Introducing our New Editors for Words & Pictures

It gives me great pleasure to introduce our wonderful new, volunteer Editors. Please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to: Louise Cliffe-Minns (our new Events Editor), Charlotte Comley (our new Celebrations Editor), Jennifer Lane and Julie Sullivan Winn (our two new Monday Features Editors).

Louise Cliffe-Minns ~ Events Editor

Lou has moved about a bit, she grew up in the North West, but then moved to Leicester, Cambridge, London, Northampton and Sydney. She now lives between the UK and Australia with her hubby and three kids who force her to enjoy the Great Outdoors. When not grappling with deadly spiders and chasing kangaroos she writes Middle Grade and YA fiction.

Lou has been an English and Drama teacher, briefed MPs for Keynotes, written content for E-learning and has dragged reluctant CEOs around prisons and homeless shelters. She has an MA in creative writing, has been a member of SCBWI BI since 2011 and is a part of the Muddle Graders on line critique group.

Charlotte Comley ~ Celebrations Editor

Charlotte is owned by a small West Highland Terrier who is used to getting his own way. In between his walks and caring for her adorable two children, she works as a freelance writer, professional storyteller and tutor. She's had eleven educational resources published as well as various pieces of fiction, non fiction and radio work.  

Charlotte is currently studying an MA in Creative Writing for Children at Winchester University. She enjoys writing for the five to eight and middle grade age range but she's excited about writing her first YA novel. 

Jennifer Lane ~ Monday Features Editor

Jenn has always been surrounded by books: you can't move in her house for fear of knocking over a stack or two. She's worked in libraries, bookshops and has even turned her hand to writing a few of them herself.

She studied an MA in Writing for Children before being represented by Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency. Born in Liverpool but now based in Lancaster, Jenn loves to ramble on the moors, watch wildlife and scribble things down in her notebook.

Julie Sullivan Winn ~ Monday Features Editor

Julie is American and has lived most of her life in Europe, mainly in France and Germany. Her four children all went to school in the U.K. and two still live here. She moved to London this year from Paris and is looking forward to working on Words and Pictures.

I'm sure you'll agree, what a fabulous bunch they are. Here's to a fun time working on W&P. Cheers, Nancy.

London Professional Series: An Evening with Book Packagers

David Richardson

It was a 'two for the price of one' evening for the last Professional Series meeting of the year on November 25th when we were pleased to welcome Michael Ford, editor (and writer) from Working Partners and author Benjamin Scott to speak on all things Book Packagers.


Book Packagers are the creative team behind many of the well-known children's series such as Animal Ark, Dinosaur Cove and Beast Quest. They are responsible for the creative process, brainstorming regularly on new concepts and ideas. It is these ideas that they will eventually look to sell to publishers.

Benjamin Scott and  Michael Ford

What they want is a series that can produce entertaining books which young readers will fall in love with. These ideas are then developed by them to become a full story synopsis.

During the discussion, we had an excellent overview of the writing process from both sides of the editing desk.

It's when a full, chapter-by-chapter synopsis has been written that the authors are invited to audition (by writing the first three chapters) for the opportunity to write a book in the series. All submissions will get detailed feedback, enabling even those who are not selected to receive something for their time.

But for the chosen author, the real work is just about to begin.

Benjamin as the writer explained how he approached a new synopsis, beginning with a thorough read through before next working on the overall story, getting in done quickly in an 'open' first draft, He would then spend time rewriting and rewriting the story making it ready to send to the editor.

Michael, back in the office, would be one of the two editors who would then read it, making lots of comments on the text, highlighting both good points and constructive criticism.

The next step is for Benjamin, with him reviewing the edited text before spending further time rewriting and honing it based on the editors' comments. He only has a certain amount of time before he needs to return it to the editorial team.

It was good to hear both Benjamin and Michael explain the collaborative process, the time scales involved, the feedback that the author receives and the discussions between them both.

Money was mentioned, and there is the opportunity to make a reasonable income from this type of writing. Money is paid by an advance (into the four figure territory) followed by bi-annual royalty payments. There is the possibility of overseas markets too.

Working Partners are always on the lookout for new writers. There is a lot of work available and if you're able to fit their need, they are interested. Check out their website for details on how to audition. As well as children's books, Working Partners also produce books for adult readers.

Benjamin also gave us a presentation on his school visits. It was full of useful tips to help those of us that do this, including how to keep things entertaining at how to get the children involved.

A great evening to finish off this year's London Professional Series.

