Finding My Place in the Writing World

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Witch Illustration by Melissa-Jane Fogarty (Nguyen)

Warami! (‘Hello!’ in Dharug language.)

It’s been a long while since I’ve been around but I’m hoping to be back a little more regularly from now on.

As for why I kinda dropped off the face of the earth … well, there were lots of reasons, including the fact that life just got so busy and I had some health issues come up that I’ve only recently gotten on top of. But also, I was trying to figure out where I fit in this great big, beautiful writing world and I felt like I needed to focus on that to be able to actually share things of worth here that people want to read.

So where do I fit?

I’ve found my place in the fabulous, kind, and incredible world of KidLit writers and illustrators!

If you’ve been following for a while you probably already know this. And I had already been writing picture books, but I was dabbling in lots of other things too, like writing articles on Medium, submitting parenting articles, and trying to write YA and short stories.

I haven’t been on Medium for agessss, though I used to love it. Why? Well, there came a point where I’d log in and no longer find anything of interest to read or save to read later. I kept trying for a few months, but I had to let it go when it was no longer a place I enjoyed being.

As for freelance writing and writing YA and short stories, those aren’t completely off the table, but my focus right now is on picture books and illustration (and a combination of the two) and exploring lots of different aspects within those.

What have I been up to?

This year I signed up for Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Challenge where the aim is to write 12 picture book manuscripts for the year – one each month – and to also revise a picture book a month, too.

Besides the Children’s Book Academy courses I completed last year, 12x12 has been the most helpful program in pushing my picture book writing to the next level. I am currently sitting at 10 manuscripts for 10 months and am certain I will get to 12 for 12. There’s no doubt that I’ve written more manuscripts than I would have without 12x12, so I highly recommend it if you’re someone who works well with specific goals that are easily (though ‘easily’ is somewhat subjective) attainable.

I’ve also been learning Dharug dhalang, which is an Australian Indigenous language (often also called the Sydney language). For those who don’t know my family story, I’m an Indigenous Australian from my father’s side.

My pop (my dad’s dad) was a Mununjali man, born in QLD, but he moved to NSW in his mid-late teens. It was well-known in our family that Pop didn’t speak about his childhood, though he started sharing little bits of information with me in more recent years. I found out that Pop could still speak his first language, and I was SO excited!

I started bugging him to teach me, to which he said no every single time I asked. He had his reasons, and I think it’s fairly accurate to say that every single Indigenous family in Australia has experienced trauma as a result of colonisation, and some of his reasons stem from trauma. But that loss of language felt like a missing piece for me. And so, I started trying to teach myself Yugambeh (which would have been Pop’s language) from resources online, and also Dharug, which is the first language from the area I spent my childhood, where my dad lived his whole life, and where Pop spent the majority of his life.

When I stumbled on Dharug dhalang lessons, I was a little unsure whether it would be okay for me to learn, since I am not Dharug, but the instructors were so incredibly inclusive and open, and so I signed up. Along with my youngest sister, we attended in-person lessons where we got to learn the basics of Dharug. I don’t think I can accurately express how much this has meant to me, but it’s been the beginning of finding a missing piece of myself that I will continue to find as I continue to learn.

I hope that one day I can learn my Pop’s first language as well as Darkinjung, which is the language group in the area I now live, but baby steps and one thing at a time.

Achievements for 2022

Earlier in the year I received an honorable mention for the #50PreciousWords contest (follow Vivian Kirkfield’s blog to find out when the contest is on next – it should be coming in January or February from memory) and an honorable mention for #PBParty (follow Mindy Alyse Weiss for info on when PB Party is coming up – that usually runs around March).

Just recently I found out I won a critique from illustrator Hatem Aly thanks to #PBCritiqueFest – which is an annual picture book critique giveaway festival run by picture book author Brian Gehrlein. I’m ecstatic to have won a prize and can’t wait for Hatem Aly’s critique of my illustration work, which is nowhere near the level of his work, but hey, it’s all about learning and growing and getting better, right?

I also spoke about Indigenous Australian Children’s Books at the #KidLitPalooza2022 and was so honored to have been asked to speak and share knowledge and culture.

SO much has happened and I’ve made a ton of progress this year. And what I think is really clear is that engaging within the community and taking part in events and contests is so important. Particularly in my case, it has led to growth and momentum. This year I’ve also had my first agent requests for more manuscripts. I’m not signed yet, but I know I’m getting closer to having a published book one day.

What next?

I keep writing, illustrating, and moving forward. At some point next year I’d like to start featuring and celebrating authors via interviews, so if you’re interested in being featured, please reach out and I can get the process started.

I’m also looking at creating an illustration challenge where I (and you if you want to join) sketch something new each week. The illustration above came out of a little #SketchAWitchAWeek challenge I created and took part in during September and October. I created it because I had trouble thinking of what to draw and I needed something that I could practise regularly. And I love witches, so why not?!

I’d also like to work on painting these sketches (I use both traditional methods and digital) and selling them. I’m not sure who would buy my work, but it’s another way of getting my work out there, getting in practise I need, and maybe making a tiny bit of $$ in the process. If you’d like to join, keep an eye out as I’ll be creating a post soon with all the specifics.

This has been a huge update, so I’ll leave it at that, and be in touch soon.

Happy writing and illustrating, friends!

Yanu! (‘Goodbye!’ in Dharug language.)

I acknowledge the Darkinyung people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and work, and I pay my respects to the Elders past and present.