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The blog of children's author Sue Whiting - sharing her passion for children's books and the ups and downs of the writing life.
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By:
Sue Whiting,
on 1/8/2016
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Happy 2016.
The year is already showing signs of being a very interesting one indeed.
And kicking off the fun for me is the CBCA Illawarra Sub-Branch KIDS DAY OUT at Ribbonwood Dapto on January 20.
If you are in the area, come along and join in the fun at this FREE event with many terrific authors and illustrators and storytellers, including: Sandy Fussell, Dianne Bates, Jodie Wells-Slowgrove, Allison Tait, Oliver Pommavanh, Marie Smith, Di Ellis, Jody Cauduro and Lilli Pang. (Hope I didn't miss anyone!)
You can find the program here.
And the author poster here.
See you there!
Yours in books and story.
Sue X
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 9/5/2015
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This event was one of my faves from last year. And this year it seems like it is going to be even bigger and better. Lots of authors and illustrators! Lots of stories! Lots of craft and activities! Lots of fun! I will be in the storytelling tent doing one of my favourite things - telling stories. I also intend to hang out in the crafty area with some platypus activities.
A wonderful celebration of children's books with a community festival feel. If you have young readers at home or if you are interested in kids books please try to come along. I guarantee a fun family day.
I have started a new novel and I'm in that it's-so-exciting-to-be-writing-a-new-story phase.
I have progressed past the heady first flush of inspiration, and now my characters are talking, ideas are colliding and the shape of the story is revealing itself to me.
There is so much work to be done.
So much to research.
So much to write and rewrite.
So many wrong turns to take.
So many mistakes to be made.
So much wretched self doubt to deal with.
But, oh, I must be mad, because I am so EXCITED by it all.
Bring it on! I say.
I want to tell you about a interesting book I read recently. WIRED FOR STORY by Lisa Cron. It is basically a manual on how to write a novel - which usually sends alarm bells, as we know there is no magic formula to novel writing - but it is framed around research in neuroscience and cognitive theory, which makes it a little different to most, and intrigued the logical/scientific part of my brain.
More importantly, the timing was perfect for me, as it reminded me of all the things I need to sort out before starting a new book. It helped me to focus, and not to rush headlong into madly writing without first being clear on what the story is about, and what is driving my characters. I am not an outliner - but I work much better if I know what makes my characters tick and what the story is about in a nutshell. And by thinking deeply about these things, I have come to realise that the story I want to tell deals with some very complex emotions and, with a twelve year old protagonist, I need to tread carefully and be very clear in my own mind how she feels about the events that will unfold.
A couple of random thoughts from the book that were useful reminders for me:
- Everything must be there on a needs-to-know basis.
- Plot is not story. Story is how your character is affected by the plot, and how he/she acts and reacts, grows and/or changes.
- Be clear what your character's external goals and inner issues are.
Over and out from me!
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 7/24/2015
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PLATYPUS hit the bookshop shelves this week. So it is Happy Dance time for me.
As with all new releases, I am now thinking of ways to present this book in the upcoming weeks of school visits and events that make up BOOK MONTH. (Book Week usually lasts for at least a month these days.)
So today I purchased online another wonderful
FOLKMANIS puppet. Pretty cute, huh?
And I have wasted many hours watching numerous funny and informative platypus videos on YouTube. This one rates high on the cute stakes!
I have even found the most annoying platypus song ever! I dare you to listen to it.
So lots of valuable time wasting. And lots of platypus fun ahead, starting with the
CBCA Illawarra-South Coast Sub Branch's Literary Luncheon on Wednesday. Food, kids, authors and books - a winning combination.
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By:
Sue Whiting,
on 7/10/2015
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PLATYPUS - my first ever trade nonfiction picture book - is due for release in a week or so.
Yes, I am happy dancing!
It is part of a gorgeous series, called Nature Storybooks, published by Walker Books, which combines lyrical narrative, facts and painterly art.
And I have been ever so lucky to have been paired with the the supremely talented illustrator MARK JACKSON. His work is divine!
Want a sneak peek? Feast your eyes on these.
I love school holidays.
This may sound like a strange thing for someone who hasn’t been a teacher for ten years and whose kids are well past their school days to say.
But school holidays are wonderful.
Because school holidays mean beautiful cocooning silence for the first half hour of my morning train commute.