The London Professional Series has been going a number of years now and we're reviewing it for 2015. So if you have any suggestions on things that could be changed to help it fit with what the SCBWI membership want, please email us on profseries@britishscbwi.org or leave a comment below and let us know.

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David Richardson is co-organiser of the London Professional Series with Non Pratt. He's working on two new projects as well as continuing with his YA novel and Picture Book texts.

Keep it short! Pippa Goodhart’s Picture Book Author Masterclass

Kate Peridot

I jumped at the chance to meet Pippa Goodhart and listen to her words of wisdom at the recent SCBWI Author Masterclass on Writing Picture Books in London. My children love her book You Choose; it’s so well thumbed it’s fallen apart! You Choose is a concept book with just 220 words. The words are mostly page titles or captions around Nick Sharratt’s catalogue-style illustrations. In the Q&A session I asked Pippa how she pitched You Choose to publishers. “It wasn’t easy,” she replied. “The concept was rejected by nine publishers. If you believe in your idea you have to be persistent.” The book went on to become a bestseller.


The number of words in picture books was a recurrent theme during the workshop. Publishers want manuscripts from zero to five hundred words; less is definitely more. Newbies like me tend to overwrite, and I admit, sometimes I only think about the pictures once I have drafted the story. Pippa explained the story is in both the pictures and the words, and sometimes in the gaps in between such as a page turn or a change of pace. Thinking about how the child participates in the story is very important.

Pippa showed us some favourite picture books of hers, This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown and Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne.

Writers, she advised, should think about a story in pictures and let the pictures do the ‘showing,’ 

Writers, she advised, should think about a story in pictures and let the pictures do the ‘showing,’ reducing text to a minimum. There can be considerable power in no words at all. It feels rather brave as a writer to leave a page blank with just an illustration note, but many of the best writer/illustrator picture books do just that to create impact. Pippa also recommended rough sketching the twelve double page spreads to help visualize the book.

All workshop attendees had the chance to request a short one to one with Pippa to discuss their own works in progress – or to workshop them briefly in the class. Pippa critiqued my story Ming’s Dragon. The basic idea was fine, but it needed a complete rewrite. The story was too long and the character motivation and story message weren’t crystal clear.

Concept, pictures and words must work together intuitively to resonate with young audiences.

I plan my longer novels and the short stories I write for magazines, but with picture books there’s a tendency to think, ‘It’s only four hundred words. Why do I need to plan?’ Pippa explained a picture book should have one, maybe two clear themes. Character, motivation, plot and emotion all have their place, as in any story. Concept, pictures and words must work together intuitively to resonate with young audiences. Idea evaluation and story planning is essential.

Later in the afternoon, Pippa set a group creative writing exercise to rework an old fairytale. This was fun, writing is such a solitary occupation it’s great to bounce ideas around with other writers. SCBWIs are a creative bunch; there were some impressive narratives and near meter-perfect rhymes, all generated in under an hour.

And yes, they were all appropriately short!

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Kate Peridot grew up with her nose in a book but only started writing fiction quite recently. A primary school teacher once told her she couldn’t write because she had the ‘worst handwriting she had ever seen’ and her spelling was ‘deplorable.’ Fortunately along came computers. Kate types like a demon and makes up words like ‘fantabulous‘ and ‘huggle’ just to annoy the spelling police. Her first published children’s story is part of the Mumsnet/Walker Book of Animal Stories. She’s working on further picture books and a sci-fi young reader. She lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and children. Her blog Adventures in Fiction can be found at kateperidot.wordpress.com.

Tights, Flu-jabs and Paper plates - All part of enjoyable school-visits

Chitra Soundar

Jane Clarke

Going back to school? It can be a scary place especially if you are going to meet adorable cherubs from Reception to the “I’m almost a grownup” Year 5, 6 with all their questions and inquisitiveness - all in one day.




The masterclass was over-subscribed and for good reason. Jane Clarke transported us into primary schools with suitcases full of props, books and bookmarks. Jane was generous with her advice covering both practical and professional aspects of primary school visits.

Thanks to Jane - now we know we should wear tights when going into Reception and Year 1 classes - if we don’t want food, saliva and snot smeared. (Of course, if you are not of the female gender, replace tights with trousers, tights might be a bit too daring.)

Jane’s advice about pre-ordering school lunches, pre-signing bookmarks and checking with the teacher before using a chair in the teacher’s lounge were all gratefully received.

Interesting and fun school visits can create buzz for the current book and new readers for the next one.

