Zena Shapter's Blog, page 2

The Past is Everywhere!

History is all around us. Wherever we walk, someone has walked before. After all, Homo sapiens have been on Earth for approximately 300,000 years, so that’s a lot of feet covering a lot of ground. And I love wondering who might have walked where I now walk, what they were doing at the time, what was going on in their lives, how they were feeling and what they were thinking. Wondering such things also helps me to write…

Since the past is such a big part of my next novel, I recently popped over to Italy(!) to experience walking through the centuries.

Pompeii

Starting with the 8th century BCE site of Pompeii and the 7th century BCE site of Herculaneum, I couldn’t stop walking along all the wagon tracks in the streets. How many wagons would have had to pass to form such deep impressions in the stone? Who owned those wagons, what did they carry and why – what aspirations and goals had they strived to achieve and did they ever achieve them?

Pompeii wagon tracks

I was also fascinated by the thermopoliums – fast food eateries where people went when they were just as busy as they are today, and in need of a quick and easy meal from a street vendor.

Herculaneum thermopolium

The resonance that this human behaviour has across the epochs reminded me to think about food during my latest edits for my upcoming release: were my characters getting enough to eat? When writing stories with such action, adventure, and romance, it’s so easy to forget that characters still need to eat and drink!

Of course the resonance of storytelling over the epochs inspired me too, present in all the mosaics and statues representing Ancient Roman myths and legends.

Herculaneum Pompeii

Oh, the importance of stories!

Take Michelangelo’s Statue of David, for example, currently housed in the 14th century birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, Florence. While the statue’s anatomical interpretations are still debated today, the story behind its creation (of David defeating the mighty Goliath with just a sling shot) remains a constant source of inspiration for authors everywhere – how adversity can incite ordinary people to become extraordinary.

Statue of David

Next up was the medieval town of Tivoli, and the famous Villa d’Este, which was recently the film set for the gardens of Mount Olympus in the Kaos Netflix series.

Villa D’Este, Tivoli

Yes, of course I walked where famous actors had walked before me, but I also formed a connection with the villa’s architect Pirro Ligorio.

There’s a poem, The Tuft of Flowers by Robert Frost, in which a persona observes a field, recently mowed everywhere apart from a tall tuft of flowers beside a brook. The persona admires those flowers, then marvels at how the experience prompts them to feel connected with whoever mowed the field – a complete stranger yet a kindred spirit, given they must have also admired the flowers in order to spare them.

I felt the same at Villa d’Este, where the beauty of water is so championed (with 875 metres of water courses, 64 waterfalls and cascades, 51 fountains and nymphaeums, 364 jets of water and 398 spurts!), and sunsets are so perfectly framed that someone, me, could walk there centuries later and feel the same sense of awe.

Villa D’Este, Tivoli Villa D’Este, Tivoli

Climbing to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa also inspired me to connect with past architects – such a beautiful sea of red terracotta roof tiles below! They seemed to stretch all the way to the mountains! Clearly others have admired the town too, given all the zoning regulations, archaeological restrictions, and the buffer zone that protects the site and preserves its Outstanding Universal Value.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Again, such existential experiences influenced my recent book edits, lending authenticity to my character during an existential moment of her own – she’s overwhelmed by the adversity she’s facing, yet time still passes. I wonder if you’ll know which scene I mean when you read it?

Then of course there was Rome, where historic remains sit on every street corner…

The Colosseum

…and where you can even meander around an entire park of ancient aqueducts.

Park of the Aqueducts

The past is indeed everywhere! Evidence of what was and how things have changed.

Beneath Rome’s modern city, there could be more evidence to uncover too! Anyone who reads my next release, When Dark Waters Burn, will surely understand the significance of that for the book – history is all around my characters. Because history is all around us, whether we’re in Italy, or anywhere else.

The Literary History of My Hometown, Bournemouth UK

One of the things I miss most about living in the UK is its visual history. Growing up there was a time-travelling adventure – never far from a castle, stately home, strange mound in the ground or stone circle. Here in Australia, I recently bushwalked all around Sydney’s southern Middle Harbour, enjoying its leafy foreshore tracks, mangroves, sandbanks and creeks, all the way from Spit Bridge deep into Garigal National Park. I adore the bush! It was very beautiful.

