creative writing | creative life
This week on Duckie TV, we kicked off Q & Q Friday 2017, with a mindset question. A duckie wrote to ask if I ever compared myself to other writers and if so, how did I cope with it. Hello? Did I ever compare myself to others? Hell, yeah! I've even tried to dress like my favourite …
Continue reading "Do you compare yourself to other writers? Let’s break the addiction"
Hello, sunshine! Missing Q & Q Friday? Here's a transcript from a lovely one we recorded last year. Thanks to Suzy from Wagga Wagga in NSW for this awesome Q! You can listen, read or watch. Whatever suits you. or visit the Girl and Duck Podcast on iTunes where you can subscribe and listen on the go. The Q: As an aspiring illustrator who …
Continue reading "The 2 problems publishers have with rhyming picture books"
1 Stories exist in their entirety before we start writing. They live on the astral plane. It's up to us to usher them onto this plane. 2 Stories want to be on this plane. But only on their terms. 3 All stories have a face. But they're tricksters. The first face they show you might be a ruse, …
Continue reading "Six curious things I believe about stories"
Ready to chuck your manuscript? Are you ranting and raving, insisting that your idea is crap and the only thing to do is start all over again? Calm down, sunshine. Let's be systematic. Maybe this is what's causing you grief: 1 You haven't spent enough time with your idea. Ideas rarely, if ever, come fully …
Continue reading "Three reasons why your idea might not be working"
Hey, sleepy head. Did you miss Part One? You can read it here. Okay, so I've eased up a bit. This next lot? Not so hard-arse. 5. Always begin with pen and paper. Go to the computer later but connect your hand to your brain first. It’s a physical thing. Our imagination is stimulated by …
Continue reading "Tough love tips for aspiring authors: Part Two"
Hey there, sunshine! Everyone wants their work to pop, right? Here's another bundle of goodness (and shiny tips) from the Q & Q Friday files—yours to enjoy in whatever form takes your fancy. You can watch the video here: Click below to listen to the audio: or visit the Girl and Duck Podcast on iTunes where you can subscribe and listen on …
Continue reading "The Q & Q Files: Shining on the Slush Pile"
I have the lurgy, dear reader, and I have spent the day in bed. Here's what I've been doing (in bed): Reading Flow magazine Reading The Element by Ken Robinson Answering emails to sweet people and nice girls Watching Ted Talks Thinking about YOU. That's why I've written this list. I hope you find it …
This morning I skipped up to the breakfast table and said to Himself, 'I love writing sooo much!' Himself looked suspicious. He rarely hears me say such a thing. Usually it's, 'I hate writing!' Or, 'I'm never doing this again!' Or, 'This book is PATHETIC. Someone else can write it.' But this morning was different. This morning …
Continue reading "Finding our voice with words or paint. It’s all the same."
Earlier this week I dreamed that I wrote a Little Golden Book— but somehow forgot to tell anyone. In the dream, I was flicking through the book (which was illustrated by Lucinda Gifford but in the style of Gabrielle Wang!) and I thought, ‘This is lovely. I must blog about it.’ I don’t know whether …
When I was an aspiring children's author back in the 1980s, the only career guidance I could find was Mem Fox's autobiography. Ahem. Aside from that there was one other book, a textbook, kicking around. But it was fairly lacklustre and I don't recall its title. Other than that, it was just me and me typewritin' machine (it …
Continue reading "In conversation with a wolf (who is also an illustrator)"