Sue Murray

Cooking with Hamlet with Harris

2011-05-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

Do you find that things come in waves? Or, as is the buzz word at my workplace - there are synergies?
In a week where I heard from my publisher that they're going to remainder Cooking with Hamlet, I get a query from a young actor who wants to explore aspects of the Hamlet monologue. The words will live on ... and while I'm sad that the publishers won't be selling the book any more, I can see great potential to use the material in different ways, now that the rights revert to me.
Without sounding too Oprah-like, I hope, I am turning a disappointment into a possibility ...

Lines of communication

2011-01-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

We email, blog, tweet, text - all excellent ways to send messages in their own way. My friend Ailsa has introduced me to the ultimate way to send a message: the chocogram. Message received - loud and clear!

The good things in life

2010-08-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

I've received a lot of wonderful emails and calls about the LLL award. Thanks, everyone.

While it is a small award in an obscure corner of the wordy world, I'm ridiculously pleased about it.

As my lovely friend Dee says, we don't celebrate good news enough. Here's a photo of us after a very special celebratory lunch in Dee Why. Thanks, Dee, for reminding me that we should take time to enjoy the good things in life - especially good friends!

The WINNING Shot!

2010-08-03T01:47:00.000-07:00

1 August 2010

The Language Learner Literature awards for 2010 have just been announced.

My editor at ILTS, James Bean, my hockey coaches in Vancouver and my sons all helped shape and improve the book. It was such a team effort - thank you all!

Writing for level 1 is like limbo dancing - it's very, very hard to get under that bar. It's so exciting to receive this honour for a level 1 book.

All writers love being taken out to lunch by their publishers.
James and Gillian from ILTS took me out for a celebratory lunch - I loved every minute of it.

On top of Oz

2010-04-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

I recently spent several days in 'the high country', staying at a lodge at Charlotte Pass with a large group of friends. We bush-walked during the day and ate and drank in the evenings. Bliss. This photo shows the at the top of Mt Kosciuszko. Not a scrap of snow, and warm enough for T-shirts and shorts. And the photo was taken for us by a couple who'd just got engaged!

News for readers in Europe

2010-04-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

Divers in Danger is available now from Hueber Lekturen in Europe.Its stable-mate, The Winning Shot, is a finalist for an LLL award. It's a huge honour to be up for this award again - thank you to everyone who's voted for it. Fingers crossed!

And coming soon ... The Game. Dylan plays his new computer game every night - until he's pulled into the game himself. Can he find his way out again? This book is in the final stages of editing and is being illustrated by one of Australia's most exciting illustrators of fantasty: Craig Phillips. Check out his website: http://www.craigphillips.com.au/ - you'll be blown away!

Drama Australia conference

2009-11-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

24 November 2009
The 2009 Drama Australia conference is being held this week in Melbourne. I'll be going on Friday. Jenni Savigny from MIEACT and I are running a workshop based on the CASTING LIGHT scripts.
I look forward to catching up with drama teachers from all over the country and finding out the latest developments in drama teaching.

Mega Dramas is out now!

2009-11-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

Be one of the first to read the newest in the Dramas series of plays! You can order it from the publisher or from good online booksellers.

Bookfeast

2009-09-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Michael Fraser and all his merry men and women for another fabulous Bookfeast: an annual celebration of books with hundreds of young readers and writers from schools across Sydney. Here are a few pix. You'll see my good friends Susanne Gervay and David Mulligan as well as some of the wonderful students.
I spoke to the senior students about how to start writing ... be bold, and remember, a writer is someone who WRITES! And READ - to try to write without reading is like trying to learn to swim without getting wet...

News, news, news!

2009-09-23T00:21:00.001-07:00

A lot can happen in a few months! A trip to New York, joining the editorial staff of The School Magazine, the launch of Casting Light, signing off on Mega Dramas (due out by December) and so much more. How can I have got out of the habit of blogging?
For everyone who's been asking - here, belatedly, is the link to the Casting Light scipts. Spread the word: they're free for everyone and they're truly a world-first, world-class collection.

