News & Blog by Marianne Musgrove
Read the latest news and bulletins, essays, features, opinions from our bestselling authors. Find out what's being said, debated, and discussed in the world of books and ideas.
When I was young, I remembering staying home from school with a tummy bug. I heard my mum explain to someone on the phone that we couldn’t make it because I had gastro. Having never heard the word ‘gastro’ before and imagining it to be some sort of terrible insult, I was incensed that Mum would tell this lie about me. I rushed up to her while she was still on the phone and cried at the top of my voice,...
Nothing compares to the pain of being falsely accused. When I was in kindergarten, it was time for my school’s annual Easter Hat Parade. Every child got to make a hat with an Easter theme then, for reasons best known to the organisers, we had to march around in a circle in front of our parents wearing said hat. As always, there was a competition for ‘Best Hat: Original Creation’ and ‘Best Hat: Assisted...
You’d be surprised at what you can learn from The Brady Bunch. I recall one episode where Cindy Brady tells a lie. Alice, the housekeeper, helps her to see the virtue of telling the truth and, when Cindy eventually comes clean, Alice gives her a lollypop as a reward for her honesty. Around the time I watched this episode, I was about seven years old and had done something somewhat naughty. What...
There’s been a bit of press lately about some research suggesting children who lie do better later in life. Dr Kang Lee of the Institute of Child Study at Toronto University found that children who lie at a young age demonstrate advanced brain development. These children, some as young as two, are able to able to simultaneously hold in their heads the truth whilst telling a falsehood. That’s no small...
Let’s get something straight: I firmly believe it’s important we tell more lies, but not in the way you imagine. I’m not advocating lying as a way of life. I do, however, believe that writing a story in which every character always tells the truth is terribly boring. Having flawed characters is how you create drama and drama is what interests the reader. Some of the most memorable children’s stories...
This article is part of a series. Read the previous article here > When I’m faced with a problem, I make a list. I guess that makes me a head person. When a friend of mine – let’s call her Dorothy – faces a problem, she weeps and wails and eats a lot of chocolate. You might say she’s a heart person. When another friend – let’s call him Orlando –...
This article is part of a series. Read the previous article here > 'I love writing but hate starting. The page is awfully white and it says, “You may have fooled some of the people some of the time but those days are over, giftless. I’m not your agent and I’m not your mommy, I’m a white piece of paper, you wanna dance with me?"' - Aaron Sorkin, creator...
This article is part of a series. Read the previous article here > Never was a truer word spoken by Marge Simpson. Many writers find themselves infected by the procrastination bug. (‘Let’s see, I could write another chapter or I could vacuum the entire house and re-grout the bathroom tiles.’) Here’s how I get a book out of my head and onto the page: 1. Treats Once...
This article is part of a series. Read the previous article here > Have you ever tried to make your own Liquid Paper? I did, when I was about ten, absolutely convinced that my product would soon be on the market – real proper Likwid Payper. I carefully selected my ingredients (powdered chalk, milk, toothpaste for fragrance) and mixed them together scientifically, or so I believed,...
This article is part of a series. Read the previous article here > Horsam was my invisible friend from ages two to four. He went everywhere with me, he played with my dolls (all, for some reason, named Lily), he even joined in my nightly bath. I vividly remember the day I knew he wasn’t real anymore. I’d just begun school and had made new friends, when it suddenly occurred...
