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Deb's Writing Tips

1) The Love factor.
Always write about what you love or what gets you excited. If you love what you’ve written hopefully other people will too.

2) Look it up.
If you’re writing about something you’re not very familiar with, do research. For Max Remy Part 5 The Amazon Experiment, I did lots of research about the Amazon Jungle so that even though Max’s adventure is made up, the jungle around her is full of plants, bugs and snakes that really do exist.

3) Daydream.
There is no end to the possibilities of where your mind can go and the adventures you can have and you don’t even have to leave your room! I spent six months just thinking about Max, the other characters and her world of superspying before I started writing the first book. Try to get to know your characters like they are your best friends and the world they live in like you have been there.

4) Look around you.
There are ideas for stories everywhere. In a conversation you hear at a bus stop, in a news story, or you may even be inspired by the book you’re reading now.

5) Show it off.
From a really young age I would show my writing to other people to see what they thought. And don’t be afraid of criticism. If someone doesn’t like it, ask them why and how they think you could make it better. Published writers work with editors and this is their job.

6) Have fun.
If at times the writing becomes a little hard, take a break, ride your bike, take the dog for a walk, visit a friend, then come back later. Try not to give up on an idea you love. Even if it’s not working how you’d like, if you keep at it, your ideas can be great!

7) Just start!
Once you have planned your story and know your characters, you’ll have lots of fun bringing it to life, but this means sitting down and just starting! Maybe even now. Go on. Off you go!

More About Deb -
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Name: Deborah Anne Abela

Date of Birth: 13 October 1966

Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia

Family: Mum and Dad, 1 sister and 2 brothers

Lives: In Sydney

Pets: In summer the enormous tree in our back yard is home to whole packs of very noisy, playful lorikeets and at night it fills with bats.

Likes: Books (I love them!!) reading, writing, music, films, bike riding, swimming in the ocean, travelling (I’ve been to Africa, America, parts of Asia, Europe and the UK) I love a good story and learning about other peoples, times and places.

Dislikes: When I hear kids don’t read, (I couldn’t imagine a childhood without books) war and silly politicians, racism, intolerance, greedy people and companies and when we don’t look after the environment.

Favourite Food: There’s so much great food I love. Cous cous (which I ate loads of in Africa), pastizzis (a speciality from Malta where my dad is from) and Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Oh and I’m a vegetarian so I love vegies!

How long I’ve known Max: She first popped into my head in 1998 and she’s been there ever since.