Writing a Book in a Day

On July 6, I will be getting together with a team of nine others from the Northern Beaches Writer’s Group, led by Zena Shapter in Sydney, and we will write a book in a day. I am both terrified and excited. I’ve only attended the Northern Beaches Writing Group a couple of times so far, but this opportunity sounded too good to pass up.

Six writers, two illustrators, a layout/cover designer, and other helpers with plotting, will produce an 8000 word book for children aged 10-14. At 8am that morning, we will be given a boy and a girl character, an animal, a setting, and an issue to write about, and we will have until 8pm that night to complete the task, including printing and binding a final copy of the book.

It will be exhausting and exhilarating!

So why would we do such a thing?

Partly for the challenge. And, more importantly, to raise money for The Kid’s Cancer Project at Westmead Children’s Hospital. If you’d like to sponsor our team, you can donate by credit card online here. (You can also read more about the challenge.)

Select ‘Sponsor a team‘ on the left side, followed by ‘The Kids Cancer Project, Westmead (NSW)‘. When the teams come up, select ‘Northern Beaches Writers Group‘. Donations are tax deductible in Australia.

Donations make a big difference in what can be done to help these kids. To anyone who donates: thank you so much on their behalf.

All the books produced in this nationwide challenge also go to the sponsored children’s hospitals. I can’t think of a better way to put writing skills to work!