The Bath Festival of Children’s Literature came up with a unique storytelling project: a collaborative story by twenty top children’s authors, with each new chapter revealed on a different blog site. It’s going on as this is written, and ends on 16 October 2011. The first instalment is at the Festival’s blog, http://bathkidslitfest.wordpress.com/, and you can follow it from there.
It starts with a chapter written by Rachel Beckwith, and begins with the sentence, “It was the day the moon fell into the sea.” The second instalment is by the Etherington Brothers, and includes drawings as well as text (above).
If you’re interested in writing for children, I think you’ll find it instructive. For instance, notice whether the chapters follow on well from what went before, or whether the next author is more inclined to turn it in their own direction.
It’s also an interesting model for self-promotion. If you have a new book, for instance, are there bloggers who might want be interested in featuring a series of excerpts, each one leading to the next? Or individual bloggers might be willing to feature an excerpt, if your subject relates to theirs.
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