How I work

I dared show a photo of my messy garden office in a guest blog for Words and Pictures last month – complete with the table cloth clamped to stands that I used as a backdrop for a few videos.





You can't tell what a mess it is from the outside. Here's a picture of my garden, which was particularly lush last summer. I'm a mad gardener ... I can't wait for winter to be over! Move, Winter, I want my garden back!



Thanks to Caroline Deacon for featuring me on Words & Pcitures! Read the article about my writing day here

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Children and Teens Who Want to Write

By Candy Gourlay

I visited Ormiston Bushfield School in Peterborough
yesterday as part of the Pop Up Schools Programme.
I wore these socks.

I get a lot of mail on Facebook from young people who are trying to write. They ask me: Will you read my manuscript? Will you help me finish my book?

Sometimes, they ask me: How do I get famous?

And when I visit schools, the question always pops up: How do I get published?

These are HUGE questions.

And before anybody says anything snarky, they are all questions that once passed my own lips on my own long writing journey. They are questions that deserve to be answered with kindness and consideration.

For a while now, I've been meaning to write a blog post for young people who want to write.

Lucky for me, former Writer's Digest publisher Jane Friedman beat me to it. Here are the links:

Writing Advice for Children and Teens

How to Get Your Book Published

Jane suggests that mentors can speed one's development as a writer. I am glad though that she gives the following counsel: "Don't ask a famous person to be your mentor or give feedback on your work. You don't need someone really famous."

At this point, may I apologise to all the young people who have asked me to help them with their books. I just can't do it -- not just because of the sheer number of requests I get, but because I am working full time as a children's author, writing my own books and appearing in schools. 

'Mentors speed growth,' Jane writes. And to all you grown-ups reading this: do you realise that you -- YES, you! -- may already be mentoring a young writer?

You might be the teacher whose warm encouragement has inspired a student to explore his or her writing.

You might be a librarian who suggested the book that ignited that love for words.

You might be the parent who has unwittingly nurtured a writer by relentlessly reading aloud to your children at bedtime.

If so, you too have to skill up. Your mentee is counting on you. Do bookmark Jane's article on writing advice, there is a lot of really good stuff in there, including suggesting online writing communities like Figment and Wattpad (I suggested Wattpad to a young friend the other day who was wondering if she should set up a blog to share her writing -- if you're interested in sharing your writing, that's not really blogging ).

Not everyone has the drive to write however. But everybody loves a good story. When I visit schools, children never fail to astonish me with their creativity and storytelling ability. 

Yesterday, during a visit to Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Peterborough (part of the Pop Up Schools Programme), the children planned out novels in just thirty minutes! Here are synopses of the two books we made up. If children can do this in thirty minutes, think what other magnificent things they can achieve!

Twelve year old John and his parents live on Mars. It's a settlement of refugees who have fled the toxic wasteland that Earth has become. John is the only young person on the planet and he hates it. Not only is he lonely, he is forced to wear a survival suit at all times. He would do anything to leave Mars, but where would he go? One day he  stumbles upon a six year old girl hidden in a survival unit. There is an explosion and John and the girl end up in an escape pod that slingshots them to Earth. When they emerge, they discover that Earth is no longer toxic but it has been overwhelmed by wild animals. John, who had been desperate for young company, discovers that it is a great responsibility as well as he protects his new friend (who is a bit annoying) from the wild creatures. Now he just wants to go home. To Mars.

Christopher, a BMX biker, is plagued by strange dreams of apocalyptic scenes. The dreams never change, following a series of events that end with terrible destruction. It has gotten to the point that he dreads falling asleep. He is so distraught he moves into a remote forest, to get away from the places that he sees in his dream. One day, he discovers that one of the things that happen in his dream, the one that sets off a series of destructive events, actually happens. That night, the dream changes. A man, who had not appeared in the dream before, speaks to him. He tells him that his dream of apocalypse is going to come true unless Christopher crosses into his dream and stops the events from happening. At first Christopher finds it hard to believe. He returns to the locations he sees in his dreams and something makes him realise that the man's warning is true. He also discovers that he has no choice. If he doesn't enter his dream, he will die. In the final chase scene, he uses his BMX skills to escape the dream baddy.

With thanks to the children and staff of Ormiston Bushfield who made me welcome. And to Pop Up for having me on the programme. Thanks to Kyhiro for the badass apocalyptic creative commons image.

Dear Candy Gourlay, how do I become a writer?

The 300 Word Challenge  |   Authors You Will Meet

Before I continue with this blog post ... here's a word from our sponsor:

Today's the day my second novel SHINE is officially available in UK shops in hardback! If you can, please get it from a bookshop near you or order it from your nearest loveable public library!

Last June, I visited a school right on the edge of the Luzon electricity grid in the Philippines - Laurel Elementary School. I was taken there by the Sambat Trust.

I came bearing gifts - my book distributor for schools Anvil Publishing had given me a big bag of picture books (thanks Gwenn!) that I handed out as prizes for even the most trivial of questions.

So the children rapidly went from orderly bemusement:

To this:

Photo: Zarah Gagatiga

SUCCESS! I believe in making books exciting - even if I'm just bribing the children to answer questions.