When a book is published, for an author sometimes it feels like the end of the journey. But the book has just started its life. With marketing budgets shrinking for most of us, authors and illustrators need to get out there to spread the word. Interesting and fun school visits can create buzz for the current book and new readers for the next one. For many authors and illustrators this could be another source of income.

As a kid I was terrified of standing in front of assemblies. Now would I be okay doing that in front of a whole school I’ve never met before? “Do what you are comfortable with,” was Jane’s advice. Whether you are doing a lot of class-room sessions or doing assemblies, preparation is key. We came away with wonderful tips for prep before the visit and follow-ups after the visits.

We also had a great time sharing stories from the participants - Cath Howe, Alice Hemming, Anita Loughery, Mike Brownlow, Nick Cross and a number of others shared their experiences during school visits - mystery sacks to match your book, masks for characters, arts and crafts activities to make your own robots. What an abundance of ideas from SCBWI members.

Jane told us - leave something with the kids to remember the visit. And just like in school visits, she gave us each one of those little handmade books that we could fill with stories and pictures.

Next time Jane comes to visit your local SCBWI region with her masterclass, don’t miss it. Going back to school could be fun for you and the kids.

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Chitra has published over 20 books in Singapore, UK, USA and India. She loves writing picture books and retelling folktales. She's also working on fiction for 7+ . Chitra is a member of the Words & Pictures' editorial team, managing The Slush Pile Challenge.

Finding Your Voice in Southampton

On the 28th June Southampton had it's first SCBWI event - tons of respect to all you event organisers out there! We welcomed Sarah Lean to The Art House Cafe in the city centre. The Art House is a not for profit volunteer run vegetarian cafe that holds interesting and diverse arty crafty cultural events and on the last Saturday in June, we were one of them.

Why 'Voice'? Isn't it what every agent and editor is looking for? It seemed a good starting topic. Back in February Sarah gave Words & Pictures some excellent 'voicey' tips and as she's only in Dorset I asked if she would do a workshop and happily she said yes!

Six SCBWI members meet regularly in the city for a drink and something to eat. It's always a good time and I always come away feeling supported and encouraged. We restrict this monthly meeting to members only but it was wonderful to welcome five non members to Sarah's workshop - here's hoping they may not be non members for long.

Helen Dineen is part of our SCBWI Southampton group, Here's what she had to say about the the workshop:

Helen @aitcheldee

Sarah led us in an in-depth discussion about what Voice really means and how to achieve an authentic voice for your story. We talked about what it really feels like to write in your own voice, as well as the skills you need to edit your work. We worked on getting in touch with our inner child using all our senses, and analysed opening lines to see how a unique voice is immediately established by the best authors. It was also fascinating to hear about the level of detail Sarah creates for each of her characters before writing her books. We all went away with renewed enthusiasm and our notebooks full of useful tips and strategies for improving our own stories.

One of the things that made Sarah's workshop so brilliant was that it connected with people at the beginning of their writing journey…

It was so helpful, very informative and as someone who is very much starting at the bottom it was great to be around so many like minded people. It was my first workshop so it was great to be made so welcome, everyone was really friendly. I wasn't really sure how much detail you could really teach as far as writing for kids is concerned but Saturday's workshop gave me so many new ideas and made me reevaluate my whole method of writing - all for the better. I'd recommend the workshop to anyone.

...and those much further on…

Sarah was wonderfully full of spark and inspiration I came away firing with thoughts and ideas. It was a great session, lots of energy and very inspiring!

Thank you again to Sarah, hoping to welcome you back one day!

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Jan Carr is the editor of Words & Pictures. Her fiction is all over the place, she blogs occasionally and loves to write in magenta. You can contact her at editor@britishscbwi.org.

Opportunities, Sheds and a Great Comedian Reads Dahl

I'm pleased to say there's been another healthy crop of entries for our second Chalkface Challenge. So grateful for Nick's Blog Break shout out! At the time of writing there's still a small window of opportunity to enter - deadline: 12pm today Sunday 15th June.

June is the month of opportunity for writers and illustrators. Here's a snapshot of our events page for June:

Click image to enlarge and click HERE to go to SCBWI British Isles events

For the first time ever we have a workshop in Southampton and with none other than the lovely Sarah Lean! In February, Sarah shared some of her excellent insights on how to achieve an authentic child voice for your story and this is the treasure she's going to explore with us in on Saturday 28th June at Southampton's coolest venue, The Art House.

Every editor or agent I've ever read is looking for VOICE. How do we find, nurture and hone ours? 

