I’ll be giving a writing workshop tomorrow at the Carlingwood Library to help kids aged 9-12 prepare their stories for the Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Contest. We’ll do two story-building exercises: one on Character, and one on Setting. For those who can’t be there, here is my Setting handout, with a short version of… Continue reading Young Writers Workshop: Setting Exercise
It's time for all the young writers in Ottawa to get their awesome on! The Ottawa Public Library wants you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write a poem, short story, or comic (or all three!) to enter into the OPL's 2019 Awesome Authors youth writing contest. The contest is open to Ottawa… Continue reading Awesome Authors 2019 – Submission Call
This Tuesday, I had the pleasure of calling the names of twelve young writers whose short fiction won places in the Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Contest. What a pleasure to be one of this year's judges and to read excerpts from the fantastic mix of winning stories: humour, drama, sci-fi, horror, and sad, sad… Continue reading Immersed in Student Writing
I always look forward to my regional SCBWI conference. This year it's especially exciting because I'll be giving a workshop myself. My topic: revision. I used to dread revisions. I loved drafting; I loved polishing; but I loathed the grunt work in between the two. I spent the past year revising a middle-grade animal adventure… Continue reading The Art of Story: SCBWI Canada East Conference
Yes, it's on! The Ottawa Public Library is holding its annual Awesome Authors Contest for youth aged 9-17. If you're a young person in Ottawa with something to say, get to work on saying it well. (BTW, the 9-year-olds don't have to compete with the high-schoolers. The contest is divided into three age categories: 9-11;… Continue reading Awesome Young Authors in Ottawa
Catherine Austen 