Malorie Blackman is a better speaker than writer - I know it's hard to believe, but the audience were cracking their sides at the SCWBI conference in Winchester yesterday.
She spent her time describing how her novels are based on real life events. She certainly isn't afraid of taking her characters to dark places. She likes to tackle subjects that are quite risky, but I personally thinks she deals with these subjects well. Here is a concise list of tips she gave;
The heart come first
Be a trend setter, not a trend follower
Do your research
Protect your work and rights
Register for PLR
Promote your work: school visit, festival, local libraries, local book shops
Put your books face out in book shops
Cherish good editors
No life experience is wasted.
The quote from Malorie that really stands out in my mind is,
'Write from the heart - sell from the head'
I'm sure her story of a nightmare, being trapped outside in acid rain, while people watched her slowly die from inside a nice warm house. Which she translated as being stuck in a horrible job in computers, but being denied entry into the publishing world struck a cord with most people in the room.
Malorie Blackman, OBE, is a British writer who holds the position of Children's Laureate for 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults.
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