creative writing | creative life
We have a new bakery in our little town, dear reader. It's actually the old bakery rejigged. They have revamped and stoked-up the ancient wood-fired oven and they're making posh bread and fancy biscuits. And they have a hole in the wall where they serve totally ACE coffee. And it's all VERY exciting. Yesterday when …
Continue reading "Australian House and Garden. Keeping it Real."
My childhood memories of Christmas are pretty darn scratchy, dear reader. Not patchy. Scratchy. Like chook scratches in loose dirt. Hard to decipher. Vague. No hint of a plot. And yet. Some of my favourite glimpses (I won't call them memories) are from the Christmases we spent at my aunt and uncle's dairy farm on …
Never forget how important freedom is to children. As a kidlit author you must consider this every time you write.
So dear reader, you might remember I wrote about my Depth Year here and here. (Just wanna know about the new e-course? Scroll to the bottom, sunshine!) To recap, mine has been a Low Buy Depth Year. What does that mean? I committed to going deep with what was important to me and letting …
Continue reading "Why My Depth Year Failed. Plus, My New E-Course!"
WTF? Yes, dear reader, I do still blog! In fact, I've missed it (and YOU) desperately. Sometimes, I think blogging is my favourite form of writing. I love the immediacy, the intimacy, the ongoing relationship. And I LOVE all the pretties. So, Elsie's makeover. Of late it has ground to a halt. Because... WINTER. Holy …
Here's Part Three of the trilogy, my love! Talk about a saga. Let's start with This Writing Life. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly! The Good Truly Tan: Baffled! (that's book seven) came out in October (in paperback and in audio). The series continues to delight old fans and gather new recruits. This year …
Continue reading "Part Three. My Year in Review: Work and biz, the flops and the favourites"
Okay. So. I'm writing this while someone drills the outside walls of the studio. Not sure what they're doing. It's like there's a giant dentist outside trying to break in. A painting just fell off the wall, knocked a cup of tea flying and tipped over a Peace Lily. Aside from that, it's business as …
In the last Q and Q Friday video, we talked about writing picture books via the illustrations. In other words, an alternative way to write a PB is to start with the pictures. Lots of creators, especially illustrators, work this way. Pictures first. Words second. Sweeeeet. So. That's what I'm doing here. I'm pulling some …
Continue reading "Book news, cottage news, garden news. All the news."
Lights! Camera! Book Week! I LOVE dressing my characters. I have to know what they're wearing, in order to get a true sense of them. Over the years, loads of readers (and their parents) have sent me their Book Week, Truly Tan pics. But there's plenty more inspiration in my books. Here's my own little …
Continue reading "Let’s dress up! Book Week costumes a-plenty. Send me your pics!"
Blog time. Go, Jen, go. K. The hunt is over! We bought a cottage in the country! OMG! This Easter we got ten substandard Easter Eggs and a 1930s cottage with two big trees, a wasp nest and a headless statue. Exhibit A: We move in winter. Lots of time to declutter — the house, …