Hi everyone, 
my name's Kirli Saunders, and it's such a pleasure to
be joining you today for Everyone's an Author.
Before I start, I'd like to acknowledge Country, so
I acknowledge the Dharawal Traditional Custodians and 
pay my respects to strong Elders, past, present and emerging.
I also acknowledge my Ancestory, and give thanks for my Strong Dreaming.
So, I acknowledge my ancestors and I also pay my
respects to the elders, past, present, and emerging
of the Dharawal nation.
This Acknowledgement today is particularly pertinent
because we're going to be talking a lot about
Country, and a lot about the landscape that knows and
remembers us.
When I'm writing books - and maybe you know some of my
books - The Incredible Freedom Machines, or Kindred, or
my newest book, Bindi, I really love to pay attention
to the setting and the landscape that is an integral
character in our stories. Before we start today, I
really want you to have a think about the landscape
or setting for your own stories. I want you to
imagine what that place looks like, how it feels,
what the temperature of that space is. If it feels
cozy and welcoming, or if it's a place that's rugged
and uncomfortable, and I want you to begin to paint
the picture of that space with your words. 
You"ll begin to write down some of these ideas using this
technique - imagery - the painting of your picture with
your words and drawing in that really descriptive
terminology to really welcome your audience into
exactly the setting that you're placing your story
around.
So, that would be my tip number one - using imagery to
write a description for your beautiful setting - that
additional 'character' in your story. 
Another technique that I really like to use when I'm writing,
is personification. I love to personify setting in
my story. So using personification, we give
something a human quality, perhaps a place, or a
thing, or an idea. I know when I move across some of
my favorite places on Country, and maybe out near the
ocean, sometimes the ocean is rugged and wild and
the horizon melds into the sea, but the ocean there
speaks gently to me, and it pulls me in certain
directions, and it shows me the right places to go,
guides me, or if I think about my favorite waterfall
that I love to go and sit at, the earth there speaks
calmly to me, and makes me feel welcomed and helps me
remember myself. So,  perhaps you can begin to explore
in your own writing the way that you might personify
your own landscape as a wise and knowing space that
guides your characters on their journey. I hope
these tips help everyone, and I can't wait to read your stories.
Good luck in this journey, and
remember, everyone's an author.
Bye.
