Writing | Posted by Carole on Thursday 24 April 2008
I’ve recently had a number of emails from young writers asking for advice on how to improve their writing. They seem to think that because I write books, and some of them have been successful, I can explain how to write a successful book. If only it were that easy. The truth is, I can’t tell you why one book is popular and another isn’t. There isn’t a formula to learn like in maths or physics.
I am not an expert on writing. I am just a writer. I don’t feel comfortable giving advice about something that I am still learning. But since people have asked, I will have a go.
Firstly, I have already written some stuff in my FAQs, but no one seems to read that!
The way to improve your writing is to write. Write, write, write and then write some more. Practice is what makes you a better writer. If you wanted to be an Olympic gymnast or an AFL footballer, you wouldn’t expect to walk out onto the mat/football field and be an expert immediately. You know you would have to train for years. It’s the same with writing. A few writers have great success with their first novel, but more than likely they have spent a long time writing and rewriting it, perhaps writing other unpublished things first.
I started off writing short stories. That worked for me. It gave me practice at writing. I tried different types of stories. I tried to get them published, to see which ones people liked. Then after a couple of years, I tried writing a novel. It took me two years. It was terrible. It was never published (thank goodness!). I kept writing all kinds of things—TV scripts, newspaper articles, brochures, more short stories. It was all good practice. It was eight years before my first book was published.
The other question I get asked is “How do I make my story longer?” The short answer is, you can’t. A story is as long as it takes to tell. That may be six paragraphs or 600 pages. If you try and stretch a story, it just gets boring. If you want to write a longer story, my advice would be to spend some time plotting it before you start. I don’t start writing until I have a beginning, middle and end to a story. Then I write a synopsis of about three pages. It might take me two months to come up with those three pages. Then I start to write the novel. That will take me about a year, and that’s writing every day. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes I feel like I can’t do it.
I know J K Rowling and Christopher Paulini became millionaires with their first books. But that isn’t what usually happens. Writing isn’t a way to earn a quick million. And this is my last and most important piece of advice—Only write if you love writing. If you haven’t got the patience to write lots, then writing probably isn’t for you. You have to do it because you love it, not because you want to be rich and famous. You have to be prepared for the hard slog.
I have some more advice here on how to improve your writing. Also here. There are links to other authors’ advice as well. You might also want to read this.
I hope I haven’t made writing sound too hard. There are times when it’s wonderful—you get a great idea, or write a terrific paragraph, or think of a fabulous turning point, or someone tells you how much they enjoyed reading your work. Then it’s the best thing in the world.
Good luck to all the writers out there. Keep at it.
Dragon Companion, News | Posted by Carole on Thursday 17 April 2008
The shortlist for this year’s NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have just been announced, and…Dragon Moon has been nominated for the Patricia Wrightson Award. I’m delighted, of course. That’s two shortlistings for the book. The winners will be announced on 19 May.
You can see all the other shortlisted books here. It’s a tough field, with Li Cunxin and Emily Rodda among the shortlistees.
Dragon Companion, News | Posted by Carole on Thursday 17 April 2008
The State Library of Victoria is holding a Medieval Faire this Saturday (20 April) from 10-4. There are lots of interesting-looking events and activities including opportunities to learn how to sword fight, try drawing dragons and dress up in Medieval clothes. There are story-telling sessions and performances of Medieval music. It’s all to accompany The Medieval Imagination, a terrific exhibition of Medieval illuminated manuscripts (which I’ve already been to twice). The exhibition and the Faire are all free.
The reason I mention this, apart from it being a great event, is that I will be there speaking about Medieval dragons in my book Dragon Companion. This will be from 1.30-2.15 in the Theatrette (Entry 3, LaTrobe St). So I hope to see some of my Melbourne readers there. Remember it’s free!
The State Library is on the corner of Swanston St and LaTrobe St in Melbourne.
dragons | Posted by Carole on Tuesday 15 April 2008
While I was at the Shanghai American School, I had a look at the beautiful Beijing Opera costumes that belong to the school. When Jacqueline Meijer asked if I’d like to try them on, I didn’t hesitate. Here I am in Imperial dragon robes. Thanks to Jacqueline for sending me the photos.
News | Posted by Carole on Friday 11 April 2008
I will be visiting Sydney next month as a guest of the Sydney Writer’s Festival. I’ll be doing two school sessions on a panel with Terry Denton, Richard Glover, Doug MacLeod, Emily Rodda and Deborah Abela. But those sessions have both sold out.
I will also be doing a session which is open to the general public on Thurs 22 May 10.30-11.30. The session is called Poking Around in Libraries and Michael White and I will be talking about research. This event is free and is at the Sydney Dance Company’s Studio 4 which is at Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. So come along if you can.
Also I will be at the Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft on 19 May 5-7 pm. I will be speaking with teen author Kate McCaffrey. This is really an event for teachers and librarians, but proprietor Paul Macdonald says older (high-school age) kids would also be welcome. The themes of Kate’s books might not be suitable for younger kids though.
Website | Posted by Webmaster on Friday 4 April 2008
Portuguese and French covers have been added the Garden of the Purple Dragon, and a US cover has been added for Dragon Moon.
Carole’s Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlistings and notable book listings for 2008 have also been added for Dragon Moon, Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter and The Dragon Companion.
News | Posted by Carole on Tuesday 1 April 2008
Today was a good day. It was warm autumn weather with a pleasant breeze. I went back to the gym after a month’s absence and it felt good.
And to make the day even better, the shortlist for this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia was announced and two of my books were on the list—Dragon Moon in the Younger Readers section, and Jerilderie Letter (illustrated by Dean Jones) in the Eve Pownall Information Books section. Just to top it off, Dragon Companion was mentioned as a notable book.
I tried to link to the CBCA website but it seems to be down. I will fix that once it’s back in action.
