Sandy Fussell's Blog, page 5

The books of the future could be made of elephant dung

The books of the future could be made of elephant dung. It’s an option. You can already buy paper made from the fibres in the dung of herbivores on-line. Like here at The PooPooPaper Store, where the whole idea sounds surprisingly sensible. I’m sure it’s not legal to import into Australia, but maybe one day…

So how did I end up on a website about making paper from poo? Well, the internet has a way of derailing more conservative research. We all know that. One minute I was wondering how many trees paper destroyed and the next minute wondering how the problem might be solved… and here I am.

But it all began when I cleaned up the office and threw away some old notes, clippings and miscellaneous bits of writing that never went anywhere. It wasn’t a very satisfying pile. It reminded me that in the old days, a pile of paper meant a lot had been accomplished. Now, sometimes I feel like I’ve got nothing to show for what I did all day.

But I’ve embraced the digital revolution enthusiastically. I even wrote some code. A software program I wrote continues to chug along doing it’s job in a number of universities.  I never leave home without a swag of apps instead of paper notebooks and diaries.

I’m determined to do my small bit to save the trees.

If you’re not so inclined then check out the counters on this website The World Counts. It’s ironic that although the site itself appears to have been static for some time, the counters continue to tick over, frantically clocking the global hectare loss of wild forest and its inhabitants. A much slower clock counts replanted forest.

“Poo Paper” Steven2005 flickr.com/photos/steven2005/326765246 CC license

But I do love paper. Brightly coloured pieces of origami paper. Pages decorated with scrapbook embellishments. Cards and notes with handwritten messages, to and from. Paper is inspiring and I collect Pinterest boards full of drawing ideas, journalling, lettering, origami, paper art and sketchnoting,

I especially love paper that sits in the middle of books, covered with words and illustrations. Even better if there’s a note on the inside cover to say it was sourced in a sustainable manner.

A little googling uncovered lots of ways to make paper without murdering trees or even using the byproducts of another tree murdering process. Think agricultural byproducts (like banana stems and leaves), fast growing plants (jute and bamboo), rice paper (of course) and even elephant dung (I kid you not).

Check out this post. The Books of the Future Will be Made of Sugar, Wheat and Weed (and elephant dung).

And that’s when I wondered if someone was already selling paper made from poo.

“Dung Paper 02” by pigpogm flickr.com/photos/pigpogm/275331397 CC license

Pearls of Wisdom

One of the things I love about children’s books is they often contain perfectly formed pearls of wisdom.

You can take them out of context and they don’t tarnish. You can take them to heart and you’ll feel richer. You can take them anywhere.

Recently I read an article about writing rules, specifically the one where you can’t grin a sentence, or grump one either. But if you do it right, in a way that works, I believe you can. Rules are made to be broken. I’ve happily grumped a sentence or two in real life and on the page.

It just so happened the next thing I read was a middle grade book for review, Olive of Groves and the Great Slurp of Time by Katrina Nannestad, illustrated by Lucia Masciullo. This is one of those wondrously clever and gloriously silly stories with lots of capital letters for emphasis (Steaming Lump of Lard) and tongue twister names (Basil Heffenhuffenheimer).

It was Basil who dropped a pearl of wisdom in my lap (with help from Katrina, of course). And here it is:

‘Ja! It can be,’ said Basil. ‘It is because of the Time Slurp’. He smiled sheepishly at Olive with a German accent.

I know what you’re thinking, but please, dear reader, just trust me. One can laugh, smile, shrug and even snore with a German accent … provided one is genuinely German, of course!’

Thank you, Basil and Katrina, for the license to grump if I want to … provided one is genuinely grumpy of course.

The Week That Was #3

It was a solid week. Mostly filled with editing. One more week should do it and then Blue Boy, Red Day will be ready leave home. Manuscripts are like children. It’s a wrangle all the way but hopefully they come good in the end.

So this week:

I reviewed Olive of Groves and the Great Time Slurp by Katrina Nannestad and Lucia Masciullo and the  Tommy Bell, Bushranger Boy series by Jane Smith for the Sunday Telegraph Funday (Sunday 29th January)

I learned a pearl of wisdom from Basil Huffenheffenheimer and Katrina and blogged about it here.