Casting Light

2009-05-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

We're in the final days of preparing the scripts. It's been such a fulfilling and challenging project. Year 11 Drama students at Manly Selective Campus will be trialling half the collection this afternoon - thank you all!
Wed 6 May

Escape to Dragon Farm

2009-04-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Southern Highlands of NSW for two weeks on the beautiful Dragon Farm. Thanks, Lucy, for the chance to explore this part of the world. This is also the ideal place for a writer's retreat - which I very much need at the moment.
The past months have been full-on, jugggling three big projects. An update:
Mega Dramas - I've written 8 new plays for drama students - the team at Macmillan are now working their magic on the collection - due out September this year.
Divers in Danger - my lastest level 1 graded reader, is being edited by James Bean for ILTS - I drew on my recent scuba diving experience for this book. My dive buddy, Alex, is also my son - and he's a great buddy, unlike Ben's buddy in the story, who gets trapped by a giant clam on the barrier reef!
MIEACT project - we're polishing our scripts now, and have now named the project - Casting Light: scripts for classrooms from people living with mental illness.
And some of the Casting Light crew are coming here to Dragon Farm on Sunday for a writing day!

My writing group

2009-03-16T00:25:00.001-07:00

Here are Anne Melano, Jeni Mawter, Alan Mills and me at the Lounge Bar in Milson's Point - our regular meeting place. The four of us met as post-graduate students of creative writing a decade ago and we have all gone on to be published authors and teachers of writing. We celebrate our successes and share our 'war stories', we test out our ideas with each other and we have become life-long friends. Every writer needs such a group - I treasure our time together.

Writers' retreat

2009-03-10T03:28:00.001-07:00

The weekend at Rosedale with the people from MIEACT was a truly splendid time. Thank you everybody, especially John the cook. More of this anon

Divers in Danger

2009-02-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

The next book for Robin Readers series is called Divers in Danger. I've written the synopsis - there's a shark, a giant clam and a diver who runs out of air. It's set on the Great Barrier Reef - and I'm drawing on my scuba diving experiences. That's one of the great things about being a writer - mixing business with pleasure.
The same thing applies with the writers' retreat that's coming up. A group of people from MIEACT and I will be sharing stories and shaping scripts in a holiday house on the south coast of NSW. Talk about mixing business with pleasure!

'Playwriting basics' in NewsWrite

2009-02-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

The current issue of NewsWrite, published by the NSW Writers' Centre, is all about writing for performance. There's an illuminating article by Timothy Daly on performative states, with insights into how to write for modern theatre. In my article, 'Playwriting Basics' I cover the fundamental skills you need to write a play. Thanks to editor Angelo Loukakis for making performance writing the focus of this issue - it's a hot topic!

Writing Monologues workshop

2009-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who attended the workshop at the NSW Writers' Centre on Saturday. I find such days fun, demanding, refreshing, exhausting, challenging, exciting, revealing, and did I say fun? I hope each of you does go on to develop the monologues you outlined, and that the work we did together enriches your writing. There were many 'memorable moments' from the day - one highlight was each of us revealing our 'inside age'.
How old are you on the inside? Ask anyone - they'll tell you an age. I remember my grandmother saying to me 'I'm a 20 year old stuck in an 80 year old body and the parts are wearing out.'

2009 plans

2009-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

2009 is full of new projects. The manuscript for Mega Dramas, a new collection of plays for high school, is due at Macmillan in the middle of Feb, so I'm cutting and polishing those, while researching and shaping ideas for the series of scripts on mental illness I'm writing with MIEACT which we'll be workshopping early in March.
For those of you in NSW, I'll be running a Writing Monologues workshop at the NSW Writers Centre next Saturday 31 January. I was also delighted to be commissioned to write an article for their publication NEWSwrite.
Thanks to Theo Murray for my new author photo.
Phew - when I take stock of all that I have to do, I'm glad that I live so near so many great snorkelling spots. It's such a magical way to take a break! Here's a photo I took on Thursday of my son Alex saying g'day to a groper:

2008-09-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

The radio play 'The Reject Shop' has been shortlisted for the 2008 Dogwood Playwrights Initiative Prize!
1 October 2008

2008-09-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Writing Team - Sue Murray and Jeni Mawter - at the opening of the Magic Garden. If you're in Sydney, go to the Powerhouse Museum and play - it's for children of all ages.

