Karen Comer

Collecting Stories

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Book Reviews
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Non-Fiction
    • Young Adult Fiction
    • Children’s Fiction
    • Picture Books
  • Writing Resources
    • Writing Resources – Adults
    • Writing Resources – Children
    • Writing Notes
  • Editing and Workshop Services
  • Reading List
    • Reading List 2018
    • Reading List 2017
    • Reading List 2016
    • Reading List 2015
  • Blog
  • Contact

Structural editing and aborio rice

June 24, 2022 by Karen Comer 2 Comments

Although you may not think that editing and rice should appear in the same sentence, I have just proven you wrong! This week, I have been immersed in the structural edit for my Hachette young adult verse novel, Grace Notes, out February 2023.

My publisher, Kate Stevens, sent me her thoughts. Plot holes. Characters who need a back story to explain their motivation. Scenes which don’t advance the story. Stilted dialogue through text messages. Shall I continue? You get the picture!

I read through Kate’s notes, started work.

On Tuesday, I planned to cook chicken risotto for dinner. Checked I had all the ingredients. In the evening, I set out the larger frying pan for the chicken risotto, the smaller pan for the vegetarian version for Miss 15, the saucepan for the stock. Found a bottle of white wine so I could add the half cup to the risotto dish. Poured myself a glass – even though it was Tuesday. Poured the oil in, chopped the onion, pulled out the rice. Relished the idea of slowly stirring the risotto, idly watching those grains of rice plump up with my homemade stock while solving plot problems.

Problem – similar size to one of my plot problems. Jasmine rice, not aborio. You cannot cook a risotto with jasmine rice. Could have cooked up the chicken and rice separately but that combination wasn’t doing anything for me.

Took a sip of wine, turned off the stove, looked in the freezer. Thanked my past self for her efforts as I pulled out a beef ragu for three people, a tomato-eggplant sauce for one, a sausage and broccoli sauce for one. Found enough pasta. Served my dinner medley.

On Wednesday, I thought about eating chicken risotto for dinner while I focused on my street artist character’s dilemma – how could he get out to paint in Melbourne’s lockdowns? I worked through scene after scene, making notes, rewriting lines, making more notes. I guessed I’d have to open another bottle of white wine, even though it was Wednesday – risotto really needs that white wine to absorb before the stock goes in.

That evening when Cleo, our dog, nudged me at the desk for dinner, I thought it was probably time I started cooking our dinner, too. Fed Cleo, opened that bottle of white wine, went to grab the bag of aborio rice.

But. I had not left the house all day. Not even to buy aborio rice.

I did check the freezer but my past self had nothing for me. We ate Chinese takeaway. (Note to my kids – there will be none of the usual takeaway over the weekend!)

But yesterday, dear readers, even though I barely left my desk, so focused on fixing up those pesky plot holes, I sent Mr 18 out to the supermarket.

The risotto was delicious. As was the white wine. On a Thursday.

Filed Under: Editing, vese novel, Writing, Young Adult Fiction

Author interview – Victoria Carless

June 17, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

Dear readers, I met the lovely author Victoria Carless online, and then read her recently released middle-grade novel Gus and the Starlight. Victoria kindly agreed to answer some of my burning questions about her book and her writing process.

The blurb states:

A spine-tingling and heart-warming story about friendship and finding your special place in the world.

Gus doesn’t want to make friends. She also doesn’t want to be intrigued by the cat-lady teacher at her new school, or the Riley’s Comet project that she and her seaweed-eating science partner are working on together. 

And she definitely doesn’t want to fall in love with her job as the projectionist at the Starlight, a drive-in movie theatre that her family is reviving. 

Because, knowing Gus’s luck, she and her family could be moving on in a day, or a week, or a month. When the ghosts that haunt Mum catch up with them. Or if the Starlight doesn’t succeed. 

Then she’ll have to say goodbye. Again. 

And saying goodbye is too hard.

KC: What was the first idea for your book? Was it about Gus, her family, the Starlight or something else?

VC: The idea for the story came from the setting, a drive-in movie theatre in a small town, which the locals say is haunted. I knew I wanted to write about The Starlight a year or so before I had the characters. Then an image of Gus and her family in a car came to me. I got the sense things were getting desperate for them, that they had to leave, and fast. When Gus said in the first scene that ‘she was getting really good now at not making any friends at all’ I realised they had moved around a lot and became completely invested in her story. I knew I had to find a way to help her. The Starlight drive-in became integral to her family’s safety and happiness. 