But there’s nothing like being engulfed by the magnitude of time, as when exploring the past through the presence of ancient built structures and the written histories of those who lived there.

Which is why, when I was reading English at university and working at a newspaper in my summer holidays, I wrote a double-page spread on the literary history of my childhood home of Bournemouth, a resort town on England’s south coast. Here’s one of the pages…

My excuse was reporting on the release of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (directed by Kenneth Branagh, 1994), which was significant because Mary Shelley is buried in Bournemouth. But, really, I simply wanted to share my passion for time-travelling and to inspire readers to explore the history around them. This January, I arranged to retrace my steps…

Such as to the graveyard in St Peter’s Church on Hinton Road, where anyone can easily find Mary Shelley’s headstone. Her mother (the pioneer feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, author of Vindication of the Rights of Women) is also buried there, as is her father (the anarchist thinker William Godwin, Enquiry Concerning Political Justice), the heart of her poet husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her son Percy Florence Shelley (who was a playwright) and his wife Jane Shelley.

St Peter’s Church Visiting the graveyard

Percy Florence Shelley also lived for 40 years on Beechwood Avenue in Boscombe (a suburb of Bournemouth), where he built his own private theatre.

And the Shelleys weren’t the only writers to live in Bournemouth. At the turn of the century, its supposedly healthy environment enjoyed such a fine reputation that many writers visited or settled there.

Robert Louis Stevenson brought his talents to a house in Alum Chine between April 1885 and August 1887, in an attempt to alleviate the pains of his tuberculosis. Although he likened his life to that of “a pallid weevil in a biscuit”, this was his most productive phase, and he wrote A Child’s Garden of Verse, Prince Otto, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde while there. Unfortunately, his home, Skerryvore House, was destroyed by a bomb during World War II, but a garden of remembrance was constructed out of the remains.

Robert Louis Stevenson lived here! The ground floor layout A granite model of the Skerryvore lighthouse, which his uncle, Alan Stevenson, built off the west coast of Scotland

Stevenson’s literary friend Henry James also liked Bournemouth, and continued to visit the Royal Bath Hotel on the town’s seafront even after Stevenson’s death in 1894. It was here that he finished What Masie Knew in 1897.

Oscar Wilde, J. B. Priestly, Disraeli, and D. H. Lawrence also all stayed at the Royal Bath for varying lengths of time, and it is known that D. H. Lawrence wrote part of The Trespassers on a visit.

Author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien preferred the Miramar Hotel, where he stayed regularly in Room 37 from the 1950s until 1972.

The serene sea view of his study would undoubtedly have been a distraction in many an idle moment!

Back when I was researching all this, an employee still remembered the writer, and how Tolkien went for long walks along the cliffs with his wife Edith.

A plaque was erected on the outside of the hotel in his memory.

Tolkien was here! The Miramar Hotel View from The Miramar Hotel

J B Priestly saw a different side to Bournemouth when he visited for a time in June 1941. Although, like many others, he enjoyed the resort as an escape from World War II, he felt that the town was not doing enough to help Blitz victims who might also enjoy its relative opulence.

I once lived in a road called Iford Lane, which also had a literary claim to fame, since it was there that the banned works of Tolstoy were first printed by the Free Age Press, established at the Old Waterworks by Count Vladimir Tchertkov. The Old Waterworks have now been converted into residential accommodation, but a commemorative plaque remains on a wall.

The Old Waterworks

Finally, the young John Galsworthy, author of The Forsyte Saga, attended the Saugreen prep school in Bournemouth (now the Bay Majestic Hotel) between 1876 and 1881, and was a member of the choir at St Swithun’s Church on Gervis Road. Strangely enough, I also sang in the choir at St Swithun’s Church when I was a child.

So, the inspirational coastline of my youth was more than “a fashionable watering place” that served as “a Mediterranean lounging place on the English Channel” for Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. It was my childhood home, and a place of inspiration to which I will always enjoy returning.

Start Your Own Book Club / Writing Group!

Everyone should write. There, I’ve said it. Writing is so liberating and cathartic. It allows you to explore your thoughts and feelings, as well as those of others. With it you can imagine the future, and delve into the trenches of the past. Writing can be an escape, it allows you to create insightful or expressive art, and it can incite connection with others, if you choose to share your words.