Tuesday 23 September

Crater of doom!

2008-09-04T23:10:00.001-07:00

Hello to all School Magazine fans in NSW!
Check out the September edition of Orbit ...
'Crater of Doom' is an out-of-this-world
radio play just for you! And I love the cover art
by Craig Phillips, don't you?

Friday 29 August 2008

2008-08-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Forgive me, reader, for it is way too long since I blogged ... a sign I've been caught up in a range of projects - including the Powerhouse Museum here in Sydney! Jeni Mawter and I have formed The Writing Team to script an interactive playground exhibition - it opens on 23 September at the Powerhouse - should be a blast! Recording will be happening in the next week, so we're working on final script revisions now.

I've also finished The Winning Shot - a level 1 reader for ILTS. Check out their website: the illustration on the home page is by the fabulous Sarah Davis from my book Grizzly, which is a finalist in the 2008 ERF Awards.

The Winning Shot is a crime fiction story set at an ice hockey game in Vancouver - thanks again to my amazing hockey coaches - Brigita Grazys, Albert Klassen, Kath Klassen and Bruce White. They not only took me to my first-ever game, they gently steered me as I wrestled with the terms, rules and etiquette of hockey. And my sons Alex and Theo came up with the concept that became the climax of the story - some of my work is truly a collaborative effort! Here we are at the game last December. Go Giants!

For the writers among you - try the level 1 challenge of writing only in the present tense. The only 'future' is the use of 'can' and 'am going': 'We can go to the city on the ferry.' or 'I'm going to go on the ferry.' There's NO past tense! It's fun but hard! James Bean, my editor at ILTS, is a master of the art!

Wednesday 11 June 2008

2008-06-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you, all of you who have been asking about the book of monologues. It's at the printers now! Here's a sneak peek of the cover. For more information, and to order copies, go to the Macmillan website:

http://www.macmillan.com.au/Secondary/onix/isbn/9781420212389?open

Friday 29 February 2008

2008-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Sydneysiders - you're invited to a reading of my work in progress:

Cooking with Hamlet

and other monologues

Parnassus' Den

Monday 10 March

7.30 sharp

Old Fitzroy Theatre

Dowling/Cathedral Sts

Woolloomooloo

Tickets: $10 at the door

Tuesday 12 February 2008

2008-02-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

As one project ends, another begins - lucky me! As a wordsmith, I need to be constantly working on projects at various stages, from initial ideas to final proofreading. Of course, I also need to be open to offers of work, too - it really can be a juggling act at times.

I've just written the synopsis for The Sky Readers, the prequel to The Singing Stones. I really enjoy the early stages of creative projects - ideas and images seem to come flooding in. In this case, I had enough material for an epic, but I'd rather prune back than pad out my material. I'm grateful to James Bean for his editorial input at this early stage of the process - saving me many wasted words down the track, I'm sure.

I'm delighted to say that I've revised the monologues in Cooking with Hamlet and other solo dramas and the manuscript is now being edited. As a writer, the alchemy worked by the publishers to turn my words into books always intrigues me. At the same time, I get a distance on my words, so when I hold the newly printed book, I often look at my words in a much more objective way. Not that I think authors should be objective about their words - far from it. It's such an interesting process, the creative relay race from my first threads of thoughts and images to those conjured in the minds of a reader.

I have a number of projects on the go at the moment - I like the juggling act that is my work life, but sometimes long for uninterrupted stretches of time on one task. But like any business, I need to be lining up the next project while working on the current one (or two or three).
These early months of the year are so full of potential, aren't they? I'm full of plans and ideas - more news soon.