Now please don’t think that this is a rant about the youth of today and their disrespect for others. It’s not. It’s just that the first half hour of my commute is the tiny bit of time that I have carved out for me to write. And for exactly sixteen minutes of that time the local high school kids surge into my carriage and command centre stage.
They don’t do anything wrong (mostly). They are just LOUD. Exuberant. As you should be when you are a teen. The carriage fills with their energy: sudden shots of laughter, high-pitched squeals, the click-clack of skateboards, the bouncing of soccer balls, shouted conversations about assignments, or exams or TV shows. Sometimes there is even singing. (I love the singing.) And dancing. And acrobatics. (True.) They are highly entertaining - and extremely distracting - but only once have I felt the need to say, Oh, come on, guys, keep it down. Please. Which they did immediately with red faces and swift apologies.
Funnily enough it wasn’t until midweek last week that I noticed their absence, that I snuggled into the silence of my empty carriage and immersed myself in the voices of my characters. It was nice, I have to admit.
And I have another whole week until the sixteen-minute daily circus returns.
In celebration of the release of the US edition of PORTRAITS OF CELINA, (hardback with a jacket - it looks so pretty!) I have reposted this post about writing a slightly creepy story.
“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.” Alfred Hitchcock I didn’t set out to write a creepy story. But it seems that I have.
Many
readers/reviewers of
Portraits of Celina say that the novel is gripping, thrilling and seriously creepy. This comment is often followed by grimaces and shudders, and then the sharing of favourite “freak out” moments. All relayed with huge grins and much wide-eyed glee. Fantastic and appreciated feedback for me as the author, but it got me thinking what a weird lot we human beings are! Why do we gain pleasure from reading stories that scare us?
The answer can be found in biology and evolution. Feeling fear is a primeval response that has contributed to our species staying alive and thriving, and that has saved us from many dangers.
The science goes like this. When we are confronted with a dangerous situation, the brain immediately releases a surge of hormones, in particular, adrenaline, but also others such as dopamine. These hormones trigger our fear response that allows us to react swiftly. Our bodies go on high alert, we are charged with energy and our senses are intensified. Essential things for survival.
Now, for many, when these hormones are released in non-dangerous situations, where there is little or no risk of physical harm, this heady rush of hormones results in a type of exhilaration, or at the very least, exciting, pleasurable feelings. All thrill, but no price! Perfect.
I can assure you it is very unlikely that I will ever bungee jump off a bridge, go skydiving or swim with sharks. I’m not even that keen on roller coaster rides. For me, there is no better place to get my dose of thrills and chills than curling up on my sofa in the safety of my own home caught in the suspense of a nail-biting novel, experiencing fear vicariously.
So I am pleased to have written something a little creepy – something that allows readers the same pleasure as waking from a nightmare!
Happy holidays everyone!
We had our family Christmas at my place this year, which of course meant lots of preparation, including a mid-summer spring clean and the peeling of many vegetables.
It also meant that some of the family stayed over for a Christmas sleepover. This is not one of our usual family Christmas traditions. In fact, it is only the second time it has happened. The last time was in 2001, when around 3 pm on Christmas afternoon, just as we finished our Christmas lunch, raging bushfires swept over the escarpment and our little village was surrounded, cut off and our house filled with stranded friends and family, many of whom stayed not just for Christmas night but for several days.
We had no power. Very little food. No communication with the outside world. When not hosing down friends' houses or rescuing their pets or keeping watch on advancing fronts, we sat out in the street with neighbours and shared a drink or two.
It was a strange time. A surreal time. A time that came to be known as
Black Christmas. And a time that eventually inspired my mid-grade novel
Get a Grip, Cooper Jones, which was published eight years later in 2010.
No houses were lost in my village, but many were lost in surrounding villages and in various parts of Sydney. Miraculously and thankfully no lives were lost. And now in 2014, with fires tearing through the
Adelaide Hills and rural Victoria, I am once again reminded of that time. My thoughts are with you all! Stay safe.
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 10/24/2014
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This is not a post about things coming in threes. I do not believe in that notion at all. Rather, this post is simply about three things that happened a week or so ago, which all represent positive steps along the twisty track that is my journey as a writer. And they are all “firsts”.
So, as they say on reality TV, in no particular order, here they are:
1. For the first time ever, I have my own dedicated CREATIVE SPACE/STUDIO. Pete bought me a beautiful desk a few years back, but I have never had a space for it that was ALL mine; it was always housed in a multi-use space, one that I frequently had to move out of when family members came and went (as they tend to do these days). But I now have MY space, complete with what I like to call my “thinking board”. My creative juices have become a torrent!
