Fun Gift Idea – Busy Bee Stationery Subscription

Posted in Gifts for Writers & Readers by Ali Stegert

Stationery lovers are the easiest people to shop for. Seriously—give them something as simple as a nice notebook or a well-weighted pen, and they will love you for life.

But if you want to give a gift that is full of surprises, consider a stationery box subscription. Busy Bee Stationery sends out monthly boxes of coordinated stationery for the diehard paper addict in your life (or for you).

I stumbled upon Busy Bee on Twitter and was immediately intrigued by the gorgeous range of high-quality products and the fun possibility of receiving a box of carefully curated stationery every month. Busy Bee’s Twitter and Instagram showed hundreds of loyal and happy customers. Here are a couple of shots from @beestationery’s Twitter feed:

This one shows the August box, one of my favourites.

Taking One for the Team

In the name of dedication to the craft of blogging and thorough research (I swear my addiction to paper had nothing to do with it!), I dutifully subscribed to Busy Bee. Living in Australia meant my box had a bit further to travel, but the wait was worth it. I received all kinds of fun products—many that I use constantly, some that I’m saving for special occasions, and a few that will make nice gifts because they are not my style.

Over the months that I subscribed to Busy Bee, I received a wide range of products, from photo album and scrapbooking materials to desk accessories. There was washi tape, blank notecards, and several items from the Santoro’s huge Gorjuss range.

Most of all, I enjoyed the traditional paper products and office supplies, including:

So cute in pink!

A date stamper

It adds a quaint library-esque touch to my hand-written letters, and it’s fun to use in my journal. It reminds me to use some of my other stamp pads and ink.

The Arty Hearts products are designed and printed in Australia!

A set of summery notebooks

These soft-covered notebooks from The Arty Hearts are almost too pretty to use with their beautiful watercolour covers, but the premium paper inside beckons. These came in a beach-themed pack, which included beachy notecards and this cute nautical pen.

Bullet journalling, here I come!

A Leuchtturm notebook in magenta

Leuchtturm notebooks have been on my wish-list ever since I learned that they are fountain-pen-friendly. The paper is thick enough tp prevent bleed-through. The bonded leather cover gives the notebook enough oomph to handle the occasional trip in my beach bag. It arrived in the bullet-journal-themed box with a gorgeous lettering brush pen in matching pink.

A set of 10 Staedtler fine-liner pens

I rely on my writing calendar to keep me on track and accountable, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Washi tape and coloured pens make it bright and inspiring. This set of pens is perfect for the job.

The orange Jetstream pen came in my first Busy Bee box and has been a favourite ever since.

The Write Drink coaster

This little guy has a permanent spot on my writing desk. The retro typewriter adds a cute touch to my work area. A simple treasure.

A pack of Write Notepads & Co pencils

These chubby white pencils are the best. Harkening back to elementary school, they help me get in touch with my playful inner child. A two-holed sharpener was included.

My Review

A Busy Bee Stationery box subscription is a fun gift for the stationery fiend. The products are excellent quality. Brands I received included: Leuchtturm, Santori, Pink Paislee, The Arty Hearts, Caran d’Ache, Graphique, Staedtler, and more.

I loved the premium quality notebooks best of all, and the desk products (erasers, sharpeners, stamps, and writing tools) were most suited to my tastes. These simple things make my heart thrum.

A couple of boxes contained scrapbooking or photo album decorations, which are not my cup of tea. They were lovely products, but I have no use for them. There were also a couple of boxes which included Gorjuss products. The pencil-case, desk set, pens, and stamp set are sweet and good quality, but are more suited to someone much younger.

All in all, I think the Busy Bee Stationery Box subscription is a super service. The items are useful and fun. The service from Busy Bee is tops. They are quick to respond to questions and issues. The Busy Bee community is vibrant too, with customers invited to share their gorgeous photos on Twitter and Instagram. They’re on Pinterest too!

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

The stationery addict on your Christmas list will swoon for this gift. The cost of a monthly box of goodies is US$39.90, with free postage in the US. Worldwide shipping is available at standard international fees. (Postage to Australia made the subscriptions quite expensive for me. Sadly, I had to cancel my subscription, but I totally enjoyed my few months of ‘research.’)

Over to You

Okay stationery addicts, bookworms, and word-nerds, what do you think is the ideal gift? I’d love to hear from you for inspiration for future posts. Please leave a comment or fill in this quick survey about gifts for readers, writers and stationery addicts.

Image Credit: WerbeFabrik, CC0

13Oct2016

STEM – Making Room For Girls

Posted in Reviews & Recommendations by Ali Stegert

11 October is Ada Lovelace Day, a commemoration the plucky Nineteenth Century woman who pioneered computer programming. Ada was the daughter of brooding poet Lord Byron. Ada’s mother, who feared her daughter would inherit some of her father’s flamboyant poetic tendencies, put Ada on a strict diet of mathematics and logic.

