Amy's Books and Writing

Today I had a lovely email informing me that a deal has just been done with a publisher over in Turkey! ‘Gruff’s Guide to Fairy Tale Land’ will soon be available there and I can’t wait to see the co-edition. I decided to learn a bit of Turkish many years ago when I went on holiday there and it is a wonderful language. However, I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to read phrases like ‘big ears, filled with gloopy earwax’ or ‘kickboxing grannies’ but it’ll be fun trying to work it out!

‘Hodge the Hedgehog’ has been translated into several languages, and it’s always amazed and delighted me that people are reading my book in other countries across the world – many I’ve not yet visited. I did have a lovely time in Turkey on holiday…this could be the perfect excuse to go back there. I might even try leaving out some Turkish Delight for the Fairy Godmother instead of marshmallows (see p. 33).

I’m sure that’s something Gruff would approve of.

Yes, Happy World Book Day, everyone. I hope that schools up and down the country have lots of lovely events planned. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to help children become inspired and excited about books, both reading and writing them!

I’ve just returned from an ‘Ask The Author’ school visit at Heathcoat Primary School, which was tremendous fun. Many thanks to the school for inviting me in and the children for participating so beautifully. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. When I asked the Year 2 pupils, “how many of you like writing stories?”, it was wonderful to see how many little hands shot up in the air. I wonder how many of those children in future might have a go at writing or illustrating stories professionally? I hope some of them do.

At the question time, I was asked “what’s your favourite thing about being an author?” And I think, for me, there have to be two aspects: firstly, the process of creating an exciting, magical story which inspires and entertains. And secondly, sharing that story with children. It may please me if I write a good story and keep it to myself, but I love the idea of sharing it with the children, taking them on an adventure or making them laugh. That’s why I enjoy school visits so much.

I remember after my first book, ‘Hodge the Hedgehog’ was published, I was invited to visit a pre-school to read the book to the children. This was my first ever invitation into a class and I was absolutely terrified. I almost declined the offer purely out of fear! I have no teaching experience, no idea how to entertain a class…I was extremely worried it would go horrendously wrong and I would spend the session hiding under the teacher’s desk. Fortunately, my friend persuaded me that really it was in fact a great idea. And I’m so glad she did! I had a wonderful time and experienced for the first time the response to my book, from children who would potentially be reading it. I realised how much I enjoyed sharing stories with children (even when they outnumbered me!) and how satisfying it was helping them to take another step further into their imaginations.

It was lovely at the end of today’s session when a little boy put up his hand to ask one last question: “Will you come back to visit our class again?” I’m sure I must have grinned like the Cheshire cat and, as I said to him, I do hope the opportunity will arise.

If you’d like to find out more about World Book Day, click here: http://www.worldbookday.com/

I recently spent a marvellous day ‘Hodging’ and ‘Gruffing’ at Parkfield School in Taunton. Firstly, a most enormous thank you to all the staff and children who made the day so enjoyable.

It’s always so fantastic taking the books out to the children and very rewarding seeing how they respond. After I read the books, the children took part in some activities and produced some lovely work. The two Reception classes made some lovely ‘Hodge’s Hedge House’ pictures; the Year 1 classes made some fantastic, sparkling Gruff bookmarks and the Year 2s had a great time using their imagination to write  postcards from Fairy Tale Land! One of my favourites started: “Dear Mum, I’ve just woken up. I’ve been asleep for a hundred years….”

Here are some photos from the event. If you’re wondering why on earth I’m holding up a pair of brightly-coloured tights and clutching a bag of marshmallows, well you’ll just have to read the book! But I promise you I did have a very good reason.

Having recently finished editing the next Gruff Guide (‘Gruff’s Guide to Secret Sea’), I’m already plotting all the fun activities for schools I could do with that book. I think it’s definitely one of the most enjoyable aspects of being an author. That, and eating the marshmallows afterwards…

Well, I now officially believe miracles can happen. I have so many books fighting for attention inside my head that I thought if I didn’t get some of them written this year, I would truly go mad. (Some would argue that’s already happened but that’s another story). So in June 2011 was born THE PLAN, a list of books I wanted to write and self-imposed deadlines for them. This included writing the first draft of a new junior fiction story and two picture books by Christmas.

Not too ambitious, then….!

But I was delighted when yesterday, I finished a (very rough!) first draft of the junior fiction book in time for the Christmas school holidays. I’ve also sent one picture book off into the World Beyond The Laptop.  There’s lots of work still to do on the JF book, but it’s such a lovely feeling to have the whole story down from beginning to end. In the New Year, I’ll revisit it and expand some parts, edit others and add some fun, quirky details.

As for the second picture book I had hoped to write….well, if I’m feeling crazy enough, I might start scribbling some down over the Christmas holidays. And I need to pluck up courage to confront THE PLAN and see what I’m supposed to achieve by Easter! Wish me luck….!