2. For the first time ever, I have signed with a literary agent –
Pippa Masson from Curtis Brown. This, I believe, is an important career move, one that feels very right.
3. For the first time ever – drum roll please – one of my books has WON an award.
A SWIM IN THE SEA, illustrated by Meredith Thomas, won the
Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards for the 3–5 years category. Yee- ha! As an ex-literacy teacher, winning this award was extra-specially sweet.
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 8/29/2014
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Book Week is always lots of fun. And always terribly hectic. This is what my Book Week looked like this year:
- One road trip to Canberra for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards announcement.
- One broken down car at Canberra airport where I stopped to pick up author Claire Saxby. Sadly, said car needed to be towed away and have a short holiday in our national capital - which meant I missed most of the award ceremony!
- One yummy CBCA ACT Book Week dinner.
- Many many hours of driving (in Pete's car) in terrible traffic and even worse weather to schools for school visits (all on the other side of Sydney to me).
- Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of smiling faces and enthusiastic young readers and writers. I am always blown away by the creativity, enthusiasm and passion of the kids I meet (and their teachers).
- One trip to Melbourne for the Book Design Awards + author meetings + a visit to Melbourne Writers festival + a little book research + beautiful sunshine.
- One radio interview with Julie Clift on ABC Broken Hill about Book Week and writing for children (while sitting on the floor in Melbourne airport - I'm all class!).
BEST MOMENTS!- When one child brimming with excitement declared: "Oh my God, I can't believe the real Sue Whiting is really here!"
- When about two hundred children spontaneously, unexpectedly and joyously joined in with my reading of The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, which they ALL knew off by heart. It was a little overwhelming actually and left me a little dazed - in a good way. (I think I had a bit of a rock star moment - got the feeling of what it must be like when an audience sings your lyrics back to you.)
The actual week is over - but the festivities aren't! The next couple of weeks are pretty hectic too starting with the
CBCA BIG BOOK DAY OUT tomorrow at the NSW Writers' Centre.
I have been writing professionally for fifteen years. So you'd think I would have worked it out by now. But in the last few weeks, more than ever before, I have come to the simple realisation that writing makes me happy. And that when I'm not writing, I can get a little cranky with life.
The past twelve months have been tricky. And life, as is often the case, has been getting in the way of my writing. This, coupled with several failed attempts at starting new novels, a cranky parrot on my shoulder, in full voice, telling me how rubbish my writing was, and inspiration and motivation as capricious as Sydney weather, meant that I was starting to question whether I even had another story in me. Perhaps Portraits of Celina was going to be my last novel.
Then, when my guard was down (and my spirits too), by chance I saw a video of a giant squid. This resulted in a light bulb moment, which led to others, and soon I was connecting several (quite random) ideas and, before I knew it, I was at the computer, with a new way in to one of my false start novels.
And I am so HAPPY. I feel like I am BACK. My characters are chatty and demanding and constantly charming the socks off me. And I am glad to be charmed again. I am glad to be writing.
Because writing makes me happy.
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 3/14/2014
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Just before Christmas, quite accidentally, I stumbled upon this photo on the internet.
And dissolved into tears.
Why? Because this is a picture of my "narnie" – my paternal grandmother – and up until that moment I had never seen her face. And, as I read the caption underneath – Doris Gwendolyn Moss 1896–1961 – I realised that apart from knowing her as "Narnie", I didn't even know her name!
Narnie died when I was just a baby and I never met her. And as with many families, circumstances meant that I knew very little about my extended family or heritage. (Nothing really – and what I thought I did know, turned out to be wrong!)
But now, thanks to Joy, the wife of my cousin, a tenacious family historian who writes a blog that contains many stories about my father's family, I know so, so much. And together we have uncovered many incredible stories about Narnie's heritage that involve first and second fleet convicts, the first settlements of Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land, and even far-flung places such as the remote island of Saint Helena where my great, great, great grandfather crossed paths with Napoleon during the time of his exile there.
The stories we are uncovering are rich and complex and sometimes heart-breaking. But what I am finding the most intriguing is how important these stories are to me. They have changed me. I feel as if I understand myself so much better and I can't imagine not knowing these things.
Story has always been important to me. I love how it helps us to understand what it means to be human, how it connects the past and the present and illuminates possible futures. And now, with the discovery of these family stories, I feel as if I have struck gold.