22 December 2007

2007-12-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

One new year's resolution I'll be making - update this blog more often! It's a sign of how busy the last few months have been. Has someone pressed the fast forward button?
I'm about to take a break - hard for a writer to do, but very necessary to recharge the little grey cells from time to time. It's a good time to be taking a break - my book of monologues is being edited, Choir Boy has just been recorded in London, and the sequel to The Singing Stones is brewing. I have several new projects lined up for 2008 but no pressing deadlines - time to jet off to Vancouver - and maybe a white Christmas!
Other new year's resolutions? To have more fun, to explore more islands, to seek out new opportunities, to continue to juggle and walk the tightrope more as a clown than a ringmaster ...
Here's to a great 2008. To everyone who's read, performed or studied my words in the past year - thank you, and there's more in store!

18 October 2007

2007-10-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Writers on the Rooftop was fanstastic! We estimate over 500 people attended this writers festival overlooking Manly Beach on a sparkling spring day. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of a team of volunteers - family and friends who all pitched in to bring order to the chaos. And of course, without our sponsors, The Steyne Hotel and Humphreys Bookstore, the event would have been a non-event. Above all, it worked so well because the authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators took the risk of saying 'yes' to our invitation to take part in the day. Sally Chilvers, Kate Forsyth and I thank all of you.

My motto is 'be bold' - and the performers who presented my work-in-progess at the festival certainly took this to heart. Writers festivals are about both the product and the process of writing - my session focussed on the way my current book, Solo Dramas, is taking shape. A collection of monologues, I'm writing something for everyone - 15 monologues in all. 4 and a half of these were showcased on the day - a very useful road test for me. Thanks again to all my cast, and to dramaturg Simon Chilvers.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

2007-09-17T17:08:00.001-07:00

It's only 4 more days until the Writers on the Rooftop.

Here's a photo from today's Manly Daily of Sally Chilvers, Kate Forsyth and me. As Sally says, it looks as if we're sitting in a comma! We're surrounded by books written by people taking part in the Festival. The day won't work without the friends, family and fellow writers who are all donating their time on the day - do join us as we celebrate reading and writing!

For details, check out the Manly Daily article by Sue Hoban:

http://www.manlydaily.com.au/article/2007/09/18/6437_news_feature.html

Thursday 6 September

2007-09-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

I've been juggling and muddling my way through the last week or so. I enjoyed speaking at the Fairfield Bookfeast - what a celebration of reading and writing that event is every year! And the drama workshop at Manly West was fun. I challenged them to many things, including tongue twisters. Try this one I made up just for them:

The chef sips sherry.

Say it 3 times, fast!

I've just about finished CHOIR boy - the story is taking a few unexpected twists and turns as I write. As I say in writing workshops, go with the flow!
The Singing Stones and Grizzly have just been published in Europe. I received my author copies this week. Sarah Davies's illustrations are fantastic.

I'm also writing and shaping monologues for Solo Dramas - it's a real joy to write them. I can't wait until September 23, where some of them will be presented at the Writers on the Rooftop.

Monday 27 August

2007-08-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

The best laid plans ... it's been over two months since my last entry! It's a reflection of just how crazy-busy life has been, with a range of deadlines, demands and distractions.
Where to start? Current projects - 'Solo Dramas' is in rehearsal, ready for presentation by local young adult actors at the first-ever Manly Writers Festival, called Writers on the Rooftop. A date for the diary - Sunday 23 September.
I'm also writing 'Choir Boy', a play involving a young genius, a wanna-be human robot and a secret organisation.
This week I'm also giving author talks at Manly West Public School and at the Bookfeast at Fairfield.
Mental Illness Education ACT have asked me to write the foreword for a collection of fiction about body image by young writers - it's an honour! I'm reading the manuscript now and am blown away by it. MIEACT also commissioned me to write a script concept for The Messengers, a group of performers who are developing a production on the writing contained in two volumes of such fiction.
today I was also took part in a practice session to be part of an online literature festival http://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=35846 My session is scheduled for 18 September. It's a great way to reach people.
Which reminds me, I do appreciate the emails from people performing or studying my plays - keep 'em coming! I do try to reply to them all.
So all in all, I'm busy. I've also been working with some senior Drama students recently, as they prepared and presented their practical work for their final exams. Hello to all at Freshwater Senior Campus!
And yesterday I managed to drag out the wetsuit, hose off the spiders nesting in it, and head down to Manly beach for the first snorkel of the season. Spring has sprung!

