Sarah Johnson
Author of The Spaghetti Giraffe Illustrated by Deborah Hinde Published by Flat Bed Press |
About the author
I write chapter books, picture books, educational books and short stories for young people. My work has beenpublished in New Zealand, China, Korea and the UK. Some of my books have won awards, which is pretty cool. When I’m not doing that, I work as a freelance writer for government and business clients. I also visit lots of schools to talk about books and writing, and take part in as many writing events as I can. I love to think about, talk about, read about and learn about writing. Being a writer is all I’ve ever wanted to be, so I’m really pleased that I get to spend my days doing exactly that. Bibliography Books Ella and Ob (Scholastic NZ, 2008) – shortlisted Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award 2007 Wooden Arms (Scholastic NZ, 2012) – winner Storylines Joy Cowley Award 2011 Poupou Tauawhi (Scholastic NZ, 2012) The Bold Ship Phenomenal (Flat Bed Press, 2015) – recipient Storylines Notable Book Award 2016; shortlisted New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2016 The Spaghetti Giraffe (Flat Bed Press, 2017) – recipient Storylines Notable Book Award 2018 Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage (Flat Bed Press, in press) Short stories ‘Phantom Riders’ in Annual 2017, Eds K. DeGoldi & S. Paris (Potter and Burton, 2017) ‘Finders Keepers’ in School Journal: November 2017 [Level 2], Ed D. Chadwick (Lift Education, 2017) ‘Plenty of Room’ in School Journal: June 2018 [Level 3], Ed S. Paris (Lift Education, 2018) ‘Just in Case’ in School Journal: August 2018 [Level 2], Ed D. Chadwick (Lift Education, 2018) About The Spaghetti Giraffe When fumble-handed cook Mina Cucina drops the spaghetti pot, a new animal is born. As the Spaghetti Giraffe soon learns, he is not the only kitchen animal formed from Mina Cucina’s culinary disasters. The Spaghetti Giraffe tells the delightful story of the Spaghetti Giraffe and his quirky friends in their quest to help Mina Cucina enter the Great Bonbon Confectionation – the biggest baking competition the valley’s ever seen. All she needs is a cake. A cake that doesn’t erupt, take flight or explode. The Spaghetti Giraffe is the first book in a trilogy. The second book, Spaghetti Giraffe and the Egg of Courage, will be out in early 2019. How the idea for the book came about The idea for The Spaghetti Giraffe came to me when I was sitting on a plane, flying from Hamilton to Christchurch. I’m not sure what it was about the plane journey that encouraged the story to arrive. It could have been that I was all by myself (I have four children so this doesn’t often happen). I do remember that I was eating a packet of peanuts (the type they hand out on planes) and drinking a cup of tea at the time. Then wham! The story arrived. Or at least the first few sentences of the story arrived, fully formed in my head. I recognised them straight away as the beginning of a story, so I wrote them down as fast as I could. Those sentences are still the first sentences of the book. They are unchanged from when they first made themselves felt – on a plane, high above New Zealand’s Southern Alps. |
The writing process
The reason I was on the plane was because I was on my way to a conference in Christchurch – a writing conference as it happens. As it turned out, I didn’t make it to much of the conference, because the rest of the story followed hot on the heels of those first lines. I spent most of the conference in my hotel room writing it down.
At first I thought I would just write a couple of chapters, but the story wouldn’t stop, so I ended up writing the whole book really fast. This was quite unusual for me, as in general, I am a slow person, in everything I do, including writing.
Then I put the story aside. I like to do this, as I am not the type of writer who can see their own work clearly. I need to put some space between me and my writing before I am able to do this. After a gap of few weeks or months I can see what I’ve written more objectively and how it needs to be improved.
Then I did a lot of rewriting. For me, rewriting is always the main part of writing. I tend to use too many words and too flowery and too fancy words, so I need to be ruthless and cut them all out (unless they are doing an important job). I have a real soft spot for words.
I think it’s important as a writer to understand your own writing process and what your weaknesses are. I get a lot of outside help with my books. I use manuscript assessors, editors, proof-readers, illustrators and designers. I talk to plenty of librarians and booksellers. They all help me make sure my work is as good as it can be. That’s important to me: to do the best possible job I can.
One thing that I know is crucial for my writing is to walk. Walking is when I sort out all my writing issues – the plot developments and twists, the tricky dialogue, the characters who refuse to behave. I try to walk every day. By the sea is best.
I did all of these things with The Spaghetti Giraffe. I teamed up with super-talented Waikato illustrator Deborah Hinde for the cover, pictures and design. Deborah and I had worked together before and I knew she’d do a top job. Sue Copsey, who is herself a very good children’s writer, was my editor. When the files were ready, I sent them to China to be printed.
Then came the big wait. It takes around 13 weeks for books printed in China to make it back to New Zealand. When they are your books, it feels a lot longer. Finally, the notification came that my books had arrived and I was on my way to the port to collect them. Exciting times! If you consider how exciting it is to receive a new book, think how amazing it is to receive thousands.
Then of course, you have to promote and sell them. That can be the hard part, but it can also be loads of fun. Connecting with readers is very satisfying, and is another one of the many reasons that I am pleased that I am a writer.
Another reason is the possibility of stories – when you write, they may be lurking around every corner, inside every peanut packet and on very plane. What a wonderful possibility! What an interesting surprise!
The reason I was on the plane was because I was on my way to a conference in Christchurch – a writing conference as it happens. As it turned out, I didn’t make it to much of the conference, because the rest of the story followed hot on the heels of those first lines. I spent most of the conference in my hotel room writing it down.
At first I thought I would just write a couple of chapters, but the story wouldn’t stop, so I ended up writing the whole book really fast. This was quite unusual for me, as in general, I am a slow person, in everything I do, including writing.
Then I put the story aside. I like to do this, as I am not the type of writer who can see their own work clearly. I need to put some space between me and my writing before I am able to do this. After a gap of few weeks or months I can see what I’ve written more objectively and how it needs to be improved.
Then I did a lot of rewriting. For me, rewriting is always the main part of writing. I tend to use too many words and too flowery and too fancy words, so I need to be ruthless and cut them all out (unless they are doing an important job). I have a real soft spot for words.
I think it’s important as a writer to understand your own writing process and what your weaknesses are. I get a lot of outside help with my books. I use manuscript assessors, editors, proof-readers, illustrators and designers. I talk to plenty of librarians and booksellers. They all help me make sure my work is as good as it can be. That’s important to me: to do the best possible job I can.
One thing that I know is crucial for my writing is to walk. Walking is when I sort out all my writing issues – the plot developments and twists, the tricky dialogue, the characters who refuse to behave. I try to walk every day. By the sea is best.
I did all of these things with The Spaghetti Giraffe. I teamed up with super-talented Waikato illustrator Deborah Hinde for the cover, pictures and design. Deborah and I had worked together before and I knew she’d do a top job. Sue Copsey, who is herself a very good children’s writer, was my editor. When the files were ready, I sent them to China to be printed.
Then came the big wait. It takes around 13 weeks for books printed in China to make it back to New Zealand. When they are your books, it feels a lot longer. Finally, the notification came that my books had arrived and I was on my way to the port to collect them. Exciting times! If you consider how exciting it is to receive a new book, think how amazing it is to receive thousands.
Then of course, you have to promote and sell them. That can be the hard part, but it can also be loads of fun. Connecting with readers is very satisfying, and is another one of the many reasons that I am pleased that I am a writer.
Another reason is the possibility of stories – when you write, they may be lurking around every corner, inside every peanut packet and on very plane. What a wonderful possibility! What an interesting surprise!