Our 6 week online writing for children course with best-selling children’s author and illustrator Oisin McGann starts on September 20th 2010. Oisin has written and illustrated numerous books for young children, including the Mad Grandad series, The Forbidden Files series, and two short retellings of Irish legends. This course, which costs €190/$233/£159 will cover the basics of storytelling and the specific aspects of writing for children and young adults.
Areas that will be looked at include: how to generate ideas; how to use observation; description of both character and setting; using dialogue and ensuring a good pace and plot, as well as how to tailor your writing for different age groups. There will be practical exercises and a final writing task at the end of the course. Oisin will also be giving tips on how to get published, and how to market your books once you get published. For more information, please visit our online courses page or email info@creativewriting.ie/telephone 087-2028310.
“I really enjoyed Oisín’s course. I found that Oisín had very practical advice and his insights into the business side of publishing were very interesting. My favourite part of the course was doing the exercises and getting the feedback. I loved having deadlines! I really found that Oisín’s feedback was very helpful and my writing benefitted as a result.” Brenda, Cork
“I was really pleased with the course, which exceeded my expectations. I was delighted to get such detailed feedback from Oisin, and to feel that my work had been read properly. The specific examples were really helpful. I have completed a couple of writing courses before, and have always really enjoyed them. What was most helpful about this was the constructive nature of the feedback – as opposed just pure encouragement (which is really lovely, but doesn’t always help you in knowing how to improve your writing!). It was a great opportunity also to attempt writing for different age groups, which was definitely challenging for me. Oisin notes were detailed, and filled with practical advice, tips and encouragement. Particularly, the insider view of someone who has themselves been through the publishing hoops was great. Exercises like writing blurbs, and synopses were new to me, and again really helpful. I certainly feel better prepared now than I did at the beginning of the course.” Sharon, Dublin