We read for many of the same reasons. To delve into the ideas and experiences of others, to walk in someone else’s shoes. To escape into imaginative worlds or explore the real world around us from a different perspective. Many writers, including myself, create reading guides and book club discussion points for our major works to encourage readers to get together and talk about what they’ve read, because stories make the world go around.

So why not help the world spin a little smoother, and put together your own book club or writing group?

Back in 2009, I founded my own local writing group, the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group, because I wanted to seek out my tribe – writers who would be as intent as I was about publishing works for a wide audience. There were other established writers’ groups nearby, but they didn’t offer the level of critiquing and editorial support I knew preceded professional publication. So I put an invitation in a few newsletters and community notice boards. All these years later, I’m still running the group, every month, because writers will always need critiquing and editorial support before professional publication!

But that wasn’t the first writing group I founded. When I was 16, I set one up at my high school. It had a more inspirational purpose. We still edited and critiqued each others’ work, but our focus was on celebrating and encouraging a wide variety of creative writing – poetry, prose, film, even song lyrics! We discussed works like a book club, we found inspiration in themes I set the group to extend our creativity and passion, and we would create. Some then sought to share their creations with the group, or even the school via a noticeboard I organised. Others preferred to write just for themselves, for the joy of it.

Here’s a report published in my school magazine, summarising our first year:

Reading this report now, I’m so impressed that younger-me brought so many people together to celebrate words and to create. I remember being 16 and trying to find the time to write, scribbling notes in class when inspiration hit, then sitting in the playground at break time or lunch with my pen and paper to expand on my thoughts. The concrete was cold and hard. Being England, I often had to huff on my fingertips to keep them warm. What writer wouldn’t want a cozy classroom in which to create over the occasional lunchtime? I remember thinking there must be others like me, and we’d surely all like to meet each other. So I got permission from my teachers to occupy a classroom, then put an invitation up on the school noticeboard.

It was as simple as that – and could be for you too!

Before I knew it, I had my tribe, and together we thrived. Here’s my report on the group’s second year…

Not everyone who came to my school Writers’ Society would become a professional writer. Just as not everyone who attends Northern Beaches Writers’ Group meetings will become a professional writer. Making a living as a professional writer often involves thinking and feeling so deeply that you have no choice but to carve time out of your day to express yourself through the written word, prioritising writing over other pursuits and desires, employing self-discipline and often funds to develop your innate skill into craft, as well as your ability to be open with others.

But anyone can write. Whether it’s for themselves, for pleasure, for liberation of mind, heart and soul, for the joy of imagining other perspectives or relating experiences and knowledge.

So why not write something later today? Or even now? That thought or feeling you’ve been experiencing lately, why not express it in words and see where that takes you?

Or if writing isn’t for you, why not pick up a book that delves into the thoughts and feelings that resonate for you, and enjoy the exploration!

However you connect with words, why not also seek out others doing the same as you and connect with them? You’d be doing the world a favour, making it spin a little more smoothly, because stories make the world go around. It can be as simple as an invitation on a noticeboard.

My First Ever Published Short Story – From 1991!

I always knew I’d one day write novels. But first came poetry and short stories.

I wrote about my first ever published poems over here.

My first ever short story success was with a story about a tortoise, which won me the school writing competition for prose in Year 11 (back then called sixth form). It was called ‘The Story of How … The Tortoise Improved Itself’, and is somewhat typical of my writing as a teenager – existential and dark.

I was of course thrilled when it was published in the school magazine. An illustrator even drew a tortoise to accompany my words.

I now have stories published in over 40 anthologies, magazines and publications around the world, and every publication I achieve is an absolute thrill. Not just because it means others are agreeing that my words are worthy enough to share with the world, but because I get to offer readers a chance to reflect on that worthy something.

In the case of my tortoise story, it’s the idea that we can be our own worst enemy, failing to achieve our dreams because of our own perspective or problem-solving approach.

When I reflect on the literary works my English class studied for our senior years, I can see strong influences in my tortoise story from Thomas Hardy, a famous English novelist who wrote bleak stories about characters with tragic fates, and who lived 40 minutes down the road; as well as the famous poet T S Eliot, who wrote equally bleak poems, most famously depicting a character called Prufrock who endlessly procrastinated.

