sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Writing in Rhyme

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A while back I posted a link to what I described as the best article about writing in rhyme I’d come across. It’s an article by Dori Cahonas, a US-based author of picture books, and (to save you digging for my original post), you’ll find it here.

Anyway, I still think it’s the best I’ve come across, but today I came across another useful article – well, actually a series of three articles – which are also really good. K. Pluta is another US Based author, and she tries to demystify the writing of rhyme by using lay-man’s language. If you try to write in rhyme, you should check out her articles here.

Writing in rhyme is hard work, but it’s lots of fun and can be rewarding. Some stories demand to be written in rhyme – others demand NOT to. But, if you do want to write for children, don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to write in rhyme. Rhyme is hard to write and harder still to get published. If you’re going to do it, you need to take the time to learn about rhythm and meter.

I write in rhyme and I write in prose. Good luck with whichever you decide to do.

No sightings of Pemberthy today. If you’ve seen Pemberthy Bear be sure to drop me a line and I’ll add your spot to the map.

Have a lovely weekend.

Two More Dots

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Two more Pemberthy sightings to report. the first is from Helen and her daughter Anna in Bull Creek, a suburb of Perth. Helen tells me: ‘My daughter, Anna,is a big Pemberthy fan!’

Thanks Anna and thanks Helen too.

The second sighting is from Melbourne where illustrator Jacqui Grantford tells me she has several copies of Pemberthy. Of course she does – Jacqui is the very talented illustrator who brought Pemberthy to life!

So the map now looks like this, with the two new dots the teal ones.

Pemberthy has now been spotted in:

Corrigin
Melbourne (three times)
Brisbane – in a bookshop
Cairns
Logan (QLD) in a bookshop
Sydney (twice) in a bookshop
Stanwell Park (NSW)
Bendigo
Boyup Brook (Country WA)
Redland Bay, Cleveland and Victoria Point in SE Qld
Perth

Mapping Pemberthy’s travels is proving a fun exercise for me and I’m rapt with the interest being shown from Pemberthy fans. If you’ve seen Pemberthy, in your home, in a bookstore, or in a library, be sure to leave a comment and let me know. And, if you’ve just tuned in and are wondering what this is all about you can read the original post for an explanation of what I’m doing.

Have a lovely Friday. It’s the last day of school for the term here in the West, and I’m looking forward to having my babies home. Murphlets one and two came home from Perth last night, and the other four will be on holidays as of 3.15, so the house will be noisy – but it is the noise of fun, so that’s okay 🙂

Another Sighting

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This is fun. Another Pemberthy sighting has come in by email – from Trudie at Kewarra Beach, north of Cairns. That’s the pretty blue dot in north Queensland.

Gosh, Pemberthy has been to places I’ve never been.

Thanks Trudie. If YOU have seen Pemberthy, drop me a line – even if someone else has already reported from your city or town. I want to go dotty all over!

Three Pemberthy Sightings

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That was quick. I’d no sooner posted my map and request for people to notify me of their Pemberthy sightings (see post below) than I had reports of three sightings – one in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and one in Logan (Qld).

So here’s the new map, with those sightings recorded and new improved bigger dots for tired eyes 🙂
Thanks so much to Claire and Anna for reporting their sightings.

Have YOU seen Pemberthy – in your house, in a bookshop, library or school? Let me know by posting a comment or emailing me, and I’ll mark it on the map.

Desperately Seeking Pemberthy

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Where oh where has Pemberthy gone?

It’s more than a year since Pemberthy Bear (pictured above)was launched at last year’s CBCA National conference, and I’ve been wondering about how far and wide Pemberthy might have spread his furry paws in that time

So, here’s what I’m wondering. If you are reading this, and you own a copy of Pemberthy Bear, could you post a comment here (or email me ) and tell me? Then I’ll mark the spot on this map and upload it here so we can see just where Pemberthy is.

Also, if you are walking past a bookshop, perhaps you might call in and look on the shelves and see if Pemberthy is there, and again, email me and let me know. If you want to ask the bookstore people if they have it in stock, you can quote the ISBN (1921042494), the author/illustrator (Sally Murphy – that’s me – and Jacqui Grantford) and the publisher (New Frontier).

Lastly, if you visit your local library and see Pemberthy on the shelf or in their catalogue, let me know and I’ll add a dot for that too.

Thanks in advance for indulging my fancy. I’m so keen to know where Pemberthy is and would love to see dozens (or even thousands) of little red dots on my map.

The spot on the map is to represent Corrigin, my home town. I have several copies of Pemberthy at my house, but guess I’ll stick with just the one dot.

Another Useful Site

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Pemberthy decided to write a haiku this morning, and I helped him find some information about the form to include his blog.

The search led me to a site which has a listing of over 500 poetic forms. You can see the list here. Each poetic term is a clickable link which leads you to an explanation of the form and, in many cases, further links to examples of the form. It’s fun to experiment with different poetic forms. It can also be great for discipline.

Writing a haiku requires you to bare everything down to just 17 syllables. Abbreviated haiku, I’ve just discovered, have even less – just nine syllables. Other forms need very specific rhyme or rhythm patterns.

Even if you don’t think you’re a poet, why not have a go? You could start with something relatively simple (and fun) such as a limerick, or might want to challenge yourself with any of the other 500 forms. Pemberthy and I will certainly be exploring further.

Let me know how you get on.

sallymurphy.com.au