As part of the annual Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival, two writers were invited to share with our students.

On 6 March, American novelist Axie Oh gave a talk, ‘Journey of a Rebelled S(e)oul’, to the Form 4 Literature in English students, joined by a number of English teachers. She talked about her three books, and how she created these novels from the first spark of the idea to their publications, giving tips to our aspiring writers on how to plot their own stories.

On 7 March, Sarah Suk, a gifted writer from Canada, spoke to the Form 5 Literature in English students and some Form 3 students about ‘Discovering Your Character’s Voice’. She introduced her works and explained her process of writing. She also gave useful tips on creating and giving life to fictional characters, making them realistic and relatable.

Feedback from Students

I write a lot, and Ms Oh’s tips on plotting the book have helped me immensely with the recent chapters of a book I’ve been working on. I’ve also had really bad experiences with reading YA novels, but her ideas are quite fresh for me and I feel more motivated to read now. It is truly empowering for Asian readers to read a book and be able to put themselves into the characters’ shoes.
Nicole Pun (4C)

I am incredibly appreciative of this wonderful chance to be part of the event. We learned in the workshop about different important elements of writing, such as a character’s voice, the use of subtexts and creating characters through their actions. Overall, I found the workshop extremely fascinating and educational. I’d love to participate in similar events in the future!
Vanessa Lee (3C)

I do a little writing myself, and Ms Suk’s suggestions on character development are really useful as sometimes I get carried away with making my characters quirky and forget that they are humans. On the whole, the workshop was very helpful and enlightening, and I had a great time doing the activities. I look forward to meeting other authors in the future.
Edna Ho (3C)