YA novels – Page 3 – Dianne Wolfer

Breaksea House @ GSG

This morning I went to Great Southern Grammar’s Start of Year Assembly to donate copies of my historical novels, Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy. The occasion?

black and white photograph of the real Fay Howe — The real Fay, image courtesy of Don Watson

GSG’s new boarding house has been named Breaksea House to honour Fay Catherine Howe, the ‘lighthouse girl’ who signalled to the departing Anzac nurses, troops and horses in 1914.

I was honoured to present signed copies of my books to boarding house student leaders; Emma Taylor and James Gonzales.

LHG cover LHB cover

GSG has also purchased original artwork by illustrator, Brian Simmonds. The image appears on page 94 of Lighthouse Girl and shows Fay searching the Albany Advertiser for news about the troops in the Middle East. This lovely charcoal illustration will now grace the walls of the new boarding facility. I hope to see it when I visit for an informal book chat.

The full school assembly was a terrific occasion, welcoming the 2016 student leaders who then offered a badge to each Year One student, celebrating their new beginnings.

breaksea1 breaksea2

Fay’s story continues to touch a chord with readers, particularly those living in WA. I often wonder how Fay would feel to know that so many people remember her…

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Wordcounts

WA author Sandi Bowie recently shared an interesting article about the word count habits of several well-known authors. I found their different feedback on ‘a successful day’s work’ fascinating. And then I looked at my own approach…

The article claims that writing routines are important. That is so true. Reading the different methods of these successful writers reminded me again of the value and importance of ‘just writing’, especially whilst working on the first read-through draft of a new manuscript. Not censoring, researching, or checking emails, just setting a daily word count deadline and getting on with it. Permitting yourself to write junky sentences, but not leaving the desk before the word count is achieved .

The word count tab on my laptop is my favourite function. I often set myself mini targets and update the figure on the first page at least once a day. When I write, it also helps to know that what I am working on is a draft. And that I will edit it many times. Arthur Conan Doyle’s entry in the article states: ‘Anything is better than stagnation.’ Again, so true!

Another quote I liked was by Somerset Maugham: “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

After years of work and countless drafts, my YA novel The Shark Caller is now out of my hands being typeset. One part of me is relieved, another part wants to take back the manuscript and do another draft (or two or three). I know that it’s time to ‘let it go’, but each time I read the story, some sentences still feel clunky.

So this week I have returned to my other semi-completed novel, The Dog with Six Names. After reading the article Sandi posted, I decided to revive the word count habit. Yesterday I managed 700 words, enough to creep over the 29,000 tally. Those authors who achieve 3000 words a day are an inspiration. Today was an ambitious (for me) 1000 words. I was itching to pass the 30,000 mark. As I type, the story now sits at 30,194. Two thousand more words to go till my final target of 32,000. Then the hard part begins; editing!

Farewell 2015

The last day of the year: a time for reflection and forward planning.

Tucked in a holiday house in the hills behind Apollo with my family, its also a time for counting blessings; we’re all relatively healthy and we have homes to return to.

2015 has been a huge year for me with several highlights including:

Lighthouse Girl’s close link to ‘The Giants’ performance through the streets of Perth. Following the Little Girl Giant as she searched for The Diver was an unforgettable experience. My special pass enabled me to stand right beside the fabulous giants.
signing with Newman Agency. Clive Newman has some exciting ideas for reinvigorating some of my backlist and also new markets for new titles. More info soon…
The Shark Caller’s acceptance for publication with Random House in mid-late 2016. The final edit is almost complete and I can’t wait to share this story with readers.
the presentation of Granny Grommet and Me to the Duchess of Cornwall. I do hope those young royals enjoy hearing about Albany’s surfing grannies.
Moss Vale High School selecting Light Horse Boy to be the 2015 book that the entire school reads (all 700 students and staff) as part of their school book club.
Light Horse Boy being serialised over 10 weeks in The West Australian newspaper.
flying to Breaksea Island in a helicopter to be interviewed for Channel 9’s TV show, Destination WA
my daughter’s Masters graduation ceremony.

