I don’t watch a lot of television. I don’t like reality tv shows, I only watch footy when my team, Essendon, is playing and I’m not watching a Netflix series at the moment, although I have enjoyed House of Cards (American version) in the past.

I know there are lots of great shows out there. Every now and again I watch half an episode of something with my husband and we do have regular family movie nights so I watch a lot of kid-friendly movies. I usually need to do something creative while I watch tv, like quilting.

But I have watched every single episode of This is us, an American series filmed in a few different cities, because I find the characters and their stories compelling.

There are five main characters from a family, shown with a present timeline and a few timelines in the past. Rebecca and Jack Pearson married and Rebecca became pregnant with triplets. She gave birth to all three babies in 1980, but while Kevin and Kate survived, Kyle didn’t. Rebecca and Jack were devastated – they had everything ready for three babies. On the night the triplets were born, a drug-addicted poet watched his girlfriend die giving birth and dropped his hours-old son at a fire station. The baby was brought to the same hospital where Rebecca and her babies were patients. Jack and Rebecca, a white couple with their two white babies, decided to adopt this unwanted black baby whom they called Randall.

Each episode flits back and forth between different timeframes – Rebecca and Jack when they dated and were first married, Kevin, Kate and Randall as babies, as eight-year-olds, as teenagers and then the present day, where Kevin, Kate and Randall are in their late thirties.

Good novels focus on character arcs – what each character is like at the beginning of the book with their flaws and ‘glimpse of greatness’ and how the character changes through the course of the novel by reacting and responding to the different events that unfold. This is us shows that unfolding of character with hints of those traits at an early age and then showing us how those traits develop over time into adulthood.

There are many different themes. Randall has to make sense of his world, a black boy adopted by a white family. It’s not only about how he looks but how he feels and how he’s perceived. Kate has been overweight since childhood and still struggles with it as an adult. Kate also struggles to follow her beautiful and talented mother as a singer. Kevin was a star footballer in school, then an injury forced him to stop and he took up acting. His success on tv as ‘The Manny’ hasn’t done anything to make him feel secure. And then there are relationships and children and careers.

Maybe your family is not like the Pearsons at all. But we all have that moment of truth, when we are connected with either our family or friends or colleagues and feel, ‘this is us’ – this is how we roll, this is how we play or create or lead or work or love.

Maybe you didn’t expect to find a television show review on this bookish blog of mine, but I’m passionate about stories. While the show is definitely heart-warming, the stories are told with intelligence and perception which means there’s no sentimental rubbish at all. The characters are have both flaws and glimpses of greatnesses – which makes them pretty relatable. This is all of us, really.

I was only a few chapters into the first book of this young adult trilogy, His dark materials, when I realised I had the perfect reading situation. I had two and two thirds of a book to read, plus another thick, thick book for the prequel – a wonderfully written, carefully crafted fantasy world to live in for the next little while.

As C. S. Lewis says – You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. 

The first book of the trilogy, Northern Lights, introduces us to Lyra, a young orphan girl who lives with the Scholars in an alternative Oxford. While there are similarities with the Oxford we know, we know it’s an alternative world because all humans have their own daemons. I found the daemons to be one of the most fascinating aspects of Pullman’s world. Daemons take the form of an animal, and once children have grown into teenagers, the daemons stay the same form. Until then, children’s daemons can change their form at will. Humans and their daemons can talk to each other, and can’t move too far away form each other.

Lyra is given a special instrument called an alethiometer which uses layers of symbols to tell the truth. Only a select few can read an alethiometer, and there are only six in existence. The Master of Oxford tells Lyra to learn how to read it for herself once she has been taken to live and work with Mrs Coulter, a fascinatingly beautiful woman with a golden monkey as her daemon.

But Mrs Coulter proves to be as confusing and sinister as she is beautiful, and Lyra escapes when she realises she might end up as one of the kidnapped children who have been taken from Oxford. Lyra’s quest to understand the alethiometer and to find her friends Roger and Billy who have been kidnapped by the Oblation Board brings her into contact with the gyptians, who support her.

The second book in the trilogy, The subtle knife, introduces Lyra to Will, who climbs through a window into Lyra’s world and becomes the important knife bearer. The third book, The amber spyglass, brings together all the characters, their desires and quests.

