Building a Strong Writing Foundation: Writing for Children and Young Adults with ER Murray

Course Summary

Are you looking to start writing your children’s book, or do you need some support and motivation to return to your work-in-progress? Join us online for a generative and supportive writing experience and build a solid foundation for your writing practice. Over six weeks, we will improve your skills by exploring the core elements of writing for children and young adults, while building your writing stamina with motivational tips and tricks. Ideal for beginners who want to get started and for those returning from a break or in need of motivation – suitable for anyone writing picture books, middle grade and young adult.

Includes:

· Writing prompts and exercises

· Reading samples to discuss

· Group discussions – sharing of process and discoveries

· Additional prompts to motivate your writing in between sessions

· Tips and tricks to help stay motivated

Course Outline

Each week, there will be a minimum of three writing exercises, plus optional prompts for you to try at home. As well as exploring various writing techniques, the writing process and ways to motivate ourselves to the page will be discussed. As this course is designed to generate lots of writing and to deepen your understanding of your own practice, the focus will be on output rather than sharing our first drafts.

Topics covered include:

· Age groups and genres in the children’s book world: understand your writing style and intended audience

· Creating believable and relatable characters: personality, depth, motives & emotional arcs.

· Writing exciting settings: bringing settings to life, the impact of environment on character and story.

· Water-tight world building: creating a world that doesn’t crumble!

· Dialogue, plot, voice: best practice and pitfalls to watch out for.

· Becoming Your Own Editor: ways to approach your work with a fresh and constructive ey

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will have gained valuable writing skills that create a strong foundation for your writing journey. You will also have a deeper understanding of your writing practice and how to get the most from your writing time.

E.R. Murray writes in multiple genres for adults, young adults and children. Her books include Caramel Hearts and the award-winning Nine Lives Trilogy; The Book of Learning (Dublin UNESCO Citywide Read 2016), The Book of Shadows (shortlisted Irish Literacy Association Award & Irish Book Awards), and The Book of Revenge. Recent anthology/journal publications include Women on Nature (UK), Reading the Future (ROI), Terrain (CA), Elysian: Creative Responses (ROI), Not Very Quiet (AUS), Here Comes Everyone (UK), Autonomy (ROI), Popshots (UK), Banshee (ROI), Ropes (ROI), Channel magazine (ROI), Paper Lanterns (ROI) and Ponder Review (U.S.). She lives in West Cork, Ireland.

Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.