Picture Books

Sometimes a story doesn't work the way you want it to.

I wrote a short story once and I couldn't wrangle it into the right shape, no matter how hard I tried.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon; I was house-sitting (subletting a granny flat but let's not split hairs). I had the new Darkess album - "Pinewood Smile" - for a time reference - on repeat. It occured to me that I had the elements right but I was telling it wrong. I eliminated most of the actions and words but not the heart of the story.

It became "Sammy Makes Mummy Proud". I have shopped this around but not had nibbles on turning it into a picture book... I might do it myself one of these days.

Once I had made that discovery, I went for a walk to Mona Vale beach and an afternoon surf. It was a good day; I'd made the right decisions for the sake of the story, and I'd added another string to my story-telling bow.

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