...by coming to Southampton. It's only an hour and 20 minutes from London and an hour and a half from Oxford - you could get that thing you need in IKEA, go on a cruise or share a pot of tea/ bottle of wine with me. It costs a bargain price of £22 for members and £29 for non members and includes a vegetarian lunch plus teas and coffees.

Sales pitch over, here's what happened this week...

With Sandra Greaves, we peeked into the writing shed of all writing sheds - Roald Dahl's 'little hut'. How wonderful, like the great man, to be able to step into your alternative universe at the bottom of the garden - also just like SCBWI member Lesley Moss. Does anyone else own a shed? Would you share your writing space (any kind of den counts) with us here on W&P? It would be like a literary through the keyhole - who writes in a shed like this?

The now very sadly late Rik Mayall was on our home page in the Twitter feed last week because I forgot which Twitter account I was in. Anyone managing more than one will understand the perils. But with Karen Hart's lovely retrospective on her life with Charlie Bucket it was so right. Almost as much as Quentin Blake's illustration says Dahl so does Rik Mayall's mischievousness. Here, as a small tribute to a great comedian who was often not child friendly at all, is him reading George's Marvellous Medicine on Jackanory:



Next week...

• a new featured illustrator
• Dahly inspiration from Philippa
• and a new Agent Confidential

How do we do it?

It's an amazing team.

Don't forget: If you entered The Chalkface Challenge last year I'd love to know how it was for you and if anything happened next....

Happy Father's Day!

Jan Carr

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Jan Carr is the editor of Words & Pictures. Her fiction is all over the place, she blogs occasionally and loves to write in magenta. You can contact her at editor@britishscbwi.org.

'Standing on the shoulders of giants' - like Robert Paul Weston…

Abi Elphinstone  

There were two reasons I booked onto SCBWI’s Fantasy Writing for Young Readers workshop. Firstly, because the internationally award-winning author, Robert Paul Weston was leading it and secondly, because of the name of the location: The Theodore Bullfrog, in London. Possibly the most fantasy-appropriate name for a pub I’ve come across – sounds like a swash-buckling pirate or a devilish smuggler…

A packed upper room inside The Theodore Bullfrog

Marketed as a ‘Fantasy Writing’ workshop, I was hoping to come away with a few tricks of the trade, but what Weston offered up was nothing short of a lowdown on EVERYTHING you need to know about writing a bestselling MG/YA fantasy novel. Admin note to SCBWI: amend the workshop title to Fantasy Writing for Young Readers with Robert Paul Weston – comes with complete lowdown on writing bestsellers. BOOM.

Weston was approachable and instructive (not to mention ridiculously talented), and after his Fairytale Machine ice-breaker (think telepathic streets and trees that can fly), we looked at the ingredients of a captivating fantasy world: what makes it plausible, how to avoid info dumps, ways to make the world feel original…

 The 'what if ' spreads through your whole world.

Weston also  introduced us to two words that have already transformed the new series I’m planning: WHAT IF. ‘The what if spreads through your whole world. Check out Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights – what if a person’s soul is represented by an animal… The book hinges on this idea and even the first line of Chapter One punches that what if home: ‘Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen.’

From settings we explored the ‘9 traits of sympathetic characters’ – possibly the most instructive 9-step powerpoint slide I’ve seen (I reckon Weston could sell it on ebay for a few thousand…) and the ingredients of a compelling first person narrator: ‘There’s not much point having a first person narrator unless they speak in an interesting way. Take Moira Young’s Blood Red Road – the narrative voice is compelling and it works.’

We tackled the art of ‘being funny’ with Weston succinctly revealing that ‘funniness is about unpredicted endings, right from sentence level to scene level’, and looked at the concepts of conflict and suspense.

Conflict: I want something.

Suspense: will you get it? 

The finale saw us working on structure – the ebbs and flows of action and happy versus tragic endings – with every point backed up by an example from a fantasy novel. My ‘To Buy’ book list is now as tall as Hogwarts…

It was an invaluable workshop (enhanced by the fact that the pub served amaaaaazing pizza at lunch) and if Gandalf is the wisest fantasy character out there, then Weston is one of the wisest creative writing tutors I’ve come across. I’m very pleased to be standing (not literally, because that would be weird) on the shoulders of fantasy giants like him.

