On Tuesday 12th May 20 budding young writers were
treated to some wonderful insights on writing by author Sofie Laguna.
Sofie has written books for a wide range of ages from picture books, through
Our Australian girl and Do you dare series to adult fiction. Her most
recent adult novel, The eye of the sheep, was nominated for the Stella
book prize and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award.
Sofie probably surprised a lot of the audience by saying,
that for her, it is always the character that comes first, not the plot. She
began by getting the group to brainstorm a character of their making to
demonstrate how writing can flow from a character not just from the plot.
This lead to lots of participation and Sofie was excellent at drawing responses
from all the participants, even the reluctant ones. Everyone participated
with enthusiasm and remained focused for the hour and a half session.
Once they started writing the participants came up with
some wonderful characters and interesting dialogue. Probably the comment
that best summed up the evening was “ It’s the first time I actually felt my
character.”
Rita @ Hawthorn
What now?
- Add your thoughts about in the comments below.
- Go to the catalogue and reserve it.
- Borrow it as an ebook.
- Review a book yourself.