Not everyone took English in their senior years, however, because (unlike Australia, where English is compulsory throughout high school) students could select any combination of A-Level subjects for study. So a part of me wonders if, had it not been for my tortoise story in the school magazine, many students might not have been exposed to the idea that procrastination can sabotage your goals in life. A poignant insight for young minds poised on the precipice of pursuing their dreams!

But also a poignant insight for any mind yet to embark on their own journey towards a goal, big or small. Goals only ever get closer when you make a first step towards them, then another, and another. The worst thing you can do is not take a step at all.

I guess that’s why one of my favourite things to do is to mentor other writers. I can only imagine how much easier my own writing career would have been if I’d had a personal one-on-one writing and publishing coach, someone to bounce ideas off, able to use their writing experiences to ward me away from pitfalls only an experienced author would know, someone to keep me taking steps forward.

Like a tortoise, those steps can sometimes be slow, the end goal might seem far away. But unless we begin, we won’t get there. So whatever your dreams, don’t be like my tortoise! If you need to get a mentor, tutor, trainer or teacher to help you, then find one – get started today!

[Message me if your dreams involve writing!!]

My First Ever Published Poems – From 1986!

I always knew I’d one day write novels. But first came poetry and short stories.

My first ever writing successes were with poetry.

When I was about 10 years old, my teacher set our class the homework task of writing an original poem. Mine was about owls and hedgehogs. I was very proud of it… until my teacher accused me of plagiarism.

“You were supposed to write an original poem,” she told me. “Not copy one from a book.”

“I didn’t copy it. I wrote it.”

Not only did my teacher refuse to believe me, but now she accused me of lying. My parents were called into school and had to have a meeting with the headmistress. They assured her that I’d written the poem myself, and eventually my teacher apologised. To prove it, she put my poem on the classroom wall.

My next poetic success was in my first or second year of high school, in the form of a song. The lyrics involved various humorous depictions of classwork and teachers, inspired by a Home Economics class (which would now be called Food Tech) in which we all made a Swiss Roll. It became so popular a song that when my year group graduated years later, students still remembered it, and mentioned it in our graduation book.

Then, at 14, my English teacher somehow found out that I’d written an epic 77-stanza poem about an innkeeper’s romance with a cavalier, and she had me read the whole thing out to my class. My class was less amused by that creative work, not because they had to listen for a while, but because our teacher clearly hoped to inspire them to be creative too. But not everyone is creative with words!

For me, poetry was simply how I expressed my thoughts. When I was happy, when I was sad, when I was in love, when I was alone. As high school exams came along, my poem about stress resonated with so many students, it was published in the school magazine.

Poetry also lead me to appreciate just how important writing was to me. When I was about 21, I worked in a publishing company and experienced my first ‘theft from my person’. I’d been walking to the train station in the twilight, my bag slung over a shoulder. I’d written a poem at lunchtime and it was in that bag.

So when some young lad snatched it off me and ran away with it, I had no choice but to run after him – it was my only copy!

We raced through the streets with me yelling after him, “Take my wallet, just leave the bag!”

He ignored me, of course, and ran into a housing estate. He was getting away from me, but then a car drove by – I flagged them down, and before I knew it, they zoomed off after him.

After much shenanigans, the lad was arrested… because that car was driven by two undercover policemen, patrolling the area after someone else had experienced a theft from their person.

I got my poem back, and continued to write poetry at every opportunity – including when I returned to university at 22 to study law. I was particularly intrigued by property law, and the difference between fixtures and fittings when selling property. So of course I wrote a poem about it, called ‘Gnomes’, which was published in the university’s law periodical, ‘The Wig & Pen’!

As you can see from the above scans, I still have all of my poetry. Although the paper is yellowed and browned with age, the words are still clear and strong. The memories are too – whenever I read one, I’m immediately transported back in time to when I wrote it, the intense feelings or thoughtful insights that inspired me, and how I worked and reworked my words until the expression was, at least, closer to the experience.

Perhaps one day I’ll do something with all those words. But for now they just sit in the cupboard, evidence of an early writer’s persistence to become who they were always meant to be – and reminders that success can often be slow to rise. Just like a Swiss Roll!

Confident Beginnings

What if you could go back in time and tell the younger-you to be more confident about the paths you were or weren’t choosing in life? The circumstances into which we’re born, and the choices we make to expand or escape those circumstances, inevitably lead us to who we are today. So we could be cheating ourselves of some of the integral experiences that made us, the challenges that brought us wisdom, and the joys we found along the way.

