All course content including tutorials, exercises, tasks, and reading lists, is uploaded to the course platform on the same day each week.

Each week, you’ll be set a task to be completed by the following week. Your tutors and peers will then give you feedback on your writing.

Each course has 12 students that engage in discussion and peer-feedback every week. Students tend to form strong and lasting bonds, which means the exchange of ideas, friendship and support lasts beyond the course itself.

There will be a live workshop call every Thursday afternoon where you can ask questions, receive feedback and bounce ideas around.

Once you’re enrolled, you’ll have full access to all that content permanently. So there’s plenty of time to fit the course around your everyday life.

In our first week we’ll take a practical look at the children’s book market and the sub-genres within it. What works well and who the best-selling authors are. What do children want to read? How can we as authors find a story to tell in a crowded marketplace? This week we’ll look at writing ‘elevator pitches’ for stories and explore whether it’s better to follow current publishing trends or not.

Outcome: Get to know the market and how to pitch your book so it stands apart from others.

What tools can an author use to create an original narrative voice that appeals to younger readers? How will you tell your story, through the first person or third person narrative? Will your narrative focus on just one character or a few? These are a few of the topics we’ll be discussing this week.

Outcome: You’ll have the opportunity to explore your own narrative voice and get to grips with the narrative techniques and tools that appeal to younger readers.

At the heart of every story are relatable and memorable protagonists. In this week’s tutorial we’ll look at how we can create fully rounded characters on the page and how we can give them a unique voice through dialogue.

Outcome: Get to know the characters in your story on a deeper level and learn how to communicate those details to the reader in an engaging and accessible way.

What is dramatic tension, why is it so important (especially in children’s books!) and how does an author create it? This week we’ll look at how you keep your young readers turning the page by creating suspense, jeopardy and a sense of drama in your writing.

Outcome: Understand the importance of dramatic tension and what tools authors use to create it in their stories.

You have an idea for a story, but how do you then develop that into fully formed plot? This week we’ll look at the structure of plots, how to pace a story and what methods you can use to ensure you’re communicating your ideas effectively.

Outcome: You’ll be given a practical writing exercise to help you plot a story from your opening lines, through to its conclusion.

In the final week of the course, we’ll look at the process of getting your story published. We’ll talk about what literary agents are and how you go about acquiring one, and what the path to publication commonly looks like for authors. We’ll also use the knowledge and techniques we’ve acquired over the course to draft the first 500 words of a story!

Outcome: Feel confident taking your next steps in the world of publishing and writing for children.