KBR warmly welcomes author and friend Dee White, to chat about her love of books and her exciting new venture - Writing Classes for Kids.
I am so thrilled to be at Kids Book Review talking about books and writing, the things I love most (besides my family and friends).
As a kid I lived in my imagination (still do when I can). I was lucky to grow up in a house full of books that provided me with endless opportunities to explore and inhabit new worlds. Books were always savoured like fine food in our family. What we read was talked about at the dinner table as if it were something exciting that had happened in our day, not in the life of a character in a book. I remember being read to from a very young age and being taken to public libraries every week.
I have followed these reading habits/patterns with my own children, so it has brought me much joy to see them grow up to love books in the same way I do.
I know many children are not so lucky and that's why I've become a friend of the National Year of Reading 2012 and will donate 10% of this year's author visit earnings to support projects of the NYOR that give kids access to books and the chance to learn to read and enjoy the world of literature.
I have wanted to be an author since I was seven, so writing has always been as important to me as reading.
After my twelve-year-old wrote his first novel, I realised that writing is important to a lot of kids, but there are not many resources available to help them become better writers and get their work published.
So I started Writing Classes For Kids. I wanted to provide a site with free and affordable activities for anyone who wants to write, no matter how old they are.
Over the last few months I've been adding to the site and I now have a number of 6-week online writing classes for kids and adults.
I also thought it was important to provide resources like lesson plans for teachers who want to encourage creative writing in the classroom and for home schooling parents.
But my favourite thing about Writing Classes For Kids is the free writing competitions. I'll be holding four of these in 2012.
What I love about the writing competitions is reading all the wonderful and inspiring stories from kids and new adult writers all over the world.
And even if it's just online, I love meeting people who enjoy books and writing as much as I do.
And sometimes, I'm lucky enough to meet them in person . . .
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| KBR founder Tania McCartney with writing pal Dee |
For more tips, writing activities, online writing classes and FREE competitions, check out Dee's Writing Classes for Kids blog or follow her on twitter @KidsWhoWrite.
Dee also runs a writing blog at DeeScribe Writing. She is currently developing a series of e-books on writing that will soon be available from her sites, and be sure to check out Dee's books - below.
