The Questions Kids Ask #2

I usually begin my author talks with a quick discussion about where authors get their ideas from. I've found if I wave a few books from the Captain Underpants series right from the start - I have immediate credibility. Especially as I know the names of all the titles. Then I talk about my own ideas, where they came from and how I turned them into a story.

This is my all time favourite end-of-talk question.

A Year 5 boy put up his hand and asked: "Do you get headaches?" I was surprised because I do. I get terrible migraines. "Yes. How did you know?" I asked. "It's so crowded with ideas inside your head, your brain must be stretched really tight," he said.

Then his friend spoke up. "That's why she writes books. To empty out her head so it stops hurting."

And in a way they are both correct. There are lost of times when I feel if I don't write it down my head will explode.

[PS Word of warning - never type 'exploding head' into a Google images search late at night. What you see will keep you awake for hours. And it's not public domain so you can't use it anyway!]

Storytelling Maths: One book = One series

"What if you had to write another Samurai Kids book and you couldn't think of anything?" a Year 6 boy asked. "Oh that could never happen," I said.

Or could it?

I've always had a safety net to protect me from worrying about this. Samurai Kids White Crane began with just one sentence: "My name is Niya Moto and I'm the only one-legged samurai kid in Japan." Another one soon followed. "Famous for falling flat on my face in the dirt." And for a long time that's all I had. That and the increasing desire to tell Niya's story - his friends, his teacher, his school and his adventures. I always figured if a book could come from a sentence than surely a series could come from one book.

Because White Crane was a stand-alone story (originally titled Samurai Kids) there were no hooks in place for future stories. But I did have a rich cast to work with - six very different characters each with their own idiosyncrasies and spirit guide - and their eccentric but much loved teacher. I had the action and adventure of samurai and ninja. I had swords, shuriken stars, and a quiver full of arrows.

And then I discovered an accidental hook after all. In White Crane Niya thought Sensei might be a Tengu - a mountain goblin priest with supernatural abilities. Was he? And if he was, what did he do? A human becomes a Tengu as a result of some terrible deed. Now I had a problem - I never intended to answer this question. In fact I didn't even know the answer. But if there were more books, it was obviously the key to many things. I do know the answer now but I can't tell you or I would have to give you a Wakizashi dagger and a seppuku mat and well... if you know the rest - it's rather painful and messy. So you are better off not knowing.

In Samurai Kids: Owl Ninja the kids travelled across Japan and learn ninja skills. They faced the Dragon Master once again. The final chapter saw them standing on the shore, a greater journey about to begin. From here, the series started to tell itself. The geography of the journey dictated the next stop, the location dictated the martial arts skills that the Kids would learn and Sensei's history created obligations and risks.

When the Kids went to China in Samurai Kids: Shaolin Tiger, history put them in a time and place when the Hwang Ho River was due to flood Kaifeng, the Shaolin Temple was under threat from the Imperial army (and would soon be destroyed), the Mongols were threatening to invade and the Manchu were on the horizon. How could I not find a story there? Especially when Qing-Shen walked in. Tall dark and dangerous, Sensei's Chinese ex-student had a vendetta to carry out.

I didn't intend it to happen but although each book is told by Niya, the plot revolves around a different Kid. Probably because they are all equally good friends. Each step the Kids take into another book, the story writing process is no different. Samurai Kids: Monkey Fist is set further north, in The Forbidden City of Beijing. Like a good reporter I follow Sensei and the Kids around and write what I see. And what Niya and Sensei tell me to. Right now I'm writing Samurai Kids:Fire Lizard and we're in Korea.

Just for Fun

Ever wanted a ninja to slash your name on a wall? You can find a ninja text generator here

SANDY WRITES - Time to Write

So often I hear: I want to write so much. I've got a story to tell but I don't have the time yet.

I understand. I truly do. But as I carefully explain, there never will be time unless you make it. Stay up half an hour later every night. Stuff ten minutes of ideas into a notebook while you are sitting at the bus stop. Time to write isn't born. It's made.

I don't know how often I convince anyone but I think I did once. We were having a conversation mid-panel-break and when the break was over, she picked up her bag, thanked me and said goodbye. 'Aren't you going to stay for the other half of the panel discussion,' I asked. 'No,' she said, smiling. 'I'm going home to write. Making time starts now.' I wish I knew her name becuase I suspect it might be on the front of a book one day soon.

I too struggle to find the time to write. I have a family and a daytime job. More books on shelves hasn't made any extra time miraculously appear. In fact, quite the opposite. Now I also need time to speak in schools and attend festivals. I love that part but it means I have less time than ever to write.

Sometimes I rush down to my laptop before dinner and scrawl a quick pargraph from an idea I've been carrying around in my head (or notebook) all day. I read it through and delete half of it. After dinner I rush back, in between supervising homework and packing lunches. I delete those few remaining sentences and wonder why I bothered with them in the first place.

Sometimes I feel too tired to write later at night. Usually I don't get back to my office until 11pm. Maybe I'll take the day off and write some more in the morning, I think. Mum, my tooth hurts, can you make a dental appointment before school? OK. Maybe I'll write in the afternoon, I decide. Mum, can you pick me up early from soccer? OK. I'm flexible. I can do this. It's got to be the midnight hour or nothing. *sigh*

I'll be tired and sleepy but a cup of tea will help. And once the fingers are flying, the words are usually flowing. Hopefully I'll write something good. And if it doesn't work out that way, I'll just delete it tomorrow in those few moments before dinner. Sometimes I make a lot of progress and sometimes I make a little. But I always make some time to write.

First Workshop Ever

Finally getting around to blogging my first workshop experience. I was petrified. But in true Sandy-style I was determined to make it as hard as I possibly could. I signed up for video conferencing. Hey, if you're going to make a fool of yourself first time round, why restrict it to one school? Let two schools have a laugh.

Fortunately for me I had friendly library faces to work with. Mrs Mac at Thirroul Public School and my own children's librarian extroadinaire, Jane Pretty. So lots of help there to begin with. And the kids were very keen.

I sent out an SOS to my writing colleagues. And I have to do a thank you speech here because I am truly indebted to these friends for their advice, notes and shared exercises. Drum roll. Red Carpet. Janeen Brian, Sally Murphy, Sheryl Gwyther, Dee White, Claire Saxby, Lorraine Marwood, Julie Nickerson, Katherine Apel and Sally Odgers. What a name dropper I am.

I have to detour here for a moment and talk about Sally Odger's wonderful e-book (Giving our Kids) A Reason to Write. It's an absolute treasure trove of information about how children (and adults) write - from their different approaches and thought processes to how to best manage their writing strengths and weaknesses. I began by flipping through the pages for exercises I could use in my Workshops and ending up reading it from cover to cover. Thoroughly recommended and at $7 for the PDF - it's the best value for money resource you can buy!

But back to the workshops. Two out of three are complete with the follow up/evaluation still to come. They were wonderful fun. They didn't go perfectly - the video conferencing was a new experience all round - but the end result was absolutely golden. The kids enthusiastically produced heaps of writing. OK. Not all of them. There was one child who I suspect was waiting for a real author to show up. It's not quite as magical when it's mum even if you are really proud of her! Here are some sample efforts - ebooks created based on the workshop sessions.

You can visit the project at Thirroul Public School's blog.

Long Weekend Reminiscing - Henry Lawson Festival of the Arts 2008

Being a children’s author can be quite confronting. Embarrassing even. The questions some primary students ask range from jaw-dropping to ego shattering. And on other occasions they can make you feel like Master of the (Writing) Universe. I thought I’d blog about one of my MOTWU moments. I don’t want to mention the others!!!

Back in June 2008 I was guest of honour at the Henry Lawson Festival of the Arts in Grenfell. Grenfell is a tiny rural town in the central west of NSW, population 2200, the birthplace of Henry Lawson. The weekend long Festival is very prestigious. It’s the longest running arts festival in Australia and past guests of honour have included Patrick White, Di Morrissey and Thomas Keneally!