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Abi Elphinstone grew up in Scotland where she spent most of her childhood building dens, hiding in tree houses and running wild across highland glens. After being coaxed out of her tree house, Abi studied English at Bristol University and then worked as an English teacher in Africa, Berkshire and London. Her debut children’s novel for 9-12year-olds, Oracle Bones, will be published by Simon & Schuster early 2015, with the sequel, Soul Splinter, out the following year. Abi runs a ‘mad about children’s books’ blog – www.moontrug.com and her favourite book is Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (if she had a daemon it would be a wildcat with attitude).

SCBWI British Isles 2014 Writing Retreat

Dunford House

We're delighted to have Colleen Jones report for us on a recording-breaking year for the SCBWI writers' retreat at Dunford House. 

Over to Colleen…




While others were slaving away at the Book Bound retreat, we were eating cake at the SCBWI British Isles 2014 Writing Retreat! Oh, we did a bit of writing too.

I was the lone representative of SCBWI Ireland and was feeling every bit a retreat newbie. I put my hand up when Teri Terry asked for a volunteer to gather the bios of all the participants. This was rather clever of me as I got a sneak peek at almost everyone’s bio before they were distributed to the group. The fun part was matching the faces to the bios when we met on Friday evening.

About half the group met in the pub across the road from Haslemere train station. When most of us had staggered in with our luggage around 15:30, car pools and taxis were arranged to get everyone to Dunford House. (Thanks for that, Teri.) This was my first meeting with Matt and Zoe as we admired the lush countryside and hoped our taxi driver knew where he was going (he did).

Arriving

Dunford House was once the family home of a local MP, taken over the YMCA in 1952 and turned into a meeting and event facility. All the guest rooms are named after family members. I was in the “Stella!” room. (I can never say that name without having a Marlon Brando melodrama moment.) The staff were very helpful and friendly and with them, we were very lucky to have the run of the place for the entire weekend.

The house is a warren of interesting nooks and crannies, with an endless selection of places for people to settle in to write.  One of my favourite things in the house was an old photo album, which included pictures of some of the family pets. There was an old projector in the hall, a baby grand piano that Cath Howe played beautifully, several libraries, and a conservatory full of plants with one very scared bird and then later a giant bumblebee. Both were eventually freed from their glass prison with a little coaxing and an open window or two.

Exploring

There are paths through the woods and all around the grounds. I didn’t go far on my own trek, but other people found the Bluebell Woods. The whole area is gorgeous, even in the rain, but we were lucky to also see some blue skies and sun.

Evenings were lively and loud with lots of talking, sharing of ideas and techniques, and general chatter as we got to know each other. The Friday night icebreaker was a quiz devised by Teri. I sucked at that!

Meals were simple, delicious, and mostly locally grown. Dunford catered very well for people with food allergies and intolerances. Participants brought a small mountain of cakes and other treats, which were laid out like a sacrifice to the writing goddesses. We had four guys at the retreat – that’s some kind of record, isn’t it?

Matt Killeen - Writing

Saturday and Sunday were loosely structured around meals and tea breaks, and we never seemed to stop eating! I’m still drooling over the gingerbread loaf and those little caramel balls. There were many fan favourites on the cake table. I like that we actually HAD a Cake Table.

David Fenell - Also Writing

One-to-ones were booked in advance with Elizabeth Wein and Bryony Woods over the two days. We had lots of time for writing, and I was quite amazed at how much I actually achieved when I stopped faffing about and actually focused for an hour or two at a time.

Elizabeth Wein, award-winning author of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire and  gave two workshops on Saturday and Sunday with a focus on plot and structure. She gave us exercises to do, and there was discussion of each one. One assignment involved writing the opening scene from the point of view of a social worker and then from the point of view of an antagonist or other character. Those were fun and really helped me to look at my story differently.

Writers could be found deeply engrossed in their projects in every room, sometimes gathered in small clutches, working silently but companionably. People gathered spontaneously for tea breaks or walks outside, which generated a lot of discussion about story ideas, plot issues, character development, cake, and any other topic like how the Eurovision competition might be going (it was semi-banned from the retreat, though possibly someone took a peek on their tablet). Saturday night, we bared our souls for two (timed) minutes to read snippets of our current projects to each other in the lounge. It was great to hear what other people were working on; there was quite a range of subjects, styles, and age ranges being covered. Alas, we had to eschew the pyjama party, but Miriam and I may have started a comfy-slipper-wearing tradition! Note to self: Get thicker slippers for walking across the gravel driveway for meals.

Something's missing from this picture...

To finish the weekend in style, Bryony Woods, literary agent  from Diamond, Kahn & Woods Literary Agency, gave a presentation on Monday morning. She did a show-and-tell of some of the books that her agency has published, then did some exercises with us around writing a good query letter. In groups, we analysed a really BAD letter and fixed it. Each group had a slightly different way of rewriting the letter, and it was a fun and informative session.

