Saturday, June 26, 2010

Full steam ahead!

Full throttle! Top gear! Overdrive! Wooo hooo - here I go. It's my explosive start to writing for children. I am reading, studying, daydreaming, writing (well...just a little bit for now) and jumping feet-first into the world of children's literature. I had no idea it would be this thrilling! Oh, the possibilities. I am in a total head-spin thinking about it all.

I have a confession to make. I did not read fiction as a child. I remember my mandatory weekly visits to the school library. I used to look, bewildered, at a row of spines. What the heck was inside these books? I actually didn't really care. The fact was that these books were THICK, the words were SMALL and I could not possibly make any sense of them. I was not able to attend to the task of decoding all of these words while making meaning of the phrases, sentences and paragraphs. It was an absolute chore to me. I would pick one random book, stuff it inside my library bag and leave it there until the next visit.

I now realise what a shame this is. I never really overcame my fiction-reading deficiency. I can probably count on two hands (maybe even one hand) the number of adult fiction books I have read from start to finish.

Thanks to four years at university, my reading comprehension skills are much more advanced than they used to be. I love to read non-fiction articles about topics that interest me. However, I still have no idea about the kinds of fiction book I like to read. Well, apart from the fact that I actually did read Cloud Street by Tim Winton and absolutely loved it. I think I read another of his books but didn't finish it. That is typically me - not renowned for following through with a task! So why did I love Cloud Street so much? Which other books might I also love?

I am having a great time reading what is out there for kids at the moment. I am reliving my childhood, only this time I don't have the same obstacles in my path. I can READ fluently and I can skim a book to see whether I'll like it first. As a writer, it would be great to think that I could somehow reach some of those children who currently feel the same way I used to about books. I'd like to make stories that are highly accessible and relevant to children.

Until next time....
Caz :@)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Nice and interesting points of vue.
Daniel D. Peaceman, writer and editor of CHMagazine