There seems to be some debate in the writing world about whether writing courses are helpful or necessary. Now I’ve finished running my ‘Part 2’ of ‘Writing Children’s Books,’ some of my students have been requesting I run a Part 3. This has got me thinking again about the value of writing courses.

I’ve never undertaken a creative writing course. Many years ago, I did start a correspondence writing course which began with non-fiction writing but then, well…I started writing for magazines as the course suggested, then I began writing children’s books because I wanted to and I’ve not actually had time to do any more on the course. It does cover creative writing somewhere in the distant future, but I’m not actually sure I’m ever going to get that far! (Maybe when I retire, if I could ever retire from writing!)

Do I wish I’d had the opportunity to take a creative writing course before I started writing seriously?

I think I do. Although it’s been wonderful to just jump in, write and hope for the best, it would have been fantastic to glean information and advice from someone who’s ‘been there, done that’ and written the query letter.

Another benefit of writing courses is that they are good for getting you writing when you don’t know where to start. The discipline needed to finish assignments or bring along work to share is also a good exercise.

But another important factor is the people. Correspondence courses are useful for information and developing your writing skills but what about other aspects of being a writer? Writing is a solitary business, one where you continually doubt yourself and your ability to write. How wonderful if, alongside learning, you could have face-to-face contact with a group of people in exactly the same position as you.  In my early writing days, I’d have loved an opportunity to share my work with like-minded people, to build up my confidence and improve my work using the constructive criticism offered. It’s so valuable to know that there are people who understand the highs and the lows. People who, when you want to chuck your laptop out the window, tell you to stop being an idiot and have chapter 2 written by the next session.

After my previous writing course finished, we all felt rather sad that it was coming to an end,  so I set up an informal Children’s Writers Group where we all meet once a month (I call it Group Therapy). It’s an opportunity to critique each others’ work, support and encourage each other and have a good laugh along the way. Tonight will be the first time my recent group of students join us and I can’t wait.  

Creative writing courses aren’t for everybody and they’re certainly not necessary for publication, but I’m sure many people would feel the benefits, especially if the course is in a group setting. And will I run a part 3 course? I hadn’t planned to, but I may be unable to resist. Discussing books, characters, and rhymes with a lovely group of enthusiastic, like-minded people sounds a rather jolly way to spend an evening.

First of all, a great big, Gruffy thank you to all the staff at Taunton Waterstone’s and to all the families who came along yesterday. We all had a lovely time and the children produced some beautiful, sparkly pictures and bookmarks. It’s always fantastic to have the opportunity to run events with children, helping the book to come alive.

As always, we live and learn:

1) After a couple of amusing incidents with the sparkly stars and the glitter, I’ve decided I MUST get one of those hand-held vacuum cleaners for such events! (You can use them on your child afterwards too. No extra charge!)

2) No matter how keen I am to get to the event, I should ALWAYS make a note of what level of the multi-storey car park I’m on. (The box of materials gets very heavy when you’re wandering round and round in circles!)

3) And speaking of wandering round and round in circles, maybe I should install one of those SatNav things…

Here are some photos from the day:

Well, I know there are many good websites out there which cover the issue of (*whispers*) rejection, but I thought I’d add my own thoughts.

And you are blessed with such a post for for two reasons.

Firstly, I have writer friends and students from my writing course who are about to embark on the rocky but wonderful road to publication. Secondly, a book of my own has this day sprouted wings and left my laptop in search of a better home. So the idea of submission and potential rejection is very much on my mind. Along with these thoughts:

* When I was contemplating sending off my first story, I obviously worried about rejection. That’s natural, especially when you’ve spent ages pouring your life and soul into a story. I decided to go ahead because ultimately my fear of failing myself was greater than my fear of rejection. I decided I would regret it more if I didn’t submit my story. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life ‘what-iffing’ and wondering if I could have pursued writing more seriously. I would have let myself down. So I sent it in and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

* We all get rejections, even writers who have been published before.  It’s hard when no reason has been given, which is often the way with first-time authors. It’s important to remember it’s not always the writing itself which is the problem. It could be that the publishers already have a similar book, or it may not be what they’re specifically after at the moment. But, as my lovely agent says, ‘”It only takes one.” So much can depend on an editor’s personal preferences or opinions and what one editor rejects may be exactly what another one is looking for. Think J.K.Rowling. Her first book, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was rejected many times before it was published. Look what happened to that!

* Rather than dwelling on rejection, try REFLECTION. If you have received a  rejection, that’s great! You’ve taken the first important steps by sending your work out and that takes great courage. If you find yourself staring tearfully at the rejection letter, take time out to think. You’ve probably had weeks (or months!) away from your manuscript while waiting for a response. Can you revisit now and make any improvements?  If you can, great. If you can’t, still great! You’ve obviously done a good job. Research some publishers and send it out again!