KC: I loved all the movies Gus chose to show at the Starlight – The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favourite movies! How did you choose the movies?

VC: I am so glad you liked them. I am a child of the 1980s and my parents took my siblings and I to the local drive- in quite often, as we didn’t have a VCR player, so I had a lot of lived experience to draw on! Seeing a movie felt really special then, like an occasion, as opposed to now when you can stream anything you like, any time. 

The drive-in movie theatre in this story still screens 35mm films on reels, instead of files on a hard drive like cinemas today, so that meant that I had to choose films that were distributed in that format, generally anything pre 2000s. At first Gus is guided in her selection of the movies by a local boy Stevie, who hangs around the drive-in, so he’s something of an expert. As Gus’s confidence grows and the stakes to bring more customers to the drive-in get higher, she begins to pick films that she thinks will resonate with the local community. It turns out she is quite good at it and their audience grows. The family are trying to revive the Starlight and also make money to survive and a fresh start for themselves.  I also wanted the films Gus screens to parallel or echo Gus’s circumstance in real time, so I looked for films that worked in this way. Oh and some were also my favourites growing up. 

KC: Gus’s world is a beautiful mix of a quirky family trying to make a new start with a ghostly mystery that has a surprising twist, woven together with a lot of feeling and humour. (I particularly liked Gus and Nicole’s science presentation!) How did you keep the balance between the humour and lightness – and the sadness and worries?

VC: I always love it when writers walk the line in this way, so I’m humbled you felt that way about ‘Gus and the Starlight’. I think Meg Mason treads this balance in her novel ‘Sorrow and Bliss’ so well and I have always loved the way children’s author Karen Foxlee’s books are whimsical and heartbreaking at the same time. 

To be honest, trying to write moments of both humour and pathos is probably something I do to keep myself entertained, while grappling with the big-ticket items when drafting a novel, like plot and character arcs! And hopefully if you are entertained while writing, someone else will be too while reading it. Hopefully! You’ve got further drafts to resolve any writerly indulgence. You are your first reader. Robert Frost said it best when he said: ‘no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader’. He also said: ‘no surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.’  

KC: Deirdre, who thinks she is the owner of the Starlight, is such an exaggerated character with her italics – was she fun to write?

VC: Oh my gosh, she was totally fun to write – I really had the best time with her and she was a nice distraction from the social issues and sadness experienced by Gus’s family, at times. Deirdre is the self-appointed Artistic Director and lead actress of the local Amateur Dramatic Society and she takes herself and her job very seriously. If only the rest of the community did too… 

I was a playwright for ten years before moving into fiction, so have spent a bit of time in rehearsal rooms. Deidre is a heightened version of some interesting personalities I encountered. Perhaps there’s some of my own inner dramatic artiste in there as well. 

KC: Did you do much research for your book?

VC: I did quite a bit of research into how drive-in movie projection technology worked. Having never actually seen a drive-in projector up close, I wasn’t even sure how they worked, so I did quite a bit of online reading to understand the terminology and watched YouTube videos about how to load 35mm film, etc. I also consulted with the owners of a drive-in in North Queensland who were very kind and answered some of my specific questions, such as how sound is heard in the projector room. 

I also went to a drive-in while editing the book to make sure I captured the atmosphere correctly, for myself anyway, as this story is set in contemporary times and my last experience going to the drive-in would have been in the early 1990s! Drive-ins have upgraded to digital format now, so things have changed somewhat. 

I also did some research into comets, as there is a (fictional) comet due to appear in the night sky not long after Gus and her family arrive in town. This is also what Gus and Nicole’s science project is based on. My memory of primary school astronomy had failed me and it was fun re-learning about comet behaviour and what they are made of – basically the leftovers of the solar system. 

KC: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

VC: I would say I’m somewhere in between. When writing the first draft of a story I usually know the key plot points and what will happen a few scenes ahead and also the ending, but there’s often still a question to be answered or a few gaps in the story, usually of a metaphorical nature. I have tried to plan everything out in advance on a number of projects before and found that once I know what is happening in every scene I get bored and think well I don’t need to write it now, I know what’s ging to happen. I need to wade into the fog or have a problem to solve to keep me interested in the story.  I’ve learnt to trust my process, I guess. 

But over the years as playwright and author I have also learnt that every project is different. The form and how I approach it usually depends on what the story is concerned with, or the question at the heart of it. 

KC: What is a typical week like for you as an author?

VC: At the moment I write on Mondays and also any time I can scrape together in the evenings and on weekends. It’s not enough. It’s never enough. I have met a lot of writers who struggle with the time issue. But if you want to finish your story, you’ll make it happen. It’s a challenge though and not without some sacrifice. 

