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Introverts unite
In my list of advice for practising but as-yet-unpublished writers, I discussed things that you might do, or attitudes you might take. But what I should perhaps have mentioned is the matter of temperament. Temperament is a vague, catch-all term, I know, but it seems...
Apropos of nothing
I love the poetry of John Forbes, and I thought I would share my favourite lines from his eminently quotable, deeply intelligent and sad/funny work: Death, you’re more successful than America, even if we don’t choose to join you, we do. I’ve just become aware of this...
Saving lives and stories
Someone at work yesterday asked me who was the most important person in the twentieth century (for the Western world, at least). I said Alexander Fleming, the man who invented antibiotics. One of my colleagues shook his head, and said, Hitler; the other said, of...
Apology to bogan suburbs
I had a rollicking great time with the talented young writers who attended the Youth Literature Days at the Fremantle Children’s Lit Centre this week. They asked very astute questions, and produced some absolutely cracking pieces of writing (some of the best were...
Advice to a young writer
For two days this week I will be in residence at the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre as part of its Youth Literature program. This has led me to ponder what advice I would give to young writers (if they even want advice: I’m not sure I would have taken much at...
Markus Zusak
… came to deliver the Leslie Rees lecture at the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre last night. Judi J wrote a great summary of the talk here, but one of the (many) things that made me think was his comment about hearing his parents tell the stories that ended up...
Age of consent
29 January 1892, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS BILL Clause 4 – Defilement of girls under 14 years of age: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Hon S. Burt) said that upon a reconsideration of the question of fixing the age of consent at fourteen, the...
Truth and games
My editor recently sent me the draft blurb for Chess Nuts, which will contain something like: Julia Lawrinson isn’t a chess nut herself, but she is the mother of one and married to another. In fact, Julia’s husband might be a little like Mr F, and Julia’s ferociously...
‘Mum, you are such a freak!’
… was my daughter’s first reaction to the beginning of the virginity novel. ‘They’re doing it on the first page!’ she spluttered. ‘Is this book going to be in my school?’ Fortunately, her second, third and forth reactions included laughing and giggling, as she kept...
If you only read one book this year …
… it should be Kirsty Eagar’s Raw Blue. I am not a reviewer, and I don’t normally comment on fellow YA writers’ work, but Raw Blue is one of those kept-me-up-all-night novels that stays in your bones and sings in your ears long after you’ve finished it. It wouldn’t...