I  edited – a lot

I received  How to Fake a Fairytale in the mail. It’s an anthology produced by the Ipswich District Teacher-Librarian Network and contains short stories written by attendees at their holiday writing workshop, Write Like an Author, led by Brian Falkner. I had the privilege of editing it. It’s an uplifting experience to work with such dedicated and talented writers.

I was given a gift – Secret Japan, Colouring for Mindfulness. It’s the perfect antedote to unholidaying.

I trelloed a kitchen cupboard. Meaning I recorded everything in the cupboard and it’s ‘best by’ or ‘use by’ date on a Trello board. It’s all part of my 2017 goal to waste less food. I found  a bottle of salad dressing that expired in 2010 and ten cans of Sweet Chilli Tuna!While it’s taking time to set up, it’s proving easy to maintain and I’ve managed to interface it to my shopping list and menu plan. I love having all that at my fingertips on the phone. Even cooking dinner at night is getting easier.

The Week That Was #2

I didn’t get a lot done this week either. Mostly because I was busy unholidaying. And what’s that, you may well ask.

It’s when you go on holidays to a beautiful place with good friends and it doesn’t even matter that it’s only a few hours away. And then you have dog dramas and young adult dramas.  So you come home and sort them all out and go back. And then there are more dramas. But you struggle on, for a day. Then you come home and sort it all out again and give up, feeling totally unholidayed.

So this week:

I Bought – No books, but I did buy two pairs of earrings ($4) at the Op Shop which I was visiting to check on my ‘Give Away’ options (see decluttering below). My jewelry tastes are simple – I like coloured glass best. I was reminded of a blog post I wrote years ago and found it back in 2010! – My Bling and I.

I read – Foals Bread by Gillian Mears. It was immersive.

If a man can still ride, if he hasn’t totally lost the use of his legs, if he hasn’t died to the part of his heart that understands such things, then he should go for a gallop.

I felt a sense of country, a feeling of hopelessness, a feeling of joy, a feeling of despair, a depth of timelessness and I stayed up all night until it was read. I never thought I would ever enjoy a book with a picture of a horse on the cover.

I reviewed The Great Sock Secret by Susan Whelan and Gwynneth Jones and The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee by Deborah Abela for the Sunday Telegraph Funday (Sunday 22nd January)

I made a jigsaw with friends but I forgot to take a photo.

I caught a Snorlax. The personal grail of my Pokemon Go Pokedex.

I edited – a lot

“Snorlax!” flickr photo by hyku https://flickr.com/photos/hyku/ 3130963604 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

I began to declutter – a lot. I tried the KonMari method (being a fan of many things Japanese) and asked myself if each item brought me joy but that didn’t work for me. Apparently I am too joyous. So I opted for the Four Box Method less one box. I piled a whole wardrobe into “Put Away’, ‘Throw Away’ and ‘Give Away’ without the need for ‘Undecided’. Here’s two useful posts if you’re thinking about decluttering:

Tips for Decluttering Your Home – Planning with Kids is a favourite go to site for anything about getting organised

Popular Minimalise Decluttering Methods

 

The Week That Was #1

I didn’t get a lot done this week. Mostly because I went on holidays and to make sure I finished my current WIP by 31 January, I took NO books. A bookless holiday is a totally foreign concept to me.

I tried hard. I tried really, really hard. I survived two bookshop visits but on the third one, to Sussex Inlet’s second hand book store – I caved. It’s one of those stores you can browse in for hours. No internet presence, you must seek if you wish to find.

So what I did this week has to – due to my lack of willpower – begin with the books I bought.

I Bought – Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears. The excerpt on the dust jacket was so beautiful – and I remembered a review I had read … and there went my bookless holiday. So I quickly followed up with the Yandilli Trilogy by Rodney Hall

 

I read – in addition to the illicit purchases above – just two books for review – in the Sunday Telegraph. Holiday mode is the excuse again. Isabella’s Garden by Glenda Millard & Rebecca Cool and Snot Chocolate by Morris Gleitzman.

