 This is a post for writers. It is about our attempts to build an author platform and the challenge to stay small. Or at least, that's what I thought it was going to be about when I first started...
Attempt #7: I've written this post six times already, and each time I've sighed, deleted and stared again at the blank page. It would be easy to blame it on writer's block. But I don't think that's it. It's more like a stubborn inability to get into words what has been buzzing around in my brain. If you've been following my journey this year, you'll know it has involved a lot of slowing down. Just before the middle of the year, I took a break from social media and the impact of that decision continues to reverberate through my writing life. It's as if I've been having a staring competition with my author platform and my platform isn't winning...
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 Do you recognise the plant in my hand? It's the iconic New Zealand silver fern. The top side of the leaves are green, but the underside are this white/silver colour that reflect the light when they fall to the ground!
I was in New Zealand recently to attend the Australasian Children's Literature Association of Research (ACLAR) conference. The conference was held at Waikato University and included presenters from all around the globe, including Norway, Poland, the USA, Samoa and more. It was very exciting (and somewhat daunting) to be rubbing shoulders with a conference full of experienced children's literature scholars! Especially as I had been invited to present a paper from my PhD research!  As the northern hemisphere is wading through autumn leaves, and celebrating Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to review this beautiful picture book! Written by Joshua Cooley and illustrated by Hannah Green, I can’t believe my eyes! is a lovely story about a boy and his dad, discussing what it means to believe in an invisible God.
The story starts off with Dad raking leaves. The wind is blowing and his son asks an important question, ‘Is God real? Some kids at school say God isn’t real because we can’t see Him.’ Rather than launching straight into a theological exposition, Dad decides to take his son kite flying.  If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ll probably know one of the causes close to my heart is preventing modern day slavery and the trafficking of people. It’s a topic I write and speak about, and I’m always on the look out for useful resources to help young people learn about and respond to this global issue. The problem is, because of the nature of the topic, it’s a difficult one to talk to children about. We know the world has its ugly side, we know we want to equip children to respond with empathy, safety and compassion. But we also know stories about human trafficking can feel heartbreaking and hopeless.
Andrew Dittmer has addressed these issues with creative sensitivity in his newest children’s picture book, Eight at a Time.  One of the hardest lessons I've been learning lately is 'learning to be okay with the baby steps'. I think part of it comes from being a high achiever. I like to complete things. I like to complete things well. I like to set my mind to a task and focus until the job gets done.
But... then comes life. And life isn't always accommodating to that kind of focus. Some tasks just aren't complete-able in one sitting (or two, or three). Take a PhD for example. Or a stubborn picture book text. |
The Penny DropsIn high school I used to write what I'd call 'thinks' - little bits of writing about whatever topic or issue I was mulling over at the time. I still write these little pieces. Categories
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