Still, sometimes I wish I could tell younger-me to just embrace being a writer! When I was at school, however, it wasn’t considered a proper job. I remember taking a careers survey and, based on my strengths and interests, my options were: journalist, publisher, lawyer, or administrator. So I arranged work experience at newspapers, publishing companies, and law firms; during summer holidays I freelanced as an administration assistant; after graduating from university I put my English degree to good use by taking a job in publishing; then returned to university to study law and became an intellectual property solicitor and trade mark attorney. At every fork in my path, I wasn’t 100% confident about my choices, but at the time it seemed the only way to go. Meanwhile…

Not once did I stop writing poetry, short stories, or planning novels I would one day write. Not once did I stop being passionate about whatever I wrote, spending hours indulging and developing my craft. Not once did those around me doubt that writing lay in my future.

Even so, I didn’t realise who I was; probably because I didn’t value who I was. Perhaps because the society of my time didn’t value writing enough to make it a career option. Perhaps because creative jobs weren’t as prevalent as they are today. Perhaps because my parents were hard-working practical people – my dad had left school at 12 to support his family through The Great Depression and become a cook, my mum had left school at 14 to become a hairdresser. Literature and creative writing were as foreign to them as the copious amounts of study I undertook to get me where I wanted to go in life. Or perhaps it was because I lacked confidence in my own abilities.

Oh, how writers love to lack confidence in their innate abilities! Who are we to pen the woes and tribulations of life and share our observations with others!

There is evidence for this in a portfolio I recently uncovered of my published work between the ages of 11-19. Yes, I wrote, illustrated and produced a humorous (yet politically incorrect) magazine for my classmates when I was 14. Yes, I founded a writers’ society when I was 16, and served as its president for two years. Yes, I won the school short story competition in Year 11, and had a few poems published in the school magazine.

But I also submitted many ‘Anon’ poems to the school magazine, and those were published too. Why did I submit them anonymously?

I think I was embarrassed. Re-reading them now, the poems are skilful enough for my age and lack of experience, but they’re all so beset with teenage existentialism. I think I remember not wanting people to think that alone represented me. After all, I consider myself a fairly optimistic person.

But it wasn’t until much later in life that I was able to separate my ability to write about a single moment or life experience, and the idea that the words I crafted didn’t have to represent me personally to readers. Back in 2017, my solo debut novel Towards White brought this into particular focus. Set in Iceland, it’s a science fiction thriller about where the electrical energy in our brains goes when we die. During its launch, readers constantly asked if the main character was based on me. No, I would tell them, that’s just how skilful I am, making you think that!

Being the multi-award-winning multi-published author I am today, I definitely have more confidence in my abilities! I’m fortunate enough to make a decent living with my words, to write every day, and to share my knowledge and experiences with others. And, when I look over my portfolio, I get to appreciate just how far younger-me has come. Perhaps it can also inspire you to be more confident in the paths you are and aren’t choosing in life, and where they might ultimately lead you.

Exploratory Advice For Emerging Writers! #MYAL @MosmanLibrary

Earlier this week, I appeared at the Mosman Youth Awards in Literature at the amazing Mosman Library, where I spoke to an eager crowd of 150 writers and their supporters. As my 9th year judging the awards, I wanted to share one central piece of advice about writing, applicable to emerging writers of any age.

In a world where AI can sort through the billions of words online and predict the most likely response to anything, it’s becoming more and more important to be unpredictable, and writers can do that through writing original stories, inspired by unique thoughts and expression. To find those unique thoughts and expression, I advised writers to continually explore the world around them, then experiment with words and how to use them.

Indeed, when you’re developing as a writer, it’s important to soar as high and free as you can on the wings of your own inspiration; and not to let yourself become grounded or limited by what others think might achieve awards, money, literary praise, or even high marks at school. Before you set ink to page:

– Really consider what you think about the world.– Ask ‘what if’ questions and come up with your own answers.– Observe those around you, assess their flaws and defects, then decide for yourself what that might mean for the future.– Generate poignant reflections on society and life that resonate for you.– Delve into questions such as what it means to live, what it means to struggle, and what it means to die.

Because story is the best place to explore all this. Story is the best place to imagine and experiment freely with your self-expression; and if writers do this, in return storytelling can set them free, in ways they’d never imagined!

