The saying usually goes “practice makes perfect”, but when it comes to creative ventures there really is no such thing as perfect.
There are too many options, too many ways to do things, and then there is the constant room for improvement.
But that doesn’t mean that practice isn’t important.
If you’re passionate about something then practice is the only way to improve. But aim for improvement, rather than perfection, otherwise you’ll never be satisfied.
This post is a week late, and that’s still the best title I could come up with. It’s been a rough few weeks!
You can tell a lot about where someone’s head is at by the books they are currently reading.
Someone reading a serious non-fiction science book might have a questioning mind, someone reading a trashy novel could be looking for an escape. My current reading list is this:
It’s hard to say exactly why I’m drawn to these books, but if you look closely they do have one key thing in common.
Make of it what you will.
This tweet from Matthew Reilly last week got me thinking about how we treat books.
Normally when something is special to us, we treat it with extra care – putting a beloved ornament on a high shelf or behind a glass door so that it won’t get broken, storing a sentimental note in a box to keep it from fading or getting damaged.
But books are different. The value in books is really in the reading, and the enjoyment you get from reading.
Really special books should look like the one above, they should be worn and yellowed from being read over and over.
Some of my favourite books from childhood still bear wrinkled pages, the scars of being dropped into my bathwater because I could not stop reading them, even for a little while.
Books are like teddy bears. Really special teddy bears don’t stay pretty. They get hugged until their inner stuffing gets squashed out of shape. They are squeezed and hugged, dragged everywhere with their owner, fed strange concoctions of food and drink and twisted into all manner of situations, until their fur becomes worn, their eyes fall off and they are covered in stains.
The tired, ugly, worn teddy bears are the ones that are really special, because they have been so very loved, loved beyond all reason and loved to a place that is beyond physical beauty.
Books with bent covers, with yellowed, well thumbed pages are more special than pristine condition books, because they have been truly loved, they have brought countless hours of joy to someone who saw their value as being more than the sum of their pages.
What book(s) have you read to death and back again? For me it was anything by Enid Blyton, and John Marsden’s Tomorrow Series (although a bunch of the latter books were destroyed in the Great Mould Incident of 2009, thanks to non-waterproof storage in my parents’ shed. I’m not going to lie: I cried. In my defence, a lot of them were signed!)
On an unrelated note, I read a great blog post this week from Girl’s Gone Child, which took a similar view to this post from a couple of weeks ago. I thought my readers might enjoy her telling of Cinderella 2.0! Check it out here: http://www.girlsgonechild.net/2013/01/for-whom-princess-dress-tolls.html
I have many fond memories from childhood, but one of the greatest is the time at night when dad and I would sit on the bed (or after the weak wooden frame gave out under us a few times, me in bed and him on a chair next to me) and he would read to me from some of his favourite books.
Being read to wasn’t just about learning to read, and our bedtime stories extended far beyond the time that I could read – right into my early teens. It exposed me to a far wider range of styles and books than I would have found otherwise.
Over time a lot of those stories became my favourites too. One of the beauties of having children is sharing your favourite books with them over time, introducing them to the worlds that have captivated you.
For my Author’s Notebook today I thought that I would share some of these bedtime tomes. I’ll also share (if I can remember) the rough age I was when reading these stories. Many of these are stories designed to read over time, days or weeks, so make sure you have a good bookmark handy. Also, perhaps jot down some notes about your character voices. Dad always had trouble remembering who was who when he was reading.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
Before school
A childhood classic and still one of my favourites as an adult. I love Roald Dahl’s writing because it has such a wonderful balance of beauty and darkness, plus vivid imagery that makes it easy to get wrapped up. Every time I read that I want to visit the Chocolate Room and taste the grass and the melted chocolate from the river.
Matilda Roald Dahl
Before school
Ok, after this I’m done with Roald Dahl, I promise. But, for the record, you should also check out Esio Trot. Matilda is probably the story I connected with most, being a nerdy bookworm right from the start. But the poetic justice of a little girl exacting revenge on those who mistreated her always delighted me, plus the pure magic of the tale.
