About this Event
Author photos (c) Ed Miller 2019
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A former primary school teacher, she became a best-selling author of children’s fiction after finding the best teachers, tutors and books on the craft.
This ten-hour course will be based around her short book How to Write a Great Story and will include lots of fun exercises for the creative Right Brain, as well as the critical Left Brain.
At the end of the course you will have the plot outline, character study, first paragraph, blurb and covering letter for your middle grade fiction book.
The course will be presented in five 2-hour sessions and will take place in Chelsea Library.
You can sign up to the whole course only. (!) Please book only if you can attend all five sessions.
DATES:
Monday 03 June, 1pm to 3pm
Monday 10 June, 1pm to 3pm
Monday 17 June, 1pm to 3pm
Monday 24 June, 1pm to 3pm
Monday 01 July, 1pm to 3pm
Please note - we have limited free spaces on this course, so book early and only if you can attend the whole course.
Eligibillity criteria applies: Full residents of London aged 19+
*Applications from Kesnington and Chelsea will be given priority.
YOUR PLACE IS NOT CONFIRMED UNTIL YOU FILL AND HAND IN THE ENROLMENT FORM (!)
*The names and addresses of all who book will be shared with the tutor, who will contact you to send you an enrolment form. You must respond to secure a free place on this course.
Contact [email protected] if you have any queries about booking.
Lesson one - What makes a kids’ book? Using both sides of the brain; Plot Structure; Character Archetypes; Be a Magpie; The Morning Pages; Continuous Writing; Daydreaming to Music; How to Take Criticism; Brainstorming Ideas; Pitching your Idea. Goals for the course and various exercises.
Lesson two - Spotting story structure in classic kids’ books; When to listen to your Inner Critic; The Hero’s Journey, Your Hero and their Opponent, The Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, the Midpoint. The Dance, The Battle; Revelation: the most important structure step. Examples and various exercises.
Lesson three - Spotting story structure in movies; Desire: the Engine of your Book; the Maguffin; the Montage; 3-Act Structure; The Rubber Ducky; The Cliffhanger; Checkov’s Gun; the Cup of Cocoa. Examples and various exercises.
Lesson four - Spotting story structure in myths and fairy tales; Nuts and bolts of good writing; Ninja Description; Dr Frankenstein’s first lines; How to self-edit; the Vomit Draft; Random Page; Floating in the Void: what a first paragraph should do; Writing a killer blurb. Examples and various exercises.
Lesson five - Spotting story structure in songs; The Running Start; Opening and Closing Images; Writing a covering letter for the most interesting person you know: you! Preparing for school visits and literary festivals; Reading your first paragraph out loud. Feedback for the course and exercises.
ABOUT THE TUTOR:
is the London-based Anglo-American author of over 45 books, mostly for middle-grade readers, including the best selling Roman Mysteries, televised for the BBC in 2007 and 2008.
Although she has degrees in Greek, Latin and Hebrew from UC Berkeley, Cambridge and University College London, she claims to have the mentality of an 11-year-old.
For this reason the course will be simple, practical and above all fun.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Chelsea Library, King's Road, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
