EMILY RODDA AT THE MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL

This report is by Susan Davies

This is the first part of a report on a session given by the writer Emily Rodda at the Melbourne Writers Festival several years ago

It was a sunny, spring afternoon; there was a buzz of excited anticipation in the BMW Edge as children from different schools found their seats. Some of those near the front wanted to get the author’s autograph before the session started; they could see her talking to the presenter on the stage. Jordy Kerr from the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library was speaking to well known, Australian author Emily Rodda, a past winner of the Something Special Award in 1984 and the Dromkeen Medal.

Jordy began the session by referring to Emily’s latest series of books, the ‘Three Doors’. The latest book in the series, the third, will be published in October. Jordy Kerr introduced Emily Rodda as a person who doesn’t come to festivals often, but she’s always happy to meet people who like her books.

Emily Rodda began by saying that she gets her ideas from all around her. She takes everyday things and uses her imagination. She originally thought that nobody would be interested in the bush walking she did as a child. Her approach to writing is: Look, Think, then ask a specific question. The sky is very blue, as though there is another land beyond the sky; what if there was? Pigs might fly! Get an idea; then work on it to get the story out of it. She started writing high fantasy – whole thing set in an alternative world. Emily first wrote Rowan of Rin, then a series about collecting things in a quest. She wanted to do a longer Quest, then decided on precious gems, because they are so easy to hide or disguise. A belt could be worn by boy or girl. Then she decided on seven magic numbers. When researching gems, she discovered that in folklore big gems have powers; this made the idea take off. As the heroes found each gem their power would increase. This is how the world of Deltora began to grow.

There’s an island joined to the Shadowland and a sea of monsters, like Rowan and other characters just over the horizon. The area is dotted with islands – a writer could explore them all. There was another island fantasy she wanted to do involving a magical theme that appears in fairy tales. Choose between three objects. Life and death, boxes or caskets – silver, gold or lead. The heroes and villains choose. Emily was interested in people choosing between three doors. Books are like doors, as in you walk into a different world when you open books. In the Doors series, the heroes choose to go through a different door in each book. She knew about the island and how to tell the story but had to choose her hero; so, she decided to tell a story of three sons, a classic legendary story. The three brothers are very different; they live in a city without any doors. The author examines what happens when somebody from a very protected environment must go into a more dangerous world. There is a sense of freedom as well.

The conversation then turned to how stories grow. Emily delved back into the past to the time when her three-year old twin sons told her a story. Tom’s grandmother got stuck in supermarket freezer; the manager had to chop her out. Her sons had elaborated on the fact that Tom’s grandmother had nearly fallen into the freezer. Their personalities were at the stage where it’s more interesting if they had to get her out with an axe. They prefer the more violent, bloody ending because of their age. Ideas come from little things, signs, facial expressions; then you think ‘what if?’ Then you use your knowledge to create a story.

Emily Rodda has been writing since 1982. The three islands that she has been discussing (the Deltora, Shadowland, and Three Doors) are near each other, if you think of the world as one thing, they are close enough for the same influences. In the third series a Deltora family need a ship, there are no sailing ships in the Deltora world, so the Marrets would have sent the ship. The sea is full of scattered islands. In the olden days island people visited, traded, feasted.

A child asked, how do you come up with a character like Rowan? Emily responded by saying; sometimes people are a bit different from the group. She has one twin who is extroverted and very good at sport; sport is important at school. Her other son is interested in music; this son is capable of heroism. He’s a thinker, a bit darker and quiet. She as a writer is interested in people who don’t look as they are inside. She begins with the germ of something, an idea, and then it grows.

Another student asks her about horror in her writing. Emily says she writes some horror, but mostly fantasy; monsters are scary. Horror is continuous, she uses only moments of horror. Likes being a bit scared but doesn’t like blood and gore.  The important question is: what’s going to happen? She mostly doesn’t kill off characters.

©Susan Davies 2012           spooky52librarian.wordpress.com

(c) Emily Rodda 2012