Sheryl Gwyther's guest appearances

Sheryl Gwyther

The Happy Book

Matt Stanton

Jess Racklyeft

Penny Harrison

Kylie Howarth

Penelope Pratley

Irma Gold

Dee White

OwlTail

HELLO!Welcome to Chapter Nine of The Happy Book. In this chapter, I’ll be chatting to friend and author Sheryl Gwyther about plotting and planning a middle grade novel. Sheryl has been writing children’s fiction for around two decades, and this woman knows her stuff.Sheryl will share her extensive experience in crafting a middle grade novel, her secrets to finding the right story and creating a protagonist who will capture your readers’ hearts. And of course—she’ll talk ALL about structure, which can be a real challenge for authors.Fire up your device, cram in those earbuds and enjoy this foray into the magical world of kids’ book creation. If you have any questions or comments, you can say hello at books@taniamccartney.com.I’m Tania McCartney and I’m an author, illustrator and editor of children’s books. I’ve always wanted to live inside a book, and now I practically do. Welcome to The Happy Book.GUEST – SHERYL GWYTHERSheryl Gwyther’s mango-gorging, tree-climbing, book-reading childhood in Queensland’s tropical far north inevitably led to the best job ever—writing stories for the most important readers of all—children. Her work includes Secrets of Eromanga, an adventure novel set on an outback fossil dig; chapter books, and many short stories and plays in The School Magazine.Sheryl’s awards include two ASA Mentorships, two May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Fellowship Residencies, and a 2013 Work-of-Outstanding-Progress Grant from SCBWI International (the first non-American to win) for her historical adventure, Sweet Adversity. This tale of courage and resilience is set in the Great Depression with hero, 12-year-old, Addie. Sheryl also coordinates the Queensland branch of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.SHOW NOTES00:35 Introduction01:36 About Sheryl02:31 A glass of kombucha (apple crisp flavour) and Darjeeling tea03:20 What does a typical writing day look like for Sheryl?05:41 Where does Middle Grade fit in the industry?06:34 Creating multi-layered work07:50 Word count09:18 Themes for middle grade10:08 The importance of humour11:14 Writing and engaging middle grade novel11:20 The main character11:49 Main character drives the story12:57 Adults in stories14:16 The protagonist14:42 Villains16:03 What qualities does a good protagonist need? Sweet Adversity18:03 Sub characters20:24 Villains need to be humanised22 :46 Obstacles24:39 Chapter endings/cliff hangers25:26 The story grid method26:58 The plotter and the pantser28:03 Do you know the ending in advance?31:59 Can middle grade plots be quite sophisticated35:08 When does middle grade slip into junior fiction or YA?35:29 Violence in middle grade36:36 Romance36:52 The voice for middle grade38:20 Writing in a way kids of this readership resonate with38:40 Writing authentic children’s voices40:18 Writing style40:40 Writers need to read and read a lot41:20 Vocabulary in middle grade44:08 The use of Shakespeare in Sweet Adversity45:09 The ending of a story46:38 An element of hope48:12 What happens if you’ve written middle grade and it’s too young or too old49:42 Conflicting manuscript appraisal advice50:11 The dreaded rewrite50:29 What’s coming up for Sheryl52:00 You never stop learning52:45 Advice from Sheryl55:20 Rejection means you’re sending your work out56:26 A lovely cup of Earl Grey tea and wrap-up57:30 Coming up next week58:02 The EndMusic: Ukulele Whistle by Scott HolmesPODCAST LINKSsherylgwyther.netfacebook.com/sherylgwytherauthortwitter.com/sheryl_gwytherinstagram.com/sheryl.gwyther.authorSweet AdversitySecrets of EromangaSCBWILINKLINKLINKLINKLINKStaniamccartney.comfacebook.com/TaniaMcCartneyAuthortwitter.com/TaniaMcCartneyinstagram.com/taniamccartneyThe Fantastical Flying CreatorCOMING UPEpisode Ten – Festivals, conferences and other kids’ book events—how to get the most out of them.