I talked about how I became a writer and then signed books. In the queue I met this teenage girl from a nearby high school.

Photo: Zarah Gagatiga

She said writing was her passion. But how, she asked me, could she become a writer?

Y'know, it's funny how this is one question that I am asked over and over again by young people. I wonder if other authors get this question in their inboxes as often as I do.

Dear Candy Gourlay, How do I become a writer?

Luckily for today's young writers, they don't just have to aspire quietly in their bedrooms. With the internet, they can contact authors like me directly and ask this burning question. HOW?

The answer of course is a moving feast. Here's what I say to them:

To become a writer you must write and you must read. Lots. You must learn everything you can about the craft. You must decide who you want to write for and create work accordingly. It's a tough business, full of rejection, so you must keep an eye out for others who share your passion. They will support you through the tough times and you must support them. 

I try to answer what I can. But because of my busy schedule, I have to regretfully turn away pieces of writing that these aspiring writers attach to their emails - and I'm very sorry indeed that I don't have the time to help. If we all had the time to mentor young writers like these, what a fantastic literary world this would become!

So when Archway with Words, a new literary festival to be held in my neighbourhood here in North London invited me to create an event, I thought, how about something for young writers?

I came up with this:

23 September 2013, 5pm to 6pm, Archway Library - it's FREE.

It's a chance for young writers to show their work to authors - only 300 words ... 300 words is enough to get a flavour of the writer. I've rustled up a roomful of famous, cool and incredibly good looking authors (my very kind author buddies who are taking alcohol as their reward for showing up) to respond to the pieces.

This is not about criticism, this is about taking your writing to the next level.

Here's how it will work:

1. Submissions will be sent in advance to participating authors - they're attending my book launch which is why I was able to rustle up a roomful of them! Sadly places are limited because time is limited, so do submit sooner rather than later.

2.  On the day, a reader (I'm trying to get an actor) will read each text aloud. The authors will not be identified, though they can identify themselves if they want to later. After reading each text, the authors will respond to the work.

3. We only have 45 minutes to an hour to talk about the work. We will read as many as we can but the aspiring writer will not know if his or her contribution will get read. I attend events like these at writer's conferences and even if your work is not read, it's very, very educational.

4. Aspiring writers ages 12 to 18 submit 300 words (or thereabouts - no need to break off abruptly!) of a piece of writing - it may be fiction or an essay (for lack of time, no poems please). You can write something specially or maybe you've already written a novel or a longer piece - then you can show us a delicious excerpt! Send as an attached word document to me - contact me first via the contact form on the right for the email address.

5. Deadline: 18th of September 2013, Wednesday.

6. Format: Double spaced on one sheet. No fancy fonts please.

7. You can only send something in if you can guarantee that you can attend of course. Afterwards, there will be plenty of time to chat and hobnob with authors at the book launch. And the critiquing session will be a great ice breaker! You won't feel shy about chatting to the authors after the session!

Did I remember to mention that it's FREE?

If you are young and an aspiring writer, we all hope to see you there.

Here are the famous, cool and incredibly good looking authors 

who will be listening to your work

(Click on the images to visit our websites)

From left to right:

Fiona Dunbar's Truth Cookie series was made into the BBC show Jinx.

Tim Collins could be a character out of his hilarious Wimpy Vampire books.

Addy Farmer writes moving picture books like Grandfather's Bench and Siddharth and Rinki

Candy Gourlay wrote Tall Story about an eight foot tall boy.

Steve Hartley writes the Danny Baker Record Baker series and always travels with a giant bogey.

Jackie Marchant ghost writes the rib-tickling and highly suspicious books of Dougal 'It's not my fault' Trump.

Jane Mcloughlin wrote the Carnegie-nominated At Yellow Lake.

Cliff McNish is a lot nicer than his creepy Doomspell Trilogy and horror books.

Sarah Mussi's pacey Angel Dust is transcendent YA.

Sam Osman aka Sam Hepburn wrote the heart-pumping thriller Chasing the Dark.

Teri Terry's explosive Slated trilogy is winning prizes all over the place.


I leave you with this video of my hero Ray Bradbury talking (sometimes grumpily) about how to become a writer ...




And one more ...

It is the Sambat Trust's third year of building libraries in the Philippines. To celebrate, every new supporter who "likes" our Facebook page this September will be matched with a £1 donation- up to £500. Please ... go like!

Like books? Like children? Like libraries?
Click on the logo and 'like' us!

You might be interested in my recent postings. Click on the thumbnails to view:

How to Become a Writer

My Video Reading

Unboxing First Copies 

Q&A at Tamarind Books

Riffing on Rain in Shine

Chasing happiness

Dear Character, I love you but I'm going to kill you

Arthur Rackham's illustration of The Three Bears

Have you ever wondered if there was a fourth bear in The Three Bears? And did Little Red Riding Hood have a sister in a blue dress? And what about Peter Pan's best buddy? For every great character, there exists a cast of alternative heroes who never made it to the final book. Authors have to be tough on their stories and sadly, not every character make the cut.

Over on the DFB StoryBlog, I write a letter of apology to the characters who never made it in my fiction. Read To My Character from a Disloyal Author