sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Of Fridays – and Inspiration

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Last Friday I got up veeerrrry early in the morning, and drove ‘home’ to Corrigin (I divide my time between there and here, in the Southwest, because school for the Murphlets and work for me are here, and work for my beloved is there). Anyway, I digress. My journey this time had little to do with my beloved, though I was lucky enough to have coffee with him as soon as I arrived and before I got down to the business of the day – lunch. And what a lunch!
Dining Divas was organised by a committee of local amazing women, for local amazing women, and featured three amazing women (one almost local and two less local) as speakers. As part of Corrigin’s centenary year festivities the lunch was a celebration of friendship, fine food and fun, and with 150 women in attendance, there was lots of noise and laughter. But there was also a really inspirational program of speakers.
Caroline Robinson, from Narembeen (just down the road)  was the 2011 Rural Woman of the Year and a perfect opening speaker, not only sharing her own experiences but also reminding us of the importance of supporting and seeking out the support of other women.  Estelle Blackburn,currently from Canberra,  spoke about her experiences helping John Button and  Darryl Beamish  overturn their wrongful convictions – inspiring us with her determination to right an injustice. The final speaker for the day was Una Glennon, who travelled from Perth her husband Dennis and shared her journey through grief, and beyond. 
I was lucky enough to be the MC for the day – a new experience for me – and one which terrified me beforehand. It was a real honour to be able to introduce each of these women, and to get to talk to them personally as well. It was also wonderful to catch up with friends and to meet new ones as well.
It was an exhausting day but I came home inspired. I want to be hard working like Caroline, a fighter like Estelle and strong and dignified like Una. 
This Friday I’m at home, alone, which is as it should be, as Friday is my writing day. And I have written this morning, sending off revisions on my next verse novel to my editor. But even home alone I manage to get inspired. Today it’s because a beautiful teacher,  Miss Doran, sent me this link.  Thank you Miss Doran and Year 3/4 . Sometimes writing can be lonely, or frustrating, or draining, or all of these things at once. Sometimes writing about hard topics makes me sad.   But when I hear that a class of students has read and enjoyed my book , and maybe even benefitted from it I am inspired to keep writing. 
And so I do.
What inspires you?

I’m Angry

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Because I have a daughter: a beautiful, strong, talented, funny daughter who makes me so proud with her determination to always stand up for what she believes in, even when it means taking the unpopular line (or disagreeing with her mother). Not only does she stand up for things, but she educates herself to the issues so that her decisions are ethical and informed.
Because I have sons. Strong individuals, each in their own way, who are growing into young men I will always be proud of and who need to see me standing up for what I believe in so that they continue to know it’s okay for them to do so, too.
Because I am a woman who has many times heard the term ‘rampant feminist’ and other derisive terms directed towards women who stand up for stuff – and who has often thought ‘thank goodness I’m not one of them’. And because I’ve gradually come to realise that I’d been conned into thinking that fighting for women’s rights has somehow gone too far.
Because I’m the mother of those six children  who finished breastfeeding them more than ten years ago – and still hear that women should cover up or find somewhere more appropriate.
Because I cheered the day our Prime Minister was voted in (that’s right, she was endorsed by her fellow Labor government members of parliament), glad that finally a woman could take the top job in our country. And because I just couldn’t have imagined the misogynistic rubbish that she would endure as PM.
Because restaurants publish menus (which they do or don’t use) attacking her very femininity, because radio announcers question the sexuality of her life partner, and because her cleavage is somehow a hot topic – or even a topic at all.
Because other women – and men, too – still tell me that her rise to power was somehow different than many man male politicians (apparently the Prime Minister invented back room manoeuvrings because she’s a woman – no man had ever done similar).
And because today a female radio announcer, in complete defiance of logic, suggested we boycott a woman author’s books because she was apparently a victim of domestic violence and must set an example to us all. *
I must stand up and say it: I AM AN ANGRY WOMAN.
Enough Australia! 
(PS: As  children’s book author I’ve often been scared of talking about such issues on this blog. And yet, in a lightbulb moment I realised this morning that it is also because I’m a children’s book author that I MUST say something. I write for those children because I want to make their world a better place. How can it be better if I don’t stand up for what I see is wrong?)

* Update: Because I blogged in anger I confess to having made an error here and so have edited this line . The broadcaster made the comments on a blog, here.