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 3/8/2014
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Unbelievably, it is almost a year since Portraits of Celina was released. It has been a fantastic year and I have been really happy with how the book has been received. But a year on, it is unlikely to be found on very many bookshop shelves - this is just the way it goes - and I have had a number of people of late ask: where can I get a copy?
So ... if you can't find it at your local bookshop, they should be able to order it in for you. It is still in print and available.
But now, with new technologies, the life of a book has been extended.
It is still available at a number of online bookshops such as: Booktopia and Bookworld.
And it is also available as an ebook, so can be purchased from many ebook retailers such as: iTunes and Amazon/kindle and Kobo and Bookworld.
Isn't it nice to think that even a year after release, a book is still readily available? One advantage of technology in the book trade!
Is it just me or has time flipped into warp speed? The days zip by so fast that sometimes I'm left dizzy. Has it really been two months since my last blog post? Wow. Time to rectify the situation.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Claire Saxby |
The last two months have been busy with the release of
A SWIM IN THE SEA, which has had some gorgeous
reviews and has turned up in some
unexpected places and on some
unexpected lists. But, in truth, what has been keeping me particularly busy is the
DAY JOB.
Which is not all bad. Because I am one of those lucky people who actually loves her job. Working in publishing for the past ten years has been a wonderful journey for me – a profession I never even thought of until I was actually doing it. (Weird, I know.)
But I love it. And feel very privileged to not only have a second career (I was a primary school teacher for twenty-five years) but to be in a job where I get to work with a fabulous team of creatives – editors, designers, authors, illustrators – to make gorgeous BOOKS for children and young adults. How can you not love that?
Some things I love about my job making books:
- Being a phantom – lurking in the background quietly guiding and encouraging my authors to create the very best story they possibly can.
- Being a puzzler – pondering on where each piece of the story puzzle should go, which pieces need to go altogether, and which pieces need to be added to create the best result – the complete and perfect story.
- Finding solutions and coming up with ideas – something that is so much fun when you work in a supportive and creative team! Many heads working to the same end results in many great ideas being hatched.
- Typography and book design – thanks to all the designers I have had the privilege to work with, I have such a wonderful new respect and love for beautiful typography and clever design.
- Holding a finished book and knowing every step of its journey. That is a very satisfying feeling. Only topped by witnessing the joy on the authors' and illustrators' faces when they get to hold their "babies" for the first time.
How luck am I?
Well, the sun is shining, the weather is warming and the gorgeous blue sea is twinkling at me. And it is almost exactly the same sort of day when about ten years ago I was filled with a scrumptious child-like excitement as I headed down the cliff track to the beach to have my first swim for the season.
But as my bare feet hit the still coolish sand, a refrain started to play in my head:
I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea.
The refrain persisted as I garnered up my courage, closed my eyes and plunged into the still coolish water.
I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea. It continued as I floated in the current (briefly - the water was actually rather freezing!).
I'm going for a swim in the sea, the sea, the big blue sea.By the time I had plodded back up the track, showered and made some lunch, the refrain had become a poem - a poem that over the next few years would nudge up against a couple of other ideas and eventually morph into a story -
A SWIM IN THE SEA.
And this week, with the red and yellow flags standing sentinel on the beach, marking the beginning of the summer swimming season,
A SWIM IN THE SEA is now officially a book, illustrated by
Meredith Thomas and published by
Walker Books.
So I think it is time to PARTY! You can read about the launch
here.
 |
| Beach party launch of A Swim in the Sea at Austinmer Public School. |
And, as you can see, I am once again filled with a scrumptious child-like excitement as
A SWIM IN THE SEA hits the shelves in bookshops around the country. Yip-ee!
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 7/19/2013
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During the session Lisa gave an aspiring young writer some sage advice about writing. It went something like this: Read lots. Write lots. Start something. Stick to it. Finish it. Nothing startling, but well stated in a way that was easy to remember. And it provided a timely reminder for me.
So after my
stern talking to self on Sunday, I started the week with a new resolve. I was going to get back to my YA WIP; I was going to stick to it and finish it. No matter how long it took.
I started out by reading through what I had written thus far (about 3000 words), poring over the pages and pages of character notes and ideas, trying to get back into the heads of Shay and Riley. There was some surprisingly good stuff here, much of which I had forgotten about. But I knew I had a lot more “thinking” to do, and that I needed to go slowly, think deeply about my characters and take the time to get to know them properly. It was going to be a long process. But I was excited. That was Monday.
