WRITING FOR YOUNG ADULTS...
Once a year my writing group, The Lazy River Writers with help from the Victorian Writers Centre , hosts a writing workshop. This year we featured writing for young adults with author Penni Russon. Penni has over 9 novels published and teaches at Melbourne University (not to mention juggling the jobs of wife and mother to three young children). She had a wealth of experience to share, and share she did. It was a great afternoon. Penni offered not only good advice and some great ideas to use as jumping off points for our writing - but she gave us writing exercises. The one that most intrigued me was putting an experience - and for this exercise we used a 'first time' experience - into a haiku. Yes a haiku. There were no words to hide behind, no waffling, it had to be condensed and concise. A very interesting exercise and one I totally recommend. I think what I got most from this workshop was confidence. That yes there are mountains of books out there... -and ...