I gave myself this retreat as an early birthday present. A few other people said they’d also treated themselves to the time away from their regular, busy lives. It was a chance to put the world on hold, leave the kids with the spouse, and really knuckle down and work on our projects.

There may have been a birthday celebrated. Possibly. Nick?

Thank you to Teri Terry and her team for organizing a truly inspiring and amazing weekend!

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@acolleenjones

Originally from Canada, Colleen has lived in Ireland since April 2005. She has been writing stories since age 14 when she wrote the world’s most boring (and unfinished) kidnapping adventure. Currently, Colleen is working on A Dragon Named Thelma, about a dragon who wants to sing in a folk music festival, but she doesn’t realize she can’t sing! How will her best friend, Sashi, help her realize her dream? Colleen volunteers for SCBWI Ireland.

Q & A with Fantasy Writer, Robert Paul Weston

Robert Paul Weston is the internationally award-winning author of several fantasy novels for children and young adults, including Zorgamazoo, Dust City and The Creature Department series, written in collaboration with the special effects company, Framestore (Gravity, Avatar, Where the Wild Things Are). His novels have won prizes in Canada, the United States, and Germany, including the California Young Reader Medal, the Silver Birch Award, the Children's Choice Award, and German Audio Book of the Year.


Alison Smith caught up with Rob in advance of his upcoming London Masterclass: Fantasy Writing for Young Readers on 17th May 2014.

How do you define fantasy?

I’m not a person who says anything fictional is a fantasy, but my definition is quite broad. Beneath this (enormous) umbrella I include everything from the high fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkein to the magic realism of Meg Rosoff and David Almond. I also include works of speculative fiction, historical fantasy, space fantasy, and even science fiction, as all these include otherworldly elements that require discrete skills on the part of the writer, and a thoughtful awareness of how best to present them.

What is the hardest part of writing in another world?

That’s easy—making the reader believe in it. It’s a delicate balancing act between information, imagination, and storytelling. The biggest challenge is that one or all of these are often in conflict. Finding a balance that suits your story is crucial. I hope this masterclass will help writers find this, or at least leave them with food for thought on how to approach it later.

Where do your ideas come from?

No one knows. Ideas are mercurial and mysterious and best left to their own devices. However, I have noticed that nearly all of my new ideas occur to me while reading. I think it is the combination of quiet contemplation while taking in interesting information. It could be any sort of writing, a novel, a work of non-fiction, journalism, or even ad copy on a billboard. It will send the back of my mind off on some tangent and—presto—something clicks.

What is your favourite part about writing children’s literature?

The freedom to explore. A friend of mine defines a writer as someone who is “interested in everything” and I’ve always liked that definition. In my experience, children’s literature allows the writer to weave fluidly between themes, styles and subject matter from book to book or series to series in a way that might not be available to certain writers of adult fiction. For instance, once you write literary fiction, adult readers don’t expect high fantasy the next time around. Of course, even in children’s literature, it’s risky to swerve too wildly, but I do have a sense that the possibility is there.

What do you hope the session will have achieved by the end?

Writers will have created or expanded upon an imaginary world. They will learn techniques of style, structure and characterisation specific to writing in another world (or one very close to ours, with a tweak or two). They will also learn about the business of publishing, finding an agent and how to properly react to/ignore trends.

MASTERCLASS:
Fantasy Writing for Young Readers

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
When: Saturday 17 May 2014 – 12 noon – 4pm
Where: The Theodore Bullfrog Pub, First floor meeting room, 26-30 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HL
Cost: £30 per class for SCBWI members, £37 for non members, £108 special SCBWI member discount when you book for four
classes. (All prices include a pre-ordered light lunch and a beverage.)
Booking: https://britishisles.scbwi.org/events/
More information: masterclasses@britishscbwi.org

** Please bring an example of a fantasy novel (preferably, but not necessarily, for youth) that you admire, along with one to three typed, double-spaced pages of a manuscript or outline. **

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Alison never wanted to become a teenager - which means she is probably not best qualified to be the interviewer for this masterclass! A graduate of the Writing for Children MA at the University of Winchester, her first (as yet unpublished) story was a futuristic middle grade eco-fantasy about two children saving the last seed bank on earth. Just to be contrary - and because she is really an old-fashioned girl at heart - she is now working on a middle grade story set in early Jacobean London.