On Tuesday I woke thinking about a junior fiction idea I had years ago. A comic adventure idea that was very character driven and filled with much silliness. Ideas were zipping around my head, and I had to get out my notebook to take them down before I forgot them. And before I knew it I was scribbling scenes and working out plot ideas.
So after only one day into my resolve, I have started something new. But I am positively buzzing, the voices of my characters chattering away endlessly in my subconscious. Is this just classic avoidance behaviour? Am I just putting off delving back into my YA because I know that it is going to be hard? Who knows? But right now I am going to combine two of my favourite sayings and go with the flow and do what makes my heart sing.
Start something. Stick with it. Finish it. Great advice – if only I would follow it.
Okay – enough is enough, Susan. No more excuses.
Portraits of Celinahas been out for three months. It has been read,
reviewed and reprinted. You have received wonderful notes and emails and FB messages, and you have done what you can to promote it: school visits, library visits, festivals, panel sessions, conferences, interviews and articles. You have blogged and facebooked and tweeted.
There will be more opportunities – and they will be wonderful and appreciated – but it is time to let go. To stop being that helicopter parent hovering over and worrying about your latest little book baby and how it is doing in the big bad world. Slash the apron strings, Susan. Let Bayley and Celina tell their stories to whoever wishes to listen them. They are no longer your characters. They belong to your readers, and you must move on. You have a new novel to write and it is not going to write itself. It requires time, effort – and in the (paraphrased) words of Ernest Hemingway “you need to sit at your typewriter and bleed”.
Remember Shay? And Riley? Remember that image you have of them: torn, crying, bereft, but loving each other to bits? Remember Shay touching Riley’s face and telling him she will fix it, fix him? That she would never leave his side no matter what he’s done? Remember your
blog post about Dad and those tangly webs? Remember that?
You have another story to tell. And I think it could be a good one, one worth telling. And, yes, it is going to be hard. Really hard. It is going to take a long time. You are going to doubt yourself and at times you will feel as if you are writing nothing but rubbish – and maybe it will be, just that, rubbish, but maybe it won’t. But, Susan, you have to give it your best shot. Come on, put a lid on those doubts, silence those excuses and, please, please, just get on with it.
Like now.
That morning, my last morning, April 7, 1975, dawned brilliant: warm and golden, the sun slanting through the trees. It matched my mood perfectly. It was to be the first day of the rest of our lives, for Robbie and me.
I walked down my driveway, brimming with excitement, closed the front gate behind me to keep the goats in, just as I did every morning, and headed along the dirt track to the bus stop.
I never made it. I was just sixteen years old.
I have to tell you that I felt ripped off, dying that young, when I had everything to look forward to – my whole life ahead of me. And it was going to be such a good life. I had passion: so much I wanted to do, to achieve. It was incredibly unfair.
But dying wasn’t the worst part, let me tell you. It was just the beginning.
Imagine what it was like having to watch everyone suffer so horribly after I was gone. The waiting, wondering, worrying – the not knowing what had happened to me. It was torture, for them, and for me. It’s what drove Robbie away and sent Mum and Dad mad with sorrow.
And all the while HE lived on. Walked among them. Laughed. Joked. Prospered. Lived. Did unspeakable things.
But now MY time has come. My patience has paid off. It may have taken nearly forty years, but now my sweet little cousin has come at last to help me. And although she doesn’t know it yet, she is going to exact my revenge. To make HIM pay. It’s all up to her now.
Make him pay, Bayley. Make him pay.
I won’t rest until it’s done.
Peace sister.
Celina O’Malley
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 5/5/2013
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A few years ago, I was preparing for a Perth Writers’ Festival panel session about favourite books from childhood. (
Here is a link to an article on the session.) I recall I was remembering fondly my obsession with Enid Blyton and her Famous Five series, when I was hit my an unexpected flashback.
I suddenly saw a much younger me, perhaps ten or eleven, plucking a purple hardback from the shelves of my local library. The book was Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth and Me by E.L. Konigsburg (published in the states and elsewhere as Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth).
I had totally forgotten about this book, but as soon as I had this recollection, I remembered the experience of reading it all so vividly. I recalled how much I loved this particular story, how it spoke to me at the time, how I longed for a friend to pretend to be a witch with, to make potions with and to chant around a magic circle.