Seven Little Australians Ethel Turner
Early primary school
A classic tale of childhood in Australia. While there are many elements that most people probably can’t relate to these days (seven children, a 19 year old wife and a house that has it’s own name for a start) it still has so many elements of Australian life – such as sunlight, playing outside and getting into mischief.
On top of being a charming, beautifully written story, it also has a sad ending – which, while it may seem like a bad thing, is actually a great way to start to introduce a child to the concept of grief and sadness. Obviously it’s up to each parent to decide when their children may be ready for that, but don’t be afraid of stories that make them (or you) cry.
The Hobbit JRR Tolkein
Early primary school
A brilliantly fun and illustrative story for children. This was my first real introduction to fantasy, a style that I have loved ever since. With hobbits, dwarves and dragons and a mysterious creature known only as Gollum, it is a great adventure story for any age.
The Mill on the Floss George Eliot
Early to mid-primary school
This is another Australian classic. The book takes a slower pace, so it’s not for the action lovers, but it is an example of how the written word can be used to illustrate places and characters so well. One big warning though, this one also has a sad ending – so sad that I’ve actually only read it once since dad read it to me. I haven’t read it again because I know that when I get to the end I’m going to cry buckets. Possibly better for older primary school aged children.
Dad and I also enjoyed Silas Marner by George Eliot, but again it is quite a slow read.
The Tomorrow Series John Marsden
Late primary school to early high school
Dad and I read Tomorrow When the War Began when I was 11, and over the next few years worked our way through the rest of the series. This is definitely one for adventure junkies, with guns and explosions. The thing I love about the Tomorrow series is that it takes a realistic approach, throwing a small band of rural teenagers into the middle of a war zone and covering their fight to survive. It takes a personal approach and features a diverse range of characters, which I’m a big fan of.
The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkein
Late primary school
The follow up to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a much longer and darker tale. That said, we probably could have read it sooner than we did, except dad’s copy of the books had a particularly scary picture of Mount Doom on the cover which put me off for a long time.
While it is ultimately a fantasy/adventure story, it is slow in places, taking an almost gentle pace. But there are plenty of battles to keep things moving.
Actually one of my favourite sections is the visit to Tom Bombodil. While the story doesn’t really advance, and there is no action to speak of, the descriptions of Tom’s glorious garden are so vivid and rich that they bring a real sense of peace amongst the chaos.
So that’s my list of some of my favourite bedtime stories. What fond bedtime story memories do you have? Any favourite books that you read, or want to read, to your own children one day?
I’m short on words this week, but I wanted to share this great t-shirt, with a slogan that reminds me to always question my writing.
It’s so easy to fall into “traditional” gender roles when writing stories, and while they definitely have their place in representing society, it is also important to continually check that you are not just sticking to them out of habit.
Perhaps I overthink this issue (it’s something I’m very good at), but as a children’s writer I feel a strong sense of responsibility to make sure that my work sends out the messages that I want it to send – not least of all, that every child can be true to themselves regardless of their gender.
With every story I am looking for ways to introduce more diversity in my characters. I want my stories to be a place where all are welcome. I want to tell the stories of all people, not all at once (I don’t think I could handle that), but bit by bit, story by story.
Do you have a story that you want to tell? You can tell me right here!
xox Chrissie
A writer’s voice is a hard thing to define. It’s a combination of a whole bunch of different writing techniques, which (hopefully) gel to create a cohesive feel for the readers.
Early on in my writing days, I used to experiment with voice a lot. I would read something by an author I liked and play with words to try and evoke the same types of feelings while reading. Sometimes the stories were good, other times they were not so good, but I always had fun doing it.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more set in my ways. If you’ve read my stories in the past you may have noticed patterns – I frequently use third person point of view to tell stories from the outside (one notable exception being My Grandpa Joe, pictured above), and the way I structure sentences and use adjectives is very familiar across many stories.
