Whitsunday Voices

In excellent news I'm appearing at the Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature festival on Wednesday 17th July-Saturday 20th July. Ray! Just when it's gotten really cold in Sydney I can fly into the tropics to talk about writing and books with kids. My favourite thing to do.

I've heard it's an absolute corker of a festival and this year's line-up is excellent. In the mix are Scot Gardner, William McInnes, Dr Anita Heiss, Briony Stewart and Anna Fienberg.

I'll be doing a few talks and a workshop on 'Writing in the Real World.' Helping teens create realistic contemporary YA fiction.

Click here for more http://www.whitsundayvoices.com.au/home

Tips for second and third drafts

Time for some fresh post and this week I'd love to give back to the YA fiction writer's out there with my top 7 ways to whip a draft into shape. I've been neck deep in editing my first, messy, all over the shop, lovable, shaggy first draft. Gosh it had some surprises. The first third was written in regrettable journal style (I'd just been wowed by The Perk's of Being a Wallflower and thought I HAD to write in diary style forgetting I'm no Stephen Chomsky) Then there were the wild swings in tense and the waffle. So much waffle. I'm now getting ready to send a third draft out to Crit Partner's, but here's what I learnt in the editing trenches.

1. Cut all the JUST's. This one was a hint from YA legend Justine Larbalestier. Go to the top of your word doc, search for every 'just' and hit delete. In 99% of cases you won't need the word.

2. Cut out all the dates. This pertains to contemporary fiction. Do you really want your work to be dated in a matter of months?

3. Cut out the swear words. Unless you really need them, they'll just offend librarians and teachers, who will eventually stock or not stock your book.

4. Cut out slang. Don't have your character's pash on, have them kiss. Don't call them 'rents, call them parents. Slang will make your fresh manuscript date and there's a chance you'll look old and out of touch if you get it wrong.

5. Cut out all the adverbs. Don't have your character's say things sneakily, creepily, lustily, angrily etc. It just weighs down your copy when you should be letting your reader work out how the dialogue is spoken.

6. Show don't tell. Oh how this one gets ignored in the frenzy of first drafts. Go back, insert dialogue and action wherever you can. Cut into the slabs of copy and make them bite sized and edible.

7. Banish the bad words. In my case my character's like to 'shrug' and 'smile' all the time. Be inventive or just lose the words that you constantly repeat.

** What about you guys, any words of wisdom when it comes to slashing and burning?  

Somerset festival wrap up!

I'm a little late posting this wrap up of the brilliant Somerset festival of Literature, but better late than never, right?

As you know, this was my very first lit festival (as an author, I've been to dozens as a reader) so I was shaking like a leaf when I arrived. Sweating (nerves and it was the steamy Gold Coast) and wondering how I would fill the 45 minutes I was allocated to talk to Year 9-11s. And would anyone actually turn up? It helped to get some words of wisdom from the other writers beforehand. The legendary Nick Earls (on his 9th trip to Somerset) shared his worst ever speaking experience with me over dinner on the first night to let me know he was once a shaking newbie like me. Thanks Nick!

Every time I turned around I was having breakfast with, sharing a bus seat or eating dinner with an amazing Australian author or illustrator (or both, these people can do everything) Everyone was so supportive and lovely - I really enjoyed getting to know talented folks like Gus Gordon, Lisa Forrest, Paula Weston, Simmone Howell, Christine Howe, Leah Giarratano and Terry Denton. Australian children's literature is safe in their hands. As well as somehow surviving my talks (and actually starting to enjoy myself towards the end!) I made sure I went to as many other authors sessions as possible - taking notes and trying to soak up some of their brilliance.

I learned pretty quickly:

Props are great (Simmone Howell has mini zines and played a song, Leah Giarratano had a wicked PowerPoint preso, Gus Gordon showed pictures he drew as a little boy and photos from his home studio) keep it simple, try to keep it funny (Andy Griffiths had no problems with this one), make it interactive and have fun!

The kids (all 7,500 of them) were amazing. They kept the questions coming, laughed in the right spots and made us authors feel like rock stars.

There was a world record attempt (balancing books on heads), circus party and lots of time to browse and buy books. Yay!

By the end of the festival I couldn't wait for my next one (Whitsundays, July...more soon) and felt full of new ideas. In that vein, I am rocketing through my second draft and loving having a rough draft to polish up. Better get back to it...

Andy G's autograph lineup

Essential eats...

world record?

 Da kids!

Let the Festivities begin!

I mentioned in the last post that I was going to a couple of festivals this year. I can now announce the first one (squeeee!) The Somerset Festival of Literature, held on the Gold Coast from March 13-15.

I'm doing some sessions with the year 9-11s (insert sweaty palms here) but I can't wait for it. And I'm nearly as excited about the other authors who are making the trip like Nick Earls, Simmone Howell and Andy Griffiths.  And it's the 20th anniversary as well, so I'll be celebrating.

Check out the full line-up and the program here http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/celebration/authors/2013_authors_and_illustrators/

Also - yesterday at 4.02pm I typed the final words on the first draft of my second YA novel - Head of the River.

It's taken me a little over two years to complete this early draft of around 80,000 words but I wanted to share something I overheard on twitter today which made me stop and think:

"Every book I've ever written has taken me my whole life, up to the moment I finished it."
@elissajanine, YA writer, Teacher.

Exactly that. I couldn't have put it more perfectly. So much goes into writing books, not just the time spent at the computer.

For now, I'm leaving the manuscript to rest and ripen. And in a week or two I'll start the re-writing stage. Hold me.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Hey guys! Happy 2013.  This year is going to have to work its butt off to be anywhere near as exciting as the last, but here's hoping it will be even better. It has that fresh, clean feel about it. New diary. New start. Even a new house.