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth and Me was unlike any other book I had read at the time, and I have no idea why I picked it up. Maybe the pretty purple colour of the cover attracted me, maybe the names intrigued – I suspect I would have had no idea who Hecate and Macbeth were. I certainly didn’t know that it was an award-winner: a Newbery Honour Book and ALA Notable Book, that it was the first book written by Konigsburg, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated and loved contemporary American writers for children and young adults. And I wouldn’t have thought that forty years later, on hearing of the passing of this wonderful writer, on April 20 (aged 83) the much older Sue would immediately order a copy of this book and read it once again in salute to this great writer.
And my rereading didn’t disappoint or tarnish my recollection. Instead, it enhanced it. It brought a warm smile to my lips as I recalled the things that charmed me as a child, and the adult me was intrigued at how I would have identified with the character of Elizabeth – there were many similarities: smallest in class, new girl at school, no siblings at home – and I am sure I would have found Elizabeth’s Saturday meetings with Jennifer very daring.
First published in 1967, the book certainly showed its age with references to being excited at pretending to smoke menthol cigarettes, being smacked and the like, but I could forgive those. And the writer in me was able to admire the way Konigsburg wrote deeply from within her child character’s point of view and how cleverly she had cast the adult world to the periphery of the story. The story is quite slim, but masterfully layered; the relationship between Elizabeth and the domineering Jennifer is a complex one, and it was terrific to witness the growth in Elizabeth over the course of the story.
There were certainly many lessons for me in revisiting this book.
I plan to dig out and read or reread more of Konigsburg’s work over the coming months – and I’m hoping that some of her storytelling gift, her wisdom, wit and insight will rub off along the way.
Vale E.L. Konigsburg.
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 4/12/2013
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I love the morning. Love the promise of it. The stillness of it. The quiet pause of it.
This morning the stillness is particularly sweet. After a crazy couple of weeks of releasing
Portraits of Celina into the world (or to be more precise, Australian bookshops and libraries!) – a couple of weeks of great excitement and extreme trepidation, where I have had the pleasure of reading some
AMAZING reviews, where I have had the joy of seeing nice little STACKS or teetering PILES of the book in bookstores (coupled with the worry that the piles will remain teetering and end up being returned), where I have had gorgeous, enthusiastic emails and facebook messages full of praise and good wishes from friends, relatives, booksellers, early readers and writing buddies, where I have introduced the book to hundreds of teen girls and been encouraged by their excitement and engagement – after such a couple of weeks, it is good to soak in the stillness of the morning, take stock (and a deep breath), make a vow to stop obsessing, worrying and self-googling, and to get back to my next novel.
And this brings me to thoughts about my dad and tangly webs.
My dad died when I was barely twenty. Six months exactly before my wedding day. (Yes, a child bride!) Eight years before I had that first stirring in my belly that I’d like to write, and twenty years before I had my first book published. In an interview for
Magpies magazine, Joy Lawn asked about the absence of fathers in my last two novels. The question threw me. I hadn’t realised. And I had to wonder if it was due to the fact that deep down I feel like I have missed out on having a father for much of my life.
I don’t remember an awful lot about my father as a person. I think he was cheeky. I think he loved having fun. I think he was a risk-taker. I say think because I don’t really know. But when I think of him, my first thoughts are not about what we did together, my first thoughts are of love. I loved him deeply and I know he loved me unconditionally in return. And despite his early departure, he left me with some very strong “lessons” that have travelled with me my entire life. He taught me to be prepared – to do my homework – before speaking or acting or reacting. He taught me to strive, not to settle for a small life. And he taught me about truth. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive. His favourite saying. And the core of my new work. A story of love, lies and deception and a very tangly web.
So now, thirty-three years after his death, Dad is with me again. He is sitting on an orange vinyl chair at a laminate kitchen table, sipping his whiskey, chuckling and saying, Go for it, Suzie-Q; you can do it. Those tangly webs will make for a damn good story. Just do your homework and strive – don’t settle for a small story, make it big, make it shine.
And I am going to give it a red-hot go. This one’s for you, Dad. Love you. Miss you. XXX
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 4/5/2013
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“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.” Alfred Hitchcock
I didn’t set out to write a creepy story. But it seems that I have.
