sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Ten Things I Learnt at SCBWI in Sydney

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Every day should be a learning day, but there are some days that you learn far more than others.

I’m just back from a magical few days in Sydney where I attended the SCBWI Australian & NZ Conference at the Hughenden Hotel (as an aside, if you are looking for a warm-hearted boutique hotel in Sydney, you can’t go past the Hughenden).

I’ve been to lots of book and writing conferences over the years, but I still have so so so much to learn about writing, about the industry and about life in general. In these few days I’ve learnt dozens – maybe hundreds of new things, some big, some small. But lest I overwhelm you, here are just ten things I learned in Sydney.

  1. Even if you haven’t seen a friend for two years – or three, or even four – sometimes it feels like you’re just picking up a conversation from a few moments ago. No awkwardness, no need to reintroduce yourselves, you just know each other.
  2. Sometimes that ‘old friend’ is someone you’ve never actually met in real life but number 1 still applies. You’ve emailed or Facebooked or tweeted so well that you really do know each other.
  3. Most people like hugs, but some don’t, and that’s okay, though sometimes you can convert them. with gabriel evans
  4. If you must write a story in rhyme, you need to test the storyline by writing it out in prose for yourself to ensure that it works. Sometimes a rhyme can lead you off on tangents. (As someone who has had a rhyming picture book published, and worked on several more, I must confess I’d never thought of that, though I do always have the plot in my head)
  5. The thing you think you’ll learn or benefit you think you’ll get from a session is often not the most important thing you do learn in that session. It can be something incidental, but something just right for you.
  6. Not everyone knows what a verse novel is. Actually, I already knew this, but it still surprises/saddens me. (Must do more to spread the word).
  7. Not everyone likes poetry (again, I know this, but GOSH it is sad). Hopefully through my writing and doctoral project I can make a small contribution to changing this).
  8. That new technological/technical skill you’ve been procrastinating about acquiring will be the one mentioned by numerous speakers and delegates, sometimes in passing, so that you leave inspired to go and learn to do it. For me, this skill is Skype visits, so watch this space.
  9. In a crowded conference space it’s okay to step away for a few minutes, take a deep breath, stretch and be alone. It not only energises you ready to dive back in, but it can also make you a nicer person (I hope).
  10. The tips you get and the ones you share in the coffee breaks/lunch breaks/bar are often not directly writing related but can be incredibly valuable and start both conversations and friendships. In Sydney I evangelised about my comfortable shoes more than I ever thought I would, and learnt about stationery, iPad apps and so much more

I said there were only 10, but I’m a writer and counting is not my forte, so here’s one more: it doesn’t seem to matter the size of a conference, there are always people who you don’t get to spend enough time with. There were so many wonderful friends who I feel I hardly said more than hello to. With a packed conference programme and so much wonderful conversation taking place, you don’t always get hours to spend with each friend – old or new. But you know that, in two years, or whenever your paths cross again, you’ll be able to pick up again. And, in the meantime, we are so lucky to live in a time when technology means keeping up with friends is a daily thing, even when you’re miles apart.

Coming Up Roses

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Wow. When a review includes the words:  “I have read no better” that is a special special moment. Especially when the reviewer is talking about your book.

Thanks Bob’s Books Blog for such a beautiful review, which you can read here.

Feeling all rosy.

 

 

 

 

Roses are Out!

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Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday roses are blue

Happy birthday to yooooooouuuuu!

Roses are Blue

So very happy to see my book baby officially hit the shelves today. It’s been a while in the making, but I’m hoping you’ll find it worth the wait.

A verse novel, Roses are Blue tells the story of Amber Rose, and her struggle to come to terms with the changes in her mum, her family and her whole world, after a terrible accident.

The illustrations are from the very talented Gabriel Evans. I’m so pleased to have been paired with him for this book.

Here’s a teeny taste:

I have not got used to my new mum.

Even though I love her

(I absolutely love her),

I miss my happy,

painting,

dancing,

gardening,

smiling mum.

Roses are Blue is available now from a good bookstore near you, or online.

 

I’m going to spend my day celebrating.

 

big hug sue and claire

PS: here’s a pic of me celebrating a little early – at the book’s launch in May – with my two wonderful writing buddies, Sue Whiting and Claire Saxby.

Five Signs You’ve Had a Productive Writing Day (and Five Signs you Haven’t)

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Yesterday I blogged about the need to keep writing, even on days when you don’t feel like it. I also compared it to exercise (or, more specifically, walking) and the fact you can measure steps taken more easiluthan you can measure writing output. So I thought I might take the time today to think about how to tell thatyou’ve had a productive writing day.

 

So, here goes.

 

Five signs you’ve had a productive writing day:

 

1. Your word count has gone up (this, of course, works best if you’re using a program that counts words. It’s not terribly productive to manually count your hand written words, in spite of the numbers of hours I wasted as a uni student doing exactly that).