Events: What’s not to love?

A big Words & Pictures welcome to our new ARA, Stephanie McGregor! Steph has a special responsibility to oversee our events all over the British Isles - no mean feat. Here she is to introduce a new monthly feature posting on Thursdays which will highlight events coming up across the country in the following month.
Over to Steph…



As the newly appointed Assistant Regional Adviser - Events, SCBWI, I oversee all things events related for the British Isles. My philosophy is: the more you know the more you grow.

Since joining SCBWI in 2008, I have learned that becoming (and staying) successful in this industry means you have to prioritize the time needed to hone your craft. After past experience being an ARA, and last year’s hugely successful endeavor of running my own writers’ events company, I jumped at the chance to apply for the ARA Events position for the British Isles region.

As a member, I have always enjoyed going to workshops, classes, parties, and conferences ran by SCBWI. I can see how much my writing has improved from my very first (aka terrible) novel, to the work I’m doing now on my soon to be seventh novel. Without the hard work that was put forth by previous volunteers I would never have moved forward in my own writing career, and the thought of being a part of that process for other people is truly inspiring.

With over 700 members in the UK (and over 22,000 worldwide), there is something for everyone. Please do take a look at our EVENTS PAGE, where you can find all the details including how to book.

Some amazing events coming up for the month of May are:

WEST SUSSEX
 Writers' Retreat

Dunford House, West Sussex
with E. Wein and Bryony Woods
9th May to 12th May 2014

Speakers will be the multi-award winning author of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, Elizabeth Wein, and agent Bryony Woods, a rising star in the book trade by the Bookseller. One to ones with speakers will also be available.

LINCOLN
SCBWI & Lincoln Inspired present...  

How to Get Your Teen Novel Published
with Non Pratt and Emily Sharratt
10th May 2014

Come and join experienced editors Non Pratt and Emily Sharratt as they discuss the state of the teen market in the publishing industry and give advice on ways to make your teen novel stand out in this competitive market place. This event is part of the Lincoln Inspired Festival of Literature, Performance and Art.

LONDON
Author Masterclass

Fantasy Writing for Young Readers
with Robert Paul Weston
17th May 2014

In this workshop, you’ll learn the techniques that make writing fantasy for youth challenging as well as rewarding. World-building, premises, characterisation, and the discrete aspects of craft will be discussed with Robert Paul Weston.

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Stephanie McGregor is a Young Adult and Middle Grade novelist. Originally from Ohio, she now lives in Scotland where she spends her days writing about teen angst, and horrific happenings. Her work is currently being represented by Helen Bryant.

Keith Gray's sell-out Edinburgh workshop tackles Strong Beginnings

by @suzebain

Where are you on the writer’s pyramid? Are you a ‘wannabe’? Full of ideas? Prepared to rewrite?

Keith Gray, author and passionate advocate of young people’s books, issued that challenge at 'Strong Beginnings & the War of Attention," a sell-out workshop organised by SCWBI SE Scotland’s network.


Thirty writers converged on Edinburgh on 29 March, across the road from Harry Potter's birthplace in the Elephant House cafe, to discover the ingredients that make magical openings.


Keith has a strong background in teenage fiction. His first novel, Creepers, was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize when he was just 24, and he has gone on to write a number of critically acclaimed books which have won, or been shortlisted for, all the major awards that any aspiring YA author would dream of.

A sell out!

He’s been on the other side of the awards process, too, having judged the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Blue Peter Award and the Booktrust Teen Prize, and reviewing regularly for both The Guardian and The Scotsman. So if there is anyone who can advise on what gives a manuscript’s opening lines punch, it’s Keith - and we had him to ourselves for a whole afternoon.

Write what you must

In a world full of publishing advice, the sheer volume of ‘write right’ tips can prove overwhelming. Keith’s approach was refreshing – don’t write what you feel you should write, write what you must, and be sure to always keep the needs of the reader central.

It was a challenging start to what would be an inspiring and informative session. However long you’ve lived with your book, he advised, the reader only joins it at line one, so it’s crucial to grab their attention at the start and hold on to it. How do you set up a character for the conflict that follows? How can you line up the dominos that will fall through your plot? What keeps interest maintained once you’ve seized it?

Keith Gray inspiring SE Scotland

Over the course of two hours, we talked through it all, using a combination of examples, exercises and group work. For all his success, Keith is extremely approachable and he is a phenomenal encourager. No question was too big or small to be dealt with, and explanations were clear and concise.