KC: What’s your favourite stage of writing – ideas gathering, writing the first draft, revising?

VC: I think writing the first draft is my favourite as it’s the first time you get to hear the characters’ voices and experience their world. If you’re lucky they’ll take you along for the ride. 

That said, my first drafts tend to be sketches and I try not to look back, but just go with the momentum and get the ideas down.  The real work happens in the second version – filling in the obvious plot holes and taking a more macro view of the character arcs etc, as well as actually using punctuation.. Scene maps are the perfect tool for this. 

Yet the kernel or the heart of the story and the reason you wrote it, above all the other projects swimming around in your head, is in that first draft, for better or for worse. 

And that kernel or heart – the reason you write the story in the first place – is what will get you through editing your manuscript through the next five to 100 times! 

KC: Are you working on a new project?

VC: Yes I am. It’s for Middle Grade readers and is set in an alternative lifestyle community called Passing Waters. The main character Lani is a real STEM girl and the recent tree change instigated by her mother is very challenging, as is the curriculum at Lani’s new school which features biodynamic gardening and something called eurythmy (interpretive dancing).  I am also weaving in a thread of quantum physics. Or trying to, anyway! I will keep you posted on my progress with that!

KC: Where can we find you online?

VC: I am on both Twitter (@VCarless) and more recently on Instagram (@victoria.carless).  The kid lit and Midde Grade communities on Instagram are just so welcoming and I’m enjoying meeting so many lovely writers online. You can also visit my website at: https://www.victoriacarless.com/

Filed Under: Children's Fiction, Interview

Taking stock – June

June 10, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

I haven’t done one of Pip Lincolne’s taking stock posts for a while!

Making: my first weaving on a small rectangle loom in pink, cream and burgundy wool, fibres and fabric

Getting: tired of the ‘welcome home from camp’ signs we stuck around the house for Mr 12’s return last week!

Cooking: a four-day Italian feast from Atlas Masterclass – new recipes, all the ingredients and delicious meals!

Sipping: ginger and lemon in hot water as a change from my usual black tea

Reading: The writer laid bare by Lee Kofman – excellent read so far

Thinking: about a busy month ahead

Remembering: that when I was almost fifteen, I realised I was halfway to thirty and how that felt soooo old!

Looking: at the last Autumn leaves on the ground

Listening: to podcasts about street art

Wishing: the price of a lettuce was not so expensive!

Enjoying: a long weekend ahead

Appreciating: my warm home

Wanting: a winter with no colds, flu or Covid

Eating: cauliflower and blue cheese soup for lunch

Finishing: a pile of papers to be sorted – hopefully!

Liking: my blue pottery mugs for drinking tea

Loving: Mr 12’s funny observations

Buying: not much

Watching: the footy without any joy

Hoping: for some joy with the aforementioned footy!

Wearing: a black and white striped jumper which makes me feel like David Rose from Schitt’s Creek

Walking: to the Darebin Creek

Following: our dog, Cleo, as she pads around the house

Noticing: how dark it gets so early

Saving: my pennies by not buying lettuce!

Waiting: for the structural edit from Hachette to arrive next week

Bookmarking: articles on street art – in preparation for my structural edit

Coveting: a quilt from the Patchy Girls!

Feeling: so grateful I’m fully recovered from Covid

Hearing: the twang of my violin as I tune it

Let me know what ‘ing’ thing you’re doing over the long weekend!

Filed Under: Taking stock

The way of dog – book review

June 3, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

… for this story is LOUD
it’s made to be growled
to be bellowed and roared to be
freed from your jaws to
travel Wind-wide and find those ears and
souls all waiting.

I adored this middle-grade verse novel, The way of dog, by Zana Fraillon. It’s told from the perspective of Scruffity, a dog born in a puppy farm. There are less than ideal conditions for Scruffity and his Manpup, the farm’s owner’s stepson. So both Scruffity and Manpup run away, hoping to find a new home with family by the beach. Along the way, Scruffity has all sorts of adventures and mishaps, and meets a few characters, both human and animal.

Because this story is told from Scruffity’s viewpoint, young readers will love his use of words – shoe-legs for humans, FlashingMetalBeasts for cars and Muncher for train. From the very beginning, Scruffity’s voice is strong and authentic. I felt like I had a much better understanding of our own dog, Cleo, after reading it!

And as you can see from the photo, Cleo clearly enjoyed the book as well!

Like all good verse novels, this one has lyrical language and rhythm which draw readers in. Readers 9-12 will find this book a page-turner, and it would be an excellent resource in the classroom. I’m thinking – lists of favourite words, poems about dogs, pictures about dogs, dog language, plus themes of belonging, home, safety, empathy, connection.

As Megan Daly and Alison Tait pointed out in their latest podcast, Your kid’s next read, it is important to know whether a dog story ends well. This one does. There’s certainly a few heartbreaking moments but – spoiler alert – Scruffity and his Manpup are reunited.

Filed Under: Children's Fiction, vese novel Tagged With: verse novel

In conversation with Hanya Yanagihara

May 27, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

I went out with my bookclub one night this week to hear American author Hanya Yanagihara in conversation with writer Benjamin Law at the Capitol Theatre, part of the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Yanagihara is the author of three novels, and she was here in Australia to discuss her third novel, To Paradise. This is a doorstopper of a novel – 700 pages – so heavy I needed to sit upright in bed to read it!

It’s a triptych – three parts to be appreciated together. The novel is an imagining of America, told through repeated characters – there is a David, Charles, Nathaniel, Edward, Peter in each section. The three sections are set one hundred years apart – in 1893, 1993 and 2093. It’s book that moves the reader along effortlessly but also requires the reader to work hard, to find connections between the characters in the different sections, think through the science on the third section and understand the history of the various settings. I do love a book that makes me work a little!

Yanagihara – as you would expect after reading her book – was articulate and thoughtful in her responses to Law’s questions. She was also humble, and so grateful for the warm response from readers.

It’s almost winter, friends – the perfect time to treat yourself to a big book with big ideas which will keep you company through the cold!

Filed Under: Adult Fiction

Ovarian cancer day

May 6, 2022 by Karen Comer 3 Comments

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OCRF Australia (@ocrf)

This Sunday, Mother’s Day, is world ovarian cancer day. It’s appropriate timing – one of my closest friends, Leane, mother of three daughters, has just passed her five-year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer. You can learn more about the wonderful Leane and her story in the video above – Leane has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and funds for an early detection test.

And my lovely Mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year – now healthy after an operation and chemo, but still receiving treatment.

Supporting the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation with their Witchery white shirt day is very important to me. Witchery donate 100% of their gross proceeds from every white shirt sold to the OCRF. I love this year’s shirt – crisp and classic, perfect for tailored pants and a skirt for work or with jeans for a casual look!

I bought my white shirt for Mum, for Leane, for women already diagnosed with ovarian cancer and for women yet to be diagnosed. Perhaps a Witchery white shirt is the perfect gift for yourself or another special woman…

Filed Under: Uncategorised

Immersion into other worlds

April 29, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

I’m not back into writing yet – I still need to conserve my energy after getting Covid almost six weeks ago. I’m back into my editing work and am edging my way back to writing by immersing myself into research for my third book.

This book for young adults has a fairy-tale theme, and I’ve been reading many scholarly works by Marie-Louise von Franz, Bruno Bettelheim, Joan Gould and Lisa Marchiano on fairy tales.

But as I’ve spent a considerable amount of time lying down over the past few weeks, i’ve been using that time somewhat productively by watching Once upon a time, the Disney series.

I’d watched the first three (of seven!) seasons a few years ago but decided to rewatch them to immerse myself in a visual fairy-tale world.

The premise for the show – the evil queen, Regina, (the stepmother in Snow White’s story) has cursed all inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest, transporting them to a small town in Maine where they have led controlled, dull lives for 28 years, with no knowledge of who they really are until Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter (sent through a portal before the curse) wakes them up.

The characters play dual roles, each with a contemporary modern existence with flashbacks to their lives in the Enchanted Forest. For example, Jiminy Cricket in the Enchanted Forest is now a psychologist in Storybrook, Maine, the evil queen is the mayor and Rumplestiltskin is Mr Gold, an antiques dealer.

Occasionally, I’ll roll my eyes and wonder how many more portals and strange lands can these characters fall into but most of the time, I love the characters and the way their hidden depths and secrets are revealed. As I’m looking at my book through a Jungian perspective, I’m really interested in the split roles of the characters, how the ‘evil’ characters are often a catalyst for the ‘good’ characters to wake up and how most characters are a fascinating blend of good and evil.

I watch each episode with either my phone or a notebook, so I can pause the show and take notes.

I’m up to season 6! I can strongly recommend films and television series for a visual immersion into another world!

And thank you all so much for your kind comments – I really appreciate your support and interest in my writing.