It certainly did for me. The other day, I found an old portfolio of my published work – from between the ages of 11-19 – and it evidences how I continually reflected on life experiences, then experimented with words and explored how I could use them:

– I wrote, illustrated and produced a (very politically incorrect) magazine for my classmates, testing boundaries.– I wrote experimental poetry and prose for the official school magazine, The Milestone, experimenting with reader engagement.– I founded a writers’ society and invited unconventional guest authors, learning from resilient industry experience.– In Year 11, I won a writing competition about a tortoise that wanted to improve itself, expressing the transient nature of life.– As well as volunteering in the school library, I co-founded and was Vice Chairman of a European Society, and wrote annual reports for both.– Outside of school, I co-founded the youth section of a local political party and wrote its magazine, the PPB.– In school holidays, I organised work experience at two local newspapers, a daily paper and a fortnightly paper, exploring the world of journalism, if only to know it wasn’t for me.– And all the time, I was writing reams of original poetry, short stories and song lyrics.

Which is why, when reading the senior entries for this year’s competition, at times I felt a little sad that so many entries felt uninspired. It was almost as if the writers had allowed their imaginations to become overwhelmed by the pressure of writing good English for their HSC, and succumbed to a kind of creative anxiety that impeded their enthusiasm for the exploratory nature of story and creativity.

Most entries were well-written to an impressively high standard, but lacked the originality of thought and passion writers need to have in their own words in order to connect with readers. It put a barrier between us, as writer and reader.

So I made sure to commend those on my shortlist! Even if they did write a story inspired by a school-set task, they had layered their response with unique thoughts and expression, and thus pursued originality.

And I want to encourage emerging writers everywhere to do the same – be unique, and keep experimenting with words and how to use them. Do that, and you’ll not only stand out from the crowd who don’t, but you’ll be doing your future selves a huge favour.

Now I’m going to enjoy re-reading the MYAL 2024 winners! Congratulations, everyone!

I’m a local hero! Thank you, @TheTawnyFrogmouth

Wow, thank you to The Tawny Frogmouth magazine for such a breathtaking interview in this month’s issue, ‘Local writing hero is an inspiration for living a better life’. I feel seen!

I have always felt great empathy for those around me, whether it’s my community, writing tribe, friends or family. So if I notice that something needs changing, and no one else is taking action to make change, I try to act.

My first act of love for my community was actually over 30 years ago, when I founded a writers’ society in high school, so writers and poets could meet once a week to write and talk about writing in the warmth of a classroom (we were in England after all!). Oh, and I established a contact lens station in the school’s sick bay, because more and more students were wearing contact lenses and needed emergency access to saline!

More recently, I’ve been doing whatever I can to give writers in my local community support and exposure, with the aim of celebrating the impressive wealth of creative talent we have here. Since 2009, I’ve used my own resources, money and time to create: five published anthologies written by local writers for adults; three youth writing days run by local writers; three printed magazines of young writers’ work edited and prepared for publication by local writers; five children’s books written collaboratively between 19 local writers, published to raise $15,000 for The Kids’ Cancer Project, each of which won ‘best book’ in the national WABAID awards; five ‘Art & Words Projects’ (a collaborative project I founded back in 2019) on the themes of saltwater, portrait, tree, rain, and glass; and I founded and still run the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group every month. I also judge the Mosman Youth Awards in Literature, and appear on panels for the Northern Beaches Council to talk about the importance of creativity in our community. I haven’t done any of these things to benefit me; in fact, the time, money and commitment involved often does the exact opposite! But I feel I have to do them anyway because I truly believe my community needs them to be done.

Still, it was quite a thrill to receive this incredible acknowledgment for my efforts – The Tawny Frogmouth, you are the first to truly see me!

More importantly, I hope the article inspires others to action any ideas they might have for enabling, encouraging or showcasing creativity in their own communities, thus improving self-fulfilment and mental health. Together, we can all make the world a better place!

Here’s the start of the interview…

Meeting Zena Shapter, author, editor, mentor, founder of Northern Beaches Writers’ Group, mother, wife, friend and I suspect much more, felt like being struck by a bolt of energy, intelligence, kindness and generosity…

Paige Turner, The Tawny Frogmouth, June 2024, p44

Read the rest over here: https://thetawnyfrogmouth.com.au/local-writing-hero-zena-shapter-is-an-inspiration-for-living-a-better-life/

Failure = Trying = Success!