15 June 2007

2007-06-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy week or two for me, with a number of projects on the go. I like switching from task to task - one way to combat writer's block!

I've been giving quite a few talks at libraries to senior students and their parents on surviving school - all the best to all of you who are now counting down to final exams.

I'm also writing monologues. At the moment I'm polishing one called 'circular breathing' for a female in her early 20s. What I love about writing is the way some characters come along and almost demand, 'write me!' I'd thought of a completely different character, then along came Marnie, much rougher around the edges, much more opinionated, and more complex than I planned. Such a joy for me when the words flow as if I'm just the conduit. When I give author talks I have to confess that at times I hear voices in my head ...

A project that is taking shape rapidly is 'Writers on the Rooftop'. I'm one of a team (with bookseller and events manager Sally Chilvers and author Kate Forsyth) organising the first ever writers' festival in Manly. So a date for your diary if you're in Sydney - 23 September. It's part of the Manly Arts Festival.

And of course, I'm revising Smoke and Mirrors - I'm counting the sleeps until this reading by Parnassus Den. By the way, it's doorsales only, so thanks everyone who's asked about booking tickets for this event but bring along your money on the night. For more details, go to the link on the right of this page.

There's more to tell - but it's a wet, cold Friday evening in Sydney - time to light the fire, pour a glass of red wine and put on some music.

Wednesday 23 May 2007

2007-05-22T17:37:00.002-07:00

I keep hoping I'll have one of those days where I'll catch up on all those little tasks I leave for 'one day'. Every day this month has been full-on. I've been to Canberra to present a one-day workshop at the ACT Writers Centre, I've finished writing all the activities for the next 6 titles in a series of readers for the EFL market, I've had the delight of seeing the illustrations by Sarah Davis for my next 2 titles in that series, I've been helping to plan the inaugural Manly Writers Festival, I've been drafting monologues, I've been reading (any of you yet to open The Invention of Hugo Cabret are in for a treat!), I've been replying to emails about my work from students, and I've been doing the usual muddling and juggling we do with our families and friends and housework and the crazy tapdance of daily life. So the filing and the tax and all those other tasks will just have to wait another day for 'one day'.

Thursday 10 May 2007

2007-05-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

I’ve been asked an interesting question by a student doing some research for her portfolio. My website has a Q&A - and I'll post others as they arise.

How you think growing up and living in Australia today affected your writing?

I grew up in Perth, Western Australia. I had an idyllic childhood – as a tomboy with the Swan River as my playground. I also had parents who were academics and interested in the arts and who encouraged me to explore my potential. They also gave me every opportunity.
I think the Australia I grew up in, at the time I grew up, had a wonderful sense of freedom and possibility. I went to high school in the seventies when women here, and worldwide, were demanding to be heard.
It was also a time when Australian voices were being heard strongly and clearly on stage and screen. What was lacking, though, were strong female, Australian roles for young women.
In the eighties I was teaching drama in girls’ schools in Perth, then Sydney. I couldn’t find suitable scripts for them. So I started writing scripts with strong female roles. And, of course, I drew on the lives and images of the world I’ve known. The Formal, for example, is based on women and girls I’ve known through the years.
I hope that my writing reflects some of the sense of freedom and possibility I’ve always felt – and that is, in part, a reflection of my upbringing. I hope, too, that while I am an Australian writing for Australians, my work is accessible to readers and audiences everywhere.