Thank you to the schools and libraries across WA and beyond who hosted me in 2015. I believe teachers and librarians are unsung heroes of literacy. They open doors to learning, empathy and understanding for children and teenagers – the extent of their influence may not be known for years, but they enrich our community in immeasurable ways. I’d love to see teachers and librarians honoured and appreciated more in 2016.

Next year:

In addition to the launch of The Shark Caller, for YA readers, I hope the illustrations for my picture book, Nanna’s Button Tin will soon be completed. The artwork so far is lovely.

My main aim at the moment is to complete my PhD research ready to submit before mid-year. Hopefully the next blog post will have an update on my progress.

I have school and library bookings in Albany, Busselton, Bunbury and Perth and plan to visit Sydney/Melbourne, Canberra and regional NSW. Please use the contact page if you would like me to come to your school/library.

New Book: The Shark Caller

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On a day when various media report the findings of Matt Waller that sharks really like ACDC , it seems timely to announce my own good news, that my YA manuscript The Shark Caller has been accepted for publication with Random House in 2016!

The idea for this story began many years ago (Dec 2001), during a family holiday on a dive resort island near Kavieng in Papua New Guinea. My sister, Karen and her partner, Owen worked in PNG and were friends with the owners. I’d been to other PNG islands and The Marovo Lagoon (Solomon Islands) with them. Karen and Owen introduced me to the joy of diving on stunning reefs and WW2 shipwrecks. I loved watching ocean creatures and I also became interested in Pacific Island culture…

The actual Shark Caller story began a few years after that trip, but the draft went into the ‘revise one day’ drawer. That day didn’t arrive until 2012 when I began my PhD at UWA.

I was fortunate to receive a scholarship for a PhD based on creative writing. I needed to write a linked Creative Work of 70,000 words and a research exegesis on a linked topic (in my case its Anthropomorphism in Australian Children’s Literature). Because I wanted to write for YA readers (around 11-14), I negotiated writing 2 titles for the Creative Works.

Initially these two Creative Works were to be linked dog stories set in WA; one during WW2, the other in the 60s. As my research continued I thought that to show anthropomorphic range it would be really interesting to write from a different species POV and perhaps also in a different genre.

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I remembered The Shark Caller, went to the ‘revise one day’ file and have been working on it ever since. Weeks, hours, month and years. The story is semi-fantasy and this genre is totally new to me – and very challenging.

The Shark Caller is due for publication in August 2016. There are many people to thank and they will be acknowledged in the book, including: my UWA supervisors Van Ikin and Tess Williams; my family for reading endless drafts over the past three years and SCBWI WA for inviting Zoe Walton to our Rottnest Retreat and thus enabling me to connect with the wonderful team at Random House.

di in tank

I will post another Shark Caller update early in the New Year…

Research Trip #2 Port Hedland – Marble Bar – Corunna Downs

Eek, I meant to post this three weeks ago!!!

The second part of my research trip from Broome to Port Hedland seems to have changed the direction of my novel (weird how that happens)…

After a wonderful few days in Broome, I flew to Port Hedland on the milk run via Karratha. The tidal scenery along the coast is spectacular and I’d forgotten how interesting it is coming in to land over the salt farms. Part of my story-in-progress takes place in small aeroplanes so I was busy taking notes along the way. Once I arrived in Hedland, I went straight to the old hospital site to view it in evening light. To my amazement the old building has become a DOME café. My first reaction was, Oh no! but it has been lovingly restored and absorbing the atmosphere from the inner verandah with a coffee was fun. And how lovely is the lattice…

The next morning I visited Dalgety House Museum and had one of those meetings that are just meant to be. Joan Foley was volunteering that morning and after I explained a little about my plans, she told me her dad was at the airport in the same era and that her mother nursed at the hospital… Bingo! We chatted for ages and Joan invited me to join her the next morning on her Hedland Radio breakfast show. Joan is a multi-talented lady and gave me some helpful contacts.