What's coming up for me? For starters, I'm doing my first ever literary festivals this year - two of them! O Happy Day! More details to come on those as the names are firmed up, but I'm well chuffed about being part of these amazing events and I can't wait to chat to students about my work and also, get the chance to meet more fab children's book authors.

Secondly, I'm nearly, nearly finished a first draft of my second book, Head of the River (working title) I reckon I've got around 10,000 words to type (it's a longer beast than I expected...) and I'll be ready to go on full bore of revisions and re-writing. It needs work (what frst draft doesn't?) but I'll be so happy to see the beginning, middle and end so I can whip out a red pen and perhaps find some workshopping buddies and tidy it up.

I'm also right into research mode for this new book, which is about school rowing. So I'm going to the Head of the River regatta in Melbourne in March and hoping to crash a few Sydney regattas as well. I'm also talking to people of Romanian background, including the super interesting Ion Poppa, a former Olympic rower who kindly chatted to me on the phone late last year.

Hope you all had a wonderful Chrissy and New Years and have big dreams for this shimmering new one.

Love, Pipxx

NaNo halfway point...keep running!

Are you a teen (or an adult) who's NaNo'ing? If you are crazy-brave-inspired enough to take on the challenge of writing a whole book in a mere month, then you're at the halfway point now. Consider it like a marathon. You've hit 21kms. You might be starting to tire, doubting your route, checking your GPS and thinking maybe you've run out of puff and should just plop down on the nearest park bench and take a breather. This post is designed to give you a shot of gatorade, a shoulder rub and a new pair of running shoes. Get you back on the path towards 50, 000 words.

Some common mid-way point thoughts and how to combat them:

My book sucks
I'll be honest - some of it does suck. Some of it will never see the light of day. You'll read parts of your NaNo novel in December, groan at it's cheesiness and hit the delete button. But some it that writing is GOLD. Some of it it poetic and lovely and thoughtful...and worth keeping. That's why we write first drafts, so we can later go panning for gold.

I'm too busy for this
Who does have time to be a writer? I sure don't. But there is time. There's always time. Stephenie Myer wrote the plot of Twilight at her kids swimming lessons and between toilet training sessions. She fleshed out those scenes at night when they were asleep. She must have been so tired her eyes were hanging out of her head. But if a mother of three small kids (surely the most skilled human beings at time suckage and attention grabbing) can write a bestselling series, then you can.

I'm tired and burnt out
Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could always write when we're fresh and inspired? Sadly, this is not how art is created. Making a book (or anything that requires creativity) is tiring, frustrating and backbreaking work. You'll get tired, feel like you've run out of ideas and would rather eat glass than sit down at your computer. Suck it up. Have another coffee or a wheatgrass shot and get back to it. Now.

It won't get published anyway, so what's the point?
Keep thinking those thoughts and there's no way you'll be a published writer. Have doubts, then push them to one side, sweep them under the carpet and write, write, write. You should be writing just for yourself anyway at this stage. Write your world, meet your characters and get to know them. Think about things and why the world works the way it does. Much later, think about other people and if they'll like your stuff.

Want more inspiration: here's a list of those people who've gone on to publish from Nano projects. Including The Night Circus by Erin Morgensternhttp://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/106877

So what are you waiting for? Get up, get running! I'll expect 1,667 from you all by the end of the day.

This post was brought to you by the awesome international collaboration of YA authors, TeamTeenAuthor, captained by Julie Cross (Tempest, Vortex)

Check us out at  http://juliecross.blogspot.com.au/p/teamteenauthor.html

Camp Writer

Sometimes it's hard to find the space to write. That dreamy, nothing to do but invent characters and point them in perilous directions time is precious. Especially when kids, work or life gets right in the way. My brother (also a writer and a journo) and I have been dreaming about our own little writing camp  for years. A week to just work, talk (drink good red wine) and be with our stories. Sometimes we would imagine ourselves in a coastal town in winter or a country outpost. But the plot was always the same: no distractions or responsibilities. Laptops at the ready. Leisurely dinners where we could discuss our WIPS. When we laid our eyes on this little cottage, we thought: 'Bingo!' Could it be more perfect?

Our writing shack...and we do mean shack.

It's located on our aunt and uncles gorgeous farm in Trentham, near Woodend in Victoria. Crucially, there was limited phone reception and no Internet hook-up. And also, a very hospitable and comfortable main house where we could sleep. We arrived after a train journey from Melbourne and headed out to the cottage to set up. My lovely Mum (thank you Mares!) had agreed to look after my toddler, so we were on the loose and ready to type. We happened to arrive on a week when there was an unseasonal cold snap. It was cold. And by cold I mean bone-numbing-beanie-wearing-quick-let's-build-a-fire!-freezing. Inside the cottage though, it got cosy. Michael turned out to be an expert fire maker. Some of his best work below (note the carefully placed reading material)

Soon, we had embarked on a daily routine of rising, fetching wood, putting on gumboots and walking out to the cottage to write. 9-5 minimum. At lunchtime we would read out our best bits and then head out for a walk or lunch at some local bakery or quirky cafe. It was bliss. And by week's end we both had an extra 10,000 words to play with. here's my work station below:

 

In related news, my second book has gotten a huge boost for 2013 with a generous Emerging Writer's Grant from the Australia Council. I am one very lucky writer. I cried for a good ten minutes after hearing the news. It will keep me going until I have a polished final draft and I couldn't be more over the moon. Thank you isn't a big enough word for my gratitude. And also: if you are submitting a proposal for the second, third or forth time (it was my third time) heed these words from my advisor at the Council: someone has to win. It was you this time.