Making It Up as You Go Along: A Children's Guide to Writing Stories
Making it Up as you Go Along is a guide for children who are interested in creative writing, featuring great advice and practical exercises to ignite the imagination and answer that eternal question from children to authors – ‘Where do you get your ideas?’
With a foreword from President Michael D. Higgins, this illustrious introduction tells us from the beginning that this is a book that takes children’s creativity seriously. Along with Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde’s expert guidance, this book is punctuated by letters of advice from some of Ireland’s best-loved children’s authors including Eoin Colfer, Sarah Webb and Alan Nolan.
Although the tone is light, fun and age-appropriate, the content makes it a truly valuable resource for any young writer harbouring dreams of publishing a novel someday. It is a book that readers will return to again and again, finding new information each time. Key writing concepts such as plot, setting and characters are broken down into manageable sections, with clever metaphors and fun illustrations by Mary Murphy to help readers grasp the ideas. Young writers will learn terms such as ‘inciting incident,’ ‘protagonist’ and ‘showing vs. telling,’ which provide a strong base for any writer. This book also touches on other important skills for children such as mindfulness and self-esteem, tied in with the writing activities.
This book is an investment for any child interested in books and writing and is sure to keep them occupied for hours developing new skills and finding joy in creativity.
