Writing for children can appear perplexing at first glance. How long should a picture book be? What do people mean when they talk about middle grade? What’s the difference between YA and NA? Then there are the actual ideas! Where do you find them? What techniques can you use to coax them into being? How do you shape those ideas into something that will have impact?

What will you do on the masterclass?
Firstly, there will be an overview of the children’s market. This will be followed by writing exercises to get ideas flowing, We will finish with dedicated time to put pen to paper and write in the company of others. By the end of the session, you will have an idea that might just be the jumping off point for your children’s novel. Exercises will be based around objects, names and places. We will look at the core ideas of several successful children’s books and try to understand why these ideas are so appealing and memorable.

This workshop is for anyone interested in writing children’s books but it will not have a particular focus on picture books. We will not cover non-fiction for children.

Jasmine Richards is the author of over 15 books for children including Keeper of Myths published by Harper and several books in the Beast Quest series under a pen name. She is a former publisher who has worked at Puffin and OUP children’s books. She has edited hundreds of books.

Jasmine is also the founder of Storymix: a children's book incubator that creates stories with inclusive casts of characters. All children, regardless of background, get to be the heroes in these stories. Storymix is actively seeking writers from BME backgrounds to work collaboratively with. It doesn't matter if you are published, unpublished or self-published they’d love to hear from you!

Date: 20 March 2021, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost: £10-£8

Details here