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Let's face it, which of us hasn't wished that we'd penned Harry Potter? What JK Rowling has done for the children's book industry has been both a blessing and a curse to the children's writer. Yes, thanks to Jo it is now possible to get big advances, huge PR and a place in the hearts of children and parents alike that will last forever. On the other hand, if your opus was to be any magical fantasy, let alone being about a wizard, then the chances are the publishers' lists may be closed to you. So what else could you do?
In this course, we will look at your creative process - maybe there are hundreds of non-wizard fantasies locked away inside you, just quivering to be freed. Then we'll take that creative instinct and hone it with some workable, sensible information that works well for any writing, but particularly in writing for children. And finally, with your best-seller burgeoning or burnished, you'll get proven ideas on how and where to move it on to the publisher. (Above, a wee example of a writing technique that really works ... did you spot it?)
An Introduction to Writing for Children
Cost $450 (incl. GST and refreshments) for three day programme or six week evening programme. The follow up day is to be agreed by the group. Courses are run regularly throughout the year.
Daily Program
Day One
Introductions and objectives
Your creative process
Beginnings, middles, endings
Plot structure
Triangular thinking
Subject matter
Day Two
Age-related writing
Narrative voice/ Point of view
Character analysis
Show not tell practicalities - layout etc
Review and questions
Day Three (after one month)
Critique of work
Word-counts by age/genre
Publishers, agents etc
NZ or the world?
Support networks & reading
For further information contact Jill Marshall or view the Write Good Stuff website.
Jill Marshall
Kathy White