Allison Tait had it all figured out. Having worked for years as a staff writer and sub-editor at glossy women’s magazines like Cosmopolitan and Cleo, she could see the obvious genre for her first novel would be romance. It made perfect sense: she knew the audience, she knew what they wanted and she had the voice down-pat.
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.
Bestselling author of several hilarious book series for kids Tim Harris joined Valerie Khoo in our Creative Conversation series to share his clever writing tips and tricks to writing stories that will make kids – and even adults – laugh out loud. A full-time primary school teacher for 15 years,
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.
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?
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
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
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
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
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
Writing a novel: There’s no one right way to do it. One of the biggest points of difference among writers is whether to plan in advance or not, with those who do referred to as ‘plotters’ while those who don’t earn the moniker of ‘pantsers’ – as in, by the
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
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
Our popular Writing Picture Books course has turned out some of Australia’s top picture book authors, and our graduates credit their publishing success to what they’ve learnt from our expert tutors. We checked in with some of our graduates to find out what specifically it was from the course that
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
Chapter books: They’re a massive part of a child’s journey to becoming an independent reader and, written properly, can encourage a lifelong enthusiasm for reading. Lesley Gibbes is the award-winning author of internationally published chapter book series Fizz, and teaches the Australian Writers’ Centre’s course on Writing Chapter Books for 6-9 year
Courses taken at AWC:
Writing Picture Books
How to Write for Children and Young Adults
Freelance Writing Stage 1
Engineer-turned-maths teacher Charlotte Barkla never imagined she’d become a published writer – but three children’s books later, she’s thrilled to have rediscovered her passion.
So you’ve got a fantastic idea for a picture book – but you’ve never done it before, and you’re a bit lost on where to start? You’ve come to the right place. Here are seven surprising tips from successful Australian Writers’ Centre graduates and teachers on how to make your
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
World-class crime and thriller author and Australian Writers’ Centre presenter, L.A. Larkin, joined Valerie Khoo for the ‘Creative Conversations’ Facebook Live event to discuss the adrenaline-fuelled world of crime and thriller writing. And you get to watch the replay here. L.A. Larkin, also known as Louisa Bennet, talks about her
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