Category: Fiction writing

Bestselling children’s author Tim Harris: How he got his big break and why he loves writing for kids

Looking at Tim Harris’ body of work, it would be easy to think he had planned it all out in advance. After spending 15 years as a primary school teacher, he picked up a pen and started writing for that same age group: less than a decade later, he has 11 children’s novels under his belt along with a pack of literary awards, and he’s an in-demand presenter at primary schools across Australia.

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Fiction writing
Guest Writer

How to write during a pandemic

By Adrian Beck, author of the Derek Dool: Supercool series.
Making time to write is tough.
Making time to write when you have kids is an even bigger challenge.
But making time to write when you have kids (doing remote learning) whilst in the middle of a pandemic is MISSION IMPOSSIBLE! Well, nearly. But like Tom Cruise, I’ve found a way. And I also do all my own stunts.

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Write across the ages – from junior fiction to young adult

Deciding whether a story is YA, Junior Fiction or Middle Grade comes down to the fundamentals of all writing. That is: story, idea, setting, language, character, voice, structure, length… All these factors help shape what sort of story you’re writing. But in making this decision, possibly the most important thing to decide is… Who is your reader?

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Breaking the rules: A picture book collaboration

Some rules are meant to be broken. When author Deborah Abela and illustrator Marjorie Crosby-Fairall came up with an idea for a picture book, they were also acutely aware of the unspoken rule that publishers DO NOT like authors and illustrators to work or pitch together. But, flying in the

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AWC alumni
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Sarah Clutton carves out a career as a published author and freelance writer

Courses taken at AWC:
Write Your Novel program
Freelance Writing Stage 1
Writing for the Web and Mobile
2 Hours to Scrivener Power
Build Your Author Platform

Sarah Clutton never thought she had the staying power to write a novel – two published books later, she’s proven herself wrong, and says she’d couldn’t have done it without the Australian Writers’ Centre. Sarah’s debut novel, Good Little Liars, was published by Hachette UK imprint Bookouture in 2019; Bookouture also published her second novel, The Daughter’s Promise in 2020, and she’s now working on her third novel.
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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

3 ways to encourage a love of writing in your teen

Teenage writers are bursting with creativity and fresh perspective, but between the structure of the English curriculum and all their other work, sometimes writing falls by the wayside. If you have a talented teen you’d like to support as a writer – or you’re wondering how to get your teen

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

7 trends in children’s and YA publishing

For authors looking to write for children and young adults, it’s important to understand that what they want to read is evolving. Young readers now have screens and devices constantly competing for their attention, but they are still interested in reading engaging, well-written books. While you don’t need to follow

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Children’s book manuscript submissions with Walker Wednesday

Have you been working on a manuscript for a children’s book?  Walker Books Australia are looking for new diverse Australian stories for kids. They’ve launched an initiative called Walker Wednesday – a biannual event where they will be reviewing unpublished manuscripts from new and established writers.  Linsay Knight from Walker

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Watch ‘Creative Conversations’ with literary agent Annabel Barker

Literary agent specialising in children’s and young adult authors Annabel Barker shares her inside knowledge with Australian Writers’ Centre CEO Valerie Khoo in our ‘Creative Conversations’ Facebook Live event. We’ve shared the replay here so you don’t miss out on Annabel’s invaluable insights. In a 20-year-long career in the literary

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

3 ways to build good writing habits in your teen

For parents of high school students, it can seem like they’re so busy with schoolwork, a social life and other hobbies that writing takes a back seat – even if they’re talented or have shown they enjoy it. If your teenager is interested in writing, but you’re not sure how

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

6 ways to nurture your teen’s creative writing skills

Some teenagers grit their teeth to get through English at school, while others find it a fulfilling outlet – particularly creative writing. If you’ve got a teenager in your life who’s showing interest in creative writing, and you want to help them take it to the next level, our experts

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

5 ways to write your novel while juggling your day job

The vast majority of authors who are starting out juggle their passion for writing with a day job. If you want to write a novel, you might wonder how to get that done when you’ve already got a bunch of other commitments. The authors we spoke to all combined day

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