Having a familiar voice to stories isn’t a bad thing at all. If you pick up a children’s book by Roald Dahl, or Mem Fox, and you have read their work before then you know whether you are likely to enjoy the style.
As a writer there is a lot of comfort in finding and becoming familiar with your own voice. While there are still many, many challenges to writing stories and making them work the way you want, when you have your voice established you at least have a place to start, a launching pad for the rest of the tale.
But, as with everything in life, you can become too complacent. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and just go with what you know works, rather than taking a chance on something new. Taking chances is the best way to keep things fresh, in writing and everything else.
So I’m setting myself a personal challenge to try some new writing techniques, to alter my voice a little in some stories.
Maybe I’ll try something fast paced and intense, like Matthew Reilly, or sharp, dark and humorous like Roald Dahl. Maybe I’ll work from reality and not give into the temptation of fantasy, as advised by Shirley Hughes.
The things I write for this challenge may never get shared here, either because they’re not good enough (likely) or they are for a different audience. But even if the stories don’t quite work, I may just find that some of the techniques do.
Rather than a new voice, I hope that this challenge will give me a new perspective on writing, and maybe some new tools to add to my kit when a story isn’t quite doing what I want.
What do you do to shake things up, in work or in life? Ever set yourself a challenge to try something new? I’d love to hear about it!
xox Chrissie
My oven has been broken for quite some time. I’ve kept it around because the stovetop works and it’s hard to find a gas top/electric oven combo in that size these days.
For the most part, life without a full size oven has been ok – a small tabletop convection oven does the job for most things, and the barbeque does the rest.
But baking has been one area that really hasn’t come together without an oven. The convection oven is too small for muffin trays or baking sheets, which rules out muffins, cupcakes and biscuits, plus it cooks so much faster that cakes tend to burn on the outside by the time they cook on the inside. So, in the time I have been sans-oven, I’ve largely given up on any baking endeavours.
But a couple of weeks ago we were due to have dinner with some new friends, and Mr B was keen for me to make my famous* white chocolate mudcake. The last couple of times I tried it burned on the outside, but he was adamant that it would work fine on the barbeque.
It wasn’t a smooth process – the barbeque ran out of gas pretty much straight away, then we tried the convection oven which was cooking way too fast. I was ready to pack it in and buy a cake, but Mr B insisted on giving it one last shot on the barbeque.
By this point I was so convinced that the cake was going to fail that I was worried we were going to run out of time to buy something good to take over and would have to grab something from the supermarket on the way.
But, as much as I hate to admit it, he was right. The cake turned out perfectly, our friends loved it, and I loved being able to bring them something that I made myself, rather than giving up and buying something.
The experience was a huge lesson for me, and has inspired me to take the plunge back into writing regularly, and even working on one of my existing stories to publish.
It’s hard to risk failure, or feel like you might let people down, but at the end of the day, it’s better to give something a red hot go and fail than to give up half way through.
If there’s something you love doing, or something you want to try, then go out and do it.
What’s the worst that can happen?
Xox Chrissie
*famous in my house, anyway
PS, if you want to try making the white chocolate mudcake, you can find the recipe here – it’s delicious!
Baby Bug was always in a hurry. He couldn’t quite walk yet, but he had lots of ways to get around – he could roll across the floor or hold himself up on furniture and drag himself along. He had a little walker with buttons that made all kinds of fun noises.
But Baby Bug especially loved his little car.
His tiny feet peeked out the bottom and he could push himself along as fast as he liked.
Baby Bug wasn’t the safest of drivers, but his collisions with walls, doors and mummy and daddy’s legs only made him giggle.
When Baby Bug wanted to go REALLY fast, he would climb into his car and push himself up and down the hallway as fast as he could!
“Slow down, Baby Bug! You’ll hurt yourself!” Mummy would shout.
“Slow down, Baby Bug! You’ll break something!” Daddy would yell.
But Baby Bug never slowed down.
One day, when Baby Bug had just awoken from a particularly pleasant nap, he decided to hop into his little car and see how fast his little legs could take him.
