Making It Up As You Go Along

Irish Children's Laureate Patricia Forde presents an all-in-one guide, workbook, and source of inspiration for young writers, made to encourage creativity and empower every child to share the story they have to tell.

Chapters are 10 or 20 pages each, but broken up into small sections of a page or less that make it easy to pick up in small pieces. The friendly formatting of lists and interspersed illustrations keeps the content engaging and accessible, so you hardly feel like you're learning storytelling fundamentals. Topics include characters, plot (with emphasis on beginnings and endings), setting (and worldbuilding), genre focuses (comedy, mystery, historical fiction, myth legend fable), and editing skills, everything one would need to see a story through from start to finish.

Along with technical information, like choosing a Point of View (POV), there's notes on small writerly habits (always carry a notebook!) and "Over to You" sections for suggested exercises, some of which can be completed in just a few minutes. Some folks might not consider storytelling because they don't think it's interesting to sit with a pen and paper, but the variety of activities demonstrates how creatives can pull from all sorts of inspirations and methods, like music, or being immersed in nature, or even daydreaming.

Finally, each chapter concludes with an encouraging letter from a published author, and these personal notes really set this guide apart from the rest. (Here, the font size gets a little small, but it's otherwise nice and big). Those with Irish roots can find special connections with the authors, who all hail from the emerald isle, and a scattering of Irish folktales and cultural touchpoints are mentioned throughout.

This book is a sturdy hardback, yet lightweight, with a ribbon bookmark. Pick this up as a learning guide, or as a special surprise for an aspiring writer (including the ones who don't know it yet).