Throwback Thursday

Last year I attended a writing workshop run by the Waikato Children’s Literature Association inc in Hamilton. I came home super inspired and even went to the trouble of writing a whole blog post about my experience- which I never got around to posting.. until now!! Better late than never I suppose, so here it is..

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a workshop set up by the Waikato Children’s Literature Assocition Inc in Hamilton. It was a day-long event where 3 prominent New Zealand ‘picture book’ writers spoke for an hour or so each about their backgrounds, creative processes and how they get a book from inspiration to publication.

Because the Alejandra project involves a writing component, I thought it would be beneficial to head along to soak up their thoughts and wisdom so that I could apply it to my own writing for this project. I often get asked where I find my inspiration for my photography work, and the truth is, I find it absolutely everywhere (the more unexpected the source, the better) which is why I think it’s really important to look for encouragement, inspiration and creative strategies in cross-disciplinary waters. I like to soak up as much as I can from everything around me, but I try to spend as little time as possible looking at the work of other photographers. Unless I am researching different techniques and how to use/do them, I steer clear of the work of other photographers because I think it inevitably leads to direct comparison (often) resulting in discouragement and self doubt. I like to be inspired by films, people, music, books, poems, art work and nature, and although viewing photographs does move me, it is seldom to create more work of my own.

Kyle Mewburn was the first author to speak. He had a less than supportive creative environment that he grew up in, but had the good fortune of having a great teacher at school who gifted him a pivotal paperback on his last day before heading off to high school. His story was one of the most inspiring accounts of rejection, perseverance and self belief that I have ever heard. He studied advertising and journalism before deciding to become a writer. His first book only sold 50 copies, and his second took a year of full time writing to complete. His third book took a year and a half, followed by his fourth book which was a historial novel which took 2 years of full time writing to finish. He then wrote 20-30 stories over 18 months, all of which were rejected by publishers, but instead of throwing in the towel and giving up because he did not meet any publishing success, he considers the time between 1998 and 2008 a ‘full time apprenticeship’. I wonder how many people would have the tenacity to hang on after such a long hard slog with no guarantee of success on the other side…

I left the workshop with my very own signed copy of ‘Melu’, one of Kyle’s awesome books- to serve as a reminder of how important it is to hang on and keep going even if you don’t achieve any great successes with your early efforts. Check out Kyle’s website here.

Dawn McMillan was the second author to speak, and had the following advice for aspiring writers:

• You need to have lots of discipline to do it
• It’s essential to make the time to write- write at night if necessary, and create a good space for you to do so.
• Personal experiences make great stories
• Keep all your work- put it away and save it, even if you don’t like it right now
• Never give up
• Thoroughly research the publishers you’d like to work with and their guidelines

Check out Dawn’s website here.

Mark Sommerset was the last speaker. He and his wife Rowan work as a creative duo (Mark writes, and Rowan illustrates) on Waiheke Island (NZ), self publishing their absolutely beautiful books through their publishing company Dream Boat Publishers.

Mark and Rowan walked away from a lucrative graphic design business to begin their publishing careers and having published 6 books in the 8 or so years they have been operating, they are about to begin production on the very first children’s story Mark ever wrote, a truly profound story called The Cherry Tree. I was incredibly moved by the short description of the story and am dying to see the finished version- I am sure it is going to be a huge success for them both. Just to give you an idea of how much work goes into writing a children’s picture book- Mark mentioned that he spent approximately 1000 hours at the computer working on their book ‘Cork in the Bottle’!! Be sure to also check out the visual feast that is their blog!

All in all, it was such a worthwhile workshop, full of wonderful stories, inspiring people and their amazing work. Special thanks to Anne Southall for inviting me to come along and for my awesome souvenir!