French back to judge

ACCLAIMED AUTHOR RETURNS TO READ KIDS NEWS SHORT STORY COMPETITION ENTRIES

Acclaimed Australian children’s author Jackie French is swapping writing kids’ stories for reading them.

For the fourth year running, French will judge the national Kids News Short Story competition and can’t wait to read the inspirational, colourful and often funny stories from students.

She says one question she is always asked by pupils when preparing their stories, is how to make their initial idea become long enough for a full story.

“There are a few reasons why stories may seem too short,” she says, before offering some simple tips for parents to help their budding writer identify and solve common problems.

• You may have hurried the story, and led the reader too quickly to what happened, instead of showing them slowly and building up the tension.

• Add another scene. Maybe someone else arrives or there’s a problem with doing a vital task such as getting a flat tyre but the spare tyre is flat.

• Add another character. If your story is a serious one, add a funny character.

• Keep thinking about your characters. Should you make them more complex, with more thoughts and ambitions?

• Keep thinking. The more you can think and rewrite and add, the better your story will be.

HOW TO ENTER

The Kids News Short Story Competition runs until May 26 and is free to enter. It has four age groups: Kindergarten to Year 2; Years 3-4; Years 5-6 and Years 7-9.

Stories must be between 250 and 750 words for students in Kindergarten to Year 4; and between 500 and 1000 words for students in Years 5 to 9.

First prize winners in each age category will have 10 copies of their short story published into a printed book, and win a HarperCollins Children’s Books Mentorship, which will include personalised feedback on their story from the HarperCollins editorial team. There are also prizes for one runner-up and three highly commended entries in each age group.

Visit kidsnews.com.au for more details