This Writer's Life - Interview with Sadhbh Devlin

 

Debut Writer Sadhbh Devlin Shares Her Writing Life

All About Sadhbh 

 Sadhbh Devlin is an award-winning blogger, a television researcher for Irish language television channel TG4 and the craft contributor to Easy Parenting magazine. She also reviews Irish language children’s books for Inis magazine. You can find her making crafts and playing with her young twins on her award-winning blog: www.wherewishescomefrom.com or writing about her adventures in children’s literature here: www.sadhbhdevlin.ie. Bí ag Spraoi Liom! is her first Irish-language picture book for children.

Can you tell us about your latest book, Bi ag Spraoi Liom and where the idea came from?

Bí ag Spraoi Liom! is a story about Lúna, a keen inventor with one big problem; Mom is too busy to play with her in her new time machine. Luckily, Lúna is very clever and creative and hatches a plan to entice Mom to play with her. It’s a story that reminds us to make time for the important things in life.

I was inspired to write it after a conversation with one of my twin daughters - who also happens to be something of an inventor - about the games I used to play as a child. Also, the fact that I always seem to be in the same position as Lúna’s ‘busy Mom’ definitely helped me to develop the concept!

How long did it take you to write?

That’s actually a difficult one to answer. The story was originally created during a year-long mentorship scheme I had been accepted onto. I was lucky to have been assigned Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin from Futa Fata as my mentor. Tadhg is not only a publisher, but also an award-winning writer, so I really hit the jackpot in terms of learning everything there is to know about the picture book genre from the master!

However, taking part in the scheme did not guarantee having anything actually published by Futa Fata. Tadhg was under no obligation to publish anything that was created during our sessions - but luck was on my side again, and at our last meeting on the scheme, Tadhg announced that he’d like to publish one of my stories - which was Bí ag Spraoi Liom! I was over the moon, not only to have had the opportunity in the first place but to have managed to find a publisher without having to go through the agony of the submissions process. After it had been accepted, it took another few drafts and a few edits during the illustration process to complete the story. In reality, it probably took a full year to go from concept to finished product.

How do you organise your writing day? For example, where do you write? And when?

I mostly write when my children are in school but I always have a notebook with me. You never know when inspiration will strike. I had a home office until recently, when I was evicted by a child looking for a bedroom of her own, so I’m currently a bit of a nomad. I write at my kitchen table, on the sofa, at the library, or in various cafés.  I should have a more permanent solution very soon though and I can’t wait!

Do you use a computer or write long hand?

For picture books I write long hand at first. The idea or concept usually starts as a vague scribble in one of the many notebooks I carry around with me. I then flesh it out a bit before using note cards or post-its to work out the plot and to see where the holes are.

Once I have a good idea of the structure and the concept I’ll get the text onto the computer. Then I’ll make a (very basic and terribly drawn) ‘dummy’ of the book to see if it will fit the picture book model. My stories are usually way too long at first so, after that it’s editing, editing, editing!

Do you edit as you go along? Or at the end of the first draft?

One of the reasons I write long hand for picture books is that I have a terrible habit of editing as I go along when I’m typing - the result of years of blogging. Blogging is ‘publishing’ at its fastest and I have a tendency to write a blog-post, editing and correcting as I go and hit publish pretty much immediately. Creative writing needs a completely different approach. For a picture book, where every, single word counts - you might need to write a sentence many, many different ways before you get it just right. For me, that habit of editing as I go, means I’d either never finish a first draft because I’d start fixating on everything that was ‘wrong’ in the first sentences or else I’d race to the end of the story without thinking about all of the different possibilities for developing the concept. For those reasons, editing comes quite late in my process. I prefer to get the ‘story’ down first and then start tweaking things.

Picturebooks are notoriously difficult to write – did you find it tricky?

They are tricky! I think people really underestimate how difficult writing for young children can be. It can be surprisingly technical - getting the pacing right, making sure there are ‘hooks’ to keep readers turning the pages, keeping the word count as low as possible - all while telling a story about a ‘hero’ who is relatable yet age appropriate and creating a world that children will want to visit again and again and that parents won’t mind reading about again and again! 

I definitely found it difficult in the beginning and made some extremely clunky attempts before I started to understand more about how picturebooks work, but like anything, with practice it gets easier. Although - that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped making clunky attempts!

Do you have any advice or tips for people who would like to write a picturebook?

My advice would be to read picturebooks. Read them for pleasure, of course, but also study them to learn about their structure and style and also about what kinds of things get published!

I also found ‘How to Write a Children’s Picture Book and get it Published’ by Andrea Shavick very useful when I was starting out.

What type of books do you like to read? Do you have a favourite book?

I do read a lot of picture books, of course, but literary fiction is usually what I’m drawn to when reading for pleasure. I currently have quite an eclectic stack on my bedside table. The complete works of Truman Capote, Annie Proulx’s Barkskins, June Caldwell’s Room Little Darker, Daniel Clowes graphic novel ‘Patience’ and Emma Donoghue’s new children’s book The Lotterys Plus One.

I think my favourite novel might be Postcards by Annie Proulx and my favourite book from childhood is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

What are you working on next?

I’m very excited to have been commissioned to write another book ‘as Gaeilge’ so I’m working on producing something special for that. I have one story written about a girl who wishes she was very small, but I have a few other ideas too and I’m using the opportunity to develop as many of them as possible!

Thank you, Sadhbh, for sharing your writing life with us.

Sadhbh's book is available at all good bookshops and also via the publisher, Futa Fata. 

Find out more about Sadhbh here:

Website: www.sadhbhdevlin.ie

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

It Takes a Library to Raise a Child: My Final dlr Writer in Residence Post

For the past year I have been Writer in Residence for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, based in the stunning Lexicon Library beside the sea. During this time I've been hosting book clubs, writing clubs, events and drop in writing clinics for children of all ages, from babies and toddlers up to teens. My term has now finished so this is my farewell post. 

With my niece, Rosie at the Lexicon Library 

The Highlights of My Year 

My Writing 

 I finished a book, A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea, out on 11th September, wrote a second book, Blazing a Trail: Remarkable Irish Women Who Changed the World (out in 2018), came up with 3 further book ideas - 1 is about to be signed by O'Brien Press, I'm still working on the other two, and I also write a children's play. So plenty of writing! 

Young Writers' Club 

 I also worked with some inspirational young writers in the dlr Lexicon Young Writers' Club and in the Drop in Writing Clinics. Amazing children with such imaginations! I especially enjoyed watching helping one young writer achieve the target we set at the first Drop in Clinic - to finish her first book. Over the year she wrote two and proudly read from one at our end of season young writers' prize giving and reading. I've always loved this Picasso quote - he's so right!

The young writers in the Writing Club are fearless, the pieces they write are honest, moving, original, and in many cases also extremely funny. They know they can write and write they do! They pick up their pencils and as Seamus Heaney once said, they dig. 

Events and Exhibitions 

I also organised events with Lauren Child - the current UK Children's Laureate, Judith Kerr - the author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, who at 94 is still writing, Chris Riddell - ex UK Children's Laureate, Eoin Colfer and Marita Conlon-McKenna. 

I adored curating The World of Colour exhibition - the work of Beatrice Alemagna and Chris Haughton, two of my favourite picturebook makers of all time. Marian Keyes helped me put together the exhibition and we had a wonderful launch after an event we held with Children's Books Ireland, When are You Going to Write a Proper Book?.

Here's me at the launch of The World of Colour Exhibition, with Rosie again!

I'm proud of all the different projects we managed to squeeze into one year 

My Thanks To

I'd like to thank the people who made the year possible: Mairead Owens, Marian Keyes and Susan Lynch at the Lexicon who did so much to help me feel at home and to support my activities. Susan put a huge amount of work into the year and special thanks for all her input and ideas. When I came to her or Marian with a plan, they rarely said no. Thank you for having faith in me!

To the Lexicon library staff, especially Lisa, Vita, Helen and Shelley, fellow children's book fanatics. It was a pleasure talking to you all about children's books. The librarians, security guards, cleaners, staff at Brambles, to a person they were all so nice to me and so helpful. Nothing was ever too much trouble. One of the librarians, Nigel, helped me source books for Blazing a Trail which was invaluable. 

I'd also like to thank all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who brought their charges to the library to meet me. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well I think it takes a library to raise a creative child. And creative children who get the chance to express themselves, their authentic selves - and that's what I tried to encourage in the Writing Club, for the young writers to use their own unique voice in their work - they are lucky children indeed. 

A Poem for the President

Another highlight was writing a poem for the President of Ireland with the children at Shanganagh Park House in Shankhill - he was visiting to celebrate their work over the years. It's called I am Shanganagh and the President read from it during his speech. Lucinda Jacob helped greatly with this poem and also the I am Dún Laoghaire poem below. Thanks to Lucinda for all her hard work. 

I am Dún Laoghaire - written by the dlr Lexicon Young Writers' Club 

What I Have Learned During the Year

It's been a wonderful year, full of discovery. I really enjoy working with the dlr Lexicon Young Writers, they are so full of optimism and wonder, and have such brilliant ideas. I will continue to work with young writers independently in the future. I have recently set up my own organisation, Story Crew: Write, Draw, Create, to provide writing clubs and creative workshops for children. We will also provide courses and workshops for adults who love writing for children. More details here. 

I loved working in my special room in the library - what a privilege - and got lots of work done. I found the evenings, when the library was quiet highly productive and spent many happy hours working on new ideas.

I greatly enjoyed working with colleagues who love children's books as much as I do. I was a bookseller for many years and still work as a consultant to an independent book chain and I've always enjoyed working with other people. Being a writer is a lonely old job and it was so nice to be surrounded by interesting, engaging people. (Sorry if I asked you all too many questions!) I will miss that daily interaction. 

Overall it has been a highly positive and enriching experience for me. Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat! But it's time for the 'adult' writers to get a look in now. I hope I served the children and children's writers of Dún Laoghaire well. 

Here are some of the events I organised during my dlr Writer in Residence year:

Roald Dahl Day Show 

Culture Night with myself and Alan Nolan - Smashing Stories and Dashing Doodles

Canada Day with Children's Books Ireland - JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith

Children's Book Clubs, Writing Clubs, Teen Creative Clubs with a host of teen writer + a writing workshop for Junior Cert students with Dave Rudden, Drop in Writing Clinics for Children, Teens and Adults

When are You Going to Write a Proper Book? with Children's Books Ireland - it was such a success we ran a second day, devoted to picturebooks

World Book Day Show with Chris Judge and Marita Conlon-McKenna

Lauren Child event for children and a second event for adults and older children

Bookworms for Bumbleance event for schools with Siobhan Parkinson

Outreach events for schools in Loughlinstown and Shankhill

A Photo Diary of the Year - Click on the photo to move to the next one

Goodbye, Lexicon. I won't be a stranger!