Week 1: Creating Crazy Characters

Everyone thinks and acts differently, and a good writer uses these differences to drive the story. Today we’ll brainstorm new characters, thinking about appearance, distinguishing features, favourite foods, favourite things to do, family background, etc. Then we’ll role play our characters for a fun news interview. Is your character a feisty redhead with a cannibal king father? Is she a clever spider who can write, with a best friend called Wilbur? How did she feel when she met Mr Tumnus under the lamp post?

Week 2: Building Magical Worlds

Another session of wonder and surprises, where anything is possible. First we’ll look at magical places like Narnia, Hogwarts and the 78-Story Treehouse, discussing what makes these places special. Then we’ll take our characters to a desert island, using our five senses to explore the island and finding much more than we expected.

Week 3: A Map for the Journey

Stories have an outline – a beginning, a middle and an end. Today we’ll talk about how to start a story with a bang and hook the reader from the very first sentence. We’ll think about the complication and how it propels the character into the action, getting the story rolling. And we’ll discuss what our main character wants, what might stop him getting it, and how this will drive the story.

Week 4: Time to Write!

Sharpen your pencils, it’s time to put it all together. Today we begin the first draft, using the characters, setting and outline we’ve developed over the first three weeks. First drafts are wild and crazy, and often make no sense at all. Punctuation doesn’t matter. Spelling doesn’t matter. We’ll worry about that later. Today we write and write and write!

Week 5: The Second Draft

This is the easy part. We’ve written the story – now we have to knock it into shape. Does it make sense? Does it need anything else? Are the commas in the right place? Would it be better with a new paragraph here or another sentence there? Time to get out our red pencils and scribble.

Week 6: Polishing your Masterpiece

How do you get a story published? What does an editor do? We’ll put the final touches on our stories and hand them over to Karen for a professional edit, and then we’ll talk about the practical process of publishing a book.

We’ll wrap it all up with a big celebration. It’s been hard work and lots of fun, and in a few weeks our stories will be published in a real book!

Combine a school visit with an evening author talk at your local library or community centre.

Karen visits schools all over Australia exploring the major themes in her books – connection, courage, possibility, and wonder. She is passionate about inspiring children to live a creative life. Having four children of her own, she understands that each child brings different gifts to the world and she believes every child should have the opportunity to shine. 

Karen is available for school visits at ASA rates. The cost of  the Creative Writing Program will vary, based on the size of the group and location of the school. Karen can deliver the program in one intensive week or in six weekly sessions over the term.