Picturing History: 5 Tips for Writing Historical Picture Books

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 Here’s an article I wrote for this week’s Pass It On Newsletter . Sharing it here for anyone who doesn’t subscribe.
 

Thinking about writing a historical picture book? Here are five quick tips to get you started.
1.        Choose an event (or an angle) which kids will be interested in. Children do love hearing about history, but not every famous event will have kid-appeal.  You may be fascinated by the election of 1914 or the invention of a special liniment for the treatment of cold sores but will children be?  When researching the life of Mary MacKillop, I was fascinated about her struggles with Bishop Shiels and other church clergy, but I wasn’t sure how much of that story would interest children.
2.       Don’t try to cover every aspect of an event or a person’s life. A picture book text is short, and whilst historical picture books do vary in length depending on the target age group, you don’t have the word length to cover the entire story of the Vietnam War, or a famous person’s entire life story. Choose a key event, or key period of their life. For Mary MacKillop’s story I decided to focus on her establishing her first school, because I felt that was a wonderful introduction to her life’s work.  The presence of her mother, sisters and brother in the story hint at her past, and a back of book timeline expands on this, but the story itself only covers less than a year of her life.
3.       Do your research – lots of it. Yes, a historical picture book is short, which means a lot of your research won’t be used for the final story. But reading about the event or the person in detail, referring to original documents and getting an understanding of the time and place your story is set all shape the final story. Understanding Mary’s childhood and the economic and social conditions of her time helped me better grasp the obstacles she had to overcome to establish her first school.
4.       Create characters. Even though you might be writing about real people and events you need to make the characters come to life, because young readers need to care about the people they are reading about. Just as in any other story, dialogue, gestures and action all build a sense of the person. When I learnt that Mary MacKillop would often have boiled sweets in her pocket to offer the children, I knew this had to happen in my story. It is a simple gesture that shows her caring side.
5.       Be true to the times in which your story is set. This can be quite challenging. It is important to find a balance between historical accuracy and being child friendly. In a picture book, illustrations help to show the time period, but the text too can show how things are, rather than telling. The text of Meet Mary MacKillop doesn’t name the year the story is set (1866) but the text on the opening page has Mary lean out a stagecoach window, setting it firmly in the past. The dialogue is a little more formal than might be expected in a contemporary story, though I tried hard not to make it too stilted.
Writing historical picture books can be challenging. But if there’s an event or a story you are passionate about, the effort can be rewarding. 
Sally Murphy is the author of verse novels, poetry and fiction for children including, not surprisingly, two historical picture books. Do Not Forget Australia (illustrated by Sonia Kretschmar) was published by  Walker Books in 2012 and  Meet Mary MacKillop (illustrated by Sonia Martinez) has just been released by Random House Australia.
You can visit Sally online at www.sallymurphy.net

April Reads

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Another new month means that it’s time to look back over what I read last month. I got through nineteen books and, as with the previous month, lots of poetry collections, which has been fun. I also read several Anzac and war-themed books, with Anzac Day falling in April. Here’s the list with, as always, links to those I’ve reviewed. Have a great month.

Monsieur Albert Rides to Glory Peter Smith & Bob Graham Allen & Unwin Picture Book
Dinosauritis Jeannette Rowe Allen & Unwin Picture Book
All the Small Poems Valerie Worth Farrar Strauss Giroux Children’s Poetry
Chasing the Light Jesse Blackadder Fourth Estate Adult
Chinese Whispers Christine Harris Omnibus Young Adult
About Auntie Rose Jenny Boult Omnibus/Puffin Children’s Poetry
I Rhyme My Time David Martin Jacaranda Children’s Poetry
For me, me, me Dorothy Butler Hodder Children’s Poetry
Poetry to the Rescue Steven Herriick UQP Children’s Poetry
The Mimosa Tree Antonella Preto Fremantle Press Young Adult
Guinea Pig Town Lorraine Marwood Walker Books Children’s Poetry
Tom Jones Saves the World Steven Herrick UQP Children’s
Amber Road Boyd Anderson Bantam Adult
Gallipoli Alan Tucker Scholastic Children’s
Light Horse Boy Dianne Wolfer Fremantle Press Picture Book
For Valour Nicolas Brasch Black Dog Children’s NF
Anzac Biscuits Phil Cummings Scholastic Picture Book
During the War I Rode a Horse Lyle Murphy Author House Adult
Portraits of Celina Sue Whiting  Walker Books Young Adult
sallymurphy.com.au