The Writers' Creative Journey

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, a discussion with three writers who have all come out of the Bath Spa University MA in Writing for Young People course... I had the worry it was just going to be a plug for the course. It was, but only because the three authors were so inspiring that if they'd had a sign up sheet outside I think everyone would have run out shouting "shut up and take my money!"

The discussion was run by Ben Horslen who is an editorial director of Penguin Random House children's books. He was excellent, just as engaged as the writers and came out with some interesting points as well.

Sally Nicholls was very different to the way I pictured her... it's horribly judgmental of me I know, but I guess I always pictured someone older, I googled her this morning and she's 32... only a youngster. She's a wonderfully animated speaker and spoke with such enthusiasm about, well, everything to be honest! One of the surprising things she brought up was that she pitches a lot of things and roughly 50% of that gets thrown out. It's not just a vague idea either, you have to have formed a basic plot summary to make sure that it's exciting. Just imagine what wonders we haven't been able to read by authors because the pitch wasn't spot on. She also mentioned her first recollections of being an author, although seemingly it wasn't a decision she made, it was just always something she knew to be true, she was a writer. I loved the idea that she conjured of her walking round the playground writing stories in her head from Lord Of The Rings. A very through provoking thing to tell kids who would love to write.

Sam Gayton, how to describe him? Hmm. Bold, confident and exactly what you'd want from a children's author. His own origin story was a favourite of mine. He remembers not a book specifically but being retold the story of Jurassic Park by his parents as he couldn't go and see it at the cinema. It's a great way to show how it isn't just books that can inspire a writer. [Yes I know Jurassic Park was a book, but sometimes we just have to face the the film is better... you won't hear me say that very often. City of Bones being another example.] He would be an excellent author to visit schools, he obviously loves his book Hercufleas so much that it's more or less committed to memory. Listening to his reading was just a joy.

David Hofmeyr had his first book Stone Rider published in July. He's a very precise and articulated author and some of the things he came out with over the course of the hour were quite thought provoking. After a question was raised from the audience about the troubles with getting published he made some excellent comments on how to get your book noticed. As part of the Bath Spa MA your work goes into an anthology that goes out to publishers, if you're part of the course that's really handy, but if not you can enter writing competitions that can often lead to agents and publishers. I would imagine that Wattpad and similar sites are also a good place to start. I will admit to having his book in my TBR pile, but as the subject matter doesn't really appeal to me to it keeps slipping. I was hoping that hearing a reading from it would rekindle the desire to read it but I'm still not sure it appeals. [This does make the point from the previous talk that you basically can't please everyone.]

This talk was by far the best one so far but I still have more to see. Tonight's is An Appreciation of Children's Literature with David Almond and Sally Gardner... and then Friday is Writing YA with John Boyne and Andy Mulligan. Lots of excellent authors to listen to and then waffle about!