Online Writing Books for Children and Young Adults

5-week online course

Online Writing books for children with Judith Ridge / Nicola Robinson
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost $395

The next available course starts the week beginning:

Monday 09 Aug 2010

Learning outcomes

Would you like to write children’s books? Do you want to know the secret to writing a book that children and younger readers will love? This course will help you do just that! You’ll learn how to write a book for kids that will engage, inspire and entertain.

The course will cover:

how to get started
finding the right voice
creating characters and stories young readers will enjoy
how to write believable dialogue
common assumptions about writing for children and about young readers
how to structure a story that works
the secrets to plotting for different age groups
what you need to know about getting into the children’s publishing market

This course focuses on longer fiction, although picture books will also be touched upon.

This online course is the same as the popular course Writing Books for Children and Young Adults conducted in the training rooms of the Sydney Writers' Centre. You're able to take part in this interactive web-based course even if you don't live in Sydney or can't get to the Centre.

Click here for a course outline.

Lessons are delivered via our password-protected classroom. You and your online classmates are encouraged to participate and ask questions online. The presenter will answer your questions online as well. You are also encouraged to submit pieces of work which the presenter will give you feedback on. You need high-speed internet access (cable or ADSL) in order to participate in this course.

Your virtual classroom

You can attend the virtual classroom any time, any day of the week. This way, you can fit your learning into your schedule and lifestyle. You do not have to commit to a set time each week. However, you MUST complete each module during the week specified, or you won't get the most out of the course. Each week builds on the one before and you have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments about the topics we discuss each week.

How much time should you commit each week?

You need to commit a minimum of 2 hours a week. Beyond that, we recommend that you put into practice what you have learnt that week. While you are expected to commit to a minimum of 2 hours a week, we won't hold you back if you are super keen and want to spend much more time than that on your writing. We are happy to give you feedback on any writing you do during the course.

Who created this course?

This online course has been created by Judith Ridge. Judith Ridge is well-known in Australia and internationally for her involvement with writing for children. Judith has worked with the Children's Book Council, as an editor at ABC Children's Books and the NSW School Magazine and freelances as an editor for Random House.

Your online tutors

In addition to Judith Ridge, your online tutors include children's book editor Nicola Robinson. Nicola has worked in the children’s book industry for more than 20 years - as an editor, manuscript assessor, reviewer, writer and community arts organiser. She has freelanced for publishing companies like Penguin Australia, Pan Macmillan and Allen & Unwin, and is now managing editor at Laguna Bay Publishing, where she oversees the production of fiction and non-fiction titles for the primary school market.

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5-week online course

Online Writing books for children with Judith Ridge
Time: Whenever suits you
Cost $395

The next available course starts the week beginning:
Monday 12 July 2010 - Call us to enrol

Click here to view a sample page of the
virtual classroom

Rave reviews about Writing Books for Children: "The most enjoyable part of the course for me was the feedback from my tutor. It was so helpful in developing my writing to hear her feedback, not only my own work but that of the other students. The course has really given me the confidence to send some of my work to publishers. I now know what I really want to do....WRITE." - Michelle Campbell "I really enjoyed participating in the writing tasks set for each module. They challenged me to play with new ideas, voices and genres. The audio recordings and printouts had a great deal of information which I can easily refer back to whenever I need. I found the tutor's responses invaluable. I feel I have truly benefited from this course, the tutor and students were encouraging and insightful. My vision is now much clearer on how and where to begin." - Amanda Francey "This course was full of practical exercises and insightful readings. The Online Writing Books for Children course with Judith Ridge clarified many aspects of the writing process and the specific needs of a younger audience. As a busy mother of two I found the online mode flexible and convenient." - Kirryn Mills "It is very convenient and I had no issues with the website. The format works very well. I enjoyed being able to download lectures whenever I wanted and living in the ACT online courses are the best way for me to access this sort of knowledge. I have taken on board some of the comments about the piece I'm working on, and I'll be able to incorporate the theory about structure and plot into my own stories." - Lisa Chirio "Judith Ridge really opened my eyes to the unique art of children's writing. She made me think about how to approach and write for children and to think about the differences between writing for children and writing for adults. She improved my manuscript for children enormously. "I would recommend her courses to anyone at any level who has an interest in children's literature and writing." - Sarah Thompson "I received some good tips in regards to publishers and what they want. There was a great deal of very useful information and it was presented very well." - Michelle Crook "The audio programs were really good. It was great reading other people's work and seeing how they approach assignments. It has given me new motivation and inspiration to write. It made me realise I might be good at different types of writing. The best thing was I could make use of time in the car (I work and have 2 small children so am very time-poor)." - Jodi Webb "The weekly assignments were superb and forced me to consider many different aspects of writing a story well whilst getting feedback on my own work. I am now able to write dialogue more effectively and can understand the important concept of 'show vs tell' and have tools to further improve my skills in these and other areas. "The best thing about this mode of delivery was the convenience of participating when geographically a long way from the Sydney Writers' Centre. It was easy, convenient, flexible and well sturctured." - Cherri Ryan "I looked forward to Monday mornings and the start of a new module. Each task was a new challenge that I really enjoyed attempting. It was good to be able to read the other classmates work and just get an idea of how other people worked through the tasks. I have truly learnt a lot from this course. I had a manuscript I thought was ready to go. However, since completing the course I have re-written the whole piece. I have come away with a lot more understanding of what I need to do to write better. "It was very easy and convenient. I liked the idea of downloading onto my mp3. I found I listened to each module three times each week. It was great not to be committed to a set time to do classes. I could learn at my own pace and take as much or as little time as I needed. Perfect!" - Julie Lynch read more ...