Early responses from readers of
Portraits of Celina are that the novel is gripping, thrilling and seriously creepy. This comment is often followed by grimaces and shudders, and then the sharing of favourite “freak out” moments. All relayed with huge grins and much wide-eyed glee. Fantastic and appreciated feedback for me as the author, but it got me thinking what a weird lot we human beings are! Why do we gain pleasure from reading stories that scare us?
The answer can be found in biology and evolution. Feeling fear is a primeval response that has contributed to our species staying alive and thriving, and that has saved us from many dangers.
The science goes like this. When we are confronted with a dangerous situation, the brain immediately releases a surge of hormones, in particular, adrenaline, but also others such as dopamine. These hormones trigger our fear response that allows us to react swiftly. Our bodies go on high alert, we are charged with energy and our senses are intensified. Essential things for survival.
Now, for many, when these hormones are released in non-dangerous situations, where there is little or no risk of physical harm, this heady rush of hormones results in a type of exhilaration, or at the very least, exciting, pleasurable feelings. All thrill, but no price! Perfect.
I can assure you it is very unlikely that I will ever bungee jump off a bridge, go skydiving or swim with sharks. I’m not even that keen on roller coaster rides. For me, there is no better place to get my dose of thrills and chills than curling up on my sofa in the safety of my own home caught in the suspense of a nail-biting novel, experiencing fear vicariously.
So I am pleased to have written something a little creepy – something that allows readers the same pleasure as waking from a nightmare!
Hope you enjoy the rush.
This particular idiom is a favourite of mine. How often do we get tripped up by not attending to the details of a situation? (What?! I had to check in forty-five minutes before the flight!) Not reading the fine print? (What?! I’m not covered for flood damage?) Not reading the instructions? (Why is there five screws left?) Ploughing through the steps of a recipe without paying enough attention to those important fine details? (What?! It said a teaspoon of chili not a tablespoon?)
As an editor, I am most certainly a details person. But it is in writing, that details give me the most delight and, at times, cause me the most dilemmas. The addition of details can make or break your writing and it can be a deliciously devilish thing to get right.
It comes down to the old Goldilocks scenario.
Too many details and your writing becomes wordy and dull, slow paced and bogged down, allowing no room for your readers to use their own imaginations.
Too few details and your readers will find it difficult to form pictures in their minds. And your writing becomes flat, uninspiring and quite possibly confusing.
But if you provide just the right amount of details, your writing will sing; it will be vivid and rich – without slowing the pace of the story.
But having the right level of detail is only half the problem. The details you choose must be just right as well – they need to be precise, convincing, evocative, authentic, sensory, specific, arresting, unusual. They should never be merely embellishments. They need to work hard for your plot, or setting, or themes, or character.
In my own writing, I tend to start quite expansive and then whittle down my descriptions and scenes until I feel I have just the right balance, keeping only what I feel are the most arresting, evocative or necessary details. This of course is time-consuming, but it works for me and, as I whittle away, the process becomes like solving a puzzle. By way of example, the first drafts of the prologue in
Portraits of Celina ran at around 1000 words. The prologue that made it into the final draft is a mere 250 words – yet it still says everything it needs to say and, while it hasn’t been tested on the general public yet, I think it is vivid and powerful. (She says, hopefully!)
To finish up, I found an interesting definition of “the devil is in the detail” in that most reliable of sources Wikipedia.
“The idiom ‘the devil is in the detail’refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details.”
In the context of Portraits of Celina, this particular definition brought a sly grin to my face. There is certainly a catch / twist hidden in the details of this story. Quite a dark one, actually. And yes, my friends, that is a teaser ...
By:
Sue Whiting,
on 12/25/2012
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It may be Boxing Day here in Australia, but apparently THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG thingy must go on.
Last week the very lovely Deborah Abela tagged me on her blog, as part of a chain of blog posts by writerly types called THE NEXT BIG THING, where authors are invited to wax lyrical about their next book.
Today it's my turn, and I’m going to be answering a bunch of questions about my new novel, Portraits of Celina, which comes out next April. Then I have to tag more writers who will tell you about their new books next Wednesday.
So let’s get this show on the road.
What is the working title of your next book?
Portraits of Celina. It will be out in April 1 next year – no joke! I’d show you the cover – it is amazing – but I’m afraid I can’t as there is going to be an official “reveal” and competition in February. Stay tuned.
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The idea snuck up on me. I was writing a totally different book for a younger age group, but it wasn’t working. After some scathing but "right on the money" feedback from my daughter, I decided to ditch that particular project. But the set-up and back-story I had created intrigued me and I couldn’t let my characters go. So I decided to go for a bit of an explore and see where it took me.