The result was a fabulously gifted mathematical mind. Her mentor, Charles Babbage, referred to her as “The Enchantress of Numbers.” The efforts to curb the Byron flamboyance were not as successful. Apparently, Ada was odd. (As a Quirky Kid advocate and die-hard fan, I suspect today we would celebrate — or at least allow for — her neuro-diversity).

Ada Lovelace Day & STEM

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, all areas that have remained relatively closed to women and girls. 11 October provides an occasion to encourage girls to study STEM subjects and celebrate the noteworthy achievements of STEM career women around the world. It’s also a day to consider:

How do we entice girls to study STEM subjects?

How do we break down the stereotypes that say STEM subjects are “for boys”?

Both can be encouraged by putting inspiring STEM books in the hands of both girls and boys. Give them exciting books about girls like Ada Lovelace. Introduce them to stories that incorporate maths, natural sciences, engineering and technology.

Recommended STEM Books for Kids

Mystery lovers will enjoy The Case of the Missing Moonstone, written by Jordan Stratford and illustrated by Kelly Murphy. This rollicking Regency romp stars Ada Byron and Mary Shelley (who wrote Frankenstein) as they put their superior minds to work on solving a whodunit. (MG)

4/5 Stars

Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree by is a brilliant book about a 14-year-old aspiring natural scientist growing up in Victorian England. This story has fossils galore, freaky flora, lashings of fantasy — and murder. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the very clever girl. (Upper MG)

I can’t recommend this book enough, which falls into my favourite genre, Gaslamp Fantasy.

5/5 Stars

No STEM list would be complete without the wonderful Flavia de Luce Series (also known as The Buckshaw Chronicles in some places)

by Alan Bradley. She’s debuts in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. This precocious eleven year old protagonist plays with poison—literally! She’s a budding chemist who lives in a manor, which houses its own laboratory, thanks to some bygone relatives who specialised in this branch of science. Her brand of naughtiness sometimes verges on outrageous, but she’s a delightful amateur sleuth nonetheless. MG, 4/5 stars

For Younger Children

Engibear‘s Dream and Engibear’s Bridge, written by Andrew King and illustrated by Benjamin Johnston, are the most delightful picture books about engineering. Honestly — read the sweet stories and feast your eyes on the amazing artwork. I dare not to be inspired! Be sure to check out the app and the website. (PB/JF)

5/5 Stars

STEM Careers Focus

And for something a little different and way cool …

The Tech Girls Movement has created two books called Tech Girls Are Superheroes, which are available for free to school girls in Australia. Full of excitement and derring-do, these books are inspiring and downright fun.

Written and produced at QUT in Brisbane! Yay for homegrown books! The website offers resources for teachers and breaking news about STEM teaching and careers.

My own STEM story for middle grade readers is underway (a little more slowly than I wish). Watch out for updates about Winifred Weatherby Saves the Century.

Porotait of Ada by Alfred Edward Chalon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, CC0

We Need Australian Stories

24Sep2016

The Nerdy Pleasure of Punctuation

Posted in Literary Celebrations by Ali Stegert

winkyface

24 September is National Punctuation Day, and it has me worrying that my love of punctuation makes me seem … well, persnickety.

I know it’s nerdy to enjoy punctuation, but a Grammar Nazi I am not. I don’t get riled by other people’s misplaced apostrophes or their lack of an Oxford comma. I see the error, and move on.

I don’t shame people who overuse quotation marks or argue with those old-timers who insist on two spaces after a full stop. Indicating a plural with an apostrophe saddens me, but it doesn’t ignite a burning urge to deface property with a red Sharpie or muster a mob to lynch sloppy punctuators.

Poor punctuation does not spoil my day. Unless it’s my own. My typos rattle me and leave me writhing in embarrassed angst, muttering about jots and tittles and the futility of crying over misplaced pixels.

I never indulge in self-congratulatory punctuation pride. We all make mistakes, sometimes because we rush, and sometimes because autocorrect takes over.

Aesthetically speaking…

quotation-39627_640 I enjoy the elegance of a well-placed semicolon, the possibility offered by the ellipsis, and the playful quirkiness of the interrobang*. Hyphens make my brain hum.

Top: Dumb quotes Bottom: Smart quotes

Despite my dual-nationality, I have an engrained allegiance to double ” quotation marks to set off speech. The Commonwealth’s single ‘ quote marks don’t work for quotes inside quotes—at least not elegantly. Curly quotes (aka smart quotes) beat straight (or dumb) quotes any day.

