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Rhyme and Metre
I’m currently struggling to write a rhyming picture book. The rhymes are acceptable, but the rhythm is off. New writers are discouraged to write rhyming books because they’re hard to do well, publishers hate them (see point 1), and they’re notoriously difficult to translate, so your international market is restricted (which is also why publishers…
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Publishing Calendar 2020
A publishing calendar for key dates in the Australian children’s trade picture book market for the upcoming year.
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Publishing Calendar 2018
A publishing calendar for key dates in the Australian children’s trade picture book market for the upcoming year.
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A Glimpse of Tao
A little book of inspirational poetry and original photographs providing insights into the everyday wisdom of the Tao. A Glimpse of Tao e-book now available on iBooks.
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5 Places to Start Your Story
Where do you start your novel? I struggle with this, and I’m sure other writers do too. Most writers are probably aware of the usual advice of what to include in the first five pages. From Nathan Bransford to Steven James (both highly recommended), almost every writer’s blog has some advice about how to start…
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Introducing your characters
Introducing characters is an art in itself. I believe that a character should be described once, in a memorable and vivid way, and as early as the narrative allows. If you’ve done your job well, the reader develops an internal image, and unless it’s absolutely pertinent to the story, this should not be altered, tampered with,…
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The Power of the Enigmatic Outsider
In the last few years, I’ve read several manuscripts where the writers have misunderstood that the role of their protagonist is split between two characters: the main character and the hero. The role of the protagonist Typically the protagonist in a story is the character who: the reader experiences the story through whose choices/actions drive…
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The Big List of Australian Picture Book Publishers
As an unpublished author, it’s difficult to find someone who will even read your manuscript. The picture book publishing industry is tight, with too many authors and few publishers willing to risk an unknown writer. So I have compiled a reasonably extensive list of Australian publishers and their status with respect to accepting unsolicited children’s…
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Illustration Portfolio
Updated portfolio for 2023 » I sent my first portfolio off to the WestWords Illustrators in Residence mentorship. I chose images that best suited children’s book illustrations and felt unified as a body of work.
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Highlights from Pinerolo
At the beginning of July, I attended a 6 hour workshop at Pinerolo, the Children’s Book Cottage in the Blue Mountains.
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Adventures in writing and illustrating
Where in I discuss my adventures in all forms of creative writing and document my foray into illustrating children’s books.