He lined himself up with the hallway, and started to go!
Faster and faster his little legs went and the car went faster with them.
Baby Bug had never gone this fast before!
But just as he broke into the hallway at a breathtaking pace, mummy and daddy were opening the front door to greet a neighbour.
Ker-thump thump! Baby Bug bounced straight over the door step in his little car, and THWACK! knocked the neighbour into the garden!
Baby Bug was frightened, but the little car had too much speed!
Down the driveway he went and onto the footpath, with mummy, daddy and the neighbour all chasing behind.
“SLOW DOWN, BABY BUG,” mummy shouted, “YOU’LL HURT YOURSELF!”
“SLOW DOWN, BABY BUG,” daddy yelled, “YOU’LL BREAK SOMETHING!”
Just as the little car reached the corner, about to roll out into the street, Baby Bug stuck out his tiny hand and caught hold of the street pole.
Around and around and around the pole he flew, his little hand gripping on for dear life!
But, just as he thought he couldn’t hold on any longer, a pair of hands reached in and snatched him out of the little car, and Baby Bug found himself wrapped tightly in mummy’s arms.
“Silly Bug!” said mummy, “this is why you shouldn’t go so fast!”
Baby Bug was just happy to be safe and sound in her arms again.
~~~
Baby Bug was always in a hurry. He especially loved his little car.
“Slow down, Baby Bug! You’ll hurt yourself! Mummy would shout.
“Slow down, Baby Bug! You’ll break something!” Daddy would yell.
And Baby Bug slowed down… a little.
Happy birthday Baby Bug!
“I would so love to publish a book, a real live book with pages and pictures and things,” she sighed.
“But how can I create a book when I can’t even draw as well as the average four year old?”
“Oh when, oh when will I have book to call my own?”
After many months of fruitless searching, the young writer had all but given up hope.
But one day, as she strolled through Twitterland, she stumbled straight into the arms of the perfect illustrator.
As she gazed into the illustrator’s website, the writer saw everything she had hoped to find and more.
And so a friendship was born, and with it a partnership that would one day lead to… THE WRITER’S FIRST BOOK!
Hi guys,
It’s been far too long since my last post here at Squeaky Shoe Stories, so I thought I would stop in to let you all know what’s happening.
But first, to make up for my absence, here is a ridiculously cute image of a squirrel in snow:
I have taken a bit of a time out from writing, due to other things that have been going on (if you’re interested in further details you can read my husband’s blog post over here which should explain things a bit).
I have still been working on Squeaky, but it’s been more behind the scenes stuff – primarily I have been TRYING to move my domain across to another host. Or something. I don’t entirely understand the lingo, but basically I want to make the site faster and better, and also to have a dedicated email address which I am currently unable to do.
I say trying, because it’s kind of a tricky process, especially for newbie like me. This is ultimately a good thing, since it’s all done to protect peoples’ domains – the protections in place stop people from nabbing someone’s domain the minute it expires and then charging them money to get it back.
But right now those protections are proving a teensy bit frustrating as I attempt to navigate the whodackys (whodackies? What is the plural of whodacky?) and the whatsits. Cross your fingers for me!
I am also working on a story right now which I hope to be able to share soon. It’s a bit rough (okay, very rough – I wrote it at midnight on the Notes application on my phone because I couldn’t sleep), but I’ll clean it up soon.
In addition, I have a VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT COMING! It’s an announcement that I’ve been wanting to make since I started this blog, and it’s coming very soon. It is SO STUPENDOUSLY EXCITING THAT IT HAS ME HAPPY DANCING ALL OVER THE SHOP AND TYPING IN CAPITAL LETTERS A LOT!
So yeah, I’m a little bit pumped for that.
In the meantime, tell me what you’ve all been up to! Any fun plans for Mother’s Day? I’m having a big family brunch with my parents, my in-laws and and my in-laws’ in-laws (sister-in-law’s mother-in-law. Not that that’s confusing or anything).
xox Chrissie