The writer’s road is a bumpy one. There will be highs and lows, no matter what stage of your career you are at. I suspect even people who have a tremendous publishing record still feel nervous as their new idea leaves the safety of their imagination for the first time and starts making its way into the big, wide world. It’s hard to keep believing in yourself, and I will probably obsessively be clicking ‘send/receive’ on my emails over the next few weeks. but it comes back to that question….

Will I regret it more if I do submit, or if I don’t?

Good luck!

There are lots of us writers who are also full-time or part-time mummies. To juggle any kind of work and motherhood is difficult, especially when your children are small and the office is your home. Hectic days, broken nights, early mornings (my children rarely sleep through the night and are usually up by 5am!) can mean by the evening time, you no longer have the motivation or the energy to sit down and write. Sit down in a crumpled heap and eat chocolate, yes. But write coherent sentences? Unlikely. It can be very frustrating but I’d like to share some of the pros I have found.

1) Inspiration

Having small children around is marvellous for so many reasons. From a writing point of view, it’s wonderful. The things they say and do, how they react or even the programmes we snuggle down to watch together provide a brilliant source of inspiration. My first book, ‘Hodge the Hedgehog’ was written after my toddler struggled to pronounce the word ‘hedgehog’. Up until that point, the book hadn’t even occurred to me. Now I have so many books I want to write for them.

2) Your best critic

Children are great to run your ideas by: does your suggestion grab them? Do they respond with whoops of excitement or are they more interested in shoving Lego down the back of the radiator? And as you read your work in progress, what makes them laugh? And when do they start to fidget or find investigating the contents of their nose more appealing?

3) Fellow travellers

Perhaps my favourite aspect of writing with young children is that they are travelling the Writing Road with me. They wait with me for news from publishers (though possibly with more patience); they delight with me when copies of my latest book arrive (maybe because they spend weeks playing with the large box they come in). They rejoice with me as I share the latest exciting news and if the news is not so good, just being with them reminds me it really isn’t the end of the world.

All this I try to remember when I reach the end of my 2-hour child-free writing allocation each week, frustrated because I haven’t finished writing my chapter. Or when I’m frantically trying to scribble down an idea which has flashed through my mind…while simultaneously stopping a squabble, detaching a child from my leg and preventing the dinner from burning. Even if I can’t sit down and produce the novel I’d like to yet, I can still write in baby’s short naptime (‘unearth the kitchen’ is usually further down the list than ‘work on picture book’!) and I have stacks of notebooks full of ideas I’ll pursue in time to come. My children won’t be small forever. I guess you have to make the most of what you have, when you have it, whether that’s just spending time with the children or grabbing a moment’s peace and quiet to write your blog!

I have a theory.

The hardest thing, when you’re writing, is actually starting your book.

The second hardest thing is knowing when to stop writing your book.

The bit in the middle is comparatively easy!

I’ve recently started writing a new book, for ages 4-8. I’d considered my characters, my plot – I even had a chapter breakdown prepared – and I was ready to go. But I sat there looking at this blank page on my laptop and I’m sure it was laughing at me, jeering, almost daring me to write something on it. I’ve never leapt from a diving board but I imagine it’s a similar feeling: this perfectly still, unmarked oblong before you, just waiting for you to make the move and dive in. Did I have the nerve?

After a couple of cups of tea, I felt brave enough to type the title (admitting to the taunting white oblong that it was only provisional), followed by my name. Ha! “This white oblong belongs to me! I claim it in the name of creative writing.” (And, quite probably, insanity). Feeling rather encouraged, I made the next bold move: Insert page break. Ha! Now, technically, I was on page 2 already. Except, I was then faced with yet another blank oblong. Pants.

‘C-h-a-p-t-e-r -O-n-e-‘, I typed. Well, it was a start. Then I put it in bold and underlined it, just to make me feel better.

I could have fiddled around for another hour or so but there comes a point when you have to say to yourself, “Do I have a story to tell? Yes. Do I want to tell it? Yes. So, for goodness’ sake, get on and do it!”

I’ve now completed chapter three and already I’ve gone back and rewritten chunks of Chapter One. My first attempt at Chapter One wasn’t my best work but it got the ball rolling and I’m really enjoying writing the story. Just the second hardest thing to worry about now….!

A very big thank you to all the staff and children at Bickleigh-on-Exe Primary School for a wonderful morning last Friday. My little soft toy ‘Hodge’ really enjoyed being the centre of attention and the children did some lovely autumnal pictures of Hodge and his friends. It was certainly worthwhile spending hours beforehand cutting up lots of tiny, colourful leaves! It’s always lovely taking ‘Hodge’ out to the schools, but especially so at this time of year.

Bickleigh-on-Exe is quite special to me. It was there, back in 2009 that I read ‘Hodge the Hedgehog’ on my first ever school visit! I’d been invited to come in, but not having a background in teaching, I was quite nervous. There was no need, as the welcome was so warm and the children so excited and enthusiastic. Hopefully I’ll be back next autumn!

Here are some pictures of the children having a lovely time: