One of the things that constantly crops up when I am introduced to new people and they learn that I am a children’s author is that ‘I would love to write a book, if only I knew how’ or ‘Wow! I wish I could do that.’ (Be warned: lengthy post - either go grab a cuppa now and settle down for the long haul or scroll through for the keywords (highlighted in pink - not clickable) and the useful links at the end) For the most part, that is all it is, a vague wish (often coupled with

Hmm. So-o-o-o not keeping up with my self imposed once-a-month (reduced from once-a-fortnight last year) commitment to write something for my blog! And it’s not that I don’t want to write something, it’s not that I haven’t got anything to say, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you... it’s just that there seem to be so many competing priorities at the moment. I get it. We are all busy. Busy is, in fact, the current addiction. Some of us even validate ourselves by how busy

Radio Silence It’s been some weeks since all the excitement of my book launch, and I’m actually writing this on a quiet Sunday morning at a hillside hotel on the north side of Brisbane. I write it not knowing for sure whether I’ll be able to post it once I get home because our internet has been off the air for more than a month now, leaving me in a state of enforced 'radio silence'. We get brief moments of access followed by long periods of frustration – not good for anyone.

In my last post, I wrote about ten tips to spark creativity, which is always something we can fall back on no matter what our creative field... ...because there will always be dark times. I’ve read a lot about setting up a routine or developing a disciplined approach to writing, just ‘showing up’, no matter what, and getting your writing done. Right back at the beginning of my ongoing series of How To Write a Novel posts, I even wrote about persistence. These are all valid th

Believe it or not, getting words on the page can be daunting for anyone, even seasoned writers and best sellers. Having a firm idea for your story is only the start. Sitting down every day and knowing what you want to write is both a habit and a skill, and some days it will seem easier than others. The first thing to realise is that you have to commit to forming a writing habit. There are different ways to approach this. Word Count Some writers have a word count that they str

It was quarter to nine on Friday morning, and I had a delicious feeling creeping up on me. Quite unexpected. Mmmm. Why? Because it was the first Friday that I was officially not being a teacher one day a week. And it felt good. I had got up early as usual and started doing some revisions on one of my books that are in the process of being published by Omnibus, and I would be going back to that later, but first I had a boy to get moving and some school shoes to buy, ready for

This is me at the moment... it's school holidays, but I've got most of the planning out of the way for next term after something of a marathon effort over the last few weeks of term, and the first week of the hols. There are still one or two things I should probably get done, but I'm comfortable we're all set for a good start... so, time to write? I can hardly believe it. I sit in front of the computer... bliss... ...and check facebook. I've a couple of friends who are travel

Being a 'morning person' is tricky. It means that all my energy is at its peak in those first hours of the day. If I want to get anything done, it has to be in the morning. If i want to achieve any housework or gardening? Morning. Exercise? Morning. Writing? Morning. The downside? I also work full time as a teacher. Morning. To get to work, I need to be leaving home at 7:30 ish, and before that I am usually trying to motivate my non-morning person type husband and son i