I discovered – when I attempted to score a point for my 2017 goal of checking Facebook more often – that in my absence Facebook had changed the rules (again) and deleted all my Interest Lists. These lists took me hours over years to compile and meant I could read posts in manageable chunks. Now my interests are submerged in the mire that is Facebook’s opinion of what I want to see. This would not happen on Twitter, people! So a change of tack is now required, as I attempt to work out how best to reconstruct the data I lost.

I was invited to the Story Arts Festival in Ipswich which is exciting and nostalgic for me. It was the first children’s literature festival I attended way back in 2009. I was very green then (and younger and thinner!)

I smiled at this post Agonising for Authors at Picture Book Den.

I learned two new words. I swapped ECLIPSE (of moths), which is my current favourite, for PRESCIND and EXSCIND. Any word with XSC in the middle is very cool. Thanks Bill Condon.

I edited the first 6 chapters of Blue Boy, Red Day for the very last time – edit no #28 (21 chapters to go and I’m finally done). I wrote another chapter of my new MG WIP Algernon and the Outside Girl and I even pulled out my YA WIP and edited a few chapters of that.

After writing it all down, that doesn’t seem like nothing after all. I guess that’s the point of my The Week That Was posts. They make me feel like I’ve achieved something in between the dramas and demands of real life.

 

Goal Setting with Trello

There are lots of posts about setting goals and quite a few about setting goals with Trello. Trello’s tag line is ‘Organise Your Life’ and I can verify that yes, it does exactly that. With boards, lists and cards. It’s that simple.

Or it can be as complicated as you want to make it. But I’m all for keeping things simple. My advice? Get a free Trello account and get started.

Step 1: Create a board

I name all my goal boards exactly the same – except for the year – with a little help from Buzz Lightyear. This year’s board is To 2017 and Beyond.

Step 2: Add lists

I create 6 lists because, keeping it simple, that’s the number I can see displayed on my laptop screen at any one time. My lists are What I Want to Do (Personal), What I Want to Do (Writing), What I Want to Do (Tech/Social Media), What I Want to Do (Craft), What I Want to Be and What I Want to Have. I used to have Where I Want to Go but I swapped that out because none of the places I want to go are doable for 2017.

Step 3: Add Cards

I add up to 8 cards in each list (because that’s the number I can see displayed on my laptop screen at any one time). I prioritise each card with a colour coded label – Most Important, Mid Important or Least Important and also use labels to indicate status – In progress and Done. To add names to the labels you need to install the free Trello Chrome extension Card Color Titles for Trello from the Chrome Web Store Store. For some cards I might add a due date (the date I want to have the goal achieved by) or a checklist (if the goal involves discrete steps). You can see symbols for those on the front of any card.

Step 4: Rest on My  Laurels

Every now and then, about four times a year, I check in to see how I’m doing and maybe rearrange a goal or two. But mostly it’s about feeling good about taking steps in a positivedirection. Works for me!

For easy, basic instructions on setting up boards, list and card for goals, visit Getting Started With Trello.

For a more complex goal setting strategy, try this Trello template from Keith Gutierrez at Manage Inbound. It’s a marketing goals template but works just as well for personal goals.

What do you think? Are you up for setting some goals using Trello?

Bring It On: 2017

I’m secretly pleased with this blog post. It was scheduled in advance and means I’ve already made one small step towards completing my 2017 goal to blog more consistently.

I’m a great believer in goal setting. It keeps me centred and focused and reminds me that even though my life just keeps getting in the way of achieving much, it’s a positive thing that I’m always working in the right direction.

2016 was not a good year. Most of the bad things that happened, while close to me, are not mine to share. Suffice it to say 2016 was worse than the year I had bacterial meningitis and worse than the year I was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive thyroid cancer. I survived both those so good things do happen too.

I’m looking forward to 2017 and hoping for miracles although I’d settle for #2 son being well enough to go back to school after six years of illness.