What genre does your book fall under?
This is a tricky one as it doesn’t fit neatly into a particular genre. A haunting thriller perhaps? It’s for readers aged 12+, and the back cover blurb describes it as “A ghost story. A love story. A story of revenge.”
What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
There has been much discussion and daydreaming about this among the editors at Walker Books. But I think
Ashleigh Cummings who played Debbie in
Puberty Blues and
Tomorrow When the War Began would do a great job of Bayley. Oliver I’d choose a hot newcomer from NIDA. Gran is definitely
Jacki Weaver. And
Bill Hunter (if he were still with us) is the perfect Bud.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When the grief-stricken Anderson family moves to the lake house in faraway Tallowood, Bayley hopes that this will be their chance for a fresh start, but the house was witness to an awful tragedy forty years earlier and Bayley becomes entwined in her murdered cousin’s desperate yearning for revenge.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
About eighteen months – I wrote most of it on the train during my morning commute to work.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
My daughter, Lizzie, inspired (or strongly suggested) I ditch my original idea (which sucked, in her humble opinion) and explore the setting and characters and set-up I had created. She was so right!
What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
Early readers (my publisher, editors, sales and marketing team, sales reps etc) have all commented on how genuinely creepy and suspenseful the book is. And there is a twist at the end of the story, which has taken everyone by surprise and has had them looking at me through narrowed eyes and saying things like “I didn’t know you had such a dark side, Sue!”
So that's it from me. It is now my duty to pass the baton on to other writers and as it is the holiday season and everyone is lying around a pool or on the beach somewhere reading the current big thing, I have only managed to tag one writer - the gorgeous and talented Sue Lawson. She will be posting on January 2.
So long!
I have just finished going through the copy edit for Portraits of Celina. In the next week or so, the manuscript will be typeset, so apart from a final proofread, the work is done and soon Portraits of Celina will be a book. (Not out until April 2013 though.)
I should be excited - and I am - but I am also feeling bereft. Why? That is what I have been asking myself the past couple of weeks.
Mostly, I think it is because I am sad to say goodbye to Celina and Bayley and Oliver and Seth and all the other characters and their individual dilemmas and quirks and personalities. They have been such a big part of my life for the past few years, and I'm not quite ready to bid them farewell.
I'm sad too because once Portraits of Celina becomes a book, I can no longer tinker with it, no longer tweak or massage or improve it. I can't add that fantastic new element I just thought of in the shower, or that acerbic line of dialogue that just came to me. I can't change anything. It will be all done and dusted and handed over to the readers. And in many ways, it will no longer be my story. I will have lost control and be handing over the reins to those readers. It will be their story - the story their imaginations create from my words on the page.
But isn't this handing over to the readers what I have been aiming for throughout the writing of the book? Isn't it for the most part what has driven the writing? The answer, of course, is yes, and if I'm totally honest with myself, the handing over isn't really making me sad that I am losing control, it is just a teeny bit scary. I love my story and my characters, but what will my readers think?
Such a wide range of emotions. That amazing roller-coaster ride yet again.
And I know the best way to get over these feelings is to stop wallowing and to get cracking with the next book.
But that blank page is pretty scary too!
So, I am putting on my brave hat, and after I press post to this, I am going to open a new word document and write "The Awful Truth" and start writing. (At least one sentence anyway.) Wish me luck.
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Happy 2016.
You have no need for doubts Susan, you're a very talented writer... and I'm already intrigued about Shay and Riley!
You are too kind, Charmaine! Thanks for the encouragement. And all the best with your writing also.
Sue,
I've just finished Portraits of Celina. Wow!! Thanks for a wonderful read.
Does that help move you on? I'm also about to start a new book - well I'm researching and wool-gathering after the release of That Boy, Jack. And yes, I feel in the same boat as you. But there is that tingle of excitement too. I bet you have that as well. Good wishes.
Thanks Janeen. I am so glad you enjoyed Celina. :) I like the idea of wool-gathering. A lot less threatening than the blank page. Good luck with your new work and congrats on JACK. It seems to be doing really well.
Thanks Janeen. I am so glad you enjoyed Celina. :) I like the idea of wool-gathering. A lot less threatening than the blank page. Good luck with your new work and congrats on JACK. It seems to be doing really well.