Writers and characters

One of the questions I'm often asked is, "Are you more like Alex Rover or Nim?" Of course, like most writers, there's some of me in all my characters. Most people are a mass of contradictions; of thinking different things at different times, and of wondering how different life might have been if we'd followed some other path. When I'm writing, a character grows out of one of those paths – and often takes it to extremes!

So, like Nim, I love animals, and think of my pets as friends with their own personalities. ("You talk to them as if they were people!" people often say. Well... yes. I don't expect them to respond like people, but the more you talk to a dog, the more they understand.) And though I'm not as physically skilled and courageous as Nim, I'm fairly determined when I want to do something, so it's easy to imagine being like Nim.

But like Alex, I spend a lot of time living in my imagination. I do most of my research through books, emails and internet - though for Nim at Sea, I actually went to New York, and walked the route I planned her to take (though I took the Staten Island ferry rather than swim in from the harbor!) I was talking to someone the other day and mentioned that I hadn't been to our nearest town this year. She was horrified! "What do you do all day?" she asked. "Work," I answered.("And walk the dog...")

Of course, I have actually traveled quite a lot this year, which is maybe why I really don't feel like leaving home much when I'm here. So it's easy to pull that out to enter the mind of Alex, a writer who's become so reclusive that she's now afraid to leave her home at all...

Australian DVD release

Nim's Island was released in Australia this week; I haven't had a chance to see it in stores yet myself (I do already have a copy!) but a young friend has just written to tell me that the copy she bought came with a " free pop upthing and an iron on t-shirt." That sounds fun - I'm going to have to have a look!

In the US, Best Buys was offering the DVD with a free copy of Nim at Sea. I don't know if there are any left, but of course I think that's quite a wonderful idea! It's nice to know that watching the movie will introduce more people to Nim, and that they'll want to follow up the next stage of her adventures.

Did I like the Nim's island film?

I keep being asked if I liked the Nim's Island film, and so even though I thought I'd expressed my excitement about it all, I thought it was time to say:
Yes!

I loved the film. The first time I saw it I was too excited and tense about whether or not I'd like it, to even be able to follow it properly, but I still felt that I liked it, and that it worked. I've now seen it 8 times, and it was only the last time that I didn't cry when Nim did.

Are there things I would have done differently? A couple of small details - but I notice that audiences love them. The author isn't always the best person to decide on what works in a film!

And are there changes I liked? Alex's journey to the island, with the helicopter and cruise ship before the small boat,works much better on film. The book's version of her being let off off the cruise ship on her sailing dinghy, would have been quite anti-climactic.

And the one I wish I'd thought of? The zip line! It's so useful, so organic to the island - and so much something that Jack would have invented.

As readers know, in the book, we don't see Alexandra Rover talking to her hero. But it makes absolute sense to me - it's what writers do. We're the kids who never lost our imaginary friends when we grew up.

Most importantly, the total effect is what matters. To me, the plot changes seem slight, because they're logical. What I see is my story brought to life; the characters as I've imagined them, and the essence that I was searching for when I began to write this book.

Kid-friendly libraries

What a wonderful initiative! This program allows kids to borrow without a library card, on the honour system.

It seems to me that by demonstrating this trust, the library community is telling the child how much they are valued - and it also lets them know how much reading is valued.

Congratulations to Oakville Public library for this great encouragement of literacy in kids who mightn't have otherwise had much access to it.

OakvilleBeaver.com: Opinions & Letters: Article: Library draws kids into books