Goal setting helps me find myself amid all the other things I don’t choose to do. I want to be a better person. I want to make more time for friends and creativity. I want to write every day. I want to finish that WIP and get my new PB manuscript published. In my most selfish moments, I want to go to University.

I read somewhere on-line that a goal is a dream with a deadline. To me, the dream is more important than the deadline. I’m dreaming big.

If you are interested in the nitty gritty of how I set goals using Trello, soon you’ll be able to click here (because that post is scheduled too *smile*).

My 15 Favourite #LoveOzKidLit and #LoveOzYA Reads of 2016

It’s the last day of the year and what better way to mark it than with a list.

Specifically, a list of My Favourite 15 Australian Kids and YA Books for 2016. Drum roll…

In alphabetical order, because that’s who I am:

A Most Magical Girl – Karen Foxlee

All of Us Together – Bill Condon

Australia Illustrated – Tania McCartney

Captain Cook Discovers Third Grade – Kate & Jol Temple & Jon Foye

Desert Lake – Pamela Freeman & Liz Anelli

Goldenhand – Garth Nix

Freedom Swimmer – Wai Chim

Iris and the Tiger – Leanne Hall

The Boundless Sublime – Lili Wilkinson

The Other Side of Summer – Emily Gale

The River and the Book – Alison Croggin

The Shark Caller – Dianne Wolfer

Twig – Aura Parker

Waer – Meg Caddy

Words in Deep Blue – Cath Crowley

*** I recommend them all ***

The Week That Was #0

To force my self to be more accountable (to me) for time wasted and procrastinated, every Friday I’m going to post a brief roundup of my week. This week was a short one, with two public holidays, and it’s not really 2017 anyway but I’m getting started and calling it Week Zero. I’m aiming to hit all 52 weeks next year, so may as well start now.

I read a book: One Would Think the Deep by Claire Zorn. Brilliant Aussie YA. The sort of book that takes you away from wherever you are. I read the first draft of the first chapter too. #brushwithfame #smile

I edited: One complete pass of Blue Boy, Red Day and I’m half through the next and hopefully last edit.

I visited: Dimity Powell’s new website. So good-lookin’. And Lynnette Noni’s website (see next). I read 189 blog posts in my feed reader. I didn’t learn anything new but I did feel inspired (and exhausted by Tania McCartney’s beautiful Christmas Day photos)

I found: a book to add to my reading pile and discovered an author (and a series) I hadn’t read yet thanks to a recommendation from Anna Corboy (@AnnaCorboy) on Twitter. I’ll be reading The Medoran Chronicles by Lynnette Noni as soon as I get my hands on the first two books (book 3 is out in April 2017 so I’ve got time to catch up).

I did: some digital house cleaning and sorted my Twitter lists.

I scheduled: three blog posts, not including this one. I’m still patting myself on the back about that. *smile*

I Trelloed: (if it’s not a verb it should be) all the foodstuffs in my freezer in keeping with my 2017 goal not to waste food. Everything is listed and use-by-dated. I’ll just maintain it on my phone when I shop and cook. It’ll only take a few minutes and is worth every one of them. I am embarrassed by what I had to dispose of when I cleaned out the freezer.

I also Trelloed my 2017 Goals but that’s the subject of a scheduled post. I read an interesting post by Nicole Avery at Planning With Kids about having a single goal for 2017. I was tempted and while I’ve learned some wonderful stuff from Nicole’s blog over the last 12 months, I don’t think I’m ready for just one goal yet.

And I did some (paying) work stuff and family stuff.

2016 was not the best of years – mostly due to serious family health problems – but I’m feeling good about 2017 and celebrating the small things.

All of Us Together Blog Tour: A History Test

I am particularly pleased to be part of this blog tour. Bill Condon is an author whose writing makes me feel simultaneously inspired and “green with wishfulness”. He’s also a good friend, who has happily shared his advice with me, over many years.

Added to that, historical fiction is one of my favourite adult and children’s literature reading genres and The Great Depression is a time in history that I know very little about. I’ve focused on older history – studying Ancient History in high school and at University. So it was a double feast to read All of Us Together and then be able to ask questions about the research behind it.

