Happy New Year! Have you written down some writing aims for the year ahead? I have, and this year I have tried hard to set realistic goals about the things I’d like to achieve, whilst still pushing myself to go further.

My friend and fellow Aussie children’s author, Hazel Edwards, sent me a link to her acceptance speech for the prestigious ASA Medal (2009). There are some great words of wisdom in there – when Hazel speaks, what she says is well worth listening to – but the quote that particularly stands out for me is this one:

An artist must know how far to go too far.

Hazel’s stories tackle new subjects, new angles on subjects, new forms. She goes in many directions. If you are an aspring author you can learn much from her.

You can see the full  text of Hazel’s speech here.