Writing for Children

Writing for Children

No. of lessons 10
No. of exercises 17
Average duration 9-12 months

Many people assume that the art of writing for children need not be learnt - after all, parents are able to hold the attention of their children by the stories they invent. Authors sometimes take the view that this ability alone is sufficient. They forget that the attention of such a private audience is already assured! A different technique is necessary with an audience who can just put down a boring book or story, and instead watch television or play on a computer.

This course has been prepared to meet that challenge. You will learn how to put together an exciting, original plot, to create believable characters, and to inject just the right amount of mystery, suspense, fun and reassurance for the age group at which you are aiming. If you want to write a complete book you can do so under the instruction of your tutor - the lesson basics are the same, but the exercises are different.

10 modules, with the assignments varied according to your requirements.

Topics covered include:

• Magic and mystery
• Planning the story
• Writing the story
• Characterisation
• The pre-school reader
• Full-length fiction
• Writing non-fiction
• Finding a publisher