Writing For Children Class
With Emma Read. Starting 17/01/2023DURATION: 6 weeks
Start Date: January 17th, 2023 – 2 places remaining
Our classes are in huge demand and are filling up very quickly, so we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
Places are strictly limited to 10 participants.
This online writing for children class is suitable for adults who would like to write books for children or young adults. Each module will contain short exercises and Emma will provide feedback on those exercises.
This class fits in with a student’s schedule, as you don’t have to be online at any particular time or day. You will be given weekly notes and assignments to help you. Your tutor will read each assignment and provide written feedback.
Students will receive an email booking confirmation within 48 hours of payment. If you do not see this email, please check your Spam/Junk folder.
Module 1: What’s the Big Idea?
An introduction to writing for children, exploring reader age and stage, appropriate themes and topics. Then moving on to ideas – assessing what works using pitching techniques to build on an idea, exploring goal, obstacle and stakes.
Module 2: Heroes and Villains
Character is at the heart of any children’s story. Here, we’ll be looking at what makes a compelling and believable character, and why this is so important for a child reader. We’ll also consider series fiction and how children buy in to strong characters, to make these a success.
Module 3: A Series of Unfortunate Events
In this module we’ll discover how characters drive the plot forward through agency, and search for the story at the heart of it all. We’ll be looking at examples of plot structures in children’s fiction and how to make linear storylines engaging.
Module 4: Saving the World and Surviving School
Next we’ll be taking a deeper dive into how our characters interact with their story, how their wants and needs will be thwarted throughout the plot, creating pace, tension and reader engagement. From saving the world, to surviving the school day, we’ll discover how characters’ goals connect the reader to the work.
Module 5: Show and Tell
A quick look at writing craft techniques for children’s literature, particularly finding a balance in the ‘rule’ of Showing rather than Telling. The module will also introduce the concept of ‘voice’ and how dialogue provides a conduit to your character’s emotion and personality.
Module 6: The Hard Sell
A review of children’s publishing, trends and marketing. How you can get your work noticed amidst a busy time: the new, so-called, golden age of children’s fiction, and the importance of school visits, libraries and festivals.
‘I would absolutely recommend the Writing for Children workshop with Emma Read. I loved every minute of it, there was a freedom in the prompts that encouraged experimentation and what I embraced as a space for playfulness in finding my voice. Emma’s feedback and guidance was constructive, encouraging, and informative. I finished the workshop on a creative high and wished the 6 weeks could have gone on for longer.’ – Heather
‘I thoroughly enjoyed Emma’s writing course. I learnt a lot and have changed the way I write! She was very encouraging and I find it much more fun to create stories now. All her tips were invaluable and the feedback on the assignments really helped me. The best thing was that each weekly task was quite different, which tested me in different ways.’ – Caroline
If you have any further queries, you can check out Frequently Asked Questions or How it Works.
Our cancellation/refund policy may be viewed here.