Filed Under: Writing, Young Adult Fiction

A publishing contract with Hachette!

April 22, 2022 by Karen Comer 26 Comments

I’m so thrilled to share with you that this week I signed a publishing contract with Hachette for my debut young adult novel, Even the ocean! It’s due to be published in February 2023.

This is a verse novel about two fifteen-year-olds living in Melbourne during 2020, trying to hold on to their creativity despite being restricted by both lockdowns and their families. Crux wants to be a street artist but it’s illegal for kids to carry spray cans in public. Talia wants to become a professional violinist but her family has academic expectations. It’s a book about self-expression and resilience.

Oceans of thanks to Danielle Binks, my agent, and Kate Stevens, Hachette publisher, for their belief in this story from the very beginning. Their enthusiasm came through my screen in Zoom meetings during Melbourne’s lockdowns!

Hachette publish some of my favourite young adult and middle-grade authors – Danielle Binks, Pip Harry, Cath Crowley, Jessica Townsend – I’m in excellent company!

I’m looking forward to sharing more details about my research into street art and my violin lessons. Warning – I do not share my characters’ talents in these fields!

It was so wonderful to receive the contract this week – I’m almost five weeks past getting Covid (hence my silence on the blog) and I’ve been struggling through Covid brain fog and physical exhaustion. The Hachette contract is absolutely a highlight for my year!

Filed Under: Uncategorised, vese novel, Writing, Young Adult Fiction

You don’t have to finish reading a book

March 11, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

Permission granted – you don’t have to finish reading a book. Perhaps you’re gasping with horror right now – surely if you start reading a book, you need to finish reading it. Why?

Do you have an obligation to the author? Will the author know you started their book but didn’t enjoy it enough to finish it? Will your grade three teacher scold you? Will the librarians know when you return the book? Does it mean you can’t start reading another book until you’ve finished it?

The answer to all these questions is no! There is the slight caveat that if you know the author, perhaps you might want to finish reading their book!

I used to finish any book I began, ploughing through shaky character motivation, boring descriptions, meandering plots, too many long-winded sentences.

But there are too many wonderful books out there to spend time on one that’s not to your taste. For every book I read, there’s a thousand other books I’m not reading.

I always give a book a fair go – I’ll read a few chapters before deciding that it’s not for me. But just because a book isn’t for me doesn’t mean that it’s not a good book or it’s not a wonderful book for someone else. Some of the best bookclub discussions I’ve had involve half the women championing the book and the other half wanting to throw it across the room!

I have an unfinished book sitting on my window seat, ready to return to the library. I read the first four chapters and skimmed through the rest of the book. It was a non-fiction book, and I thought it would be useful background information for the book I’m writing. It gave me a little bit of insight but I didn’t think it would offer me much more, and I have a pile of non-fiction books on the same topic, waiting to be read. So I’ll return it, unfinished.

Let me know your thoughts on this controversial subject!

Filed Under: Reading

The Stella longlist 2022

March 4, 2022 by Karen Comer 1 Comment

Earlier this week, I attended the announcement of the Stella Prize longlist on behalf of Springfield, one of Stella’s sponsors. Wonderful night for the 10th Stella Prize, a prize awarded annually to Australian women and non-binary writers – the descriptions of each of the 12 longlisted books made me want to read them all.

The five judges – Melissa Lucashenko, Cate Kennedy, Sisonke Mismang, Declan Fry and Oliver Reeson – discussed the books, an impressive list which included seven debut authors and five First Nations writers. The longlist consisted of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories and a graphic novel – surely something for everyone!

The 2022 Stella longlist:

  • Coming of age in the war on terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah – non-fiction
  • Take care by Eunice Andrada – poetry
  • Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen – poetry
  • She is haunted by Paige Clark – short stories
  • No document by Anwen Crawford – non-fiction
  • Bodies of light by Jennifer Down – novel
  • Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss – novel
  • Stone fruit by Lee Lai – graphic novel
  • Permafrost by SJ Norman – short fiction
  • Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki – poetry and prose
  • The open by Lucy Van – poetry
  • Another day in the colony by Chelsea Watego – non-fiction

I hope you find something from this wonderful list to read over the next few months!

Filed Under: Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, Poetry, Short stories Tagged With: Stella Prize

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 34
  • Next Page »

Connect with me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Structural editing and aborio rice
  • Author interview – Victoria Carless
  • Taking stock – June
  • The way of dog – book review
  • In conversation with Hanya Yanagihara

Copyright © 2022 · Karen Comer website by LMB web design

Copyright © 2022 · Blossom Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in