Paul spoke of his Inverclyde background and displayed
illustrated examples of how he had used his local area’s folk tales, myths and
legends as inspiration for many of his early stories.
We carried out a ‘mash-up’ exercise; used for when stuck for
ideas: we used combinations of disparate subjects to create a character eg a
“ninja blacksmith” or
“caterpillar superhero”.
Each of us then worked on a possible outline of story
involving that character. We gave the character a problem or purpose and
eventual solution or outcome.
Another example of ‘idea generator’ was to make a list of
films titles and randomly pick two to create a new twist. “Tom and Gerry” meets
“Titanic”?
Maybe use your own local area which you know well as the
setting, but perhaps give it a twist. Perhaps in the future or past: maybe in
extreme weather conditions.
Paul explained that whilst children’s books are frequently
illustrated, publishers are not looking for the author to provide illustrations
or even suggestions of pictures. They have their own set of artists.
Helpful
sources for Children’s authors include:-
SCBWI Society of Children's Book
Writers and Illustrators
Carousel: The Guide to Children's Books
Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbooks.
Many thanks to Paul for his ideas and suggestions;
they should be of considerable help to members in creating their 750 word
stories for the Albert Hammond competition in two weeks time. ( Children’s Fiction 5 – 7 year olds –
Deadline 2nd October) Carousel: The Guide to Children's Books
Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbooks.
http://paulbristow.blogspot.com/
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