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:

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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:

Rave reviews about Writing Books for Children: "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 "Overall, the course was excellent. Judith covered a lot of ground and gave a lot of examples of existing publications. The course was structured in such a way that complete beginners could get as much out of it as more experienced participants." - Patrick Silsbey read more ...