The prequel, The book of dust, tells the story of Lyra as a baby and the people who protected her from those who wanted to kill her, and is equally satisfying.

Miss 11 read the first book, started the second, then decided she wanted to read something lighter. More developed readers at 11 or 12 will thrive on this series, and younger teen readers will enjoy it. There is action, a quest theme, high stakes, the continual problem of who to trust and an amazing fantasy world with witches, talking bears, angels, humans and their daemons.

As a family, we are watching the Lord of the Rings movies over the school holidays. Even though the worlds are quite different, the quest to fight the darkness means high stakes in Tolkien’s world as well as in Phillip Pullman’s world.

I’d love to know your favourite fantasy series for children or adults – give me a recommendation, please!

 

 

 

Mr 14 missed a maths test a couple of weeks ago because he had an appointment to see an occupational therapist for his fractured finger. The receptionist joked with him and suggested he should ask for a dog if he scored 95% for his maths test when he eventually sits for it after the school holidays.

As we don’t have a dog, Miss 11 and Mr 8 are keen for him to do well – as in 95% well. As this type of result would be a wonderful achievement, my husband and I are also keen for him to do well – as in 95% well.

Miss 11 has already created a spreadsheet with a list of dogs, their characteristics and suitability for families. The kids were eager to name this dog – as yet unearned – but my husband and I shook our heads.

‘We already have a name for a dog,’ we told them. ‘We decided on the name Griffin for a dog even before we decided on names for you!’

Griffin, a mythical creature with the wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, comes from a series of books written and illustrated by Nick Bantock.

Mr 8 suggested that we could have called Mr 14 Griffin, since we liked the name so much. Footy commentators would have had a field day – and Griffin is in the ruck. He’s used the wings of an eagle to soar above the opposition but it’s the fierceness of his lion nature that scares the opposition away. What a winning combination! What a mark! What a goal!

Mr 14’s name contains the first name of his maternal grandfather as his second name, and the second name of his paternal grandfather as his first name.

I edited a baby names book when I was pregnant with Miss 11 – the most tedious project I have ever worked on! But it gave us her name.

And Mr 8’s name just seemed the most beautiful, appropriate name for him, and he also has my husband’s second name.

Both my sons would have had Rose as a second name, had they been girls. Sometimes I laugh with them and call them my Rose boys.

My protagonist in my first book is called Freya – she’s a little frayed around the edges. Her name just came to me, and it was exactly right.

I’m trying to think of a name for the antagonist – the baddie – in my second book. I’ve tried several names and none of them have stuck. He’s a conservative, narrow-minded man in his fifties who works for the local council. I’d welcome any suggestions, please! Give me the name of your most dreaded school teacher or your meanest sport coach or the miserly neighbour who growled at you when your balls went over the fence into his backyard.

At the moment, Griffin’s very existence depends upon Mr 14’s willingness to study Pythagorus’ theory. Cross your fingers for us!

Such a great title for a writing workshop – history, mystery and magic! My weekend in Sydney was full of all three elements. There was history because I went to one of Kate’s workshops two years and because I stayed with my lovely friend L again. The mystery part – well, Kate actually demystified some of the writing process for me! And the magic came when I had a lightbulb moment to solve a problem with one of my manuscripts.

Kate Forsyth is an international best-selling author, with books for adults and children. I’ve written about her here and here. She is also immensely encouraging, extraordinarily knowledgeable both about writing and history, and a very entertaining presenter.

She focused on the genres of history, mystery, fantasy and romance, looking at the different structures, obstacles and character types. We deconstructed half a dozen pages from different books, looking at the language the writer used in order to evoke a specific feeling in the reader.

Kate explained the difference between dynamic and static protagonists. Dynamic characters have a narrative arc and change from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. Professor Don Tillman from The Rosie project is rigid and unbending in his list of expectations for a wife at the beginning of the book but he relaxes his rules after meeting Rosie who doesn’t pass his questionnaire for The Wife Project. Static characters, often in crime novels where the same character stays the same over a series, are exactly the same from the beginning to the end of the novel. But they can cause other characters to change. Kate gave the example of Anne in Anne of Green Gables, who is the same impetuous, curious, hot-tempered, talkative self throughout the book, but causes narrow-minded, conservative Marilla to soften and become more nurturing by the end of the book.

