News this week includes the The Paisley book festival which begins on the 18th Feb https://paisleybookfest.com/ And don’t forget the upcoming virtual SAW conference. Also Anne is doing her enlightening presentation on book covers as part of the LiteraryGlobe Zoom event – details below:
Date: Friday, February 12th 2021
Time: 1830 UK Time; 1930 (Netherlands)
Login: https://us04web.zoom.
Meeting ID: 771 0975 2933
Passcode: UkyZ7S
Running time: 40 minutes
Last night Anne’s tutor from Glasgow University Cathy McSporran treated us all to an online Zoom class in writing Young Adult Fiction. She was very professional and encouraging and I suspect what we enjoyed last night was exactly the same experience (zoom permitting) as her university students. One of Cathy’s tips for YA fiction was for the main protagonist to be a teenager, the idea being that young readers will identify with a character of their own age (or slightly older). That doesn’t mean you have to exclude older readers though. I think C.S Lewis summed up writing for children rather well when he said.
“A children’s story only enjoyed by children is a bad children’s story”
After Cathy’s presentation we all engaged in a five minute writing exercise which consisted of writing about a teenager confronted by bullies. A useful starter for 10 for anyone thinking of entering our final competition for a Young Adult story featuring a teenage protagonist. From the results, bullying certainly is something that touched a nerve with GWC members. From social outcasts and family issues to race and gender there was alas no lack of examples of this age old problem which, in the digital age, has now expanded into social media. Anyway Cathy’s slide show will be winging its way to you via El Presidente Anne very shortly if not already.
The Next GWC meeting on the 17th Feb is a little up in the air at the moment as our adjudicator for the Travel Article competition, Susan Lochrie, may not be available. So if that is the case Isobel has agreed to step into the breach with her Show Don’t Tell workshop
Ho Hum, onwards and upwards.