About me
I've heard people talk about the story of life. Sounds kind of dull to me. I've always been far more interested in a life filled with stories. A storied life.
I'm one of the lucky ones. Reading came easily to me, and my childhood was spent curled up anywhere and everywhere with a book in hand. My home had bookcases in nearly every room, and I would look over the titles wondering what treasures lay inside. I was a Library Monitor in Year 6, and spent many a lunchtime in the library during the angsty teen years. Books were friendly, interesting and helped me make sense of the world. It came as no surprise to me decades later when I stumbled upon research that linked neuroscience with the benefits of reading fiction. Brain scans showed that the readers experience the same emotions as the characters, the same parts of the brain are lit up, empathy is developed. It confirmed my view that there really is no downside to reading fiction.
In the 1970s and 80s, there were hardly any children's writers from Australia. My diet of books was mostly British, with some American titles thrown in for good measure. I certainly never met an author until I was a teacher. All of a sudden, these mysterious creators were Australian, approachable, awesome. I was a star-struck teacher and teacher-librarian clinging on to every word.
"One day... one day I'm going to be a writer."
And then it happened. One day I called myself a writer.
I'd been writing for decades in secret, too scared to call myself a writer, a storymaker, a creator, not just a consumer, of stories.
I hope you'll enjoy reading the short stories as much as I've enjoyed creating them. My 'thought bubbles' about what I've been reading are not intended as serious book reviews, but are simply reflections.
When I'm not reading grown-up books or writing short stories for grown-ups, I'm living in the world of children's literature. You can find me chasing unicorns in the northern suburbs of Sydney where I'll be with one, two or all three of my grown-up daughters and my Havanese dog, Wally.
My writing for children site is https://www.suescottwriter.com/
I'm one of the lucky ones. Reading came easily to me, and my childhood was spent curled up anywhere and everywhere with a book in hand. My home had bookcases in nearly every room, and I would look over the titles wondering what treasures lay inside. I was a Library Monitor in Year 6, and spent many a lunchtime in the library during the angsty teen years. Books were friendly, interesting and helped me make sense of the world. It came as no surprise to me decades later when I stumbled upon research that linked neuroscience with the benefits of reading fiction. Brain scans showed that the readers experience the same emotions as the characters, the same parts of the brain are lit up, empathy is developed. It confirmed my view that there really is no downside to reading fiction.
In the 1970s and 80s, there were hardly any children's writers from Australia. My diet of books was mostly British, with some American titles thrown in for good measure. I certainly never met an author until I was a teacher. All of a sudden, these mysterious creators were Australian, approachable, awesome. I was a star-struck teacher and teacher-librarian clinging on to every word.
"One day... one day I'm going to be a writer."
And then it happened. One day I called myself a writer.
I'd been writing for decades in secret, too scared to call myself a writer, a storymaker, a creator, not just a consumer, of stories.
I hope you'll enjoy reading the short stories as much as I've enjoyed creating them. My 'thought bubbles' about what I've been reading are not intended as serious book reviews, but are simply reflections.
When I'm not reading grown-up books or writing short stories for grown-ups, I'm living in the world of children's literature. You can find me chasing unicorns in the northern suburbs of Sydney where I'll be with one, two or all three of my grown-up daughters and my Havanese dog, Wally.
My writing for children site is https://www.suescottwriter.com/