - children, I am asked, 'What now? How can I learn to edit better? Where can I submit my work? Where can I get more information?' Here is a post by fellow scribe for young people, Chris Bell . Her From Hook to Book site also includes a really comprehensive page of resources especially sourced for young people, YWR . It highlights writing competitions, noting those which are currently open along with other websites and links where budding young writers can find information on everything from punctuation to polishing stories until they blind you with their brilliance. Some can be found on my Kool Kidz Stuff page, many more are worth noting because most comps and conference are run annually giving you plenty of time and opportunity to practise, practise, practise. Chris writes... Calling all young writers, playwrights and poets! While I’ve been gallivanting around the UK, these past few weeks, heaps of regu...

That post title may sound a bit self-congratulatory, mainly because it is, but it feels like my harbour is slowly filling up with ships. Those I cast out into the winds of fate are finally finding their way back in. Amongst the small flotilla, another short story, Getting to Know You , which has received a Highly Commended in the Charlotte Duncan Award 2015 . And whilst I never normally like to blow my own fog horn unnecessarily, the real bonus was receiving the judge's report, which as those in my writing circles can attest, as feedback, is worth its weight in gold doubloons. So nice to know I am setting the right course. Getting to Know You drops the reader into the topical issue of social media, told through the experience of its twelve-year-old protagonist. The well-developed relationships between the main character and her family and friends round out the issue-based story. Suzie’s feelings and actions will be recognisable to many kids, giving them insig...

Selfies – more and more, what we once relied on others to do, we now love to attempt ourselves. Book publishing is no exception. The sheer volume of printed (and electronically) produced material out there today is overwhelmingly mind-boggling especially for the discerning parent or caregiver on the hunt for useful literary material to share with children. Here is a small sample of picture book selfies that came my way. They represent a number of notable similarities; namely, their authors are all driven by an insatiable urge to share their knowledge and past experiences with an audience of children. In most instances, this enthusiasm shows in bucket loads. The topics tackled are often more extreme than themes covered in more mainstream publications reflecting the authors’ culture and life values. Karen Tyrrell is one such author. Having released two adult memoirs, her attention is now firmly turned to producing books that empower and educate children on a number of mental...

As the flurries of anxieties created by recent NAPLAN testings settle, I am reminded that even the youngest of minds can be beset with worries, which may manifest themselves so firmly within a child’s physchie that they become dangerously debilitating. I’ve seen it in kids around me, in my own nephew and most alarmingly, my own daughter (although not from NAPLAN – she loved that experience). The need to reach out to and persuade young people to fight their worries and to cultivate strong healthy convictions about who they are and what they are capable of spurred the urge to write a book to show them how. This is still a work in progress for me, however, fortunately, for the welfare of children everywhere, Australian author illustrator, Nicky Johnston has already penned a few useful books addressing these exact issues. Her first attempt to battle ‘worry thoughts’ in children appeared in 2008 with her self-illustrated picture book, Go Away MrWorrythoughts . Bayden sho...

Love reaching into a Lucky Dip and plucking out a prize? I do. The mystery of the unknown, the anticipation of the find is too tantalising to pass up. Here's something else you'll find hard to pass up...a new kids' anthology. The Lucky Draw anthology is an exciting collection of stories and poems for children aged between 7 to 12 years, covering 7 different genres told by 33 authors. Over 50 stories to thrill, intrigue, amaze and delight.  Yours truly features in the adventure section, because my life rocks with adventure. Well, okay my imagination gets pretty fired up from time to time, even if I don't leave the house anymore. Check it out for yourselves, here . Available now , if you ask me really nicely, or even just plain old nicely. Prints Charming Books April 2015

Living in a land which boasts as many natural disasters as natural wonders, can result in the worst of times and perversely, the best of times. Ex-resident of Far North Queensland's Cassowary Coast, June Perkins , is no stranger to both phenomena. Cyclones are not uncommon in this neck of the rainforest however how their impact affects the lives and livelihoods of those in their wake varies as violently as their magnitude. In After Yasi - Finding the Smile Within , a deeply absorbing collage of images, anecdotes and post-Yasi survivor profiles, Perkins captures the very essence, the profound spirit of recovery. After Yasi distills the stubborn tenacity and resilience of neighbours and friends, loved ones and indeed the entire community into a stirring visual tribute of them struggling to regain normality after an acutely abnormal interruption to their lives. Instead of being a somber exposition of loss and destruction, After Yasi allows hope to permeate through every pa...