National Punctuation Day

This is my kind of literary celebration! Established thirteen years ago by American Jeff Rubin, National Punctuation Day celebrates, “… the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and ever-mysterious ellipsis.” NPD is featured in Chase’s Calendar of Events, incorporated into schools, and receives national (US) coverage in major outlets such as Huffington Press, USA Today, and NPR.

I had trouble deciding how to do such an occasion justice. I considered…

… doing a round-up of interesting books about punctuation,

… linking to a challenging punctuation quiz,

… sharing some of my favourite punctuation pins from my Word Nerd board on Pinterest,

screen-shot-2016-09-24-at-3-25-18-pm

… listing some cool punctuation trivia,

For instance, did you know the original name of the hashtag is octothorpe?

hashtag-1

Or that there is a dedicated Apostrophe Protection Society?

… advocating for new punctuation marks,
andorsand Interrobang

… or defending the use of emoticons.

I decided to keep it short and simple. The last thing I’d want is someone to accuse me of being persnickety—or obsessed.

* The Internet offers several spellings for interrobang |interobang | interabang. The first seems to be the most popular, so I changed the graphic to reflect that.

21Sep2016

How to Write a Superhero Story

Posted in Author Interview, Rockin' Kidlit Authors & Illustrators by Ali Stegert

Featuring guest blogger, Karen Tyrrell

Karen, tell me about Song Bird Superhero.

Song Bird Superhero is a humorous adventure with positive messages for kids.

Kids can stop the bully … Kids can do STEM science … Kids can do anything.

Blurb…

“Rosella Bird’s nightly dreams are filled with flying. Too bad her waking hours are a living nightmare:

Her flying inventions crash.

Her kooky parents are overprotective.

Her singing shatters windows.

The principal bans her from the science fair.

Worst of all, she lives next door to Frank Furter, an evil boy-genius whose sights are set on seeing her fail! Rosella is the girl least likely to soar, and yet when she learns to sing something incredible takes flight. Rosella becomes Song Bird, a flying superhero who saves the day.

Can Song Bird defeat Frank Furter’s evil bullying ways?”

Song Bird Superhero meets Captain Cybersafe at the launch.

Song Bird Superhero meets me–I mean, Captain Cybersafe–at the launch.

Why did you write a Superhero novel?

A: Readers of my Super Space Kid series (Jo-Kin Battles the It AND Jo-Kin vs Lord Terra) requested I write a superhero action adventure for girls. They wanted the main character and her side-kick to be heroic kick-ass girls. Rosella Ava Bird is a bullied girl who dreams of flying. Her side-kick, Amy Hillcrest, a super smart girl with cerebral palsy revels as a positive role model for diversity and disability, crushing stereotypes. Both girls excel with girls-can-do-anything and STEM science.

B: Song Bird is inspired by my real childhood events. I was bullied terribly in Year 6, losing my self-confidence. Each night I dreamed I could fly to escape my bully. I discovered my super powers when I sang in the choir and dabbled in science.

What are the rules of the superhero sub-genre?

A superhero battles against a super villain as he/she strives to keep the world safe. Super heroes and super villains co-exist in a supernatural world, a familiar world, but much darker than ours. The story begins with an inciting incident, when an ordinary person is initiated into being a superhero. In Song Bird Superhero it was from the accidental bite of a crimson Rosella. Rosella Ava Bird must then learn how to control her super powers. Eventually, Song Bird Superhero becomes the ultimate force of good, saving the world, and her school with her super powers.

What are challenges did you face writing Song Bird superhero?

To create an original superhero with new superhero powers, appealing to children. Song Bird gains her superpowers from singing, science and self-belief.
Explain Song Bird’s super powers by Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths in a fun easy-to-understand way.
To create a relatable evil opponent, Frank Furter as the evil boy genius. Kids immediately identify Frank as the nasty school bully, who calls them names and trips them over.

What are the Top Tips in writing a superhero adventure for children?

Song Bird Superhero meets Super Girl at Oz Comic Con – Brisbane.

a. Create an appealing superhero. Make sure your hero saves someone/ something in the very first scene to create empathy from the reader. Add lots of FUN humour. Give your superhero and her side-kick positive heroic qualities to inspire kids. Readers want to connect with the characters emotionally, not just observe their physical amazingness. That means giving them a full range of emotions and an interior life, people they care about, obstacles and goals.

b. Create super cool and interesting superpowers. But not so complex that we can’t quickly grasp what your character can do. Readers of this genre expect characters to do amazing and unusual things, but they don’t want to have to take a crash-course in physics before they can understand what’s happening.

c. Create a FUN super villain that we LOVE to hate. Make them as powerful as the superhero, adding to the conflict and tension. What powers does the villain possess? How do the villain and the hero interact?

d. Explain the superhero’s super powers by STEM science. Research scientific explanations on how superpowers work. Use simple yet engaging language to explain these powers.

e. Create a super world where the superhero and his nemesis exist. What are the rules to this world? Ask yourself: How is your super world the same and different to a real world?

f. Create FUN names for your characters. ie Rosella Ava Bird AKA Song Bird, Ms Bamboozle the school principal, Frank Furter the villain and Perry Poopa, his evil side-kick.