(I went in early to radio chat with her before heading out to Marble Bar/Corunna Downs)

After Dalgety House Museum, I’d also spent hours at the South Hedland Library’s historical collection – what a treasure trove. Thank you Helen Ellacott and Sharon Groch for all your help. Then I walked along the foreshore and town, visited Pretty Pool and enjoyed a Pilbara sunset.

Driving out to Marble Bar was a treat with the red earth, spinifex and hills that hold old stories.

Marble Bar is our hottest town, lucky I visited in winter. I visited the nursing post and decided it was time to take notice of several strange coincidences that had been pulling me away from my intended main setting (Port Hedland) to Marble Bar. That decision is still playing out, so more on that in another post… After visiting the Marble Bar museum and going out to the Comet Gold Mine ruin, I checked petrol and tyres, ready to set out to try and find Corunna Downs, the secret World War 2 airstrip.

(notice the bull behind the sign)

More lovely scenery and no one else around on the way out to Corunna. The turn-off:

Then I found the marker for the next turn-off.

According to an online blogger’s directions, I was now within 6 kilometres, but the track was getting rougher and I’m not much of a four-wheel driver. I wasn’t sure what the Rav4 was up for and I’d promised family that I’d be sensible, so as I headed into another creek bed, I pulled over, walked ahead and decided that if I kept going I might not be able to turn.

It was frustrating to be so close and not get out onto the actual overgrown strip, but I had enough background info. Walking on alone mid-afternoon wasn’t an option and so I turned back towards Marble Bar. Hopefully once the story is finished I can come back again.

Thank you to UWA for help funding this trip which has given me a deeper understanding of the Pilbara landscape and shifted the direction of my work.

‘The Shark Caller’ swims again

After setting aside my ‘Shark’ manuscript for 4 months, I’m now back underwater at last.

I’ve come to learn that letting stories settle is an important part of the writing process. It’s tempting to send away a manuscript after the first few drafts but I’ve found it’s usually better to wait. Not usually as long as this one, however…

I have emails that go back as far as 2006 mentioning this story!

But the good news for my long-suffering family and friends is that I think Shark Caller is getting closer to being publishable. I hope. It’s also one of my two PhD Creative Works so it needs to be completed by September.

The Shark Caller is an underwater fantasy story that I hope readers aged about 10-14 will enjoy. Here are a few beautiful illustrations by Year 3 students at St Mark’s Anglican School. They were created in response to Granny Grommet and Me, but the artwork has helped me shift my focus underwater again and so I wanted to include some here. There are more beautiful drawings but they don’t all fit. Thank you Year 3’s for giving them to me.

More details on The Shark Caller soon…

Shaping Things…

If a writer is lucky, there comes a moment, usually after years of work, when the shape of a work-in-progress-novel ‘settles’ – like a jelly or some other wobbly thing. This happened today.

Three weeks ago I was ridiculously excited to reach the magical 25,000 word mark (of approximately 32,000 – 35,000). I powered on to 26k. I almost reached 27,000, but then I needed to revise. To go onwards I often need to go back to the very beginning, slowly reworking scenes (again and again) until I reach and then somehow work through a dead-end.

For many days and nights I’ve added, edited, rearranged words in Parts 1-5 and also spent hours researching Port Hedland circa1942.

The number 27,000 was in my sights so many times, but I had to go back to the beginning and edit to be able to go forward. Then I jumped ahead to the ending and re-wrote the last two parts; effectively bookending the troublesome scenes. I don’t know whether other writers do this, but it’s also what I did in Light Horse Boy. The beginnings and end became honed and more sparkly whilst the dreaded ‘Beersheba’ scene loomed. For those few paragraphs of print, so much research was needed. It was daunting and I didn’t want to get it wrong.

And that brings me back to where I am now with (drumroll for first public outing of the name) The Dog with Five Names. The story is told from the point of view of a dog and is one of two Creative Works for my PhD.

Today I reached 27,002 and it feels as if the manuscript is ‘settling’. I may well be deluded, there is always a good chance of that, and tomorrow I might change my mind about much of today’s work and have to slash those 2 words. However tonight there will be no more editing 😉