sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

A Good Day

by Leave a Comment

Some days are so good you wish you could bottle them. Today’s been one of those days. I started with a buzz when I read my weekly Pass It On newsletter.

First, there were two little articles in there that I’d written. Of course I knew these would be there, but it’s still nice to see stuff you’ve contributed appearing in your favourite newsletter.

Then, in the reviews section was a glowing review of Pemberthy Bear, by the newsletter compiler Jackie Hosking, who said, in part:
Sally Murphy has written a lovely tale in rhyme that is complimented by Jacqui Grantford’s exquisite illustrations. New Frontier certainly have a knack of matching writers with illustrators to produce gorgeous picture books.
Wow! That had me singing.

Then there was a message in the newsletter from Moira, responding to my search for Pemberthy. She has seen Pemberthy no less than three times – in her home, in the Chatswood library (where, she reports, it was looking well-loved), and at a bookstore called Book Review, in St Ives! Moira, it turns out was also the proofreader for Pemberthy Bear, and loves Pemberthy so much that she recently brought a Pemberthy look-alike bear which sits on the shelf with her copy of the book. How cool is that?

So, with Moira’s three new dots added, the map now looks this:

The new dots are the pink, lime green and purple ones on the east coast, part of the cluster around Sydney.

With that kind of start to the day, I found myself singing and humming and working hard. I’m always more productive when I feel good. Today I finished a batch of marking, wrote two new reviews and a new article (about getting going after a slump), prepared and posted a new submission and did a few other odds and ends. I also managed some housework and spent time with my kids, who are still on their mid year holiday.

I also did some random browsing of some other writers’ blogs. I love seeing the variety of styles and formats and even subject matter.

All in all it’s been a good day.

Pemberthy Spotted in Warrnambool

by 2 Comments

How wonderful – yet another Pemberthy sighting has been reported, this time in Warrnambool where Pemberthy was seen at Collins Bookstore. Thanks so much to Corinne for reporting this sighting after reading about by search in Pass It On newsletter.

Warrnambool is in Victoria, east of Melbourne. The new dot is the orange one on the south east coast.

Don’t forget to let me know if YOU have seen Pemberthy.

My Favourite Favourites

by Leave a Comment

As part of my never-ending quest to be more organised, I’ve been tidying up my favourites list. I thought I would share twelve of my favourite favourites. Mostly focused on children’s writing, these are sites that I’ve visited many times and also sites I recommend to others.

http://www.kristiholl.com/Mystery_Lessons.htm Mystery lessons by Kristi Holl. This is a series of detailed and informative articles about writing mysteries, written by a published author of a number of children’s mysteries.

http://www.robinfriedman.com/index.html Website of Robin Friedman, US author. What’s of special interest on this site is her series of interviews with editors. Very informative.

http://www.right-writing.com/middle-grade.html Writing the middle Grade Novel – an article by Kristi Holl (See above). Condenses important information about writing for kids aged 8-12.

http://www.rickwalton.com/freeu/index.htm Rock Canyon University Free School of Writing for Children. This is the tongue in cheek name for a series of very short articles on the craft of writing picture books. Yes, it is tongue in cheek, but the advice is pretty spot on.

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/for_writers/writing_for_kids/writingforkids.html A series of articles about writing for children and YA, from author Cynthia Leitich Smith. Sound advice.

http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/writing_tips.shtml Index to articles on a range of topics related to writing for children.

http://members.aol.com/ddpattison/pb101.html Picture Books 101. A good introduction to picture book writing.

http://www.terryburns.net/LIBRARY.htm Library of Writing Links – loads of links to writing advice, critique groups, research tools and much more, organized into categories.

http://www.writing-world.com/admin1/siteindex.shtml Writing World. Hundreds of articles on all areas of writing – not just writing for children.

http://fictionaddiction.net/articles.html Fiction Addiction. Again not just about writing for children, though there is a section dedicated to our genre.

http://www.fictionforum.net/writers/articles/art09-02.html The Cover Letter. A detailed look at what a cover letter should (and should not) contain.

http://www.underdown.org/ The Purple Crayon. Harold Underdown’s site, full of articles, market news and more.

Enjoy discovering or rediscovering these excellent resources. If you’ve found a great children’s writing site I haven’t mentioned here, let me know.

Things to Do?

by Leave a Comment

Have had a bit of online time this afternoon. Updated this blog and my other , added a stats feature so I can see how many people are reading what I write, and then did some blog-surfing. I’ve been jumping from blog to blog, interested to see what others have got to say. Some were writers’ blogs, others more random.

And I learnt about something called a meme. A meme (in blogging terms) is a list of questions posted in one blog or on one website, which otters then address on their own blogs/sites, with a link to the original. You can see a better explanation here.

Anyway, I cam across a meme which challenges people to write a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. It’s like a new year’s resolution or a (long) to do list, with the added challenge that you make your list public, then keep the world updated on your progress in completing the things on the list.

For a moment I was tempted, but I haven’t joined in. I’m not sure I want to embark on something like that unless I’m pretty sure I’ll find the drive to firstly get the things done, and secondly update others on my successes (or otherwise). Still, I find it an interesting concept and enjoyed browsing through the goals others had set themselves – which ranged from buying a tooth-whitening system, to watching the sun rise on a mountain top.

There are lots of memes around, some for fun, some to encourage site visitors, others to share useful information. I haven’t yet participated in any, but now that I know more maybe I will some time.

In the meantime, thought I haven’t written a list of 101 things, I do write myself a list of things to do each week. I include things I know I must do (where a deadline must be met, for example) and other things I would like to achieve, and I cross them off as I go. My current list includes reviewing the three books I’ve finished this week, updating both of my blogs at least three times (this one’s had more than three, the other needs another entry), assignment marking (done), and more. Come Monday I’ll revisit my list, and start a new one, starting with the things I didn’t get done this week.

Having a list does keep me on track, but sometimes, like this afternoon, I give myself a break and do some stuff not on the list. It is Saturday after all.

Rhyming Bear

by Leave a Comment

My friend Pemberthy has written a new poem – this time a diamante. Check it out!

I have said it before, but I’ll say it again. Writing in different poetic forms is good discipline for developing writing skills, and it’s fun, too.

Why not write a diamante of your own?