Wonderful Picture Books in the Making

I returned to Blacktown Library on Saturday and what a wonderful surprise I got. I couldn't believe how much progress the kids had made with their books. They had been working so hard! Some had nearly finished.

The previous week they had made storyboards and started their rough illustrations with Sarah Davis and now a week later many had started on the final copy of their stories and also their final illustrations. Wow. Was I impressed.

Now they must finish their books off, hand them in for publication and then put on their best outfits and turn up for the launch party!

You can read Sarah's blog about the program here.

Picture Book Creators of the Future

Had a blast last Saturday at Blacktown Library, working with two groups of enthusiastic young people creating amazing picture book stories. This week they will be working with illustrator, Sarah Davis, making storyboards and illustrating their stories. Next week both Sarah and I will be working with them, helping them to polish their work and put the finishing touches on their books. Such fun. Such a great initiative.

I did it!

Oh the power of making a promise in writing  for all to read on one's blog. Yesterday, I vowed to change my wicked ways. I vowed to put my head down, apply superglue to my backside and get stuck into my writing. And, what do you know, I did.

It wasn't easy. I resisted. I struggled. I complained. But I persevered. And I made a vital discovery.

I was working on a chapter book that I was asked to rework. The editorial feedback was spot on - it all made perfect sense, but every time I came to one particular section of the plot, I became stuck. I couldn't find a satisfying way forward. I studied my characters' motivations, their actions and reactions. I tried a dozen different approaches, but I just couldn't crack it.

It was time for some drastic action. So I gave the whole story an almighty shake up - rearranged the order of events, changed the focus of the story slightly and voila! My problems were more or less solved.

I have had a wonderful weekend of writing. The story I have been agonising about for months has been reworked and polished. Tomorrow I may think it all sucks - but regardless, I have made REAL progress.

Thank you, oh blogosphere. Probably no one even read yesterday's promise to myself - but it doesn't matter, it did the trick. The drought is broken. And I am thankful.

A promise

This year I resolved I was going to focus on two things. One: do what I can to continue to promote Get a Grip, Cooper Jones. And two: work on the craft of writing and write as often as possible, hopefully completing the reworking of a chapter book, long overdue, and also my YA novel that has been gathering dust for longer than I care to admit.

Well, it is almost March and while I have lots of festivals and school visits coming up to promote Cooper, YAY!, I have fallen very short on the developing my craft side of my resolve and have only reworked two lousy chapters of my chapter book and done nothing with my YA or my "craft" so to speak.

But this is about to change! Today. Really.

Trailer Making

I've had lots of people ask about the making of the Get a Grip, Cooper Jones trailer. I had always intended to make a trailer for Cooper, and planned to have it ready prior to the book's release in August. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a trailer making workshop organised by Chris Cheng and SCBWI in 2009. So once the book's publication date was locked in, I used my newfound knowledge to work out a bit of a script and concept, and then asked my son, Brad, who enjoys fiddling with film and photography, if he'd help me.

Well, two things happened. Firstly, life intervened for both Brad and me: work commitments, uni, exams, overseas trips etc. and the trailer making kept on being pushed aside. Then when we finally had a window to get it started, Brad confessed that the idea of making a trailer with images overlaid with text and music didn't really inspire him creatively. (In other words, he thought my concept sucked!)

But don't worry, he said, I have an idea.

I'm his mother; I worried!

But I shouldn't have.

The idea was using the technique of stop motion animation - a technique Brad was interested in experimenting with. He showed me a couple of YouTube clips, explained his concept and I was immediately excited. This was going to be a whole lot of fun!

Basically, the technique involves taking a sequence of photos of an action in progress and then stitching them together - in much the same way an animator does with drawn images for cartoons. It took Brad about a week to film the clip and he estimates that he took about 1500 photographs. Another week or so to put it together and another week for a friend of his to add the music and sound effects. Then voila! We had our trailer.

And I think it is pretty cool.

Get a Grip, Cooper Jones - Stop Motion Animation - Book Trailer

Yay! At last, my trailer for Get a Grip Cooper Jones has been completed and uploaded on to youtube.
My son, Brad, created it for me, using stop motion animation. He is an engineering student with a passion for photography and a pretty strong creative streak. 

The clip plays on the notion that stories / books take you on a journey. I think it is a lot of fun. Let me know what you think.

Thanks, St Anne's!

Had a fab day today hanging out with the great kids at St Anne's School, South Strathfield. I had so much fun and was blown away by their enthusiastic participation , imaginative ideas and intelligent questions and answers.

Highlights:

• Creating the "three-eyed spotty alien monster". Hope I got that name right!
• Screening for the very first time (to students), the finished, almost ready to post on youtube trailer for Get a Grip, Cooper Jones. Will post the link soon.
• Brave Harry and his unique responses to "meeting" Charlie the spider.