I recently read a children’s novel which was written in the first person, and it wasn’t until several pages in that I realised the character was a boy, not a girl. The author is female, so I unwittingly assumed the character …
As children’s writers, we need to know our target readers’ interests, likes and dislikes, fears, hopes and dreams, so we can make sure our stories are relevant for them…
Remember that every story needs emotion. You can have a lovely idea for a story where a character goes through a series of adventures, but if there’s little emotion, you won’t engage your readers. Readers need to feel …
If you find writing your novel too overwhelming right now, write something parallel. For example, write a letter from your protagonist to another character, write a snatch of dialogue that comes to mind (even if it’s not in the chapter you’re writing), write…
Earlier this month I ran a writing workshop at the Eastbourne Christian Resources Centre, on the south coast of England. It was lovely to meet up with…
Right, on to this week’s writing tip, which actually comes from writer-for-a-reason Donald Smith (thank you Donald!), who commented after a recent writing tip: “One of my favourite authors is Odo Hirsch. The protagonist…