Rave reviews about Writing Books for Children:

"The most enjoyable part of the course for me was the feedback from my tutor. It was so helpful in developing my writing to hear her feedback, not only my own work but that of the other students. The course has really given me the confidence to send some of my work to publishers. I now know what I really want to do....WRITE."
- Michelle Campbell

"I really enjoyed participating in the writing tasks set for each module. They challenged me to play with new ideas, voices and genres. The audio recordings and printouts had a great deal of information which I can easily refer back to whenever I need. I found the tutor's responses invaluable. I feel I have truly benefited from this course, the tutor and students were encouraging and insightful. My vision is now much clearer on how and where to begin."
- Amanda Francey

"This course was full of practical exercises and insightful readings. The Online Writing Books for Children course with Judith Ridge clarified many aspects of the writing process and the specific needs of a younger audience. As a busy mother of two I found the online mode flexible and convenient."
- Kirryn Mills

"It is very convenient and I had no issues with the website. The format works very well. I enjoyed being able to download lectures whenever I wanted and living in the ACT online courses are the best way for me to access this sort of knowledge. I have taken on board some of the comments about the piece I'm working on, and I'll be able to incorporate the theory about structure and plot into my own stories."
- Lisa Chirio

"Judith Ridge really opened my eyes to the unique art of children's writing. She made me think about how to approach and write for children and to think about the differences between writing for children and writing for adults. She improved my manuscript for children enormously.

"I would recommend her courses to anyone at any level who has an interest in children's literature and writing."
- Sarah Thompson

"I received some good tips in regards to publishers and what they want. There was a great deal of very useful information and it was presented very well."
- Michelle Crook

"The audio programs were really good. It was great reading other people's work and seeing how they approach assignments. It has given me new motivation and inspiration to write. It made me realise I might be good at different types of writing. The best thing was I could make use of time in the car (I work and have 2 small children so am very time-poor)."
- Jodi Webb

"The weekly assignments were superb and forced me to consider many different aspects of writing a story well whilst getting feedback on my own work. I am now able to write dialogue more effectively and can understand the important concept of 'show vs tell' and have tools to further improve my skills in these and other areas.

"The best thing about this mode of delivery was the convenience of participating when geographically a long way from the Sydney Writers' Centre. It was easy, convenient, flexible and well sturctured."
- Cherri Ryan

"I looked forward to Monday mornings and the start of a new module. Each task was a new challenge that I really enjoyed attempting. It was good to be able to read the other classmates work and just get an idea of how other people worked through the tasks. I have truly learnt a lot from this course. I had a manuscript I thought was ready to go. However, since completing the course I have re-written the whole piece. I have come away with a lot more understanding of what I need to do to write better.

"It was very easy and convenient. I liked the idea of downloading onto my mp3. I found I listened to each module three times each week. It was great not to be committed to a set time to do classes. I could learn at my own pace and take as much or as little time as I needed. Perfect!"
- Julie Lynch

read more ...