My friend L thoroughly looked after me, feeding and driving me around. And Kate thoroughly stimulated my mind and helped fuel the creative fire again.

Kate emphasised again and again that there is no right way to write. We’re all unique, and we need to do what works or resonates for us.

The history, mystery and magic course was run through the Australian Writers Centre.

So while I’m working on my current books, contemporary middle grade fiction, I’m daydreaming about a children’s fantasy book set in a different world with lots of magic. I think the Easter break is the perfect time for daydreaming about imaginary worlds!

 

Imagine a room in the Melbourne Town Hall, full of 1700 women standing in front of their seats, singing the chorus to Katy Perry’s song Roar. Can you hear us?

We came into the city on a Tuesday night, the first cold night in autumn, to listen to a conversation on courage and creativity with Clare Bowditch and Jamila Rizvi, with special guest Zoe Foster-Blake. We were in good company – Clare is an award-winning musician and actor, and used to host the afternoon show on radio station 774. Jamila is a writer and television commentator, and used to work in politics. Zoe is an entrepreneur and author, best known for her book on beauty, as well as her beauty products.

There were many topics of conversation, ranging from working around children to cake and coffee. Jamila talked about the importance of boredom, and how unplugging can allow our minds to wander and daydream and create. That’s why showers and walks often lead to good ideas. Zoe said she was most creative during boring business meetings!

Clare reminded us that everyone has an inner critic, and that’s why it takes courage to ignore the critic and to continue to create. She talked about the importance of ‘awkwardness’, of consciously feeling discomfort in order to stretch out boundaries. So that’s why 1700 women stood self-consciously in their seats, either next to friends or strangers, and opened their mouths to sing.

My girlfriends and I continued the creative conversations afterwards. My courage to be creative definitely comes from the support of friends!

The weeks are sliding by so quickly, I needed to slow down for a moment and have a good think about where I’m up to! This is a list from Pip Lincolne’s blog, Meet me at Mike’s.

Making: chocolate raspberry ripe bites – actually, that’s the plan for the weekend!
Cooking: slow-cooked bolognaise sauce with Miss 11, the type with a dozen ingredients that takes an hour or so to simmer away
Drinking: chai latte, my usual beverage of choice
Reading: The book of dust by Phillip Pullman – so amazing!
Wanting: more weeks before the holidays start
Looking: at my flourishing new garden with purple salvias, mauve clematis and waterfalls of silvery-green diacondra
Playing: with my butterfly quilt – a bit lot to undo before I can start again
Deciding: to let Mr 8 sleep in his homemade fort of sheets and chairs for a little bit longer
Wishing: for some long-term projects to come to fruition
Enjoying: listening to podcasts in the car
Waiting: for the May Kidlit festival
Liking: walking every day, especially along the Yarra River
Wondering: how I will feel if my three kids all make their basketball grand final on the weekend I’m away
Loving: my creatively organised Miss 11 with her hair in her two long braids
Pondering: whether to keep planning my book or start writing it
Considering: how to promote a new project
Buying: food that disappears the moment Mr 14 spies it in the fridge
Watching: This is us – my one hour of television a week!
Hoping: my husband has some good news about work soon
Marvelling: that autumn is here already
Cringing: every time someone sniffs! (Use a tissue!)
Needing: an early night or two
Questioning: whether I made the right choice in working from home fourteen years ago
Smelling: the first gardenia in my garden
Wearing: my favourite rose-gold sandals while the weather still allows it
Following: street artists on social media
Noticing: how the scent of my rose noir candle fills my study
Knowing: the truth of Brene Brown’s words – Don’t shrink. Don’t puff. Stand your sacred ground.
Thinking: about how much I want to fit into my days
Admiring: women who do manage to fit in a lot
Sorting: things out in my mind
Getting: organised for my Sydney writing course
Bookmarking: street artist websites
Coveting: a fabric belt
Disliking: drivers who don’t wave after you’ve let them in
Opening: a well-loved cookbook and rediscovering old favourites
Giggling: with my girlfriends at a kombucha workshop
Feeling: sad about a friend’s illness
Snacking: the leftover bits of prosciutto from the bolognaise sauce
Helping: a grade five class with their narrative writing
Hearing: the sound of the washing machine churning through yet another load of dirty washing

Maybe you’d like to copy and paste this list for yourself into a file, or write it in a journal or the back of an envelope. Or tell me one ‘ing’ in the comments!