2. You have a satisfying pile of pieces of paper with words on them, words which you’ve written, on your printer, your desk, or your coffee table. And they’re not shopping lists or notes to your off springs’ teachers.

3. You have writers’ cramp.

4. You stared the day with a writing goal (or goals) and you met it/them.

5. You end the day with the warm glow of accomplishment that follows a perfect poem/draft/sentence.

 

Five signs you have not had a productive writing day:

 

1. Your house is spotless and your pantry is arranged alphabetically.

2. You beat your high score in <insert favourite game title here>.

3. Over dinner your spouse/child/friend asks what you’re working on And you say ‘oh, a few things’.

4. Your email inbox is empty, when it started the day full.

5. You end the day promising yourself you’ll do better tomorrow.

 

Lucky for me, today’s been a productive day. Now I’m going to take my writers cramp for a walk.

Of Walking and of Writing

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This evening I trudged my way around the oval where Murphlet 6 was doing footy training. I usually love my evening walk, but tonight I was , without a doubt,  trudging. It’s cold today, a but drizzly and I’m tired and a bit grumpy. The walk did not improve my mood. But it ticked a box on my list of things to. And back home,  thinking about that walk, it has just occurred to me that getting my walk in is just like getting writing done.

See, the reason I was so determined to walk even when I’m didn’t want to, was because I’m in one of those pedometer challenges where you try to walk at least 10000 steps a day. This one is called the Global Corporate Challenge, and involves workplace teams trying to challenge themselves to be more active at the same time as competing against other teams in the workplace, across the country and internationally. If you don’t walk enough, you see your average go down, and your team average go down. If you do the steps your stats go up. And, you get fitter and maybe leaner.

Most days I’m loving it. I go for a morning walk and an evening walk, and often sneak in one or two quick strolls during the day giving me a break from my desk.

And I’m seeing stuff like this

Walk Pic June 14

and this

walk Pic June 14b

and this:

walk pic june 14c

 

But today, as I’ve said, was cold and wet and also cold. And I didn’t get much sleep last night. So it got to five o’clock and my step count was right down. And I thought about not bothering. Then I thought how I would feel tomorrow morning when I entered 6000 steps instead of the 13000 I’ve been beating most days. And that thought got me on my feet and I went for a trudge, and it got cold and I didn’t feel uplifted . But I achieved my goal for the day.

It’s just like writing. Most days I crave more time to write, so I appreciate the time I actually have to sit at my desk and write. I write poems and strikes and reviews and blog posts, and it get to the end of the day and feel satisfied.

But some days, I don’t feel like it. Maybe I’ve had a rejection. Or maybe I’m tired. Or maybe the sun is shining and I’d rather be out walking <grin>. Sometimes I don’t realise I don’t feel like writing, but I let myself get distracted by other stuff – the internet, television, rearranging the pantry. And some days I get to the end of the day and realise I haven’t written anything.

But I’m a writer, And my job is to write. If I had a little pedometer type thing attached to my wrist that told me how much writing I’d done, and then I had to enter in on a website each day, maybe I’d trudge my way through the words. But I don’t have a counter (except word count which isn’t always a sign of productivity because I don’t do all my writing on my computer, and also because sometimes a hundred perfectly crafted words is worth more than 10000 random ones).

So without the counter, all I can do is try to account to myself for each day’s productivity. And remind myself that if  I want to be a writer I must write, even when it isn’t easy or fun. I have other tricks, like making a list of tasks to be done, and crossing them off as they’re done., and sometimes there are external motivators like deadlines. But other days it’s just a trudge. Getting one word down at a time till I can tell myself I’ve done enough. Because, again, I’m a writer.

Luckily, most days writing is fun and rewarding, just like most days are for walking. And, having written all this I now feel a whole lot better about this evening’s walk.

Cleaning Out

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Pssst. Want to buy a Little Dog?

Jonah June 2014

 

No. Not that Little Dog – this Little Dog:

Little Dog Copies

My first ever trade published book has a bit of a sad past because the publisher went bust, and as a result I’ve got a couple of boxes of copies which have moved house with me twice and take up room in my shed and are generally NOT getting read which is, after all what books are for.

So, if you’d like a copy for your collection, drop me a line. I can send it anywhere in Australia for $4 a copy including postage. And overseas, too, for a little more.  And I’ll sign it for you, or your child/grandchild/neighbour’s child.

On top of that, I’ll love you forever because you’ll have helped make a bit of space in my shed.

A bit about the book: while it may appear to be called Little Dog, the book’s title is, in fact Doggy Duo, because it is a magic book with two front covers, and two stories, back to back. Little Dog tells the story of what happens when a girl finds a teeny tiny dog small enough to be kept in a shoebox under her bed. When you’ve read that story, you can turn the book over and read My Dog Ate My Homework, about how Jeremy’s dog really does come to eat  his homework. Both stories are illustrated by Teresa Culkin-Lawrence and are suitable for primary school aged readers.

 

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