The Spaces between Writing

In a recent blog, I mentioned that I was in a minor panic after suddenly realising that I needed to make a story character costume for World Book Day. But I may have given the wrong impression, because I actually love being up to my elbows in papier maché! Or dirt! Or paint! Or cake-mix!

In the spaces between writing, I like to make stuff.

I moved house a couple of years ago and no longer have a garden. I was always more of an enthusiastic rather than knowledgeable or skilled gardener, but I when I wasn’t writing (or teaching or growing babies), I loved mowing the lawn, planting seeds or even scratching the weeds from between the bricks that edged the patio. These days, arranging the odd vase of flowers, cutting a sprig of thyme or re-potting the occasional plant for our pavement garden is the closest I get to that sort of creative energy. It’s a lot less work, of course, and I console myself with the thought that I still get to appreciate nature every time I go for a walk.

I’m not being self-deprecating here, but I'm not exactly a great cook either. I'm never going to win Masterchef or the Great British Bake-Off, but I am still occasionally inspired to move away from the computer and find the time and space to make sloe gin or bake the odd batch of scones – usually when there’s no chocolate in the house.

I also draw and paint and make collage and, er... life-sized puppets:

          

I guess some people might argue that all this is just procrastination, but I think this sort of activity... this sort of creativity lifts my soul and feeds back into my writing.  I know I’m not alone. After seeing my kitchen sink full of sodden, shredded paper, one friend and fellow author secretly confided in me about her passion for knitting and cross-stitch. Another has brazenly blogged about drawing and painting. You know who you are!

Losing It

Lady M

I know I have a rather odd expression on my face in these pictures and look as if I may have lost my mind. In fact, whenever I do school events, I tend to 'lose it' in a different way. I feel desperately nervous and worried about author visits in advance. I try to tell myself it's a sort of stage fright - a necessary surge of adrenaline to ensure that I can deliver a good 'performance'.

Handa's Surprise - or... er, Handa's Asleep?

But once I'm actually there - face-to-face with two Year 5 classes crammed into one classroom, all dressed as book characters, or three classes in a lecture theatre, all channelling their inner superhero - I focus on the children, forget about the other adults who are there and lose myself in the moment, along with some of my usual inhibitions and reserve.

I think this is probably a good thing for a children's author to do once in a while.

This time around, I had a cold - so I also lost my voice. It's slowly returning and I've progressed from croaky to husky. Think along the lines of Rod Stewart's Losing You: http://youtu.be/u-kWj_kXzVg or It’s a Heartache: http://youtu.be/Dfw_ID95hPw

Flash Fiction for World Book Day

Fact or Fiction?

It's sometimes hard for anyone to raise the issue of cultural and racial diversity in children's publishing without being accused of being misguided or misinformed, of over-reacting or being too politically correct - or even of having a chip on their shoulder.

This post is therefore something of a cop-out. It is simply a list of things I have read or heard over the past year related to black authors and/or children's and young adult books with black characters. Read more...