In year 7, I had a fabulous teacher who taught us about a wonderful book, A wrinkle in time by Madeleine L’Engle. I remember reluctantly handing over my copy to my younger sister who studied it the year after me – I loved that book so much I couldn’t bear to part with it.

It’s the story of Meg Murry, who describes herself as a misfit, partially because she’s amazingly gifted with maths but hopeless at remembering other facts and partially because her scientist father has disappeared, and is now the subject of small town gossip. It’s set in the US, and was published in 1962, after many, many rejections.

Meg goes on a quest with her brilliant but misunderstood younger brother, and a new friend, Calvin, gifted at basketball and communication, to find her father. Guided by the amazing Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which, they journey to different planets, and must battle against a cold, analytical IT who controls the darkness which threatens to overtake all worlds.

I loved this book so much. While I, like Meg, had a scientist father, he was reassuringly around and never disappeared into the fifth dimension of time travel. I loved Meg’s mother, who was also a scientist. While she was monitoring experiments in the lab next to their house, she was also doing a great job as a single parent to Meg and her three brothers. The three Mrs Ws were eccentric, kind, knowledgeable and powerful. And of course, the battle between light and dark is always an epic story.

I am beyond excited that this book is now a movie – out in Australia on Thursday, March 29 – first day of the school holidays! Reece Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling play the Mrs Ws – the trailer looks amazing.

A wrinkle in time is the first in a quintet – there are four other books, following the stories of Meg’s brothers and her own children.

You know when you have two separate friends who don’t know each other but you know they would really like each other? Well, I think it works the same for authors, too. One of my favourite contemporary American authors is Rebecca Stead, who refers constantly to A wrinkle in time in one of her own books on time travel, When you reach me. Clearly, these two favourite authors of mine were meant to be friends!

I ran a writing workshop for a grade five class today and gave them some homework with three options – read the book A wrinkle in time, see the movie or do both. I hope they take up the third option.

 

 

Aren’t local libraries amazing? Last night, I went to my library for a free writing workshop with Melbourne writer Toni Jordan on conflict.

Toni is the author of Addition, Fall girl, Nine days and Our tiny useless hearts. She spoke to us about how to handle conflict in our fiction.

Unlike real life, readers and writers need conflict in books. As I tell my primary school writing students, you don’t want to read a book where the main character achieves what they want within the first chapter. Boring!

So while conflict in real life is often something to dread or avoid, conflict in books is essential because it adds drama and keeps readers turning the page.

Toni explained that conflict can be divided into three sections:

• inner – what does the protagonist fear the most?
• interpersonal – who does the protagonist clash with?
• physical – this may surround the protagonist like a class system, politics or religion.

I kept my current work-in-progress in mind during Toni’s workshop. My protagonist, a 12-year-old street artist, faces conflict with his local council who wants to stop street artists from painting.

I hope you have a week of conflict within the books you are reading or writing but no conflict in your ‘real’ lives!

What exactly is corporate storytelling, and why is it important? And how can storytelling help with a business’ bottom line? These are the types of questions I answered in my corporate storytelling workshop earlier this week.

With Paul Dixon and Chris Binney from The Interpreters (an insights agency), we ran a half-day storytelling workshop for a client who wanted to improve their team’s communication to both internal and external stakeholders.

It’s scientifically proven that listening to a story lights up our brain in a way that mere content doesn’t. We’re more likely to remember facts if they’re presented in a story, and we’re more likely to engage with both the story and the storyteller. So for a brand, retaining information leads to customer engagement and then customer loyalty.

In the storytelling workshop, I discussed the difference between content and storytelling, as well as all the elements of a story and how to construct a story across different channels. I also looked at language – using a consistent tone of voice as well as specific tools like power words. The client’s team was wonderful in engaging with all the writing exercises. Some exercises were designed to encourage creativity to flow and others were designed to help with the team’s current methods of communication.

I’ve presented a few of these exercises with both children and adults. It always delights me – but doesn’t surprise me – how creative we all are when given an opportunity.

Stories matter for everyone – kids, adults, families, businesses. Stories connect us.