The crux of the session was perhaps this; while tastes change and differ, what works works, and it works for a reason. Strong beginnings, however they may vary, have some things in common, and it is these that combine to drive your story forward. It was an invaluable session: relaxed, informative and, above all, fun – complete with handouts, including Keith's all-important writers' pyramid, encouraging us all to write, revise, accept criticism, and revise again.

Now to put it into practise…

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 @suzebain

Susan Bain is a former political journalist and documentary maker, and author of Holyrood: The Inside Story. She has now moved into the more mature and rational world of children’s fiction and is currently building a house based on children’s stories. You can follow its progress, read reviews and find cheap recipes from The Starving Artists’ Kitchen. Susan is part of the SCBWI British Isles SE Scotland Network, coordinated by Sheila Averbuch (@spacekidsbooks) and Louise Kelly (@mlouisekelly).

Keith Gray is represented by Lucy Juckes at Jenny Brown Associates. He has been multiply published, translated into Polish, German and Japanese, and his books include Ostrich Boys, The Fearful and Malarkey.

Judy Waite's London Masterclass - Growing Pains: Writing for Young Adults

©John Shelley

What lengths are you prepared to go to in order to tap into your teenage protagonist’s mind and find their voice? Would you:-

• Run away up to London dressed as a teenage boy?
• Audition for a part in a boy band?
• Get locked up in a police cell?

All of these have been tried and tested by award-winning author Judy Waite!

With a confession like that, her SCBWI London Masterclass: ‘Growing Pains: Writing for Young Adults.’ promised to be an interesting and entertaining ride.

And that’s exactly how it turned out.

She took us through a series of fun and thought-provoking exercises in a bid to master the dark art of creating a credible and compelling teenage voice.

An interesting and entertaining ride!

Connecting With Your Own Inner Teenager

Working in small groups, we were set the task of remembering what it was like to be a teenager in ‘our day’. For some of us that meant beaming back to the late seventies/early eighties when Punk Rock and fears of being nuked by the Russians ruled. For others it was more about friends, boys and getting hold of alcohol.

But there was a strong consensus that it had also been about isolation and not fitting in. Or, as one member of the group reflected, is it that writers are just a pathologically insecure bunch?

What Matters to Teenagers Now?

Next, we considered today. Are there things that matter more to teenagers now than when we were growing up? No surprises for guessing that social media in all its many guises topped the list. Then followed material goods, self-image and employment.

...is it that writers are just a pathologically insecure bunch?

In essence though, we concluded that the young adults of today are not so hugely different in their passions and fears, hopes and dreams. The trick, as Judy pointed out, is to get into their heads and understand how they live their lives.

Reinvent Yourself

To try and help with this, Judy encouraged us to reinvent ourselves as teenagers today. So we wrote a couple of paragraphs to bring ourselves bang up to date. This proved a challenge. And some of us weren’t quite sure how to transform ourselves into a new, updated version.

Perhaps we're too much like Peter Pan, never wanting to be teenagers in the first place!

Getting All Cut Up

This exercise is based on a tried and tested approach to writing adopted by the likes of William Burroughs and David Bowie. Judy got us experimenting with a new and creative way into the teenage mind.

Perhaps we're too much like Peter Pan

We picked a selection of short phrases and sentences drawn from Facebook messages posted by real-life teenagers and from published teenage novels – including Judy’s own favourite, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – and used them to conjure up a teenage voice and a setting.

We had a little help from a special extra – a bit of meditative candle contemplation.

The results of this time spent ‘in the zone’ and focussing on our character’s needs and wants, proved both powerful and compelling and gave many of us the ingredients for a new and exciting teenage voice to go away and explore.

And we hadn’t even had to get locked up to do it! (By the way, Judy was quick to confess that the audition and the time spent in jail had been with the collusion of the organisations concerned – phew, that’s a relief!)

Thanks again Judy for a stimulating, creative and fun session – and to Wendy Allen for the pictures.

There are still a few places left on the next Masterclass: Fantasy Writing for Young Readers lead by Robert Paul Weston – Saturday 17 May 2014. For bookings and more information visit https://britishisles.scbwi.org/events/author-masterclass-fantasy-writing-for-young-readers-with-robert-paul-weston/ or email masterclasses@britishscbwi.org

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Alison Smith works as a freelance PR and communications professional for part of her week.

For the rest of it she is to be found clamped to her computer – when she’s not busy pursuing the usual writerly diversions of blog-reading, net-surfing and gazing out of the window – wrestling with her middle grade historical novel set in early Jacobean London..