HELLO!Welcome to Chapter Nine of The Happy Book. In this chapter, I’ll be chatting to friend and author Sheryl Gwyther about plotting and planning a middle grade novel. Sheryl has been writing children’s fiction for around two decades, and this woman knows her stuff. Sheryl will share her extensive experience in crafting a middle grade novel, her secrets to finding the right story and creating a protagonist who will capture your readers’ hearts. And of course—she’ll talk ALL about structure, which can be a real challenge for authors. Fire up your device, cram in those earbuds and enjoy this foray into the magical world of kids’ book creation. If you have any questions or comments, you can say hello at books@taniamccartney.com. I’m Tania McCartney and I’m an author, illustrator and editor of children’s books. I’ve always wanted to live inside a book, and now I practically do. Welcome to The Happy Book. GUEST – SHERYL GWYTHERSheryl Gwyther’s mango-gorging, tree-climbing, book-reading childhood in Queensland’s tropical far north inevitably led to the best job ever—writing stories for the most important readers of all—children. Her work includes Secrets of Eromanga, an adventure novel set on an outback fossil dig; chapter books, and many short stories and plays in The School Magazine. Sheryl’s awards include two ASA Mentorships, two May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust Fellowship Residencies, and a 2013 Work-of-Outstanding-Progress Grant from SCBWI International (the first non-American to win) for her historical adventure, Sweet Adversity. This tale of courage and resilience is set in the Great Depression with hero, 12-year-old, Addie. Sheryl also coordinates the Queensland branch of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. SHOW NOTES00:35 Introduction01:36 About Sheryl02:31 A glass of kombucha (apple crisp flavour) and Darjeeling tea03:20 What does a typical writing day look like for Sheryl?05:41 Where does Middle Grade fit in the industry?06:34 Creating multi-layered work07:50 Word count09:18 Themes for middle grade10:08 The importance of humour11:14 Writing and engaging middle grade novel11:20 The main character11:49 Main character drives the story12:57 Adults in stories14:16 The protagonist14:42 Villains16:03 What qualities does a good protagonist need? Sweet Adversity18:03 Sub characters20:24 Villains need to be humanised22 :46 Obstacles24:39 Chapter endings/cliff hangers25:26 The story grid method26:58 The plotter and the pantser28:03 Do you know the ending in advance?31:59 Can middle grade plots be quite sophisticated35:08 When does middle grade slip into junior fiction or YA?35:29 Violence in middle grade36:36 Romance36:52 The voice for middle grade38:20 Writing in a way kids of this readership resonate with38:40 Writing authentic children’s voices40:18 Writing style40:40 Writers need to read and read a lot41:20 Vocabulary in middle grade44:08 The use of Shakespeare in Sweet Adversity45:09 The ending of a story46:38 An element of hope48:12 What happens if you’ve written middle grade and it’s too young or too old49:42 Conflicting manuscript appraisal advice50:11 The dreaded rewrite50:29 What’s coming up for Sheryl52:00 You never stop learning52:45 Advice from Sheryl55:20 Rejection means you’re sending your work out56:26 A lovely cup of Earl Grey tea and wrap-up57:30 Coming up next week58:02 The End Music: Ukulele Whistle by Scott Holmes PODCAST LINKS<a href="https://www.sherylgwyther.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">sherylgwyther.net</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sherylgwytherauthor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">facebook.com/sherylgwytherauthor</a><a href="https://twitter.com/sheryl_gwyther" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">twitter.com/sheryl_gwyther</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sheryl.gwyther.author/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">instagram.com/sheryl.gwyther.author</a><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460709467/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sweet Adversity</a><a href="https://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/some-of-my-publications/secrets-of-eromanga/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Secrets of Eromanga</a><a href="https://www.scbwi.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SCBWI</a>LINKLINKLINKLINK LINKS<a href="http://www.taniamccartney.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">taniamccartney.com</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaniaMcCartneyAuthor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">facebook.com/TaniaMcCartneyAuthor</a><a href="https://twitter.com/TaniaMcCartney" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">twitter.com/TaniaMcCartney</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/taniamccartney/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">instagram.com/taniamccartney</a><a href="http://taniamccartney.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-fantastic-flying-creator-e-workshop.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fantastical Flying Creator</a> COMING UPEpisode Ten – Festivals, conferences and other kids’ book events—how to get the most out of them.

Chapter 9 : Plotting and planning a middle grade novel with Sheryl Gwyther