FREE Teacher Resources and kids’ activities for Song Bird!

Includes STEM science, creative writing, flying history, art, craft, maths, literacy, drama, social skills and bully prevention. Download HERE.

Song Bird Superhero by Karen Tyrrell is now available on Amazon HERE.

Song Bird Book Giveaway

Let’s celebrate the release of Song Bird Superhero by Karen Tyrrell on Amazon. Comment below to win a signed “Limited Edition” copy of Song Bird Superhero. Giveaway closes on October 20. Good luck!

Answer this question: Why do you want to win a copy of Song Bird Superhero?

Thanks Karen! All the best with Song Bird Superhero!

10Aug2016

Creating A Kidlit Series Outline

Posted in For Writers by Ali Stegert

Ever had to create a series outlines for kidlit books? That’s the subject of today’s post, and it’s what I’ve been busy working on since my last one.

I’ve been writing hard since the CYA Conference a month ago. When I say writing hard, I don’t mean in the word count sense. I’ve been strategising, plotting, and weaving!

Conference Follow Up

I had a ball at CYA this year.

It was the first time I volunteered, which was a fun experience. Such a great team.
I entered my WIP Winifred Weatherby Saves the Century in the Middle Grade competition and it won second place.
The cash prize was nice, but what really excited me was the request for a full from the judge, an editor at a major AU publishing house. Looks like it’s time to move Winnie from the back burner to the hot plate …

Meeting Editors

As much as I love the writing and business sessions at CYA, what I appreciate most at this stage of my writing career is the opportunity to meet publishing professionals face-to-face. As always, I take advantage of CYA’s editor sessions. I pitched a couple of my manuscripts to four Australian editors and got lots of encouraging feedback and a few requests.

One editor who liked The Temple of Lost Time asked for a series outline. She rightly pointed out that taking on a series is a big commitment for a publisher. They need proof that the story can be sustained before they’ll think about taking it on.

I’ve never done a formal series outline before, and the Internet is curiously silent about how to do it for middle grade books. What I’ve learned over the past five weeks mostly through trial and error is this: outlining a series is hard work, but it’s valuable work.

Time to Rethink My System

As a plotting pantser (or pantsing plotter, not sure which. A plantser?), the scaffolding for my story is erected before I start writing the first draft, and I build as I go. I have a mud map in my head about what happens when. I keep an ever-expanding notebook of ideas and to-dos in OneNote. This system has worked brilliantly for stand-alone stories, but a series needs more cohesion.

Outlining Series

A series outline forces the writer to build cohesion into the plan. The weft of plot is woven onto the warp of theme. Or maybe a better way of saying it is the outline lets your discover the warp of theme. Either way, it’s really helpful work, but it’s challenging.

After lots of research and tinkering, I decided to include the following elements in my series outline:

A series premise (one to two sentences)
A list of the titles in reading order
World-building notes (I wrote about 600 words for a three-book Gaslamp fantasy series, ~60K each)
Mini-synopses for each book (two to three short paragraphs)
A table of Story Elements [External and internal goals, setting, MDQ (Major Dramatic Question), genre-specific elements]
A table of Characters [I based my list loosely on the Hero’s Journey because it’s a quest book]

The tables display how the elements and characters develop across the series. This was really helpful for me. It also lets you see who might be superfluous or who’s getting too much airtime or if there’s a thread that hasn’t been tied up.

T.M.I.

If the series outline is for your personal use, go ahead: flesh it out as much as you want. But if you’re sending it to an agent or editor, pare it back. It has to be inviting, and there’s no turn off bigger than a tome of unnecessary text.

I honed in on the main story and ignored all my tasty subplots. It’s tempting to over-explain, but don’t. You want editors to read the outline and get the gist of your story in a couple of pages. You’ll probably be sending a sample of the MS, so let it do the talking about your style and level of complexity in your story.

Over to You

What do you think about my series outline? Would you include anything else? Or omit anything I’ve suggested?

Here’s where I gleaned some ideas:

Here’s Ali’s Kidlit Series Outline Template (PDF) for you to use. Leave a comment or get in touch with the contact form on my About pages if you’d like a Word version .

All images are CC.0, Public Domain

Spilling Ink

Ali Stegert – Kidlit Writer – Word Herder – Book Hoarder

Fun Gift Idea – Busy Bee Stationery Subscription