Every day I fail, and love it. I fail to write the amount of words I want to write. I fail to phrase meaning effectively. I fail to establish or maintain character and setting according to my intentions. I fail to edit my own work, being too close to the story. But I love trying! I’m living my best life as a writer, and every day of trying brings me closer to finishing words, polishing phrasing, character, setting and more, then sending stories out into the world. Without failure, I would have no success!

So I want to congratulate everyone out there who’s also trying, every day and every week, to self-actualise and live their best life. You’re amazing, because not everyone tries, so it’s wonderful you’re failing!

In particular, I want to congratulate every creative who entered the Northern Beaches Writers’ Competition this year, the fifth Art & Words project I’ve run for the community, because without trying there is zero chance at success. You’ve got to be in it to win it! Whether you made the shortlist or not, you tried!

This year, the competition received entries from New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT, Queensland, and Tasmania – all on the theme of glass. Six judges read every story blind, and the quality was so consistent I had to make the executive decision to extend the shortlist from 10 to 20! The winning entries are now free to read online:

1st Place: 
‘The Lady Stuck in the Window’ by Caroline Sully 

2nd Place:
‘The Hungry Ghost’ by Ivan Logan 

Northern Beaches Commendation Award 2024:
‘Glass Heart’ by Kate Mitchell 

Thank you so much to the judges whose time and effort made the competition possible: Azmeena Kelly, Mark White, Rae Blair, Victor Petersen, and Sylvia Jimenez – you rock! Thanks to Northern Beaches Council Mayor Sue Heins, whose financial support also made the competition possible – you rock! And thank you to all the writers who entered, without whom there would be no competition. May you try and try again, and next time succeed!

May we all!

How Editing & Mentoring Can Help You Write A Book!

Over the years, I’ve mentored scores of writers on their quests to write or finish writing a book. Recently, I had the privilege of assisting an incredible 10-year-old, Roy Mahajan, on his quest to write a children’s book. His main character Jason dreams of one day becoming a full-time detective, so he starts by helping anyone he can with their problems – solving cases along the way. Things don’t always go to plan! Here’s the blurb…

No worries, Jason Will Be There!

Just around the street, you’ll find a remarkably interesting boy and his name is Jason. Now you may ask, ‘what is so interesting about him?’ Well, you’re about to find out, because it’s Jason’s 9th birthday and he’s about to take the detective world by storm! Join Jason on his adventure to chase his dream through this action-packed book that will make you hungry for more.

It’s been fascinating to watch and help Roy develop his writing technique and for his book to bloom. So I asked him about the process.

What have you learnt about yourself through writing this book?

Through this book, I realised that I like writing creative stories!

What was the most personally challenging aspect of the process?

The most challenging aspect of the process was typing the entire book, as when I started typing I was really slow, but got better along the way.

What was the most surprising delight?

The most surprising delight was having both of my author sign-ups at the Alfie & Noa Bookstore in Castle Hill fully sold out in less than two hours. I sold 58 books in these two events.

How did your expectations match the practice of writing?

I am getting a very positive response from my friends and other young readers, which is motivating me to write another book.

What technical aspects of writing did you find the most challenging?

I found it challenging to write these stories as my imagination was taking me into wild and unreal cases in my head, and I had to actually control my mind and finalise a few practical cases!

What was your lowest point? Did anything bring you close to tears?

Sometimes I forgot to save my work, and because of that I had to start all over again, which was really annoying.

Would you recommend Zena to other writers? Why?

Yes, I would definitely recommend Zena to other writers because Zena professionally edited my book and, most importantly, provided immense guidance to publish this book, which was very helpful for a first-time author like me.

Have you got any advice for writers setting out on their writing journey?

It’s harder to write an actual book than it is to say ‘I will write a book’, so make your first book a small story book like mine, and then create bigger books.

Thank you!

Wow, thank you, Roy for sharing so much about your writing journey with us!

Roy’s book is now available on Kindle, with profits going to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative, an ocean clean-up charity.

Roy’s first print run has already sold out, so he’s in the process of setting it up for sale online. Watch this space!

In the meantime, if you’d like to write a book and think you might need a mentor, editing or publishing assistance, please get in touch!