Tuesday 24 April 2007

2007-04-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

I'm back home in Sydney after a week in Hobart. I visited schools and took part in the Drama Tasmania conference, delivering a keynote address: 'Teachers and students as artists'. I found my entire stay in Hobart to be enriching, rewarding and fun. It was good to have the chance to meet so many teachers and students who share my love of drama in education - and so many people who have taken up the challenge of performing my scripts. I'm grateful to Nicholas Lahey and to the executive of Drama Tasmania for making me so welcome.
I also took the opportunity to 'road test' some of the scripts for Solo Dramas in Hobart. The collection is taking shape!
I've just received the roughs of the illustrations for both Grizzly and The Singing Stones. It's such a joy to see them. I particularly love Sarah Davis's vision of my fantastical creature, the nylar. It's literally better than I could have imagined.
That's one aspect of my work that I cherish - writing is collaborative, whether it's a script that is then brought to life or a book that is illustrated or simply brought to life by readers ... after editors, designers and others have worked their magic.

Friday 6 April

2007-04-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have flashed by - a highlight was participating in the Newington College Literature Festival. I had the pleasure of working with senior Drama students and of addressing year 12 students on 'dramatic insights'. It was also wonderful to meet up with other writers, some of whom, like Susanne Gervay, Moya Simons and Jeni Mawter, are good friends, others are people I've only met through their words until now.
Perhaps the Newington experience was part of the reason I've decided to plan an event or two for this year's Manly Arts Festival in September. I'm doing these in conjuction with Sally Chilvers, who until recently owned one of the best bookshops in Sydney, here on The Corso in Manly.
I also finished the final draft of The Singing Stones - it's a fantasy story and I'm already dreaming up the next book in what could become a series. I can see why fantasy writers write trilogies - I don't want to say farewell to the characters yet - and there are still mysteries to explain in the story. So watch this space!
Writers conjure up characters, lives, whole worlds, and then have to close the door on them when the book, play or poem is finished. One reason I'm enjoying writing the monologues for Solo Dramas is that I'm revisiting some characters from plays I've written. I was able to 'road test' some of this work at Newington. Thank you, Sue Richer, for organising the Festival.

Sunday 25 March 2007

2007-03-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

I saw the most marvellous play on Friday night - Derrida in Love by Timothy Daly at the Ensemble Theatre in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In fact, the evening was one of the best I've spent for ages - a delicious dinner at the theatre's restaurant, Bayley's, as the guest of good friends - thank you Leila and John, with great company - hello Jenny, Phil and Lyn, in a beautiful harbourside setting on a steamy Sydney evening, followed by the brilliance of the world premiere production of a great new comedy.
It's a reminder that writers need to live - to get out there and have fun, laugh, relish, confront - whatever. It's all too easy to be held captive by the demands of daily life and of work.
Also, it's a reminder that playwrights need to see plays. I often advise new writers that we should all read widely. It's vitally important for playwrights to learn from and be inspired by the work of others, and to be reminded of the magic, the alchemy of theatre. I can't tell you how stimulating it is to me as a playwright to have seen such a good play.

