One of the things I love about being a children’s writer is the incredibly supportive community of lovely children’s writers. As part of sharing the love, the Writing Process Blog Hop has been born, and I’ve been tagged by talented children’s writer and poet (as well as Alphabet Soup editor) Rebecca Newman.

REBECCA NEWMAN

Rebecca is a children’s writer, poet, book reviewer and editor at Alphabet Soup.

She’s also an avid poetry tagger with fellow children’s poet Sally Murphy, and a member of Australia-West SCWBI, which is where I first met her. Rebecca is passionate about children’s literature and also odd socks.

For more in how Rebecca writes, check out her Writing Process Blog Hop post.

 

THE QUESTIONS

What am I working on?

A zany adventure for ages 8 to 12, called EXPLOITS. It’s about a mutated boy, a broken kitchen-bot and a computer-hacker seagull who take on the sinister Suits and their destructive addiction to profit and growth.

(And no, it’s not a documentary.)

 

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I have an underdeveloped sense of what to put in and what to leave out, so sometimes crazy ideas that should be discarded become central characters or themes. I also try to write very commercially, with a strong emphasis on fast-moving, fast-talking action.

 

Why do I write what I write?

Lots of reasons, mostly:

– No one else will write the stories I want written

– I like creating things

– I am a professional writer, so writing is what I must and should do.

Also, it’s something gorgeous to do on a weekend morning in a cafe with a flat white.

 

How does my writing process work?

See above: weekend, cafe, flat white.

Also, I am a plotter, so I work out the bones of the story before I write it. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that for EXPLOITS, so the book has taken a zillion wrong turns and met dozens of dead ends and I am now on draft 21 and I didn’t even start number drafts for the first year of writing. However, I have learned a lot along the way. And that learning is also part of my writing process.

INTRODUCING THE NEWLY TAGGED

So now my work is done and I can pass on the baton. I choose to pass it to Emily Lim, Lara Morgan and Mark Pardoe. They are all are fab: check out their books, browse their blogs and watch out for their Writing Process Blog Hop posts…

EMILY LIM

I met Emily at SCWBI’s Rottnest Retreat and loved her inspiring book, Finding My Voice, a memoir of her journey of literally losing her voice to a disorder and finding it again through writing.

She’s a terrific person and a motivating and clever writer, author of numerous children’s picture books which have been published in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Korea and also turned into animation, theatre and used throughout schools in Singapore.

Emily was named Singapore Woman Award Honoree 2013 and is on the board of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content. I’m looking forward to catching up for breakfast soon!

Read Emily’s blog here.

 

LARA MORGAN

I love catching up with Lara for a coffee and an authorly chat, and I’m looking forward to seeing lots of her in Singapore for the AFCC.

Lara writes fantasy and science fiction, which is what I love to read, and we also share a publisher in Walker Books Australia.

Lara spent ten years at the helm of a community newspaper before quitting to become a full time writer. She is the author of The Twins of Saranthium trilogy, and the young adult series, The Rosie Black Chronicles.

Read Lara’s blog here.

MARK PARDOE

I first met Mark at a SCWBI event and we clicked straight away. He’s a genuine and interesting guy and he writes funny books, which is also what I love to read.

He likes icecream, zombies, naked mole rats and writing. Mark is also quick to point out he has absolutely no practical experience in caring for, living with or taming lions.

Read Mark’s blog here.