Here is the History Test I gave Bill Condon, author of All of Us Together, a string of award winning novels (more about that here) and the only book #2 son ever enjoyed reading.

1.   This is your first historical novel. Did you intend to write a story about the Depression from the outset?

Yes and no. I always intended to set it in the Depression, but that period is a secondary player in the book. All Of Us Together is essentially a family story. I have written a semi historical novel once before, with events taking place in the 1960s. In that story I mentioned a car that was fitted with a burglar alarm. A disgruntled reader was quick to inform me that cars didn’t have burglar alarms in the 60s. So with that in mind, this time I was careful not to include historical facts and figures that might not be accurate.

2.  What was involved in researching the story?

The initial research was done by my parents. They lived through the Depression, and told me of their experiences. At the time I was probably in my teens and I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but their words must have been rolling around in my subconscious all those years. Then, last year, when I was struggling to find a subject that would engage me, I remembered those long ago talks about the Depression. There is a mass of material on the Net about the era, so the research was never a problem, particularly since I knew the emphasis would be on the family, and not the history. As I always do, I used events from my own life, many of them almost forgotten until I started rummaging through my cobwebby brain. The things that I got up to as a kid might well have been done by a boy in the Depression, just as it’s possible that kids of today could do them now.

3.   I’m personally fascinated by character’s names and how they evoke time and place. Are there any stories behind the name choices in All of Us Together?

The mum and dad in the story have the same names as my parents, Margaret and John. Other than that, I just looked for names which I thought may have been in vogue in the early 30s. I wanted a strong name for the lead character, and I think I found it with Daniel. Also, I could vary it at times by calling him Dan, just as Adelaide is sometimes known as Addie. For another character I chose the name Bede. There was a boy at my school with that name, and it definitely seemed to fit the era. The town where the family live is Kulgoa, which is based on the name of a street where I lived. Another town, Warrenbridge, is a combination of the names of two relatives, Warren and Brigitte.

4.   Is the town based on a real town? Was there really a place like Happy Valley?

No, it wasn’t based on any town in particular. Again, I didn’t want to be too specific in case I got my facts wrong. I just envisioned it as being a country area where there was a lot of native wildlife near to where the family lived. Regarding Happy Valley, that certainly was true. It was near La Perouse, in Sydney. There were unemployment camps similar to Happy Valley all over Australia.

5.   Will you write another historical novel?

I didn’t have any idea I’d write this one, so anything’s possible. I think this book is set up for a sequel, which would explain what happens when the family reach Happy Valley. I’ve considered that at great length but I’m not confident I have the skill to write it. In All Of Us Together the family is settled in a reasonably comfortable home, so that allowed me to concentrate on their personal stories, rather than their environment. If I were to attempt a sequel much of it would have to be about them coming to grips with the very poor conditions they faced at Happy Valley.

6.   Do you have a favourite historical novel?

No. I always feel a little embarrassed to admit this, but the truth is that I’m not widely read. There were no books in my home as a child. At school the kind of stories we were given were very old-fashioned and boring, so I never developed the reading habit. However, these days I’m always reading something, though it’s an eclectic mix. Currently beside my bed I have SE Hinton’s The Outsiders, and John Boyne’s A History of Loneliness. I’m enjoying both of them.

This is the last leg of the blog tour but if you missed and posts you can find them here:

17 November Di Bates http://www.diannedibates.blogspot.com.au

18 November Clancy Tucker http://clancytucker.blogspot.com.au

19 November Sally Odgers http://promotemeplease.blogspot.com.au

21 November Dee White http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com

22 November Dimity Powell http://blog.boomerangbooks.com.au/author/dpowell

23 November Elaine Ousten http://elaineoustonauthor.com/

24 November Melissa Wray http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au

25 November Susan Whelan http://www.kids-bookreview.com

26 November Romi Sharp http://www.justkidslit.com

A final Note: All of Us Together is the first book to be published by About Kids Books, a boutique Australian Publisher of “quality junior fiction for readers aged 7 to 12 years”. Submission guidelines can be found here.