Sharon Plumb Hamilton

sharonplumb@books4kids.ca

The Beginning

Letters, words, stories, and learning more about them, have always fascinated me. I learned to read when I was 4 by underlining every “p-i-g” in my favourite book, The Three Little Pigs. I wrote my first novel, Leader of the Pack, in grade 7, and tried out poems and short stories, as well as reading stories of any length, right through high school.

University

Then I took a break from writing stories to do a degree in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan and then a Master’s at Simon Fraser University. My thesis was called Using Modal Structures to Represent Extensions to Epistemic Logics, and I think it had more mathematical symbols in it than letters. But I later discovered that writing a thesis has a lot in common with writing a novel: both need an enticing beginning, step-by-step development of ideas, a logical division into parts, and a satisfying ending. And of course, both require the writer to revise and polish way past the time she thinks she should be done!

Re-discovery

When my three sons arrived, I re-entered the magical world of children’s books. Sitting on the couch, or the floor, or tiny chairs at the library, or in the car, we read and re-read Katie and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, and every dinosaur book in print. We laughed at clever rhymes and learned amazing things, and I decided I would like to try to write like that.

Writing Again

So I took a course in writing for children, and began to write. But I didn’t know how to take the next step, to make my writing good enough to be published, or how to find a publisher. So I went to see the writer-in-residence at the Regina Public Library, Alison Lohans. She read my draft novel and gave me useful advice, but she also told me about the bi-annual CANSCAIP Prairie Horizons conference for children’s writers. In the fall of 2003 I tiptoed in.

Kindred Spirits

Wow! I discovered that Saskatchewan is bursting with wonderful writers for children. I learned that they are regular people, that they are very nice, and that they like to get together to work on their stories. So three of us started a writing group. We met twice a year in person and as often as we wanted to by email, and added one more person. We joined the committee to plan CANSCAIP Prairie Horizons 2005. The next thing I knew, my picture book Bill Bruin Shovels his Roof was being published by Scholastic Canada, and our group was invited to join the Saskatchewan Children’s Writers Round Robin.

Writing Group

The most important thing I have learned about writing is how much better it is when you are part of a community. When I bring what I think is a polished story to my group, they always find ways to make it better. When I’m discouraged about a rejection letter, they understand. When my story is taking off on its own and I can't figure out where it's going, they help me get back on track.

Plays

For three years I have written a musical Christmas play for the children in our church to perform. The first one, The Other Wise Man, was adapted from the 18XX story by Henry van Dyke. The second one, What Child is This? was inspired by a French short story by Jerome and Jean Theraud, found in Contes de Noel.

My 2008 play was inspired by a story my husband's grandmother liked to tell. She came to Saskatchewan with her homesteading parents in 1905, and their first year was very difficult. For Christmas that first year, her uncle carved her a doll out of a turnip. My play The Turnip Doll is a blend of live stage action and pre-filmed sections. I was thrilled to have very talented director Stephen Hall bring it to life for us. I am hoping to have all three plays available on this website in time for next Christmas.

On to the Future

Two of my novels are currently being considered by publishers, and I'm working on two more, in between family activities and developing websites (such as this one). There are so many stories waiting to be written, and I can’t think of a better place to write my share of them than right here in Saskatchewan with the Robins.