The Creative Hub's new Children’s Writing tutor, Janice Marriott says …

"I love the energy of children and their sense of humour. Humour is an essential element of all communication with children - even my non-fiction books for children have humour in them. The Yates Young Gardener books have animal characters, jokes, and word play. I love changing my style, producing something different every time, because I’m fascinated by language.

I’ve recently moved to Auckland, in order to look after my grandson, Tane, during the working week. In Wellington I had a well-known garden, which I’ve written books about, and opened for garden tours. It used to be full of sweet peas, roses and food. Now I am about to start growing a new garden on the slopes of Mt Eden. Auckland is a very different climate ... so I’m venturing into the unknown. I write a monthly page in House and Garden magazine about my life, and give workshops and talks about writing."

Easter Fiction School, 10am to 4pm 7,8,9th April

Immerse yourself in this stimulating 3-day course of fiction writing, a repeat of our highly successful Summer Fiction School. You will learn how to transform your life stories into fiction, and hear about fiction techniques such as choosing the right point of view, when to use 'show not tell', writing great dialogue, and the magic of narrative voice. What is the Hero's Journey? How do you write engaging scenes? And what is the best way to end a story?

Children's and YA Fiction Writing, starts 26 April 2012, 6-8pm, 8 weeks

Writing for children is all about writing in a simple, fresh, vivid style. Award winning tutor Janice Marriott will offer you techniques to feed your imagination and release your creative powers. Each session will provide a particular craft focus and also offer opportunities for students to share work written during the course. Janice will help you find original ideas for stories, and participants will have input into which topics you would most like to cover in-depth during the course.

Writing Quote of the Month:
Margaret Mahy’s lyricism …

“Somewhere in the flesh of the earth the dreadful earthquake shuddered, the tide walked to and fro on the leash of the moon, rainbows formed, winds swept the sky like giant brooms piling up clouds before them, clouds which writhed into different shapes, melted into rain or darkened, bruised themselves against an unseen antagonist and went on their way, laced with forking rivers of lightning, complete with white electric tributaries. Out of this infinite vision an infinity of details could be drawn, but Sorry had settled on one, and from the endless series a particular beach was chosen and began to form around Laura - a beach of iron-dark sand and shells like frail stars, and a wonderful wide sea that stretched, neither green nor blue, but inked by the approach of night into violet and black, wrinkling with its own salty puzzles, right out to a distant, pure horizon."

Margaret Mahy, The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance