"I am working on a new story set on an island. A boy has come to the island with his father to look for his sister who has disappeared.... Its in two viewpoints - the other being a native of the island who wants to leave as soon as shes old enough - just like her elder sister. Or did she?"
Adele Broadbent is a New Zealand children's author.
"I used to worry about not having ideas to work on, but found the less I worried about it and kept my eyes and mind open to things around me - the ideas came all on their own. I love people and thinking about how they tick, why they do things and what happens next!"
"Go and do something else. Have a rest from it for a while - could be an hour, could be a week. The answer usually shows itself and Im away again."
"The writing! The ideas and where my characters take me. That eureka moment when youve been stuck with something and BAM! the answer hits me."
"Read lots and find out the stories you like to read - which will be the stories youd like to write, more often than not. Practice your writing like you would practice and instrument or sport, constantly looking for a better word or description of something."
"Trouble in Time came about when I was visiting my Poppa with my son who was about 3 at the time. I remembered my Poppa hooning around on his motorbike on his small farm, helping people in his little rural town here in New Zealand and being on the go. My son saw a frail elderly man sitting in his chair in the sunshine. Grandparents have done cool things in their lives - just ask them!q"