Friday 16 March 2007

2007-03-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

I had the honour of being the guest speaker at a literary lunch held by the Society of Women Writers at the NSW State Library on Wednesday this week.
I spoke about being a playwright for young adults, a type of writer the Vice President called 'an endangered species'. There certainly aren't many people who specialise in this field. This is something I highlighted in my speech s a positive aspect of my writing. As a writer, I tried to find a gap in the market, then set out to fill that gap. I stressed the fact that writers should write for profit as well as pleasure, that we are business people as well as artists. 'Art for art's sake' is all well and good, but I still have to buy groceries.
I also love writing plays for schools, and this is something else I addressed in my talk. I do get asked, 'When are you going to write a real play?' - meaning when am I going to write a play for adults. To me, there are wonderful challenges and pleasures writing for the audiences I know and love. So the answer is, 'Not any time soon.'
Mind you, I never say never. Ideas come to writers at the oddest times, and some ideas are better for a primary school audience or a senior secondary school audience. Some ideas are better for an adult audience. It's often the case that an idea really grabs me and almost demands to be written. And it just happens to be that those ideas are the ones for the schools market.
Now, of course, I am becoming known in that market. It becomes good in a business sense to follow those ideas first.
This week, aside from the talk on Wednesday, I've been finishing the first draft of The Singing Stones, the fantasy story for the ESL market. My biggest challenge is naming the country in which it is set.
To contradict what I've said earlier, I've also started work on an adaptation of Mirror, Mirror as a radio play for adults. I do try to do some 'research and development' writing when I get time, and I've always thought this material is perfect for the medium of radio. I just wish there were more hours in my working week, as I do have to buy the groceries, so 'R&D' often has to make way for a pressing deadline. Or canteen duty.
One final note: it looks as if my website will be going live - not just the homepage but the whole site - early next week, thanks to the vision and talent of the designer, my stepdaughter Tess Lloyd, and the skills of Zoe and her staff at zfweb. I'm very excited by my virtual real estate and my cyberspace homebase.

Friday 9 March 2007

2007-03-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

Another week, another several thousand words. This week I’ve finished one project and made a solid start on another. I’ve sent off the final draft of Grizzly, an adventure story for the series of books aimed at people learning English as a second language. I sometimes find it sad to send manuscripts off, as if I’m farewelling good friends. I do like the sense of completion, though – and the payment!
Luckily I have a number of other projects on the go, and I’m now writing The Singing Stones, a fantasy story. One minor hitch is that I’d named my mythical country ‘Lirriel’, only to find that Garth Nix has a new series called ‘Lirael’. I’m loving the freedom creating my own universe gives me. No facts to check!

Next week I have the honour of being the guest speaker at the Society of Women’s Writers lunch, so I devoted a day this week to preparing my speech. I find it good to work on a speech well ahead of time if I can, so that I can polish and refine it – usually by pruning back hard. When in doubt, cut it out.I have a number of speaking engagements in the next few months. I do enjoy them, but must say I prefer writing to talking about writing.

Friday 2 March

2007-03-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

You’ve got to love the internet. I’m working on a cradle song for The Singing Stones, the fantasy story I’m writing. It needs to be a ballad, so I need to work with a rhyming scheme.
Once, when searching for rhymes, I used to sit and mutter my way through the alphabet, hoping my little grey cells would spark and come up with a suitable rhyme. Now I just go to www.rhymezone.com. I can’t believe the generosity and inventiveness of the makers of the almost infinite number of webpages out there. And I can’t believe they’re all available to me in here, in my office in this seaside suburb of Sydney. While researching a story on grizzly bears, I could consult my cousin Kath who’s a vet in Vancouver, and use Google Earth to peek at Emerald Lake at Yoho National Park, literally half a world away from me. You got to love it.

It can also be frustrating. In Grizzly, I have the characters walking across the Natural Bridge in Yoho Naitonal Park. My editor quite rightly questioned whether people could do this. I know I read it on a site when researching the story, but can't find it again. I usually note carefully where I find gems, but this one eludes me. So when you read the final version, if the characters are only 'near' the bridge, not 'on' the bridge, that's why. I do like to make sure the facts in even the fiction books are true. And my editor did find a site with some reference to not being 'one of the idiots clambering over the top of the bridge.' My search continues for now ...

Friday 23 February 2007

2007-02-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

A wordsmith's week can be full of non-word challenges - juggling my time being one of the hardest. Iam working on the first draft of The Singing Stones, a fantasy story, which I'm relishing. I'm also shaping ideas for Solo Dramas. There was little time to write, though.
This week has been full of admin - arranging my trips to Tasmania in April, and to Canada in December, sorting out finances and tackling the avalanche of paperwork on my desk. Filing is not my strong suit.
It's also been a week of family commitments and fun, and of flat tyres and other unexpected hitches. And some swimming and twilight sailing tonight - a great way to mark the end of a working week.