Accidental Lesson from Melina Marchetta

When I was a teenager, an older more world-wise friend gave me some excellent advice: “If you are unhappy in love, don’t listen to the radio. It will only make you more miserable. There are always too many broken hearts in the Top 40.”

Throughout life I’ve found another truism in those words. Whatever is bothering me, or consuming my time and attention – suddenly the world is filled with articles, comments, opinions and instances related to exactly that. Sometimes it’s overwhelming but at other times it’s downright helpful.

And so it was recently, when on two unrelated occasions, the words of Melina Marchetta reached out to rescue me.

The first instance was my current work-in-progress. I am writing in third person-present tense. I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that since I hadn’t read anything else like that recently, it probably wasn’t the right thing to do. I raided my bookshelves but found no matches. I rewrote in third person-past tense and then in first person-present tense. But even while I was patting myself on the back for all the revising and rewriting (such validating authorly activity!) I knew in the end I would be back where I started from. It worked best. It just wasn’t good enough. Surely if I could do the story better, the format of the writing would be transparent to the reader.

That night I sat down to read the piper’s son. I was about half way through (finished now, loved it, review to come) but it wasn’t until an hour later when I stopped to make a cup of tea that I realised it was written in third person-present tense! I was right - if it was well written the reader wouldn’t even notice the format!

A few days later I read an article in the New South Wales Writer’s Centre e-newsletter where Melina was being interviewed by a young writer she had mentored. Two lines jumped out at me. “When I teach creative writing I do not teach what is written in a book. I teach what I do.”

I’ve always felt a bit of a fraud as a workshop instructor – because I’m not a teacher nor have I ever completed any writing-based coursework. I learned all I know from the process of writing and the early-years guidance of my own mentor Di Bates. I apply the rules retrospectively and that makes me feel like I don’t have the right to teach others. But now I feel like credible. Because “I teach what I do.”

As for the work-in-progress, it’s flying along. And Finnikin of the Rock is still my favourite Melina Marchetta book.

Partying with a Princess Clown

One of my favourite blog activities is playing tour host to author friends. Today I'm celebrating the release of Sheryl Gwyther's latest chapter book, Princess Clown. Sheryl has some thought-provoking comments about the role of animals as side-kick characters. I've just done a quick mental flip through my own works and found quite a few animal sidekicks.

Welcome Sheryl, 'the floor' and a glass of bubbly are yours...

Animals as ‘sidekicks’
A thought struck me the other day – mainly because it is becoming obvious the more stories I write. I use animals as secondary characters in many of my narratives– they are never the main character.

These are creatures that end up as the ‘side-kick’, the close companion, the comic relief or the support team for the foibles, dangers, despairing moments and the happy times the main character faces. Sometimes these sidekicks can speak, most times not. Sometimes they are the ‘conscious-pricker’, or the confidant, or even the ‘voice of reason’. They know the main character better than anyone else and can help the reader connect to he/she as well.

In fiction and in the movies, sidekicks reign – Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings; Sancho Panza with Don Quixote; Doctor Watson to Sherlock Holmes; Chewbacca to Han Solo’ Tonto to the Lone Ranger; Tarzan and his chimp (I don’t count Jane– romantic interests definitely don’t fit as a sidekick!) You can probably think of dozens more.

Of course, having animals as sidekicks requires a bit more finesse. Some of my characters are anthropomorphised – having human motivations, and the ability to reason and communicate. Too heavy-handed and the sidekick becomes a bit twee (in my opinion).

Some of my sidekicks include the character, Macbeth in my story McAlpine & Macbeth (currently under submission). Macbeth is an Australian cockatiel with the ability to quote Shakespeare – yes, I know, you can train cockatiels to repeat word patterns, but Macbeth is different. He can think, reason and communicate. He feels betrayal, suspicion, fear and love especially in connection to his young owner, Kate McAlpine. Macbeth, in his sidekick role is essential – without Macbeth, Kate would have to set out on her quest to find her missing parents by herself, requiring endless paragraphs of her thoughts. The cockatiel is also like that other Shakespearean sidekick, The Fool in King Lear – sometimes Kate does not heed Macbeth’s wise counsel.

I’ve also used a wise-cracking green tree frog in my fantasy, Singing the Wires. He is a worthy companion to Decibelle. In my junior fiction book, Secrets of Eromanga, the kelpie, Bullet provides a non-talking companion to Ellie when she is at her lowest. Another of my short stories, Oh, no, Dog! features a kelpie – the sidekick for a young girl on a sheep station.
In another work-in-progress, The Octopus ODdyssey, young Finn Jackson has an extraordinary relationship with an octopus – a totally weird sidekick.

Funnily enough, a story that does not feature an animal sidekick is my new book, Princess Clown – I think the passion for clowning takes up all of Belle’s thoughts. You can get a copy of the book from Blake Publishing, or it may even be in your library right now.

So, do you use sidekicks in your stories? Love to read your comments.

Thank you, Sandy, for the chance to be a guest blogger on your excellent blog!

***lots of clapping and loud applause followed by corks popping and some very odd looking dancing (that would be me!) ***

To visit Sheryl on the net drop in at her Writers’ blog, Kids’ blog or website

You can follow (or catch up on) Sheryl blog stops here:

Tips for Writing Chapter Books – Dee White’s blog July 6

Tips for Young Writers – The Alphabet Soup blog July 7

Extracting the Story - Robyn Opie’s blog July 8

Clowning Around - Catriona Hoy’s blog July 9

What’s in a name? + KIDS’ COMPETITION – Kathryn Apel’s blog July 10

What the heck is ‘blog-touring’? July 11

Animals as Sidekicks - Guest blog with Sandy Fussell July 12

The Author’s Life – an interview with Sally Murphy July 13

Interview with Claire Saxby July 14

Workshopping with younger readers – Mabel Kaplan July 15

BOOK LAUNCH – Friday July 16 – also announcing the Winner of the COMPETITION on Kat’s blog and Sheryl’s kids’ blog