So how did I get this gig? Well, I’m not proud. I’m willing to admit I was the Guest of Honour to Be Named Later. Last Minute actually. TV actor Simon Westaway was the original choice and when he had to cancel, the rush was on to find someone arts-related who would come to Grenfell at extremely short notice. My sister, who lives on a small farm in the area, happened to mention me. Even if she wasn’t the best sister in the world this would have immediately earned her the dedication in Shaolin Tiger!‘My sister is an author,” she said. “And she visits here all the time.”

So there I was, pretending to be a famous person of literary note. Crowning the beauty queens. Cutting the ribbon. Keynote speaker at the dinner. Presenting trophies and medallions. Conducting TV interviews. Chatting with the writers from Underbelly who were accepting a scriptwriting award.Grenfell opened its heart to welcome me. I think the townspeople were sort of proud that I had a local connection. I might not have been the ilk of the previous guests yet I was an honorary ‘one of their own.”

But my really big moment was absolutely huge. It’s one of the highlights of my writing career. I was sitting on the official dais (trying to look official and literary!) watching the street parade. Around the corner came a local primary school all dressed up as my Samurai Kids. Banging gongs and waving swords and banners. They marched down the main street and when they reached the dais their teacher yelled “Stop”. “Yes Sensei,” they responded.Then they turned to face me and bowed, Japanese style.

I stood and bowed too. And I bawled my eyes out. To be honest, I bawled my eyes out again writing this. It’s still such a vivid and emotional memory.There are many times when I am asked why I don’t write proper books. Books for adults or older readers. Well one day I might write those too but in writing for kids, I am totally fulfilled. I do write proper books. The people who ask that question don’t understand the craft of writing for children. And they certainly don’t understand how wonderful young readers can make their authors feel. It’s real magic.

[First published Persnickety Snark March 2009]

The Questions Kids Ask #1

No questions are off limits during my school visits. Question time is my favourite part of any session. So often, in answering a question, I learn something about myself and my writing process. Often it's something I already knew - I just didn't give it enough thought before.

Question #1: If you could go back into any one of your books, what one thing would you change?

This is a particularly pertinent question for me. My first five books were released in an 18 month time frame. It was a quick, steep learning curve.

I would change the names of the Samurai Kids. All of them, except Yoshi.

When I first decided to write their story, I received a lot of confused feedback about the names. Too many. Too exotic. No kid will ever remember them all. So I compromised. I chose names that sounded familiar and were easily pronounced. However with the exception of Yoshi, whose name I found in a Nintendo game, none of the names are (to my knowledge) traditional Japanese names.

Sensei Ki-yaga was originally called Ki-Yoda - nothing Japanese about either of those. But the latter was deemed a little close to another wise master who was rather deft with a sword and unusual terms of phrase. (And yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan!)

When I began to do school visits and festivals - I found out that my readers had no trouble with the character names. Adults might not be able to remember six Japanese names but kids could have remembered fifty six. I have learned my lesson. Since then all my character names have been culturally correct. In Polar Boy many of the names have meanings that gave clues about the role or traits of the particular character.

In Samurai Kids only the horse, Uma, has a name with meaning. It means - horse! I couldn't think of any other name. With the Kids I didn't want to tie their names to their spirit guides. But even then I made a mistake. A young reader from NZ who had lived in Japan wrote to tell me I had spelled Nezume's name wrong - Nezumi the Rat. Eeek! (no pun intended). I must have somehow retained the sound of the name in my head - and liked it. I then obliviously attached it to the boy whose spirit guide was The Long-Tailed Rat.

I still try to find names which are easy to say aloud. My next book, Jaguar Warrior (March 2010) is set at the end of the Aztec Empire. It was a time when names were wonderfully complex combinations of z, x p and t. But my characters are simply called Atl (water) and Citlali (moon), known as Lali. More recently I have been researching Korean words and names...